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The player of the Black pieces in this game asked in the Chess forum for tips as to how he might improve his play. It occurred to me that a look at one his games might yield areas that could be worked upon. This encounter proved rather interesting... Although I hope to show some of the technical elements all beginners learn, the more advanced reader might find herein rather more than they expect... |
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1. d4
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Now, much of what follows will be easy to understand, but a good deal will, I think, be challenging to more advanced players as well. Yes, there are mistakes here, but that's only to be expected. But this game has some surprising twists in store. |
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1... d5 2. f4
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Unusual, but not bad. It is one way of developing a Stonewall formation (with e3 and c3 to come). Black throws in a distraction. |
1 comment
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2... Bg4
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OK, but the bishop can be knocked about here. |

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3. h3 Bf5 4. g4 Be4
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Easliy repulsed. Black has spent 3 moves - what we call tempi - on this bishop out of the 4 played. Better would have been to bring out the knights, and having the more pieces in play. Having said that, it's not really clear that White has made the best use of the time given him by Black. |
1 comment
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5. Nf3
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Although this leaves the knight pinned against the rook, it is of fairly minor inconvenience to White - hardly worth the time taken to set it up, really... |
2 comments
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5... Qd6
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The purpose of this move is unclear, as it isn't easy to see what points in White's camp are sufficiently vulnerable to justify this sortie. Possibly ...Nf6 or ...Nc6 was called for. On the other hand Black might have contemplated exchanging on f3. Normally you wouldn't like that, as quite a bit of time has been invested in the bishop. There again, White would be left with a rather messed up K-side. |
2 comments
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6. Nbd2
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Blocks the protection of the pawn at f4. Deliberate - or an oversight? Probably 6.Nc3 was the better choice, keeping the pawn protected, whilst still threatening to exchange N for B on e4. |
1 comment
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6... Qxf4
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(!?) It is usually very risky for the Q to grab a pawn in the opening, and so it is here, as will be discovered.
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7. e3
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(?!) Right idea in principle, but the pawn is lacking in protection. Instead 7.Nxe4 Qxe4 8.e3 kept the Black Q out, and White's edge in development (activity of pieces, number of pieces in play) is roughly worth the pawn deficit. |
1 comment
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7... Qxe3+
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Obvious, and quite good. But 7...Qg3+, displacing the White King and keeping it in the centre, was also worth a look. Sometimes there's more than one good move in a position. |
1 comment
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8. Be2 e6
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(?) Now this mistake turns out to be very serious. An alert Black would be getting pretty concerned about what squares are available to his Queen, especially as there happens to be a White bishop staring down the diagonal that is the Queen's only escape route (c1-h6). Probably ...Bg6 is already indicated, to allow the Queen to retire down the e-file if required. Black's early raids have netted two pawns. The trick is to elude the constabulary and make off with the loot. |

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9. Nxe4
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(!!) Well chosen, White! A very fine move. In the circumstances, one might have chosen instead to unmask the battery by 9.Nc4(?) or 9.Nb3 (?!) winning the Queen! But the situation is not quite so simple. After 9.Nb3, Black can bravely contain the damage by 9...Bxf3! 10.Bxe3 Bxh1. With Rook, Knight and 2 Pawns Black will have gained more in value than the Queen lost. It has to be admitted that White's more active pieces will keep him well in the game. However, with the move played, White stands to gain more. Much more... |
3 comments
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9... Qxe4 10. Ng5
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Right notion, but an oversight in the execution, forgetting that the knight was pinned against the rook. Now, here's a thing that happens a lot in this game. Both sides are trying to play chess. This isn't random stuff. But in planning ahead (White is after that importunate Queen), both sides are apt to forget about what is happening immediately. This knight move uncovers the vulnerable Rook at h1. Note that White didn't try the desirable 10.Bd3 as it was an illegal move (the bishop is pinned against the King)! The right move was 10.0-0! which kept alive both threats (Bd3 and Ng5) by unpinning both pieces at once. So: 10.0-0 Qg6 11.Ne5 Qf6 (cutting his losses) 12.Rxf6 winning Queen for Rook. |

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10... Qxh1+
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After this, Black is 'winning'. Now, in fact he doesn't win. So how could this move be 'winning'? The reason is that from here, with reasonable (note that I don't say 'best') play, Black should win comfortably. But we all know that slippery gag about the cup and the lip, don't we? The game see-saws violently over the remainder of its course. |

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11. Kd2
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OK, but 11.Bf1 was probably a better defence. See next note. |

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11... Qg2
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Again OK, in that it doesn't hurt Black's advantage, but now was an excellent moment to exchange Queens. Why? At this point, Black is a clear Rook and 2 Pawns ahead - a massive advantage. Exchanging Queens would have considerably reduced the material in the board, whilst at the same time preserving Black's leading margin. This reduction in material is called 'simplifying', a notion well worth bearing in mind. In relative terms, this margin will have increased in value. Not only that, it means White would have had no Queen with which to come up with some sort of counter-attack. Not that the lack of a Queen was to deprive Black of chances later in the game... |
1 comment
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12. Qf1
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(?) Really, in view of what we have learned from my previous note, White ought not to have offered the Queen exchange, here... |

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12... Qe4
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(??) ...and Black ought to have grabbed the opportunity with both hands. He must simply have forgotten about the knight on g5, but he certainly overlooked the sudden accumulation of pressure against f7. There's some amazing things lurking in this position! |

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13. Nxe4
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(?) So obvious, White probably didn't think twice about it. But it's not the best - not even close! After this White gets a useful, but moderate advantage. Instead, he could have turned the tables more completely by 13.Qxf7+!! Kd8 14.Qxf8+!! ... (14.Nxe6 forces Black to give up the queen, but the resulting material advantage to White amounts to about 1 pawn's equivalent. He can do better than that!) 14...Kd7 15.Nxe4 dxe4 16.Qxg7+ and the massacre isn't over just yet! |
2 comments
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13... Bb4+
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(?) It is always useful to look around for 'in-between' moves like this (zwischenzug) , but here it merely means that Black isn't going to get the knight back after all. 13...dxe4 had to be played. |

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