1.Nf3 {I usually play 1.e4 but I was feeling clever} 1...d5 2.d4 e6 3.c4 Nf6 4.e3 {And this is why I usually play 1.e4. When playing the Queen's Gambit I invariably play e3 before getting my dark squared bishop outside my pawn chain. It's like a mental block or something. Embarrassing, I know.} 4...Be7 5.Nc3 0-0 6.Bd3 dxc4 7.Bxc4 a6 8.0-0 b5 9.Bd3 Bb7 10.a3 c5 11.dxc5 Bxc5 12.b4 Bb6 13.Bb2 Nbd7 14.e4 Qe7 15.Qd2 {I've lost all trace of an opening advantage and I am painfully aware of it. The position is even enough... almost symmetrical. I decided to spice things up with a ridiculous queen tour.} 15...Rfd8 16.Qg5 h6 17.Qh4 Nf8 {! This is the move I missed. Sometimes I still don't properly consider moving knights backwards, especially to the 8th rank, as it's so rare. Now I'm in a heap of trouble. My queen is going to get knocked around like Rocky for the next couple moves} 18.Rad1 {Apparently this is worse than just moving the bishop. I don't remember if I realized this or not. Probably not as Rd8 seems natural and at this point I was frustrated/not spending a lot of time on this game.} 18...Ng6 19.Qg3 Bc7 20.e5 Nh5 21.Qg4 Bxf3 22.Qxf3 Nxe5 23.Qe3 Nxd3 24.Rxd3 Rxd3 25.Qxd3 Rd8 26.Qf3 Nf4 27.Qg4 Nd3 28.Nd5 {At this point I decided I was lost. So why not go out in a blaze of complications?} 28...Bxh2+ 29.Kxh2 Qg5 {? This is a serious error. In my opponents rush to simplify and win the easy endgame he bumps queens without considering the forced consequences.} 30.Qxg5 {My queen collapses with exhaustion after what she's been through} hxg5 31.Ne7+ {My pieces live!} 31...Kf8 32.Nc6 Rc8 33.Na7 Rc7 {34.Bd4 with a winning endgame follows}
My opponent was a solid player, he only made 1 serious mistake this game, but all of us fall prey to "cashing in too soon" every now and then.
It may be similar, but to me they are not even close. Mine was a game of checkmate, yours was a game of advantage. It takes someone with a much deeper understanding of chess than I to understand such a distant end game.
Originally posted by Eladar It may be similar, but to me they are not even close. Mine was a game of checkmate, yours was a game of advantage. It takes someone with a much deeper understanding of chess than I to understand such a distant end game.
A bishop for 2 pawns is a winning endgame for most I would think. Am I wrong? Sure it'll take a while to untangle and get the pieces to reasonable squares... but an extra piece is an extra piece, especially with so little material left on the board.
Originally posted by Habeascorp Not sure of a really good alternative to Qg5 as otherwise losing the queen or being mated?
Qf8 risks Nf6, kh8. the bishop could then move (eg a1) and the knight h5 the following move.
Wise Sensei once said "check all checks". Pretty sure only move is 29...Qd6+ followed by 30...Nxb2 where I lose my extra piece and black remains 2 pawns to the good. Haven't Fritzed it though so maybe there're other ways. Those damn machines and their tactics!
FEN
3r2k1/4qpp1/p3p2p/1p1N4/1P4Q1/P2n4/1B3PPK/5R2 b - - 0 29
Yeah, I think Qd6 was the move at a cursory glance.
I wonder if Black was playing too stereotyped with his c5 break. It seems to me he freed your dark square bishop too readily without compensation- but idk I would have to think on it and I have way too many games going currently to spend that level of time on it. 🙂
My chess lesson for the day
26 Sep '10 20:512 edits
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