DivGradCurl & Skeeter Avoid ... (Blitz Game)

[Event "ICS unrated blitz match"]
[Site "freechess.org"]
[Date "2010.09.23"]
[Round "-"]
[White "paulbuchman"]
[Black "GuestCVJG"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2074"]
[BlackElo "0"]
[TimeControl "180"]

1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 {After 2. ... Nf6 3.e4 with a Blackmar-Diemer or Hubsch} c6 {Blast it! A Caro-Kann} 3.e4 {OK ... He takes on e4 and I play 4.f3 or 4.Bc4 and try to get back into a Blackmar-Diemer.} e6 {D'oh ... Foiled again} 4.e5 {Transposing to some kind of crazy French advance.} f5 {Aiming for a totally blocked game} 5.exf6 {I'm in no mood for a slow struggle! Let's rumble!} Nxf6 6.Bd3 {I may even toss the g pawn to g4 next!} g6 {Closing my tricks on the e8-h5 diagonal. I'll get it open.} 7.h4 Bg7 8.Bg5 {To play h5. I'm going for the quick knockout. Not 8. ... h6 9.Bxg6+ for black so ... } Nbd7 9.h5 Kf7 10.Nf3 {Idea Ne5+ and if Nxe5 dxe5 wins a piece} Qe8 11.h6 {To tangle black up and deny his king f8} Bf8 12.Ne5+ Nxe5 13.dxe5 Nd7 14.Qf3+ Kg8 15.Qg3 {defending e5 ... I just need to try to get one of my rooks to f4 now.} Nb6 16.O-O-O Bc5 17.Bf6 {If you insist} Be7 18.Bxh8 Kxh8 19.Ne2 {Activating the only inactive piece} Qd8
20.Nf4 {20. ... Bg5!? 21.Kb1} Qe8 21.Bxg6 hxg6 22.Nxg6+ {Black doesn't have time to activate his pieces.} Kh7 23.Nxe7 Qxe7 24.Rd4 {Preparing Rg4 and Rg7} Bd7 25.Rg4 Kh8 {The queen can't stray too far. For instance, 25. ... Qb4 26.Rg7+ Kh8 27.Rh7+ Kxh7 28.Qg7 Mate} 26.Rg7 {Harassing the queen and preparing the next shot} Qf8 {Again preventing Rh7+!} 27.Qg6 {Threat Qh7 Mate} Qg8 {Defending h7} 28.Qf6 {! 28.Rxg8+ Rxg8 is harder to mate. After 28.Qf6, the idea is to take on g8 with DOUBLE check, make the king recapture, and mate on g7.} Rf8 29.Rxg8+ Kh7 30.Qg7#
{GuestCVJG checkmated} 1-0

[Event "ICS Unrated blitz match"]
[Site "freechess.org"]
[Date "2010.09.24"]
[Round "-"]
[White "Guest"]
[Black "paulbuchman"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "0"]
[BlackElo "2074"]
[TimeControl "180"]

1.e4 e5 {It's good enough for Lasker,Capablanca, and Karpov, so it's good enough for me.} 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 {Nge7 is worth a dab every now and then. Nd4 is a nice alternative if you want the other guy to start thinking on move 4.} 4.Ba4 {There is always a moment of dread here. Will white play Ba4 and make the game sharp or play Bxc6 and make it a queenless game? Neither is necessarily good or bad, but they lead to two very different types of game.} Nf6 5.O-O Be7 {Nxe4 tends to resolve the central tension fairly early.} 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O {Marshall anyone?} 8.c3 {8.a4! also works. I read that in all of Kasparov's Ruys he never once played into the Marshall Gambit.} d5 {Marshall ingenious shot at the iniative} 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 {Accepted} c6 {Marshall's refinement on 11. ... Nf6 from his first big game against Capablanca ... Look up the game. Capablanca refuted Marshall's prepared analysis quite brilliantly.} 12.d4 Bd6 13.Re1 Qh4 {Gambit play requires constant threats, although the Marshall is of a slower nature than some.} 14.g3 Qh3 {Preparing light square attack possibilities ... Also the king can't be too comfortable with that dreadful lady breathing down his neck} 15.Be3 Bg4 16.Qd3 {! Saves the lady and prepares to meet Bf3 with Qf1} Rae8 {More activity ... The other rook usually comes in via f6 after f5.} 17.Qf1 Qh5 {No trades a pawn down ... Also, black needs the queen for attacking chances} 18.Nd2 Kh8 {I was out of book here, although it goes much longer. I thought I remembered f5 as a choice or Kh8. The idea of Kh8 is to free up the knight to move after f5. f5 immediately may be best.} 19.Bxd5 {Unnecessary at this point} cxd5 20.f4 {I'm not so sure about this. Black does in fact usually play f5 and try to slip in f4. Sometimes black also sacs a piece on f4. This prevents most of that, but I am not so sure that it's best immediately.}
Re7 {Re6 is more flexible. I was worried about f5 by white, but it can't be played right away.} 21.Qf2 Rfe8 {Abandoning the f5 idea} 22.Nf1 Bh3 {Attempting to overwork the white pieces. White needs to find something constructive to do.} 23.a4 {This just doesn't quite work. The previous black move put a good seal on this.} bxa4 {!} 24.Rxa4 {Falling in head first} Bxf1 {! ... Only the king can recapture if white wants to keep e3 protected.} 25.Kxf1 Rxe3 {! starting a nice combination} 26.Qxe3 {?? ... 26.Rxe3 was the real test. This is the point where I got lucky. 26. ... Qd1+ loses to 27.Qe1! which puts two attackers on e8. I saw this during the game, but I wasn't sure what to do. This hidden resource almost makes all the previous play unsound. Luckily, there is 26. ... Rxe3! 27.Rxa6! Re8 28.Rxd6 h6. Although white is two pawns up here, there is no good way to meet the threat of Qd1 and Re2. 29.Qd2 for instance, covering d1, allows Qf3+.} Rxe3 27.Rxe3 Qd1+ {Scooping up the rook on a4, which defends e8 from mate ... White Resigns}

[Event "ICS unrated blitz match"]
[Site "freechess.org"]
[Date "2010.09.29"]
[Round "-"]
[White "1700"]
[Black "paulbuchman"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1700"]
[BlackElo "2074"]
[TimeControl "180"]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nd4 {Even Bird himself said the only virtue of this move was to leave the books. That was in the 1800's!} 4.Nxd4 exd4 5.c3 {a mistake already} Qg5 {forking g2 and b5 and forcing white's response} 6.Bf1 Bc5 {6. ... d3 looks like it could cause a little trouble, but 7.Qf3 may do the trick.} 7.d3 Qf6 {This saves the queen and prepares a sneaky attack on f2 after dxc3.}
8.cxd4 Bxd4 {attacks b2 and f2} 9.Qe2 {defends both} Ne7 {played not only to castle but to blast open the position with d5} 10.g3 d5 {White is playing very slowly, so black grabs his shot at the iniative. Ideas of Bg4 and a capture on f2 are beginning to come to mind.} 11.Bg2 {11.exd5 0-0 before Bg4 ... This gives him a chance to put the bishop on g2 as a target.} Bg4 {Rapid development with a purpose} 12.f3 {12.Qxg4 Qxf2+ and Qxg2 with some nice threats ... 12.f3 avoids this but opens the d4 bishop's diagonal, making it impossible to castle.} Bd7 {or 12. ... Be6 ... I chose d7 to keep the e file free for a rook.} 13.Bf4 {intending e5, I suppose} Bxb2 14.e5 {almost wins a piece but ...} Qb6 {cover queen and b2 ... The rook on a1 will fall, so White Resigned}
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