The gauntlet...1. f4

I'm refreshed from vacation and looking for a specific set of games.

I've been playing 1. f4 for a quite awhile now and think I'm as good as can get with it. (at least for my current knowledge) So I am throwing down the gauntlet.

Challenge: I want 12 games. I play white. I will play 1.f4 in all of them.
You: Rating 1350-1550 (+-100 my rating) other offers considered.
Timebank: 1/7 preferred, but I'll take almost anything with at least a timebank. (no 1/0's, I'm not looking to win/lose any games by timeout)

I think I should be able to win/draw 9/12 ( 75% ). If I do, then I'm going to pick a new opening as white to play/work-on exclusively. If not, well I probably will do that anyways.

I'll post the links to all the games here, in case anybody cares.

If you want to play, send me a challenge (I've updated my challenge settings accordingly)

Tim

Note, yes this could go in the opponents forum, but I think the people I'd rather play, probably read this forum more often.

The Bird is the Word.

Thanks buddy2, I guess I should have put that in my post somewhere.

For those wondering.. 1.f4 is called Bird's Opening.

So any takers....I got my game count low, and am going through RHP withdrawl....

Edit: Perhaps I'll just put a bunch of open invites out there...

Originally posted by tmetzler
I'm refreshed from vacation and looking for a specific set of games.

I've been playing 1. f4 for a quite awhile now and think I'm as good as can get with it. (at least for my current knowledge) So I am throwing down the gauntlet.

Challenge: I want 12 games. I play white. I will play 1.f4 in all of them.
You: Rating 1350-1550 (+-100 my rating ...[text shortened]... e opponents forum, but I think the people I'd rather play, probably read this forum more often.

I don't get it. You are going to switch if you get a great record with the Bird? Why not just move up the ratings of the peeps you play with it. Then you will get crushed, and you will get even better with it. It makes no sense to be winning and then switch!

Originally posted by !~TONY~!
It makes no sense to be winning and then switch!

It does make sense if I want to "grow" as a player and increase my repertoire.

I've been playing the bird almost exclusively for almost a year on RHP 200+ games. I thought that playing/learning a different opening would increase my overall knowledge of the game. You disagree?

Originally posted by tmetzler
It does make sense if I want to "grow" as a player and increase my repertoire.

I've been playing the bird almost exclusively for almost a year on RHP 200+ games. I thought that playing/learning a different opening would increase my overall knowledge of the game. You disagree?

I guess you're right. My statement was pretty hypocritical. If you look through all my games you will see that I play almost ever opening imaginable. Hehehe...

The first of twelve completed. A win. only 11 more to go. Game 924770.

I think the key/gutsy play by me was leaving the rook, on that c5 square, knowing he would come at with his knight around move 17/18.
I just figured that it was worth trading that rook for his knight.

any comments and critiquing, are appreciated.

Tim

The second comleted Game 924753. A loss for me. My opponents move number 17 was I think the turning point. Didn't see that coming at all. I thought I could regain the edge, with the threatened mate he had to defend against. But alas, I go down..

1-0-1...

Game #3 and another WIN. 2-0-1, now. Game 924755

I waited to for my opponent to castle kingside and had setup a nice little tactic that enabled me to win the knight. Seeing as I've played him many times, I decided to play the "safe" way and just trade down with my advantage. Ravello definitely made it difficult.

Question for those better educated than myself.
Around move 48. I decided to go for the Queen vs. Rook +3pawns endgame. I could have also gone for the rook vs. 3 pawns endgame. Did I make a "bad" decision going with the former? Would it have been better to go the other way?

Tim

Game #4, Game 924767 A Draw...
Perhaps a good example of HOW NOT TO PLAY, by taking the e5 pawn. If I was my opponent I don't think I would have offered the draw, but I sure wasn't going to pass up the opportunity.

2-1-1...and the train rolls on....

I like the From Gambit. But against these other responses are you plaining book moves? I always though in the Bird white puts his light squared bishop on e2 and plays b3 and Bb2 right away. We should get Living Legend in here. He is a big fan,

Originally posted by tmetzler
The first of twelve completed. A win. only 11 more to go. Game 924770.

I think the key/gutsy play by me was leaving the rook, on that c5 square, knowing he would come at with his knight around move 17/18.
I just figured that it was worth trading that rook for his knight.

any comments and critiquing, are appreciated.

Tim

A knight would quite possibly be stronger than a rook in that kind of position. But I think the real turning point was on 20. ... Bxe5 allowing you to open up the kingside. I would have preferred 20. ... a5 and get the pressure on the queenside rolling grabbing space, where the loss of the exchange would be more telling.

Originally posted by !~TONY~!
I like the From Gambit. But against these other responses are you plaining book moves? I always though in the Bird white puts his light squared bishop on e2 and plays b3 and Bb2 right away. We should get Living Legend in here. He is a big fan,

No book moves, as I haven't ever read any opening books. I've just played this a lot and have tried to figure out what works.

I prefer to use my light bishop early. Pin the on c6, or generally try to use it to control the queen side where I find I like to attack diagonally against my usually king-side castled opponent.
Downside to not putting it on the e2 square. My opponents will quite often trade off their light bishop for my knight on g3, well that just brings my protecting queen up for mating tactics. Espcially if I can open up the f-file for my rook.

Tim

I think you haven't mastered anything unless you play the book moves. Mastery comes from knowing the book moves and THEN knowing how to play the positions that arise afterward.

Originally posted by !~TONY~!
I think you haven't mastered anything unless you play the book moves. Mastery comes from knowing the book moves and THEN knowing how to play the positions that arise afterward.

Tony,
That is the second time you have posted something almost depressingly unimaginative in this thread. Are you planning on teaching physics, or using it?

First, I never claimed to have “mastered” this opening. I said that I felt that “I'm as good as can get with it”, given the current state of my chess knowledge. That is not to say that I am unbeatable; in fact I have already linked to my first loss during this self-challenge -- to a player rated about 300points higher than me. I do not think using “book” moves would have made much of a difference there.

Second. Do not books have many different variations on openings? Implying that there are many different ways to play almost ALL openings? I would argue that most of my variations on this opening do not stray far from “the book”, even though I haven’t read any books. I would argue that discovering/figuring-out the book openings is not that hard – if you spend time analyzing the moves. I would ASSume that most book openings are purely logical. “Oh, I need to do THIS first, before I do that.” I’ve said that to myself many times while figuring out what to do…

Third. I would argue that I know this opening BETTER, having not read any books on it. Because I have had to THINK and figure out WHY and WHEN I need to move which piece. I guess I just treat the “opening” the same as I do the “middle-game”. I try to figure out what I need to move and in what order to get the best advantage, and not weaken myself at the same time.

This is purely an exercise in testing myself and bettering myself as a chess player. I’m not trying to promote a philosophy here…

Merrily giving my opponents “The Bird”,

tmetzler


P.S. Tony, how about explaining how my moves are inferior? That would be appreciated.