With it, we are able to see that player e4e5nf3 chose his username brilliantly. When he plays 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 as White, he has a winning percentage of 100% over ten games. As Black, he has also never lost in this line. (It has, however, never been played against him.)
His game against littletwink was a good example of piece coordination.
e4e5nf3-littletwink RHP 2008
1. e4 e5 2. Ng1f3 c5 {A weakening move that undermines Black’s control of d5. It also blunders a pawn.} 3. Nf3xe5 f6 {A serious mistake now by Black. The e8-h5 diagonal is now ripe for the picking.} 4. Ne5f3 {White should have attacked further with 4. Qh5+. This wins White loads of material after 4…g6 5. Nxg6 hxg6 6. Qxh8.} Ng8h6 {Black gets out a knight.} 5. d4 {Simple, straightforward development from White.} Nb8a6 {Black once again develops, the idea being to protect c5 and prevent a d5 kick.} 6. Bf1c4 Qd8a5 {Black is violating all the rules of development.} 7. Bc1d2 {White tempoes the queen.} Qa5a4 8. Nb1c3 {?? Just 8. Nf3, following Black’s example, works.} Qa4xc4 9. Bd2f4 {White is undeterred and continues to develop while protecting the d-pawn.} Nh6g4 10. Nf3d2 Qc4xd4 {? Qe6 was needed.} 11. Qd1xg4 {White is back in it.} h5 {Another weakening move.} 12. Qg4g6 {White makes up for his failure to invade with the queen earlier.} Ke8d8 13. Ra1d1 {White now has complete central control.} Na6b4 14. Nd2f3 {14. Nb5 threatens mate and the queen.} Qd4c4 {14…Nxc2+ doesn’t salvage Black, but gives him unexpected counterplay.} 15. Nc3d5 Qc4xc2 {15…Nxd5 was necessary.} 16. Bf4c7 1-0
User D4 has been reasonably successful with his opening as White: ( 67% ), but timed out in his one game against 1. d4 as Black. Here is one of his wins:
D4–DancingBrave RHP 2004
1. d4 {The famed 1. d4.} d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nb1c3 a6 {Black aims to keep the pawn.} 4. e4 b5 {Black appears to have succeeded, but…} 5. b3 cxb3 6. axb3 {White now has the center.} Ng8f6 {Black should have played Bb7, protecting the rook.} 7. Nc3xb5 Nf6xe4 {If 7…axb5, 8. Rxa8. 7…e6 was necessary, however, or some other fortifying move. Quiz time!} 8. Qd1f3 {White gets it wrong. 8. Qc2, with threats against c7 and e4, wins.} Bc8b7 {The White knight is now under threat.} 9. Bf1c4 {White attacks f7.} Ne4f6 {And Black blunders decisively.} 10. Qf3xb7 Nb8d7 11. Nb5xc7 {Faced with a further loss of queen, Black resigned.} 1-0
Finally, we can observe a completely astonishing fact.
An astounding fact.
An amazing fact.
The Red Hot Pawn chess player ‘Ruy Lopez’ has never played the Ruy Lopez. As White, he plays 1. e4 e5 2. Qf3. With a 25% win-loss percentage.
Ruy Lopez–el toro RHP 2006
1. e4 e5 2. Qf3 {A depressing move. White threatens nothing and blocks the best square for his king’s knight.} Qf6 {Black loses his opportunity to develop.} 3. Nc3 Qxf3 {Even worse. Bringing out White’s knight for him.} 4. Nxf3 f6 {To protect the pawn, but the simple 4…Nc6 was better.} 5. Nd5 Bd6 {At this point, best, because it develops.} 6. Nh4 {To move into f5.} c6
Quiz time! What is the best move for White?
FEN
rnb1k1nr/pp1p2pp/2pb1p2/3Np3/4P2N/8/PPPP1PPP/R1B1KB1R w KQkq - 12 7
SETUP
1
[SetUp "1"] [FEN "rnb1k1nr/pp1p2pp/2pb1p2/3Np3/4P2N/8/PPPP1PPP/R1B1KB1R w KQkq - 12 7"] 7. Nc3 {The best move was 7. Nf5, because it counter-attacks the bishop, winning material in all lines. For example: 7. Nf5 cxd5 8. Nxd6+ Kd8 (to protect the bishop) 9. Nf7+, forking the king and rook.} g5 {This is a positional mistake, giving White a magnificent outpost.} 8. Nf5 Bf8 9. b3 {9. d4, blowing open the center to get at underdeveloped Black (all Black’s pieces are on their original squares!)} d6 {9…d5 was best, fighting for the center.} 10. Ba3 {White pressures the “weak” d6 pawn, but this achieves nothing substantial and misplaces the bishop.} Bxf5 11. exf5 d5 {Black makes the right exchange. He now has complete control of the center and has minimized White’s lead in development by paying the small price of a minor exchange.} 12. b4 {12. Bxf8, trading off Black’s useful bishop for White’s unproductive one, is better.} d4 {12…Nh6, firing away at the weak f5-pawn, is superior.} 13. Ne4 {Now White once again has a nice square for his knight.} Nh6 {This simply blunders a pawn.} 14. Nxf6+ Kf7 15. Ne4 Nxf5 16. Nxg5+ Kf6 17. Ne4+ Kg6 {18…Kg7 was better, as then the king is less exposed.} 18. g4 Nd6 19. Nc5 Bh6 20. Bd3+ {White develops with tempo.} Kf6 21. Ne4+ Nxe4 {21. h4 is clearly better, as the threat of 22. g5+ is hard to deal with.} Bxe4 Nd7 23. Bf5 {23. h4.} Nb6 24. Be4 Na4 {Black could try winning a pawn with 24…Bxd2 25. Kxd2 Nc4+ 26. Kd3 Nxa3, but after 27. f4, the Black king looks shaky again.} 25. h4 Bf4 26. d3 {26. b5, to break down the Black pawn structure.} Rag8 27. Rg1 h5 {27. h6, to blockade the pawn rather than letting it advance.} 28. g5+ Bxg5 {Black should simply have sidestepped with the king. He is now lost.} 29. hxg5+ Rxg5 30. Rxg5 Kxg5 31. Bc1+ Kf6 32. b5 {Better is 32. Bd2, putting the bishop in play, but this is fine.} cxb5 33. Bxb7 h4 34. Bc6 {Bd2 was better. The White pieces need to activate.} a6 35. Bb7 h3 {The black pawn begins to pose a bit of a threat.} 36. Bxa6 {Bd2 was sorely needed, with Ke2 and Rh1 to follow to block the pawn.} b4 {36…Nc5! to stop the bishop from returning to b7 and stopping the pawn.} 37. Bb5 {37. Bb7!} Nc3 38. Bc6 h2 39. a3 {39. Kd2 would only prolong the misery. Black now has a forced mate! Quiz time!} Rh4 {Black had 39…h1Q 40. Bxh1 Rxh1 41. Kd2 Rd1#. Instead, he missed it, and Ruy Lopez timed out. 0-1.}
Lastly, since I’m on the subject of names, I’ll feature a game in the next blog from anyone who tells me the answer to this question:
What has been the most recent occurrence of a rated game being played between two players surnamed ‘White’ and ‘Black’ in whatever language, where ‘White’ plays White and ‘Black’ plays Black? Anyone who beats my record ( 10:00 Feb 12 2015 ) is eligible. I’ll select a game of the person who gives me the most recent game from the eligible submissions. The deadline is 7:00 EST on August 10, 2015.
