Annotated Game #344: White wins again

In this final round game, I had only my second White in five games, with the pattern so far in the tournament of White winning in all of them. I certainly hoped that trend would continue.

My opponent was evidently unfamiliar with the Colle, but still did a creditable job in the opening, leaving the database on move 8. While I had a slight plus after that due to more space on the queenside, it was nothing special. Black's key error was a simple piece exchange, which is another object lesson in the mastery concept of the effects of piece exchanges. After that, my attack was sufficient to crash through my opponent's limited kingside defenses. Another victory for an initially unassuming-looking Colle.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "ChessAdmin"] [Black "Class C"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "D05"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "45"] [GameId "2280365257781313"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 Nf6 {my opponent took some time on his last two moves, indicating he was not familiar with facing the Colle.} 4. Bd3 Nbd7 5. Nbd2 {I judged this the most flexible move-order, keeping control of e4.} c5 6. b3 cxd4 7. exd4 Bd6 8. Bb2 a5 {now out of the database.} 9. a4 $14 {this seemed the logical response, preventing a5-a4 which would be disruptive, and controlling b5.} b6 10. O-O (10. Qe2 {would prevent the ...Ba6 idea, which appears later.}) 10... O-O 11. Re1 Re8 12. Ne5 Ba6 13. Qe2 (13. c4 $5 {is clearly better, preserving the bishop from exchange and getting the c-pawn into the fight.}) 13... Nb8 $6 {Black should just go ahead and exchange off the Bd3.} 14. c4 {I thought about this for a while, unhappy that my excellently-placed Bd3 would eventually be exchanged off. Then it occurred to me that this need not happen, by playing the text move.} (14. Bb5 $5 $14 {is an interesting alternative. The point is that after} Bxb5 15. axb5 {White controls c6 and a6, While Black cannot get at the b5 pawn easily.}) 14... Bxe5 $4 {this simple-looking exchange loses for Black, as his kingside defenses are stripped away.} 15. dxe5 $1 $18 dxc4 {evidently this was my opponent's idea, which I had foreseen.} 16. bxc4 {for Black, the Ba6 is now out of play and the Nf6 is forced away from the king's defense.} Nfd7 17. Qh5 {I had a long think here, looking for a knockout blow. This is good enough to win, but not the most decisive move.} (17. Bxh7+ $1 {it is important to always look to see if this bishop sac on h7 can be played.} Kxh7 18. Qh5+ Kg8 19. Ra3 $1 {a key rook lift idea, which I had missed.} Nc5 20. Rh3 Kf8 21. Ne4 Nxe4 22. Rxe4 {the Qh5 covers the mate threat on d1.} Ke7 23. Rf4 $18) (17. Qe4 {initially looked attractive, forking the Ra8 and the mating square on h7. According to the engine it would have been another winning option, but ultimately I judged it did not work as well as the text move, instead offering Black at least a semblance of counterplay.} Nf8 18. Qxa8 Qxd3 $18) 17... h6 (17... g6 18. Qh6 {is what I primarily looked at during the game, and correctly concluded that the Nd2 could then decisively enter the attack via e4 or f3.}) 18. Ne4 $1 {bringing the knight into the attack via a central square.} Nc5 19. Nd6 (19. Nf6+ {I also looked at seriously, and is preferred by the engine. Howeer, I could not fully visualize its effects, so opted for the text move to continue the attack.} gxf6 20. Bh7+ Kxh7 21. Qxf7+ Kh8 22. Qg6 f5 23. Qxh6+ Kg8 24. Re3 $18) 19... Nxd3 {taking the material is just a distraction for Black, making it easier for me.} (19... Re7 20. Re3 $18 {was my planned continuation.}) (19... Rf8 20. Bb1 Qg5 21. Qe2 $18 {it is easy for the engine to retreat like this and still keep the pressure up, a good lesson for humans. Ra3-g3 is coming and the bishops and queen are still part of the kingside attack.}) 20. Qxf7+ {I assessed Black was lost after this.} Kh8 21. Nxe8 {threatening mate on g7.} Qg5 22. Bc1 (22. h4 {is more forcing, as the queen cannot move away from defending g7.}) 22... Nxc1 23. Raxc1 {and with more material loss on the way, my opponent resigned.} 1-0

How Carlsen makes us feel better about chess V

From comments made by GM Magnus Carlsen after his round 5 win at the TePe Sigegman Chess 2026 event. (Source: Chess.com)

"It was incredibly shaky! I thought early on that I was doing alright, but I couldn’t figure it out, and then I lost the thread. I think she [GM Zhu Jiner] completely outplayed me for a while there—I didn’t like what was going on at all."

Carlsen admitted his 14.Nh4?! was "really a bit too much," explaining, "I just didn't know what to do and I was down to 26 minutes or something, and having no idea what my plans were."

(See all of the posts on "How Carlsen makes us feel better about chess")

Annotated Game #343: Stranger in a strange (Dutch) land

After my first outing with the 'pure' Dutch Defense in Annotated Game #342, I immediately and surprisingly got a chance to redeem myself as Black, thanks to the tournament director generously giving me two Blacks in a row, which also made it it 3 out of 4 Blacks for the tournament to that point. Naturally I had been mentally prepared to play as White, so it was not an auspicious start.

In contrast to the previous game, my opponent confidently played the 2. Bg5 sideline, although by move 8 I had fully equalized. The Dutch sidelines can generate some strange-looking positions, so I had very little to fall back on for guidelines and standard plans. As the analysis shows, wild-looking attacking play is what the Dutch sometimes demands - see the move 9 variations - although my more solid approach was going well enough until the blunder 10...Kf7? That opened the door for White to easily and quickly ramp up pressure against my king, and my opponent did a good job of mobilizing her pieces effectively and inviting them all to the party, taking advantage of further mistakes on my part.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Class A"] [Black "ChessAdmin"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "A80"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "59"] [GameId "2280365257781312"] 1. d4 f5 2. Bg5 {one of the main Dutch sidelines, which can be annoying for Black to face.} g6 {most played in the database, and probably the most solid response.} 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e3 h6 {relatively little-played, but scores the best for Black.} 5. Bh4 Nf6 6. Bxf6 {White decides to exchange minor pieces and not worry about her bishop potentially being threatened by Black's advancing pawns.} Bxf6 {not the most natural place for the bishop, but development is about equal.} 7. Bc4 {now we're out of the database.} c6 {logically preparing ...d5} 8. g4 $5 {indicating that my opponent is in an aggressive mood.} d5 $11 {with White's bishop effectively losing a tempo, Black has now fully equalized.} 9. Bd3 e6 {this seemed the solid choice to me, given White's light-square pressure, establishing a Stonewall formation.} (9... e5 $5 {this more dynamic central pawn move I did not seriously consider, but the general Dutch Defense principle works here: if Black can play ...e5 without problems, it should be played. However, it requires some wild-looking play.} 10. dxe5 Bxe5 11. gxf5 Bxf5 $2 {as I had calculated did not work, though. Black has to find a more non-standard approach.} (11... Qf6 {is not obvious. But why sacrifice only one pawn, when you can sac two for the attack?} 12. fxg6 O-O 13. Qd2 Bg4 $11) (11... Qb6 {is similar to the below variation.}) 12. Bxf5 gxf5 13. Qh5+ $16) (9... Qb6 {would take advantage of the White dark-square bishop's absence by counterattacking b2, but again this is not a normal sequence.} 10. gxf5 Qxb2 11. Nge2 gxf5 12. a3 Qb6 13. Nf4 Qa5 $14) 10. Nge2 Kf7 $2 {it looks like the king is helping cover the weak g6 and e6 squares, but unfortunately this just causes more middlegame problems.} (10... Nd7 $11 {normal development is good.} 11. gxf5 exf5 {and now ...Nf8 is available for the defense.}) 11. gxf5 $16 exf5 12. Nf4 {I underestimated the strength of this follow-up. The knight goes to its ideal square and it is easy for White to generate more pressure.} Rg8 $6 {the defense is already difficult, this makes it more so.} (12... Bg5 $16 {would at least threaten to exchange off the attacking knight.}) (12... Nd7 $16 {brings another piece in.}) (12... g5 $2 {unfortunately kicking the knight, which I had wrongly assumed would be easy, fails to} 13. Qh5+ $18) 13. Rg1 (13. Qf3 $18 {is even better, getting the queen into the action and allowing for castling queenside.}) 13... Bg5 $6 {a good idea, played a move late. Now White has a tactical refutation.} (13... Nd7) 14. Qf3 {still very good to keep up the pressure, but missing} (14. Nxg6 $1 Rxg6 15. h4 Bxh4 16. Qh5 $1 $18) 14... Be6 $2 {just a terrible move, adding nothing to the defense and allowing an obvious capture to wreck my position. The intent was actually to play ...Nd7 next, without blocking the bishop's diagonal.} (14... Qf6 {was my other candidate move, which however does not solve Black's problems.}) (14... Bxf4 {for some reason I did not look at this move, partly because I was now fixated on getting my other pieces into the defense.} 15. Qxf4 g5) 15. Nxe6 $1 Kxe6 16. h4 $1 $18 {now the game is essentially over.} Bf6 (16... Bxh4 17. Rxg6+ Rxg6 18. Qxf5+ $18) 17. Rxg6 Nd7 {an attempt to confuse the situation for White.} 18. Qxf5+ Ke7 19. O-O-O {while there are quicker ways to win, this is a strong consolidating move, also bringing the second rook into the mix.} Qf8 20. Rdg1 Rxg6 21. Rxg6 Qh8 (21... Qf7 $5 $18) 22. Ne2 {White brings her last piece into the attack.} Rg8 23. Nf4 Nf8 24. h5 $1 {with this, the jaws of the attack clamp shut and the rest is just futile struggle.} Nxg6 25. Nxg6+ Rxg6 26. hxg6 {things look much better after the exchanges, but White's pieces are still fiercely dominant.} h5 27. Be2 h4 28. Bg4 Qe8 {losing more quickly.} (28... Qg8 29. Qd7+ {is probably the simplest way to proceed.} Kf8 30. Bh5 $18) 29. Qe6+ Kf8 30. Qxf6+ 1-0

Book completed - Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

I recently completed Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink (Riverhead Hardcover, 2009). Given that it has been around for over 15 years at this point, it is not surprising that some of its main ideas are in general circulation and widely accepted. However, since motivation is so central to learning and improvement, I still found it valuable to read and reflect on the original source.

The core concept is that the exercise of complex, creative knowledge-based skills and one's performance on related tasks is best driven by intrinsic (internal) motivation, rather than extrinsic (external) rewards. While the book is largely oriented towards business-related scenarios, a significant part of it applies to the broader process of mastery, as reflected in Training quote of the day #60. The author enumerates three elements of intrinsic motivation; what follows is my own summation/understanding of each, which are also interrelated:

1) Autonomy - you feel you have personal agency, which means that your decisions matter and help shape outcomes.

2) Mastery - here the author, as often occurs, refers to its manifestation in the "flow" state as defined by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience - thereby demonstrating one's full engagement in a task. "Compliance" is contrasted with "mastery" as opposite approaches. The former reflects a lack of autonomy and more mechanistic approach to tasks (following instructions capably), while the latter incorporates a deeper understanding of the situation and a creative approach. One common illustration is the difference between a cook (someone who only follows recipes provided by others) and a chef in the kitchen.

3) Purpose - you feel that the goal of your work/activity is meaningful and worthwhile.

I'll offer some personal views on how this all relates to the pursuit of chess mastery:

Because "chess is hard" an improving player certainly has to feel that their purpose is worth the time and effort invested, since it will take a significant amount of both to achieve something close to mastery, with more needed the higher you go on the scale.

• As with many sports, this is one reason why there is such a dropoff in individual participation after a scholastic career is over and the external parental/school/social incentive structure is removed. Many juniors may have liked the game and achieved a measure of success, but not enough to continue the effortful study required without outside reinforcement. Others may have been very good at it, but did not actually like it for whatever reason - perhaps because it was their parents' choice, not theirs - so decide to pursue other personal interests.
• Adult improvers in contrast typically have less time to devote, but presumably are choosing for themselves (autonomy) what activities to pursue. However, this means that more will quit out of frustration at not seeing short-term gains, if they do not have a longer-term sense of motivation.

It is important to understand that a better quality of motivation does not necessarily translate into better outcomes; certainly not in the short run. The cook vs. chef example above offers an intuitive illustration of that: most people would rather eat a meal prepared by a good cook than a poor chef. For advanced-level results, however, solely following others' formulas by rote will not get you there. 

• One common practice in chess is adopting opening repertoires from a particular authority. While this is a good shortcut for opening preparation, no one source will be 100% correct objectively, and given your unique strengths, weaknesses and interests in the game, certainly no single repertoire "recipe" will be a best solution. I can't think of a single master-level example of someone who simply copies another player's published repertoire.
• At a certain point in the improvement process, concrete analysis and positional understanding has to replace common "chess principles" as the primary considerations in determining what move to play. This doesn't mean that principles, rules of thumb, etc. are not valuable - they do tend to get unfairly trashed a lot these days - but they should be a starting point for your thinking process, not the end of it.

Finally, the mental trap of focusing too much on rating outcomes is not just a common source of anxiety, but can undermine a player's long-term motivation and purpose. A rating goal is not necessarily a problem - it is an objective measure of performance level - but when it becomes the primary purpose then I believe our thinking can become excessively warped. The purpose of improvement is to grow in chess strength and understanding over time, which is eventually reflected in a higher rating due to performance achievements. Your personal strength level is intrinsic, while a numerical rating by definition is an extrinsic statistical snapshot in time and result-dependent. Obsessing over rating is similar to the mental trap of focusing on receiving a high grade on a test, and putting all your effort into "gaming the system" to try to obtain that grade, rather than on mastering the underlying material.

Annotated Game #342: A first 'true' Dutch Defense as Black

This third-round game saw me bravely use the 'true' or 'pure' Dutch Defense (1.d4 f5) for the first time as Black. I've previously played the Dutch Stonewall by transposition, but decided to adopt the move one version so I can use the Leningrad Variation. My opponent was rather hesitant during the first few moves, which indicated to me that he was not familiar with the Dutch at all. That said, he played into the main fianchetto line for White with the rare 4. f4!? thrown in, apparently in an effort to play symmetrically and reduce the chances of any surprises. As a result I equalized rather easily, but then blew the middlegame with some poor choices, including misunderstanding the best way of contesting the a-file. That has happened before in my games, so I hope I've learned my lesson there. The Dutch performed well in the opening phase, however, so the loss was not its fault; I'll need to do better by it in the future.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Class B"] [Black "ChessAdmin"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "A81"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "61"] [GameId "2280365257781311"] 1. d4 f5 {this is first time I am playing a "pure" Dutch Defense (as Black), with this move-order.} 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 g6 {so far we are heading for the Leningrad Dutch main line, but now White deviates with the rare} 4. f4 $5 Bg7 {there is no reason Black should not continue with his development plan.} 5. Nf3 O-O 6. O-O d6 {Black has won all three database games I have from this position. With the text move, I continue to follow the main line Leningrad plan, contesting e5.} (6... e6 $5 {controls d5 but leaves Black's further development flexible.}) (6... d5 {is the engine's preference, establishing a symmetrical structure.}) 7. c4 c6 {continuing with the main line Leningrad idea of contesting the d5 square.} 8. Nc3 {by transposition, we have reached a somewhat more common position.} Na6 {is a common development idea for the knight, with ...Rb8, ...Nb4 and ..a5 as ideas for follow-up.} (8... Nbd7 {is more solid and scores better, fighting directly for the center.}) 9. a3 Bd7 (9... Nc7 {played immediately is probably better, as the knight now has no future on a6.}) 10. Qd3 Nc7 {both sides are equally developed and the position is dynamically balanced overall.} 11. Bd2 Rb8 (11... a5 $5 {would directly contest White's obvious plan of advancing his queensidde pawns.}) 12. b4 b5 $11 {Black is now fully equalized. With the rook off of the long diagonal and thus not a target for a discovered attack, this advance is possible.} 13. c5 {now there are multiple good options, but it was not clear to me what the best plan was.} Ncd5 {not bad, but perhaps not best.} (13... Be6 $5 {with the idea of occupying c4 as an outpost for the bishop.}) (13... a6) (13... Rc8) 14. Rae1 {it is a bit premature to commit the rook like this.} Nxc3 {the best move, according to the engine. My knight previously sitting on c7 exchanges itself for its better-placed counterpart, while leaving behind more space for my pieces to maneuver.} 15. Bxc3 Qc7 {connecting the rooks and influencing the center more with the queen's presence.} 16. Nd2 d5 $6 {I had a long think here about changing the nature of the position, in this case to a more closed one; however, the engine prefers not to lock things up.} (16... Be6 $11) 17. Ra1 $14 {correctly moving the rook back to the more dynamic queenside for White.} a6 18. a4 {White is now able to focus his resources on the a-pawn lever, without having to worry about his center being exchanged/dissolved.} Ra8 $6 {wrong idea - how about that a-file (again)? Black does not need to occupy the a-file to shut off White's use of it.} (18... Ne4 $14 {better to gain some minor piece activity.}) 19. Ra2 Ra7 {not realizing the looming difficulty on the a-file.} 20. Rfa1 Rfa8 21. Nf3 $16 {White is now clearly better, with his pieces more active and me having to worry about potential tactics down the a-file.} Ne4 22. Be1 {preserving the bishop, which is helping restrain any potential movement by my queenside forces.} Bf6 {played as a waiting move. Unfortunately I have little that I can do to improve my position.} 23. e3 Kg7 24. Nd2 Nxd2 $6 {I did not properly evaluate the consequences of the piece trade.} (24... a5 $5 {no pawn lever, no plan. With the knight temporarily obscuring the Be1, now was the time to try this.} 25. axb5 cxb5 $14 {now White has much less pressure and I have hopes of getting in a5-a4.}) 25. Bxd2 $16 {I thought I could hold a draw with a closed position and the knights off the board, although defending the a-file remained a nuisance. Unfortunately White still has all the pressure and winning potential.} h6 (25... e6 $5 {the engine rates as equivalent, but it would prevent the tactical trick for White that soon appears.}) 26. Qa3 bxa4 $6 {this opens things up to White's advantage.} 27. Qxa4 Bc8 {this is passive defense, but I have no good options anyway.} 28. Qa5 Qxa5 29. Rxa5 Kf7 $4 {I was starting to feel some time pressure here, but in any case missed White's next.} (29... e6 $16) 30. b5 $1 cxb5 31. Bxd5+ $1 $18 1-0