tMetzler - 2

[Event "Challenge"]
[Site "http://www.timeforchess.com"]
[Date "2005.02.03"]
[Round "?"]
[White "tmetzler"]
[Black "DeepThought"]
[Result "0-1"]
[GameId "933188"]

1. f4 d5
The Bird again eh? Ok. These positions I'll be a little more familiar with.

2. e3 Nb8-c6
E3 opens up the diagonal for your light bishop, defends d4 and your f4 pawn. Nc6 from black goes into unfamiliar territory for me. I don't think black should be blocking in his c-pawn this early, but almost anything is playable as long as it doesn't cause tactical problems.

3. Bf1-b5 Bc8-d7
Bb5 is good. You develop a piece and you find a tactic, pinning the c6 knight. You developed and attacked with one move.

Black responds by blocking the pin.

4. Ng1-f3 Ng8-f6
Developing the kingside knights. White's f3 knight attacks e5, black's f6 knight attacks e4.

At this point in the game you have taken control of the dark squares in the center. That's one of the advantages created by the Bird. Black has taken control of the light squares in the center.

5. b3 e6
b3 planning a fianchetto with your dark squared bishop, giving you even more control of the dark squares and pointing your bishop at the black kingside.


6. Bc1-b2 Bf8-d6
You started a plan and finished a plan. Your dark squared bishop takes a good diagonal and you help develop your queenside.

Your development is much better in this game than the last one with Cheshire Cat.

The light squares in your camp are a little weak, but that's because your development has focused on controlling dark squares, which you've accomplished. But you can't control everything. 🙂 So far your position looks solid.

7. O-O O-O
Continuing development.


8. Bb5-d3 Rf8-e8
I'm not sure about your Bd3 here. You're moving the bishop again and you're blocking your d-pawn. I like d3 or even Nc3 here
instead. Blocking in your d-pawn is rarely a good thing especially when you move a bishop twice this early to do it. I'd rather see you continue development or advance and grab a little more space in the center. D3 would have helped defend the light squares in your camp also. Your move does aim your bishop at the black kingside though. Black plays Re8 and develops the rook to a center file.

9. Nf3-e5 Nc6-e7
Ne5 looks good. It also makes your Bd3 look better. You've attacked black's d7 bishop and your knight is very annoying for black on the e5 square. Black can't take your knight because of the pawn fork that comes when you recapture. That loses a

piece for black. Black's response doesn't look good to me though. I assume black played this to help defend f5 and keep you from advancing your f-pawn.

10. a4 c5
I don't know what a4 accomplishes here for you. It prevents black from playing b5, but I don't see any reason for black to play b5. You seem to be playing on both sides of the board and not the center. Your pawns point towards the black kingside and so do most of your pieces. Advancing your a-pawn gives you more space and control over the light squares on your queenside, but that's the only plus. I feel you should be trying to advance or even begin attacking on the kingside at this
point. If your plan was to play on the queenside you could have played c4 and attacked on the queenside and attacked black's
center at the same time.

Black gains space on the queenside, where his pawns are pointing, and plays on the only part of the board that isn't blocked for him.


11. Rf1-f3 Qd8-c7
Rf3 doesn't tie in with your last move of a4. Now your f3 rook is set to slide over to the g or h files and attack the black kingside, but you would have been better served to play this move earlier instead of a4. Your pieces and pawns are still set to advance on the kingside. If that's your plan you should stick with it. Don't get distracted and make moves that don't help your position unless tactics dictate that you have to.

Black continues development on the queenside.


12. c4 d4
I like c4, despite the fact that you're playing back on the other side of the board again. eeerrr! 🙂 C4 is aggressive and frees up the c2 square for your queen and the c3 square for your queenside knight. It also attacks the center. The downside is that it leaves a big hole on b4. This goes back to your a4 move. If you hadn't played a4 you could still defend b4 with a pawn. Black now has a nice square for a knight on b4.

Black responds by striking right back in the center with d4.


13. exd4 cxd4
The exchange in the center leaves black with two center pawns, but you can recapture the black d-pawn.


14. Ne5xd7 Nf6xd7
You capture black's light-squared bishop here. With the center opening up having the two bishops is good for you. Black recaptures with his knight, a good move.

15. Rf3-h3 h6
Now you're attacking the black h-pawn with a one move threat. If black misses this threat he's in trouble, but he doesn't miss it. So you end up playing back on the kingside again. Your f-pawn is now undefended due to the rook on h3. Keep an eye on undefended material. It ALWAYS leads to tactics. Black plays h6 and stops the threat on the h-file.

16. g3 Ne7-c6
g3 props up your f-pawn, but it locks your h3 rook on the kingside. It also gives black time to play Nc6 which is a very strong move. The knight on c6 defends the advanced black d-pawn, which cuts the board in half and blocks your dark-squared bishop, and the c6 knight can now hop into the hole on b4 whenever he wants.


17. Bd3-e4 Bd6-c5
Be4 looks good. You're threatening to remove the defender (the c6 knight) of the black d-pawn and then capture the pawn.

Black defends his d-pawn twice with Bc5.

All of this is still tied to your a4 move on move #10. If your a-pawn were still on a2 you could play a3 and b4 and fight for control of the dark squares on your queenside.

18. d3 e5
Black begins an attack on your f-pawn and defends his d-pawn with e5.

19. Bb2-c1 Nd7-f6
Ok, I was wrong. Black ignores your f-pawn for now and goes after your bishop. Your move of Bc1 here props up your f-pawn, but now your queenside is back to it's original state. Your queen, b1 knight, and a1 rook haven't moved yet. Your c1 bishop is now back on it's original starting square.

20. Qd1-f3 Nf6xe4
Qf3 doesn't help you and allows black to trade off your bishop for knight. The recapture by your d-pawn will be forced and black will end up with a passed d-pawn of his own after the exchange. Instead of Qf3 you could have traded bishop for knight by capturing the c6 knight and removing all of the threats on your queenside from that piece. You also could have retreated the bishop to g2 and kept it on a good diagonal. Keeping the two bishops is probably still best at this point.

Black takes your bishop.


21. dxe4 Ra8d8
Your recapture is forced and black plays a rook to the d-file supporting his new, passed d-pawn.

Positionally this game looks bad for you here. The passed black d-pawn is well defended, you still have a hole on b4, your queenside pieces are not developed, black's king is perfectly safe while yours has a lot of open air around him, black's c5 bishop is VERY strong, and your h3 rook is locked out of the game. In short, your pieces aren't working together. They're scattered about without any coordination. All of this goes back to your earlier moves where you were bouncing back and forth between playing on the queenside and kingside on every other move.


22. f5 Qc7-d6
F5 looks good, but I really don't see how you can get any kind of attack or initiative going here since black can just keep pushing and attacking in the center or the queenside. F5 atleast opens the diagonal for your bishop and gives you some attacking chances on the kingside. Maybe even a sacrifice there to bust up black's pawns and run his king around. I'm glad to see you're still thinking about threats and attacking. Black plays Qd6, supporting his d-pawn and protecting his h-pawn from a sac by you. A bishop sac at h6 won't work for you here, but it looks scary because of your h3 rook and your queen being
aimed at the black kingside.

23. Kg1-g2 Nc6-b4
Kg2 gets your king off of the black bishop's diagonal. Black puts a knight on the weak b4 square. That knight will be a royal pest there.

24. Qf3-g4 Nb4-c2
Qg4! Darn right! Now you're being aggressive. You should have played with this kind of aggression much earlier on the black kingside and your attack would have had more sting. I really like Qg4. Black's kingside is getting shaky and he'll have to respond to the pin on his g pawn should you sac the rook on h6. I don't like black's response here. Black plays Nc2 and makes a one move threat against your a1 rook. That a1 rook of yours is useless. You haven't even moved it yet?! At this point I'd gladly trade that "fence post" for black's very strong knight.

25. Rh3xh6 Qd6d7
Rxh6! Again a good aggressive move. You win a pawn and black's king is in trouble. Now your threats are obvious. Black plays a tricky little defensive move though with Qd7. I think most people would have played f6 or Qf8 there. Black deserves credit for Qd7, that's just a good move. Now your f-pawn can't advance to f6 because your queen would be hanging. Ouch.

#26. See next post...

26. Kg2-h3 Nc2xa1
Kh3 is a blunder. Ra2 with a plan of bringing the rook to d2 or even over to the kingside to help in your attack is much better. I'm not sure why you played Kh3? Perhaps worried about a knight fork on your king and queen, or a knight check? I don't see any threats due to your dark squared bishop controlling the squares where the black knight could possibly go. I think you just overlooked that and saw some "ghosts" that didn't really exist. Black captures your rook. That's no big
loss right now, but it's gonna really hurt later. Now your b3 pawn is under attack from the knight.

27. Rh6-h4 Bc5-e7
And now the wheels come off the cart. You have to find a way to continue attacking and throwing more pieces into your kingside attack. You're down material so playing defense won't work. Bg5 would have been better here. Black counters by attacking your rook. I assume your plan was to place the bishop on h6 in front of the rook and play for checkmate, but it's too slow and it gives black time to mount several different defenses. In these types of tactical situations you MUST keep the initiative and make your opponent play defense on every move.

28. Bc1-h6 Be7-f6
Bh6 is a good move. That was your plan and you followed through with it. You're threatening mate in one so black has to respond. Black plays the best defensive move. One little slip from black here and you could win this game.


29. Nb1-d2 Kg8-f8
Nd2 is good. It blocks the passed pawn and defends your b-pawn. Black gets his king off of the horrible g-file and starts running. That's a good move. Now your bishop on g6 is hanging and the black king can flee to the center for cover.

30. Bh6-g5 Bf6xg5
Another strong aggressive move. This cramps black even more and pins the bishop to the black rook. Black captures your bishop, but ...d3 was better. Black is trading off pieces and trying to eliminate checkmate threats. There's nothing wrong with that, but it gives you the initiative again. The checkmate threats are still there and black is in trouble. Black captured the bishop because he didn't want you playing Bxf6 and opening up his kingside cover even more. But ...d3 gives him a big plus by pushing that advanced d-pawn down the board and forcing your knight to remain on d2. This is a tricky
position. I can't fault black for trading down here. He has a lead in material and you're attack on the kingside is scaring him, so he trades down

31. Qg4xg5 f6
your recapture threatens checkmate in a couple of ways. ...g6 would be very bad here for black though it looks tempting to play at first glance. Black only has two moves, ...f6 or ...Kg8. ...Kg8 puts the king back on that horrible g-file but he's safe there. ...f6 attacks your queen and solidifies black's pawns in front of his king.

32. Qg5-h5 Kf8e7
Qh5 looking to play Qh8+ and then nab the black g-pawn with check again after the king moves out of check. Rh8+ right away though was better. You're down material and you have a very aggressive attack going. You can't afford too many "set up" type moves. Rh8+ forces Ke7. (Rh8+ ...Kf7 looks worse for black) This lets you play Qxg7+ and keep attacking and nab the g-pawn.

Black moves his king to the center and runs away from all of the complications on his kingside.


33. Qh5-d1 Na1xb3
Qd1 attacking the undefended knight and trapping it. This move is fine. Since the black king stepped to e7 I can't see a way for you to continue the checkmate threats. Trapping the knight at least gives you some material back. Black plays a good move. He's gonna lose the knight anyway so he may as well take a pawn before it goes. It opens the b-file for you, but it weakens your a-pawn and since you only have one rook, and that's still on h4, your rook can't take advantage of the open

b-file.

34. Qd1xb3 Re8h8
Your best move. Black appears to be happy to trade down with Rh8. I don't see anything better for black.

35. Qb3-b4+ Ke7-f7


36. c5 Rh8xh4
you're avoiding trading down, which is fine, but your rook is still pinned to your king. Black trades off your last rook giving him an advantage in the endgame. But endgames with queens on the board are usually horribly complicated. You have doubled pawns now on the h-file and you're down the exchange (rook for knight). Black still has a passed d-pawn that you have to deal with. With queens still on the board your pawn structure will be a big liability. Black's pawns are in very good
shape.

37. gxh4 g6

38. Qb4-c4 Kf7g7

39. Kh3-g4 gxf5
Black keeps trading down. I'm sorry to say this, but I don't have any good ideas for you here.


40. exf5 Kg7-h7

41. a5 Rd8-g8
This sealed your fate. Almost any move on the board was better than a5. There is no hope of you advancing that a-pawn and doing anything positive with it. Your knight is stuck blockading the black d-pawn and your queen is defending your a and c-pawns.

42. Kg4-f3 Qd7xf5
It's over. Black has too many threats to list. Any move you make is bad at this stage of the game.


43. Kf3-e2 Rg8-g2

44. Ke2-d1 Kh7-h6

45. c6 Rg2-g1

46. Kd1-e2 d3

47. Qc4xd3 Rg1g2

48. Ke2-e3 Qf5-f4

0-1

Summary: You did well in the opening. You had an opportunity after the opening to begin an advance on the kingside using your control of the dark squares. Development was again a problem though. Your queenside never did get rolling.

You need to pick a plan after the opening and stick with it. Even a bad plan is better than no plan at all. You made several moves in different areas of the board that didn't help coordinate your pieces. And you made pawn moves that created weakness in your camp. #10. a4 was especially bad. It not only created a hole on b4, but you didn't follow up a4 with anything.

I really liked your aggressive moves after you got into trouble though. Your kingside attack almost worked. If you had used that aggression and planning earlier in the middle game there's a very good chance your attack would have succeeded.

You seem to spot most tactics well, but positionally you lost your bishop pair again when you didn't have to. If your opponent gives you the two bishops hang on to them and create a position on the board that favors your bishops. Open up the board and give those bishops room to roam and attack! Also in the positional game you let your opponent create a passed pawn. You could have prevented that by not letting him capture your light-squared bishop which forced you to recapture. A passed pawn is a long term insurance policy that gives your opponent a winning endgame "most" of the time.

I hope that helps! As always other comments are welcome.

Wib, entertaining and helpful!

Thanks.
--tmetzler

9. Nf3-e5 Nc6-e7
Ne5 looks good. ... Black's response doesn't look good to me though. I assume black played this to help defend f5 and keep you from advancing your f-pawn.

24. Qf3-g4 Nb4-c2
Qg4! Darn right! ... I don't like black's response here. Black plays Nc2 and makes a one move threat against your a1 rook. That a1 rook of yours is useless. You haven't even moved it yet?! At this point I'd gladly trade that "fence post" for black's very strong knight.

Originally posted by DeepThought
9 .... Nc6-e7 was to allow 10. ... c5.

24 ... Nb4-c2
My reason for putting the knight there was to be able to play Ne3+ if the attack looked too strong.

Originally posted by wib
When you played the knight back to e7 though I didn't have any idea that you'd go with c5.