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ANNOTATED GAME
Activity vs. Aggression
bwaa (1768) vs. rcachero (1634)
Annotated by: bwaa
(1875)
Chess opening: English opening (A13)
bwaa (1768) vs. rcachero (1634)
Annotated by: bwaa
(1875)
Chess opening: English opening (A13)
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18... Bxd5 |
18...Nf6 would have been stronger; the text trades off Black's only good piece and lifts the WQ to a devastatingly powerful outpost on d5. | ||||
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19. Qxd5 Nf6 20. Qc6+ |
The correct move, winning a pawn after 20...Nd7 21.Qxa4 and putting tremendous pressure on a6. Black has only made one real mistake, but White has already won. Note how aggressive White's play *looks*, even though truly he is just making calm, precise moves with the goal of continuing to maximize his activity and compound his advantages. | ||||
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20... Ke7 |
? It often feels embarrassing somehow to move a piece back to the space it just came from, but here 20...Nd7 was really the only good move. This is Black's first really terrible single mistake of the game, but now White has a tactic to win another pawn and break open the BK's last lines of defense, and Black could resign right here. | ||||
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21. Nxe5 |
! White's first and only tactical shot of the game. Black cannot retake because of 21...dxe5?? 22.Qe6+ Kf8 23.Bc5+ and White will win the Queen and the game soon after. | ||||
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21... Re8 |
I think 21...Qc8 was better, freeing d8 for the King to retreat and looking for a chance to eliminate the thorny White pawn at f5. Black obviously wants to slip his King to f8 and back into the corner behind his Rook, but there's no reason that White should need to allow that. | ||||
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22. Bc4 |
Good moves continue to flow naturally from the position combined with White's goals. This Bishop was one of White's least active pieces, and he wants to prevent the BK from escaping the center. Now the Bishop is hugely active and White is suddenly threatening mate with 23.Ng6 (of course 22...dxe5?? is still not an option). | ||||
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22... Nd7 |
?? This is only Black's second really serious mistake, but it is sufficient. He needed ...Qc8 to vacate d8 for his King. Now White has a couple of choices on how to proceed--but it's over either way. There are at least two choices for White's 23rd move; both lead to mate in five. Try to find them before continuing on. | ||||
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23. Qd5 |
Also possible was the somewhat flashier 23.f6+! Kxf6 24.Qf3+ Kxe5 25.Bd4+ Kxd4 26.Qd5+ Kc3 27.Rfc1#, which I had looked at, but didn't see the full combination. This move was easier to find. | ||||
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23... Nxe5 24. Qe6+ Kf8 25. Qg8+ Ke7 26. Qxg7+ Nf7 27. Qxf7# |
I hope you find this game instructive. White never had to take risks or rely on tricks; he simply overwhelmed his opponent with consistently more-active forces, and the correct moves followed naturally. Thanks very much to rcachero for the game! Comments and ratings are appreciated; thanks for reading! | ||||
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