Annotated Game #340: Look for the counterattack

In this first-round tournament game, the saying "no pawn break, no plan" is proven once again, as I repeatedly fail to implement the thematic ...c5 break in a timely fashion in a Caro-Kann Classical. Once I do get it in, however, the momentum shifts and I end up missing some winning counterattacking chances, by blindly focusing on purely defensive moves only. After this experience, I got the Chessable course "Learn to Counterattack: Essential Guide to Active Defense", which is high on my list for when I get more time for studying.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Class A"] [Black "ChessAdmin"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "B18"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "157"] [GameId "2277549341290178"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. h4 h6 7. h5 Bh7 8. c3 {this was new to me, and is rarely played.} Nf6 $11 {after some thought, I saw no reason not to continue with Black's normal development.} 9. Bd3 Bxd3 10. Qxd3 e6 11. Nf3 Bd6 {it's good to look for chances in the Caro-Kann Classical to play this, rather than having the bishop more passively placed on e7, although here there is no material difference to the engine evaluation.} 12. Ne4 Nxe4 13. Qxe4 Nd7 {so far so good. Both sides are following standard development plans.} 14. Be3 Qc7 $6 {there is not enough of a point to it to place the queen on c7, although the Q+B battery looks nice. The main problem is that White can immediately reply with Qg4, which is annoying.} (14... Nf6 $11 {I was considering this, with the idea of going to g4 as a follow up, for several moves.}) (14... Qa5 $5) 15. O-O-O {my opponent is choosing to play it safe, perhaps, but also may be looking to enable a kingside pawn storm.} O-O-O {this is not optimal, but I was a little too afraid of "castling into it" on the kingside.} (15... Nf6 {followed by ...O-O is equal, according to the engine. Black would have play on the queenside with the ...c5 break and b7-b5 would also be possible. The defensive resource of ...Ng4 is also available, to block play on the g-file.}) 16. Kb1 Kb8 $6 {simply mimicing moves gives White a little too much play.} (16... Nf6 17. Qc2 c5 $11) 17. Nd2 $14 Nf6 {unfortunately played a little late, as now the queen has the nice f3 square for a retreat.} 18. Qf3 Nd5 {looking to exchange on e3 and get a BvN positional imbalance.} 19. Nc4 Nxe3 20. fxe3 {White still has a small edge, thanks to the active knight and my relative lack of scope for the bishop, other than the h2-b8 diagonal.} Rhf8 {I thought for a while here and decided it was better to play solidly. However, this is immediately contradicted on the next move.} (20... Rhe8 {it is better to line the rook up behind the e-pawn, with the idea of f7-f6 and e6-e5 to play in the center. No pawn break, no plan.}) 21. e4 {now I was afraid that White would be able to squeeze me with his central pawns.} f5 $6 {a bid for activity. Not a bad practical choice, perhaps, even if not the best.} (21... e5 {is preferred by the engine and would be a pawn break more consistent with my previous move choices, also being more solid.}) 22. Rhf1 Be7 {another long think here. I chose to preserve the bishop.} (22... c5 $5 {is the other main option.} 23. Nxd6 (23. e5 Be7 $14) 23... Rxd6 $11 {is fine for Black.}) 23. Ne5 $6 {the most obvious-looking move, heading for g6. There is a refutation which I did not find, however.} Bg5 $2 {this again preserves the bishop, but the cost is not worth it.} (23... c5 $1 24. Ng6 fxe4 $1 {an important intermediate move, with a double attack on the queen.} 25. Qxe4 Rxf1 26. Rxf1 cxd4 {the point at the end of the sequence. Now Black has re-achieved the balance.} 27. Nxe7 Qxe7 28. cxd4 a6 $11) 24. Qh3 $6 (24. Nd3 {would be simple and good. Black needs to watch his back rank.} a6 25. a3 fxe4 26. Qxe4 Rfe8 $16) 24... Qc8 $6 {another significant think. I am still too focused on static defense, not enough on counterattacking with the ...c5 break.} (24... c5 $11) 25. Ng6 {I correctly saw that this was not as impactful as it looked.} Rf6 26. exf5 $6 {I'm happy to have the tension released, and objectively am fine after capturing with the rook.} (26. Qh2+ Ka8 27. e5 Rf7 28. Qg1 $14) 26... Rxf5 27. g4 Rfd5 (27... Rxf1 28. Rxf1 {I didn't like because it gave White the f-file, but he cannot exploit it and I can get in ...c5.}) 28. Qg3+ Ka8 $11 29. Rde1 c5 $1 {finally! Although it's still equal, this provides much-needed counterplay and tips the initiative my way.} 30. dxc5 Qxc5 {around here my opponent appeared to realize that the situation had flipped.} 31. Qf3 $2 (31. Nf4 $11 {and} Rd2 $2 {no longer works due to} 32. Nxe6 $16) 31... Rd3 $6 {I thought for a while here and could not find anything decisive with the two rook moves (to d3 or d2) that generate threats, so decided to gain a tempo on the queen and then see what was available as an option.} (31... Rd2 $1 {unfortunately I did not see how strong this was, with no immediate knockout tactic. However, the threat of ...Qb5 is major, coupled with some sacrificial ideas for the rook on b2.} 32. Re4 {threatens to interpose the rook on b4, which I saw, but this can be handled effectively with} a5 $1 $19) 32. Qe4 $1 {unfortunately this now holds everything together for White.} Rd2 33. Qxe6 {my opponent thought for a while before going for the pawn. I gain a lot of pressure in return, but am a tempo short on converting it into a decisive attack.} Qb5 34. Qb3 Qd3+ 35. Ka1 a6 $2 {I missed how strong White's next move was.} (35... Bf6 $11 {gets the bishop to a more useful diagonal and covers the key e5 square.}) 36. Ne5 $1 $16 Qg3 37. Rf7 $4 {here I was expecting Nf7 (which was winning) and was confident I could defend against the threatened mate on b7. Which is true, but I fail to spot the immediate back rank capture of the Re1, instead thinking I was clever to protect b7 with the queen. Later I spot the back rank possibilities, but by then it was too late. I was getting rather low on time, and my opponent's mate threat overrode my board sight.} Qg2 $4 38. Nf3 $18 {from here, White has a won game, although it's still complicated.} R2d7 39. Rxd7 Rxd7 40. Nxg5 hxg5 (40... Qd2 {originally when calculating this variation I had thought this double threat would work, in order to recapture on g5 with the queen, but White has the backward knight move} 41. Nf3 $1 {protecting the rook.}) 41. Qe6 Qd2 {although my pieces are active, so are White's and he has both a material advantage on the queenside, and a positional one on the kingside, so can only lose (or draw) with a blunder.} 42. a3 Rd3 43. Qe2 $6 {this is the long way to win.} (43. Qc8+ Ka7 44. Re7 $18) 43... Qxe2 44. Rxe2 Rg3 {I was still determined to make White work for it in the rook ending.} 45. Re4 Ka7 46. Ka2 Kb6 47. Kb3 Kc6 48. Kb4 Rg2 49. b3 {the best move, but White will need to be a little careful with his king.} Rg3 50. a4 Kd7 51. a5 Kd6 {the idea is to keep the rook from the 7th rank.} 52. Kc4 Kd7 53. Kd4 Kd6 54. b4 {unfortunately, White is still able to make progress.} Rg1 55. Kc4 Rg3 56. Rd4+ Kc6 57. Kb3 Kc7 58. Rc4+ Kd6 59. Ka4 Rg1 60. Kb3 Rb1+ 61. Kc2 Rg1 62. Kd2 Kd5 63. Rc5+ Ke4 64. Rxg5 {after this it is pretty much over, but the finish is still instructive.} Rg2+ 65. Ke1 Kd3 (65... Ke3 {was better for swindling chances}) 66. Rxg7 Rh2 67. Rxb7 Ke3 68. Re7+ Kd3 69. Re6 Kxc3 {this does not really matter, but it made me feel better.} 70. h6 Kxb4 71. g5 Kxa5 72. Re2 Rh1+ 73. Kf2 Rh2+ 74. Kf3 Rh4 75. Rg2 Kb6 76. Rg4 Rh1 77. g6 Rxh6 78. g7 Rf6+ 79. Kg2 {now the g-pawn wins, so I resign.} 1-0

Training quote of the day #60: Daniel Pink

 

From Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink:

Mastery Is a Mindset

...For instance, consider goals. Dweck says they come in two varieties - performance goals and learning goals. Getting an A in French class is a performance goal. Being able to speak French is a learning goal. "Both goals are entirely normal and pretty much universal," Dweck says, "and both can fuel achievement." But only one leads to mastery. In several studies, Dweck found that giving children a performance goal...was effective for relatively straightforward problems but often inhibited children's ability to apply the concepts to new situations...Students with learning goals scored significantly higher on these novel challenges. They also worked longer and tried more solutions. As Dweck writes, "With a learning goal, students don't have to feel they're already good at something in order to hang in and keep trying. After all, their goal is to learn, not to prove they're smart."

How Wei Yi makes us feel better about chess

GM Wei Yi earned his place in this year's Candidates Tournament through strong, world-class play. But as this round 3 game against GM Fabiano Caruana demonstrates, even world-class players can blunder. In this case, why did it happen? Evidently GM Yi missed the combination of a backwards knight move unveiling a lateral, long-distance queen attack on his trapped bishop. It is this sort of difficult, non-automatic visualization challenge that can more often derail Class players, so it is at least somewhat comforting to know that chess can be hard for everyone.

[Event "FIDE Candidates Tournament 2026"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2026.03.31"] [Round "3"] [White "Caruana, Fabiano"] [Black "Wei, Yi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "2795"] [BlackElo "2754"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "37"] [GameId "2294223087464466"] [EventDate "2026.??.??"] 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. g3 g6 4. Nc3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. Bg2 Bg7 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. Ng5 Nb6 9. Bxc6+ bxc6 10. Qxc6+ Bd7 11. Qxc5 h6 12. Nf3 Rc8 13. Qa5 Bh3 14. Qb5+ Nd7 15. Rg1 {this looks strange, but the point comes on the next move.} O-O 16. g4 {now the Bh3 is trapped, but White is not close to being able to exploit that...but it turns out, not too far from it, either.} Rc5 17. Qb3 {lining up the queen on the 3rd rank. Still no danger yet, with two pieces in between the Qb3 and Bh3. However, this changes immediately after} Ne5 $2 18. Nxe5 Rxe5 19. Nd1 {a backwards knight move unveiling a lateral, long-distance discovered attack wins for Caruana.} 1-0

FT article: Games we play as children echo through our adult lives

 

The Chess Players by  Antti Favén

The Financial Times recently referenced chess again, in the article "Games we play as children echo through our adult lives". While the role and function of chess is often misunderstood or misrepresented in popular culture, I think the author Enuma Okoro got it right in how she shared her experience:

My father was an avid chess player and when I was eight years old, he began teaching me the game. I remember how seriously he took this task. He wanted me to understand that this wasn’t just for fun but that it could also teach me to pay attention, to stop and think before making a move, and even at such a young age to begin to learn what it meant to strategise. We would often leave our matches unfinished, if necessary, until the next opportunity to continue. He taught my older siblings the game too, and when I played with them I discovered that part of the skill was understanding your opponent.

Some of the most important lessons were about the value of taking turns, of recognising that certain rules exist to ensure that everyone can engage fairly and with equal chance of success. A game like chess is also a reminder that when we relate with others, whether it’s a friendly interaction or a more loaded exchange, something is always at stake. And that we each have to determine how we value what’s at stake and what we’re willing to do to secure or protect it. Pausing, observing, trying to understand whoever is in front of you, knowing how to sit with tension until you determine the next best move are all lessons that can translate from the board to real life.

Annotated Game #339: How about that a-file

This final-round tournament game followed a common trajectory in the Colle, as I managed to seize on an inaccuracy in an otherwise equal position to put a lot of pressure on Black. I completely miss a Nxf7 sac possibility, pointed out by the engine, but establish a second-best winning positional advantage. Unfortunately I misplay things on the open a-file, giving Black perhaps even a small advantage. After that, a somewhat over-optimistic last shot at active play peters out into a legitimate draw. I was nonetheless pleased with the overall level of play and the result against a higher-rated player, capping a positive tournament result for the first time in a while.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "ChessAdmin"] [Black "Class B"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "D05"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "69"] [GameId "2268222679466048"] {[%evp 0,69,10,38,17,23,32,5,14,9,8,0,9,7,16,4,21,26,10,11,18,7,13,-1,-18,0,17,46,51,23,54,-16,3,117,42,186,41,5,172,124,195,84,153,25,86,182,212,196,12,78,71,7,-88,0,9,-63,-73,-70,4,-27,-30,-82,-64,87,-1,-28,54,-1,1,-26,-1,-51]} 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. e3 {a safe choice.} (3. d5 {is the more principled reply, taking advantage of Black's pawn advance, and scores much better in the database than any other move.}) 3... e6 4. Bd3 d5 {now we are back in the main line Colle, via transposition.} 5. b3 Nbd7 6. Bb2 a6 {this seems like one pawn move too many, as development is not advanced enough for Black.} 7. a4 $14 {prophylaxis, aimed at contesting any b-pawn advance.} g6 {this is inconsistent with the earlier e7-e6 advance, since the bishop does not need an extra tempo to develop. That said, if Black is more comfortable playing the position with a fianchettoed bishop, then it is not necessarily a bad choice.} 8. Nbd2 Bg7 9. O-O b6 {The light-square bishop needs to be developed somehow.} 10. Ne5 {not the only good choice of strategy here.} (10. a5 {looks to disrupt Black's queenside. Accepting the pawn leads to trouble after} bxa5 11. Ra2 {followed by Qa1 with pressure against Black's fractured structure.}) (10. e4 $5 {would be the classic Colle pawn lever}) 10... Qc7 11. f4 {now we have the classic Stonewall/Colle attack structure.} O-O 12. c3 {this commits fully to a Stonewall structure, which is safer but less dynamic. Developing the queen would be more flexible.} (12. Qe2) (12. Qe1) 12... Rb8 {removing a defender of the a6 pawn, making it easy to choose my next move.} 13. Qe2 {creating the Q+B battery and connecting the rooks.} Qb7 {it's common to try and justify one's previous less-than-optimal move, which my opponent does here by misplacing her queen to protect the a-pawn.} (13... Ra8 {simply returning the rook to its original square is a bit galling, but best.}) 14. Ndf3 {I thought for a while here. This is not bad, but does not press White's small advantage.} (14. g4 {would start up the standard Stonewall attack on the kingside, targeting the Nf6. I rejected it at the time, thinking it would be too stereotypical.}) (14. Ba3 $5 {would get the bishop off the b-file, where it could be a target, and on to a much more useful diagonal.}) 14... b5 15. Rfb1 {protecting the Bb2 again and opposing the rook to Black's queen.} c4 {Black now seizes some space while keeping the queenside structure intact, thereby equalizing.} 16. bxc4 dxc4 17. Bc2 $11 Nd5 {this was unexpected, for whatever reason, but both looks good and is good.} 18. Qd2 {overprotecting c3.} Qc7 $2 {a good idea to place the queen here, but executed prematurely.} (18... Nxe5 19. Nxe5 f6 20. Nf3 Qc7 $11 {here the e3-e4 pawn lever is not available, as the f4 pawn would hang.}) 19. e4 $1 {this was easy to find, since it seizes space with tempo.} N5f6 20. Ba3 $18 {I felt this resulted in a decisive advantage, which the engine verifies.} Rd8 21. axb5 (21. Nxf7 $1 {is even better, but this sacrifice was not even on my radar.} Kxf7 22. Ng5+ Kg8 23. Nxe6 Qb6 24. Nxd8 Qxd8 25. e5 $18) 21... axb5 22. Bb4 {positionally Black is lost on the queenside, without control of the a-file and with the backwards b-pawn a liability.} Qb7 23. Qe1 {a "small" move, but best. The idea is to redeploy the queen to the kingside and combine with the knight to attack.} Nxe5 24. Nxe5 $6 {this gives away most of the advantage, as I divert my knight from the best attacking square (g5) while also leaving Black's defending knight in place on f6. The Ne5's centralization looks good, but is not useful enough to compensate.} (24. fxe5 $18) 24... Bd7 $14 25. Nxd7 $6 {now we are back to equality. The knight was still superior to the bishop.} Qxd7 $11 26. Ra2 Ra8 27. Rba1 $6 {natural-looking but mistaken, as Black's potential activity on the a-file now outweighs White's.} (27. Rab2 $5 {doubling the potential pressure on the b-file, while not allowing Black to threaten to enter into my position on the a-file.}) 27... Rxa2 28. Rxa2 Nh5 (28... Bf8 {played immediately would activate the bishop to better effect.}) 29. Bc5 {played after a long think, and a little over-optimistic. My opponent in response thought for a while, then did not go for the critical line accepting the pawn sac.} (29. g3 {would be the simplest way to consolidate and maintain equality.}) 29... Bf8 (29... Nxf4 30. g3 Nd3 31. Bxd3 cxd3 32. Qe3 $11) 30. Ra7 $6 {the point of the previous move in my thinking. However, after the essentially forced bishop exchange, it has less of a point.} (30. Bxf8 $11) 30... Qe8 31. Bxf8 Kxf8 32. g3 {unfortunately none of the attacking moves (Qh4 etc.) do anything for White, so I end up consolidating the equal position.} Ra8 33. Qa1 Rxa7 34. Qxa7 Nf6 35. Qc5+ {we were both relatively low on time and recognized that the position was equal, with no progress likely, so a draw was agreed.} 1/2-1/2