FC Chess Tournament 4

[anvi]

Wow.  Well, the match score is now:

The Clock:  2
Oakvale:     0

http://gameknot.com/chess.pl?bd=20593835&rnd=84304

There is some magic going on here.  It seems to work like this, for future reference: If Oakvale is Black, if you play either a Ruy Lopez or Scotch Opening formation against him in the first three or four moves, he forgets to play!    I mean, those are both intimidating openings for White, but I didn't know they were that scary. 

Anyway, sorry Oakvale, but you need to remember to move!

[anvi]

Ok, Oakvale has notified everyone that he is having wifi connection problems.  This could be interpreted as a defective clock in the present game.  So, Lewis, I will leave it up to you if you want to grant Oakvale an extension of the game.  You could simply start a new game and repeat the moves you've already played and go from there.  Your call.

[minionofmidas]

And he'll just time out again if the time control remains set to two days?

I'm all for restarting the game off the record with a different time control; I still have embarassing mistakes in my first game vs Oakvale back in june to atone for. How's that Oak?

EDIT after reading the other thread: Or we could restart the game after you get your internet connection fixed, of course.

[Oakvale]

Sorry about all that, guys. I'd be more than happy to restart the game if that's okay with you, Lewis.

[minionofmidas]

Sorry about all that, guys. I'd be more than happy to restart the game if that's okay with you, Lewis.

http://gameknot.com/chess.pl?bd=20622273&rnd=46060

[anvi]

The 4th round game between Senator Bore and myself has come to a close.  A gutsy fight, Senator--thanks for a good game!

A brief overview of the game follows with three useful lessons.  First, mind your pieces, folks!  Second, when entering endgames that include minor pieces where you have a material advantage, don't overcomplicate things--make them simple, but only simply if your position is winning, of course.  Finally, retain maximum piece activity in your endgames--this last lesson is one Bore demonstrates for us toward the end.   Below, I'll also try to explain a little bit of my thinking process and chess personality.

anvi (W) vs. Senator Bore (B)
Queen's Gambit Accepted

1.   d4          d5
2.   c4        dxc4
3.   Nf3        Nf6
4.   g3          e6
5.   Bg2      Bb4+
6.   Bd2      Nc6
7.   Bxb4    Nxb4
8.   Qa4+     c6?

So far, Bore and I have been following a standard line of the QGA, which generally leads to a minimal advantage for White, but nothing substantial.  Bore suddenly forgets his Knight is undefended.  The simple 8...Nc6, blocking the check and saving the piece, was correct.

9.   Qxb4       b5
10. O-O         a6
11. e3          Ra7?

The best approach here would be to strive for activity with 11...Bb7 with a view to ...Nd7.  But, if not this, then better here is 11...Bd7 12. Ne5 Rc8.  While the defense of the c6 pawn is uncomfortable for Black, and he remains hemmed in and unable to castle because of the White Queen on b4, he is, at least for the moment, holding things together as best he can.

12. Ne5       Rc7?

Maybe 12...Nd5 at this point puts up more resistance. 

13. Nxc6

Here, I miss 13. Bxc6+ Bd7 14. Nxd7 Nxd7 15. Qd6 which continues the pressure on Black.  But for reasons I'll explain below, I prefer simplicity in won positions.

13.              Qd7
14. Ne5       Qe7
15. Qxe7+   Rxe7

My general approach to the game--once ahead by a decisive material advantage, trade all the pieces off--"trade down"--into a winning endgame.  The pressure I've gotten from the opening has accomplished its task. Part of the art of chess is to build up one advantage only to cash it in for an even bigger advantage.  Plus, this continuation also goes with my basically positional style.  Even though it's great fun to play sharp, tactical chess that highlights lots of flashy combinations, I'm not too good at that kind of approach, mostly because my calculation skills, as can be seen from above, are not what they should be in over-the-board play.  Given my own limitations and general personality, I tend to go for simple wins over complicated ones.  Complicated positions are by their very nature double-edged.  So, I figure, why take risks if they're not necessary, especially if you can win precisely by avoiding them?

16. Nc3       O-O
17. Rfd1     

17. a4 is better here, but for some reason I found the possibility of Black's ...b4 in response annoying, even though in the long run I'd probably win more material if Black pushed this pawn.

17.              Rd8?

A blunder that loses another exchange (Rook, worth 5 units of force for Knight, worth 3), but it's hard to recommend good moves for Black at this point--he is a whole piece down already.

18. Nc6       Ree8
19. Nxd8     Rxd8
20. Rac1     h6
21. a3         Ng4
22. e4         h5
23. d5         Bb7?

As it turns out, 23...e5, with a view to blockading the d-pawn and activating the Bishop here was "best," in an array of losing choices.  But I did not pay attention to this at the time.  I was thinking that maybe Black's best practical chances here were with 23...Ne5 with a view to transferring the Knight to d3 to pressure my Queenside and limit the activity of my Rook on the d-file.  I was expecting a maneuver like this when Black played 21...Ng4.  I'm not too worried about it, as I can, if need be, sacrifice an exchange back and still retain a winning material advantage.  But it seemed to me to be Black's best dynamic choice under the circumstances.  Now, I relent from trying to force the issue with the passed d-pawn, my original intention, because I notice that such an advance could incur some stiff resistance.  So instead, I make what struck me as the most pragmatic decision, and pry the d-file open with superior material, which should give me a win easily enough.  This way, if the above-mentioned Black Knight maneuver is carried out, it will only happen after my Rook has penetrated into Bore's position instead of getting blockaded on the d-file by the horse.  When this happens, Black will soon lose the whole house  The key to winning piece endgames with superior forces is to make them as simple as possible while--and this is crucially important--retaining maximum piece activity for yourself.  This is a general rule, of course, which means there are important exceptions, like some positions featuring opposite-colored Bishops or Rooks with pawns only one one side of the board.  When should general principles be applied and when shouldn't they?  It's one of the key questions in both chess and life.  Lucky for me, in the present position, it's easy to tell.

24. dxd6     Rxd1+
25. Rxd1     fxe6
26. Rd7       Bc8?

Surrenders yet another piece, but 26...Bc6 27. Rd6 will pick up one or two more pawns anyway.

27. Rd8+      Kf7
28. Rxc8      Ne5

And now we have the aforementioned Knight maneuver.  But, without any other pieces on the board and with so many of my own pieces, King included, in proximity to the d1 square, it's no longer a worry.

29.  Bf1         g6
30. Rc7+       Kf6
31. Ra7        Nf3+

Even in this lost position, there is something valuable to be learned from the Senator's play beyond his general attitude of always hanging in there.  In an endgame, whatever you have left on the board should, if at all possible, be active.  If nothing else, this Knight check forces me to retreat my King to the corner, which I'd otherwise prefer not to do, because if 32. Kg2 then 32...Ne1+ 33. Kh3 g5, and my King is totally sidelined, at least for a while.  So, cheers to Bore--he is a gutsy chess player who gives himself every chance he can!  We've seen these two traits from earlier games too, and they help him earn points sometimes--which they should. 

32. Kh1         Nd2
33. Be2         Ke5
34. Rxa6      Nxe4
35. Nxe4      Kxe4
36. Rxe6+     Kf5
37. Rb6         Ke4
38. Rxg6    Black Resigns

1-0

[anvi]

http://en.lichess.org/analyse/kz5xyb9q I can't believe I won this lol.  Also hi chess peoples.

Pretty complicated game!  Would take me a while to annotate it. 

[minionofmidas]

Do!

[anvi]

It's not an FC game, so unfortunately I don't feel obligated.  But the capsule version would be that there were some exciting tactics from both sides, and a number of errors on both sides, and of the errors, Black made the last ones. 

[minionofmidas]

It's not an FC game, so unfortunately I don't feel obligated.  But the capsule version would be that there were some exciting tactics from both sides, and a number of errors on both sides, and of the errors, Black made the last ones. 

Yes, I kinda got that much from a brief lookover and the vibe of the preceding posts.

[anvi]

I had to delete an earlier post about the possibility of the Japanese-born American grandmaster Hikaru Nakamura being a possible challenger for Magnus' Carlson's world chess championship in 2014.  It turns out the participants in the 2014 FIDE candidates tournament have already been decided on the basis of FIDE World Cup and Grand Prix tournament finishes this year, a few average ratings determinations for the past year and the fact that the loser in the previous world championship match automatically qualifies.  Nakamura did not really come close in the Grand Prix events, and the American player to advance the farthest in the World Cup was Gata Kamsky, who lost in the quarter finals.  So, Nakamura needs to be more consistent in year-round tournament play to have a shot at the title.  The participants in the Candidates Tournament, to be held in March, will be the following players.

Vishwanathan Anand (India)
Vladimir Kramnik (Russia)
Dmitry Andreikin (Russia)
Veselin Topalov (Bulgaria)
Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan)
Levon Aronian (Armenia)
Sergey Karjakin (Russia)
Peter Svidler (Russia)

I think probably Aronian is the most likely contender, followed by Anand (a rematch?) and Kramnik.  But Svidler is always an interesting wildcard. 

[minionofmidas]

Svidler was, actually, a wildcard selection. Only the other seven people actually qualified for this.

[anvi]

Svidler was, actually, a wildcard selection. Only the other seven people actually qualified for this.

Yeah, the FIDE organizers actually passed Nakamura and a number of other players over in choosing Svidler. The criteria that seem to have been applied to him were that, in the past year, he won his seventh Russian championship and finished third in the last candidates tournament. 

http://www.chess.com/news/svidler-is-fide-candidate-wildcard-3854

Swidler is a great player and should provide good competition at the Candidates in March.  But on the whole, I think Nakamura plays far better chess against the world's very top players than Swidler--for instance, Nakamura seems to really have the number of Kramnik in recent years, which very few players can lay claim to.  But Nakamura's performance in the annual FIDE Grand Prix events just seems to be be still too inconsistent.  He is a highly dynamic player (in chess terms) and so can be erratic at times, so he has to perhaps make his game a little tighter.  Most players who end up challenging for the world championship have to do that at a certain point--tighten up their styles a little, that is.

[minionofmidas]

What does "dynamic" mean in chess terms?

[anvi]

What does "dynamic" mean in chess terms?

There is a basic distinction in chess between two different kinds of advantages; dynamic and static.  A static advantage is a long-term, stable advantage that remains an imbalance for a long time, sometimes a whole game.  Having two Bishops against one, having a pawn majority one one side of the board, for instance, are both often static kinds of advantages.  They are both long-term and they're often not that complicated--they can often be translated into winning advantages with simply precise technique.  A dynamic advantage, by contrast, is one that's temporary, and usually requires complex tactics in order to take advantage of.  Developing your pieces more quickly, for instance, often enables you to gain "tempi," units of time in moves, that can give you attacking chances, but only if you act quickly--if you don't act quickly, the dynamic advantage can disappear.  Space is another kind of dynamic advantage--your pawns and pieces can command more territory on the board at the moment, but if you don't keep on it and continue to restrict your opponent, the opponent can catch up and your dynamic advantage can disappear.  So, a dynamic player is one who likes to create dynamic advantages, someone who likes to create short-term threats to their opponent's position, often relying on sharp, tactical combinations, to do so.  Dynamic players are attackers, they like to mix it up, create double-edged situations, and they're often the funnest kinds of players to watch.  Paul Morphy, Alekhine, Fischer, Kasparov were the greatest dynamic players ever--they're tacticians.  Players who like to create long-term, static advantages and slowly grind their opponents down are positional, strategic players; Nimzovich, Capablanca, Karpov and Magnus Carlson himself are of this latter type. 

Nakamura likes sharp tactical play, and he is brilliant at it.  But it's double-edged; if you play someone with good calculation skills, your dynamic advantages can disappear quickly and can backfire against you.  Lots of players, in coming up through the ranks, have to win lots of games in grandmaster competition, and so start off as dynamic players, but often have to become more cautious as they reach the upper strata of grandmasters, who don't frighten and don't fall for tricks so easily.  Nakamura might have to curb his tactical inclinations a little bit to become more consistent.  But not all players have to do this.  Fischer and Kasparov were so good at tactical play that they never had to change their styles, they just beat the hell out of everyone.  Nakamura, though brilliant, is no Kasparov, at least not yet, and I think if anyone has a chance at beating Carlson in the near future, they'll have to be even more coy than he is.   

[minionofmidas]

Yeah, the terms "tactician", "strategist" and "positional" I was aware of.

[minionofmidas]

http://timkr.home.xs4all.nl/chess2/honor.htm

Old, but I came across it today. I laughed.

[anvi]

That is funny.  It seems the first few errors of the computers can be attributed to the designers putting either insufficient or bad heuristics in the programs, or sometimes the program sticking to a game found in its database of openings instead of calculating moves.  It is always important to remember that the world's top computers have always been run by teams which have included programmers as well as top grandmasters.  In the course of Deep Blue's matches against Kasparov, for instance, American GM Joel Benjamin was on the Deep Blue team, helping to decide which opening the program would play against Kasparov and suggesting new heuristics for the program as the match proceeded.  This is a similar kind of help that top human GMs get, as most of them have teams of "seconds."  But computers certainly don't do it all on their lonesome.

In the second part, yes, it's quite common anti-computer strategy to pick long-term positional lines to play which involve plans that are beyond the software's calculation horizon instead of entering into tactical variations, where computers usually perform better. 

I think computer programs do play chess, and contrary to some popular anti-AI rhetoric, I think it can even be fairly said that the programs "know" they are playing chess.  But there are still certainly ways to defeat them.  One thing I can say in their favor is that using computers and playing against them has made the last one or two generations of human grandmasters much stronger players on average that previous generations.

[minionofmidas]

http://gameknot.com/chess.pl?bd=20622273&rnd=10412

The game between me and Oakvale has ended. (I had this post reply window open for the past hour!)

[anvi]

Thanks for the entertaining game, guys!  I keep running analyses of these games going, so I have it ready. 

This fourth-round game between Midas and Oakvale, an important one in the tournament, was quite an interesting battle.  Some principles of the early masters and innovators of chess come up in quite relevant ways in the opening.  Playing the "right" lines of an opening requires that one understands the principles and aims behind the way that opening arranges the pieces and sets up the pawn structure.  There are actually book lines of openings that depart from the original aims the opening was intended to accomplish, and I'd say, more often than not, those are lines worth avoiding.  We get some illustration of this point in the present game.  It also brings out some fairly important endgame principles, as we will see.

Minion of Midas (W) vs Oakvale (B)
Three Knights Game, Steinitz Variation

1.   e4          e5
2. Nf3          Nc6
3. Nc3         g6
4.   d4          exd4
5. Nxd4       Bg7
6, Be3         Nf6
7. Nxc6

This is a book line of the Three Knights game, but one I would not be inclined to follow as White.  We've reached a position quite similar to one found in a standard line of the Dragon Sicilian, except here Black has exchanged his e-pawn and not his c-pawn for White's pawn on d4.  In this kind of position, it is generally bad strategy for White to exchange his d4 Knight for its counterpart on c6, because, after Black recaptures with his b-pawn, it is easier for him to support an expansion in the center with a later pawn push to d5.  This very move becomes a big factor in this game.  Better for White here to continue his development, perhaps with 7. Qd2 with the idea of playing ...Bh6 and trading off Black's dark-squared Bishop in a standard "anti-hypermodern" strategy.   After all, since this is the Steinitz variation of the Three Knights Game, it's perhaps most appropriate to stick to Steinitz' classical principles against Black's "hypermodern" development of the King's Bishop on g7.  Those principles would dictate that White build up his presence in the center, not trade it away and thereby make Black's King's Bishop more effective.

7.                   bxc6
8.   e5            Ng8
9.   Bd4

Better is to defend the pawn with its companion on the f-file.

9.                     Qe7
10. Qe2           Nh6
11. O-O-O

Intuitively, castling queenside here looks too dangerous for White to me, since he is placing his King very close to the half-open b-file, upon which Black Rooks can operate quite nicely, and at which Black's g7 Bishop and Queen also point.   But the short-term disadvantage is that it gives Black all the active play.  I would quite strongly consider 11. g4 here, as it would refuse access to the f5-square for the Black Knight.  Old Nimzovich rule: you beat Knights by using pawns to restrict the number of squares they can travel to.  Now, Black, a bit cramped up to this point in the game, gets the upper hand.

11.                     Nf5
12.  g3              Nxd4
13.  Rxd4         Bxe5?

But this is too hasty!  Black should first avoid the chance for White to pin anything along the e-file with 12...O-O and he will retain the advantage.

14.  Re4              f6
15.  Bh3?

White has played relatively well up to now, but the tactical complications finally get the better of him.  The pawn-push ...d5, normally the freeing move in such positions, as noted above, is here beginning to create too many threats, first to attack White's Rook on e4 and then Black's c3-Knight with a further advance.  In fact, White can no longer stop this move, having committed his Rook to e4, so the best he can do is beat Black to the tactical punch.  It does seem that now 15. Qc4 (threatening the unit on c6) Qe6 16. Qa4 (avoiding the fork on d5) d5 17. Bc4! (temporarily sacrificing the Bishop but saving the Rook, which is still performing a valuable pinning service) bxc4 18. f4 O-O 19. exf5 gives White good chances.  With the text move, unfortunately, White's game will be worse if Black can steer the position toward the endgame phase.

15.                       d5
16.  Bxc8
 
Lewis now makes the best choice under the circumstances.  Sacking the Rook for the Bishop does no good, and the passive 16. Rh4 allows Black to remain a pawn up and enjoy the more actively play with 16...Bxh3 17. Rxh3 Rb8.  The text move enables White to get some material back for the exchange as well as some counterplay.

16,                      dxe4
17.  Bxb7             Rb8
18.  Bxc6+           Kf7

Better endgame choice than 18...Kf8, as this move allows Black to connect his Rooks.

19,  Nxe4?

But here, Midas underestimates the power of Black's position, particularly to the pressure the Black Queen, Queen's Rook and King's Bishop are exerting on the dark squares against his monarch.  19. Qxe4 looks correct to me, connecting a few otherwise loose pieces, giving himself good control of the light squares and holding things together around his King.  Actually, Black's game after 19. Qxa4 seems to me only slightly better, and with best play, he could only hope to grind out an endgame win over a long haul.  After 19. Nxe4, the looseness of the White pieces--the undefended White cleric on c6 especially--can now be rapidly undermined through the mobility and coordination of the Black forces.

19.                       Bxb2+
20.  Kd2

20. Kd1 is a bit safer here.

20.                       Qb4+
21.  c3                  Rhd8+?

Not the best that Black can do, by a long shot.  21...Bxc3+ 22. Ke3 (if 22. Nxc3? then 22...Rhe8+ 23. Qd3--as 23. Ke3 would get the King drawn slowly into a mating net--and after 23...Qb2+ 24. Ke3 Qb6+ 25. Kf2 and the Queen is lost) Qb6+ 23. Kf3 Qxc6 24. Rc1 f5 25. Kg2 Qxe4+ 26. Qxe4 fxe4 27. Rxc3 Rb2+ and White, down a Rook and two pawns, is busted.

22.  Kc2?

White stubbornly persists in pretending that his King is not in that much danger in the open air on the Queenside, but he could now be proven wrong rather mercilessly, as, with best moves from Black, he would have to sacrifice yet more material just to let his King breathe a little longer.  He really needs to march the King behind his Queen and give him shelter that way.

22.                       Bxc3
23.  Ng5+             fxg5
24.  Qf3+              Kg7?

Midas is a lucky man.  24...Bf6 and White is just lost.  Black is still left with a winning endgame here, but it's much more dignified for White.

25.  Qxc3+             Qxc3
26.  Kxc3                Rd6
27.  Ba4                 Rbd8

27...Rf6 is more accurate.  This and his next move unnecessarily block Black's immediate access to the f-file.

28.  Re1                  Kf6?
29.  Kc4?

But here, Midas also blocks his own optimal play with his King.  The Bishop, as noted, is best placed on b3, from which it defends the a2 pawn and should have a clear shot at the diagonal in front of it.  If White wants to move his King up the board, b4 is a better square for him after the Bishop is placed on b3.  If optimal piece placement is important in the opening and the middlegame, it's absolutely crucial in the endgame, and since in endgames the King is an offensive piece and not just something to be guarded, one must choose the squares that it occupies quite carefully.  Now White can once again hit at f2.

29.                            Rd2
30.  a3?

30. Bb3 is still better.  The text should have lost the Bishop outright to 30...R2d4+ 31. Kb3 Rb8+ 32. Ka2 Rxb4. 

30.                           Rxf2?
31.  h4?                    gxh4
32.  gxh4                  Rf4+
33.  Kb5                    Rd5+
34.  Kc6                    Ra5?

34...Re5 works better, as it either forces White to trade off his Rook or lose the Bishop.

35.  Bb3                    Kg6?

It's not necessary to give White access to his position now.  If Black is afraid of the check on e6, he is afraid of ghosts.  If simply 35...Rxa3 36 Re6+, then 36...Kf5 37. Re3 Re4 38. Rc3 Kf4 and Black will have passed pawns on both sides of the board, or if after 36...Kf5 above, 37. Bd5 then again 37...Ra6+ 38. Kd7 Rxe6 39. Bxe6+ Ke5 and, now that his last remaining Rook has been traded off, White's is lost.

36.  Re7+                  Kh6
37.  Rg8                    Rxh4
38.  Rxh7+                Kg5
39.  Rxc7                  Rxa3
40.  Rg7                     a5
41.  Bf7?                   Rh6?

Though things have been more or less purely academic for a while now, White's venture of gong after the g6 pawn should not have been undertaken, as now ...Kf6 can win another piece for the pawn.  White should have placed his remaining Rook behind the advancing a-pawn, or at least have gotten his Bishop to safety.  In what follows, Midas more or less helps Black's King to advance up the board, where it can actually help to promote the g-pawn.

42.  Kb5?                     Kf6
43.  Rg8                     Kxf7
44   Rc8                       g5
45.  Rc7+                    Kg6
46.  Rc6+                    Kh5
47.  Rc5                      Kh4
48.  Rc4+                    g4
49.  Rc1                     Rh5+
50.  Kc4                      g3
51.  Rg1                     Kg4
52.  Rc1                      g2
53.  Rd4+                   Kf3
54.  Rd1                     Rh1
55.  Rd3+                 Rxd3
56.  Kxd3                  h1-Q
White Resigns

0-1

Again, good fighting game fellas.  Thanks!

[Oakvale]

Thanks for the analysis anvi, and thanks for the fun game, Lewis, although I think we can certainly give you the moral victory given my initial time out.

[minionofmidas]

19,  Nxe4?

But here, Midas underestimates the power of Black's position, particularly to the pressure the Black Queen, Queen's Rook and King's Bishop are exerting on the dark squares against his monarch. 

Quite so, and I noticed it before oakvale even moved, and over the next couple of moves realized too slowly that I was still doing it. It was the decisive mistake of the game, and I'm not really sure why I made it. Analyzing this variant before move 16, I was using the bishop as a matter of course. Then when the time came, I hesitated between bishop, queen and knight and... I don't actually remember why I chose the knight. I guess that happens when a memory doesn't get reinforced because events went off on an unforeseen tangent.

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The intended followup move being 23. ...Qb2 and mate. This is when I finally understood just what I had done. There still was an alternative at this point...
23. Rb1 Qxb1+
24. Kxc3 and, if ... Qc1+. 25.Qc2.

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25. Bd5+, and if after that Kg7, yes, I am admittedly lost and in a far less dignified position than really transpired. But not, I think, quickly mated?

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Yep... as oakvale's answer moves that I hadn't foreseen prove.

But eh. It's not as if I have an alternative to trying to kill the black pawns, do I? It's a desperate last grasp for the half point.

[anvi]

22.                       Bxc3
The intended followup move being 23. ...Qb2 and mate. This is when I finally understood just what I had done. There still was an alternative at this point...
23. Rb1 Qxb1+
24. Kxc3 and, if ... Qc1+. 25.Qc2.

Looks like you still run into a mate after 23. Rb1 Qxb1+ 24. Kxc3 Qb4+ 25. Kc2 Qb2#.  I think you probably found the best way to extract yourself from the mating threats under the circumstances there.

23.  Ng5+             fxg5
24.  Qf3+              Kg7?

If 24...Bf6 25. Bd5+, and if after that Kg7, yes, I am admittedly lost and in a far less dignified position than really transpired. But not, I think, quickly mated?

It looks to me like the Black Queen and b-Rook might eventually get you after 24...Bf6 25. Bd5+ Kg7, because your King looks awfully exposed.  Black can probably even sac his d8 Rook for the Bishop on d5 just to get a clear shot at your King with his other pieces. But try a line or two out on me and we'll see what we get.

But eh. It's not as if I have an alternative to trying to kill the black pawns, do I? It's a desperate last grasp for the half point.

True, you don't have any alternative to trying to get Black's last two pawns off..  But after move 40., say, the best chance to do this is 41. Ra7.  Black's a-pawn is at the moment closer to queening than his g-pawn, so putting your Rook behind that one will tie Black to its defense and make the win a little harder for him.  

[homelycooking]

My game with "cabbagestems" has concluded. Thanks for the interesting game, a Person.

[anvi]

Thanks for the game guys!

The fourth round of our 4th FCC chess tournament has come to a close with the end of the game between homelycooking and Person.  Homelycooking carries out a very effective cramping operation against Person in their game, which helps demonstrate the importance of space on a chessboard.

Homelycooking (W) vs. A Person (B)
English Opening, Nimzovich Four Nights Variation

1.  c4          e5
2.  Nc3       Nf6
3.  Nf3        Nc6
4.  e4          g6
5.  d4         Qe7?

A dubious departure from the book line, the most popular variation of which is 5...exd4 6. Nxd4 Bg7 and lands in a position somewhat similar to a Marocxy Bind Sicilian, except that Black has a c-pawn instead of an e-pawn.  White demonstrates why this departure is dubious, as he correctly expands his big center immediately and cramps Black's position.  A space advantage can, if properly handled, win a game all by itself.

6.  d5            Nd8

Now that the Black Queen has been placed on e7, there is no good square left for this poor horse.  But maybe retreating it to its home square was a bit better, as it gives Black a little more flexibility along the first two ranks, where he is currently confined. 

7.  Be3           c6
8.  Ng5?        Bg7?

This only allows White to push the d-pawn up.  Black has to play ...d6 in concert with ...c6 in order to free his position.

9.  d6             Qf8
10. c5             b6?

Instead, 10...h6 11. Nf3 Ng4 gives Black some useful activity.  The little trap Black has set here is refuted with a devastating effect by White..

11. cxb6         cxb8
12. Bxb6        Nb7
13. Bc4          Nxd6
14. Bc5          Bh6
15. Nxf7         Ba6?

15...Qg7, getting himself out of the pin, is maybe the best Black can do here, but he is already lost.

16.  Bxc5?

This wins of course, but is not as immediately deadly as 16. Nxd6+, which in all lines wins Black'a Queen.

16.                   Qg7
17.  Nxh8         Bxc4
18.  Bxe5         Qxh8
19.  Qd4           Qf8
20. Qxc4          d6?
21. Qxc6+        Kf7
22.  Bxd6         Qd8
23.  e5             Rc8
24.  e6+?

This doesn't work, objectively, as Black could simply take this pawn, but Black's play ultimately justifies the move. 

24.                     Kg7?
25.  Qb7+           Kh8
26.  Rd1             Rb8?
27.  Bxb8           Qa5
28.  O-O?

28.  Qc8+ immediately, and it's no longer possible for Black to prevent the e-pawn from queening.

28.                       Qh5
29.  Rd8+             Ng8
30.   e7

30. Qf7 mates Black straightaway.

30,                       Bf4
31.   Bxh4             h6
32.   Rxg8+          Kxg8
33.   e8 = Q#

1-0

Standings and final round pairings will be up in the next post.