The RHP Games Explorer

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

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

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

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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.}