Annotated Game #359: Rook activity ftw

In this second-round game, my opponent as White plays an unusual knight retreat in the opening, a Caro-Kann Exchange, which gives me easy equality. I correctly do not try to punish the move - which is solid enough, if not theoretically valid - and instead play similarly solid waiting moves to see how the situation evolves. A certain lack of patience (or prudence) ends up costing my d-pawn, but that galvanized me to seek additional piece activity as compensation. It is instructive to see how much difference the level of rook activity makes in a short time span, as my superior heavy pieces quickly were able to achieve full compensation. 

After rejecting a draw offer in an objectively equal position, I leveraged the momentum and initiative for additional pressure, under which my opponent soon crumbled. Although this was not a clean game, I was pleased to see it result in a (flawed) win after correctly activating my pieces, a general area for improvement. (Naturally, it would be better to maximize piece activity before committing inaccuracies that give my opponent a strategically won game...)

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Class B"] [Black "ChessAdmin"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "B13"] [PlyCount "68"] [GameId "2338400286845303"] {[%evp 0,68,10,35,34,32,31,12,14,8,23,18,21,19,18,22,34,-13,-41,-15,-6,4,8,5,12,-10,11,15,8,1,15,31,17,14,17,-33,11,19,39,0,146,32,107,98,110,96,80,85,116,172,136,79,82,60,55,-13,-107,-36,-3,-355,-409,-365,-390,-345,-404,-427,-421,-29987,-29988,-29995,-29996]} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Bf4 g6 7. Nd2 {the second most popular choice in the database, after Nf3. A key difference is that with the text move, the Bd3 is now undefended.} Bf5 {this is the point behind playing ...g6, to support the bishop development on f5 and pose the question to White whether to exchange there.} 8. Nf1 $11 {now out of the database. My opponent decides not to exchange on f5 and protects the bishop in a very unusual way.} Bxd3 {the rule is normally to take the bishop on d3 if White does not exchange on f5.} 9. Qxd3 Rc8 {played after some thought. The primary idea is to tactically restrain White from castling queenside, for example with an annoying ...Nb4 follow-up.} (9... Bg7 {is perhaps more natural development.}) 10. Nf3 Bg7 {intentionally non-committal, playing something useful while waiting to see how White develops.} 11. Ng3 O-O (11... h5 $5 {I considered as a possibility, threatening to chase the Ng3, but rejected it as unnecessary.}) 12. O-O Re8 {another non-committal but useful move, placing the rook on a more active file and clearing f8 if it is needed in the future.} 13. Rfe1 {the first real think by my opponent, who ended up playing the obvious mirroring move with his rook.} Na5 {played after some thought. Black has few ways to make real progress, but it is still good to stay active on the queenside. The knight would like to go to c4, perhaps provoking a weakening advance of White's queenside pawns.} (13... e6 $5 {is a solid choice as well.}) 14. Nd2 Nc4 {this is not very patient, but I did not see other useful moves. The engine is more patient.} (14... e6 {locking down the e-file and protecting d5 with a pawn.}) (14... Qb6 {targeting the b2 pawn.}) (14... a6 {controlling b5 and supporting a potential b-pawn advance.}) 15. Nxc4 {this is White's best choice, exchanging off the comparatively better knight.} Rxc4 {the engine prefers capturing with the pawn, but I did not like the idea of giving up the e4 square.} 16. Nf1 {this is a useful redevelopment of the knight, but it does let me chase the bishop now.} Nh5 {the engine prefers to withdraw the rook to c6 or c8, getting it out of potential danger.} 17. Be5 f6 18. Bg3 Nxg3 19. Qxg3 Qc7 $2 {I thought this was clever and good to finally develop my queen on a useful digaonal, but I ignored the fact that the d5 pawn is now hanging.} (19... e5 $1 {is the best follow-up, since it is now possible. "No pawn break, no plan."} 20. dxe5 fxe5 21. Rad1 {during the game I did not like the prospect of having to defend the central pawn duo with pieces, but the engine considers it equal (and better than the game continuation). Black nicely controls the center and White has no real play.}) 20. Qh3 $6 (20. Qf3 $1 Qd7 21. Ne3 $18 {wins the d-pawn.}) 20... e5 $2 {if the d-pawn were not hanging, this would be pretty good, per the previous note. However...} (20... Rc6 $11) 21. Ne3 {this knight fork was an unfortunate surprise, but after the obvious rook retreat there is at least a bit of compensation for the pawn.} Rc6 22. Nxd5 $16 Qf7 23. Nb4 Rce6 (23... Rd6 $5 24. dxe5 fxe5 $14 {followed by doubling rooks on the d-file gives better compensation.}) 24. dxe5 $1 {my opponent correctly continues to exploit his advantage.} fxe5 {the engine prefers to recapture with the rook, but that would lead to a trade, diminishing my practical chances.} 25. Re4 $6 {my opponent's decision to split his rooks in the face of the enemy now gives me full compensation for the material, due to my superior major piece activity.} Rd8 {it wasn't clear to me which rook belonged first on the d-file.} (25... Rd6 $5) 26. Qe3 Red6 $11 27. h3 {evidently played to avoid back-rank issues.} a5 {settled on after some thought. Unfortunately I cannot quite trap the knight.} (27... Rd2 28. Qxa7 Rxb2 $11) 28. Nc2 {here my opponent offered a draw; the engine actually agrees with this, in the sense that the position is evaluated as complete equal. However, at the time I felt that I was better (incorrectly) and had the momentum (which was true).} Rd2 {again played after careful thought, although the idea of regaining the pawn is obvious.} 29. Qb6 $2 {going for a cheap trap, which however does not solve White's multiple problems. I got the feeling my opponent did not want to even temporarily go down material, which would have occurred with more solid play.} (29. Ne1 Rxb2 30. Nf3 Rxa2 $11) 29... R8d6 $1 $19 {this attack on the queen gains a tempo, so now White has two undefended pieces under simultaneous threat and cannot recover.} (29... Rxc2 $4 30. Qxd8+ $18) 30. Qc5 (30. Qb3 Qxb3 31. axb3 Rxc2 $19) 30... Rxc2 {I made sure to stay careful with my calculations. The Rd6 is tactically protected, due to my threat to take on f2 with the queen.} 31. Rf1 Rdd2 {by this point White is quite lost, although my opponent hurries the process.} 32. Qc8+ Bf8 33. Rxe5 Rxf2 34. Ree1 Rxg2+ 0-1

Bogus chess imagery: House of Staunton blog

Being on the House of Staunton chess store mailing list, I recently received a newsletter with links to two blog posts: "Master the Scotch Game" and "Chess Trolling: The Art of Playing Bad Openings to Tilt Your Opponent". They are curiously related, as I'll shortly demonstrate, by the included bogus chess imagery.

Here's the excerpted beginning of the Scotch Game post, with the accompanying image:

If I had to choose one chess opening for beginners, I might choose the Scotch Game. This confrontational opening not only embodies many classic opening principles, but also tends toward exciting tactics and strong middlegame plans that are fun and easy to understand.

But that isn’t to say the Scotch Game isn’t ideal for advanced chess players as well. Several lines boast some of the highest win rates of any opening on online platforms like lichess.org, and it has remained a strong offbeat choice among grandmasters for decades, too!

In this guide, you’ll learn the best way to play the main line, as well as some of the deadly gambits that lurk inside this ancient opening. 

Now, one might expect the (obviously AI-generated) accompanying pic to illustrate a Scotch Game position. But no! It's actually a Bongcloud opening, as can be seen by the White king located on e2. This seems intentional, given the companion "Chess Trolling" post, which includes a reference to the Bongcloud. The image creator also gets everything else visible about the board setup correct, which AI-generated images are notoriously bad about. Black in response has chosen an interesting f6-e5-d6 pawn wedge defense, so maybe both sides are trolling here (as well as the creator). In any case, it has nothing to do with the Scotch Game.

Terming the above a "bogus" chess image is perhaps a bit harsh, as the chessboard itself is legally set up. However, I still feel justified in using that term, since the AI-generated reflections on the glass table show both sides' pieces as black.

Annotated Game #358: A reverse Queen's Gambit

In this first-round tournament game, as White in a Colle System I face a common approach by Black, which is to go for a kind of reverse Queen's Gambit. A tempo down, it is not necessary challenging for White, but can be a little tricky. Here I opt for a quiet approach which is enough to get me equality with active pieces and a comfortable middlegame plan. While theoretically the Colle is not as challenging as the Queen's Gambit to face as Black, I have found that Black players can often go astray in seemingly harmless positions, which happens in this game after I am able to engineer the dominance of my dark-square bishop. Unfortunately I make some lesser follow-up choices and give away the advantage, although rise to the occasion in what turned out to be a more exciting major-piece endgame than I had expected.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "ChessAdmin"] [Black "Expert"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "D04"] [PlyCount "95"] [GameId "2338422791188714"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 c5 4. dxc5 Nc6 {with this move, Black indicates he is less concerned with recovering the pawn quickly, instead focusing on development in a reverse Queen's Gambit type position.} 5. a3 {controlling b4} (5. c3 $5 {is another way to do this.}) 5... e6 {I had expected ...e5, given my opponent's previous move, but he decided to play more solidly than dynamically in the center.} 6. Be2 {a quiet option, but White can press here.} (6. b4 a5 7. b5 Nb8 $14 {and White has a pleasant choice between the c4 break and Bb2.}) (6. c4 $5 dxc4 7. Qxd8+ Nxd8 8. Bxc4 Bxc5 9. b4 Be7 10. Bb2 $11 {with a comfortably equal position for White.}) 6... Bxc5 7. b4 Bd6 8. Bb2 O-O 9. O-O Bd7 $6 {this is a bit slow and clogs the d-file.} 10. Nbd2 (10. c4 {the text move is fine, but now would also be a good time for the c-pawn break, as ...dxc4 is impossible due to the hanging Bd6.} Qe7 11. cxd5 exd5 12. Nc3 $14 {with play against Black's isolated queen pawn.}) 10... Rc8 11. Rc1 Bb8 {this suprised me, but it does remove the bishop from the weak square. However, the c4 break is now clearly White's best option for making progress and challenging Black's center, so I play it.} 12. c4 Re8 13. Nb3 $1 $16 {I spent a lot of time here thinking about the middlegame plan. The knight's influence is maximized on b3.} Ne7 {opening the c-file for the rook and reinforcing the d5 strong point.} 14. Nc5 {a good deal of thought was spent here as well, validated by the engine.} (14. cxd5 $5 {is also possible.}) 14... b6 15. Na6 {another well-calculated decision. I could exchange off either bishop; here the point is to eliminate Black's dark-square bishop, so its White counterpart can dominate.} Bd6 16. c5 {the key follow up, continuing to chase the dark-square bishop.} bxc5 17. bxc5 Bb8 {my opponent spent a fair amount of time here. It is difficult to choose which retreat square to go to, but the engine considers c7 a better option.} 18. Nxb8 Rxb8 19. Be5 $1 $18 {completing the calculated sequence. The bishop is now a monster, its activity more than compensating for the c-pawn's isolation.} Ra8 20. Bd3 $6 {my first miscalculation. White's edge is considerably lessened now, as the initiative recedes. The light-square bishop needs to be activated, but there is a much better square.} (20. Ba6 {I looked at first, but it did not seem to work. The point would be to corral the black rook stuck in the corner.} Bc8 {I thought this essentially shut down the idea, but White does well after} 21. Bb5 {the two White bishops still dominate, in tandem with the advanced c-pawn.} Bd7 (21... Rf8 22. Nd4 $18) 22. c6 $1 {was the idea I missed. The tactical point being} Bc8 23. c7 $18 {trapping the queen.}) 20... Nc6 21. Bd6 $16 {some more significant thought here, to make sure this worked. White has to protect against the Bd6 being traded off.} e5 {now my opponent, although still worse off, generates some initiative with the central pawn duo. I need to move the Bd3 to avoid the pawn fork on e4, something I had missed initially.} 22. Bb1 {this is OK, but better options existed.} (22. Ba6) (22. Bb5) 22... Bg4 {activating the bishop. Now I thought that} 23. h3 {was simplest and best as a response - correct according to the engine. However I was not expecting the retreat} Bh5 $6 {and I did not calculate the critical variation correctly.} 24. Qa4 {second best, according to the engine. I thought that playing g2-g4 would lead to losing the Nf3 due to a pin, so searched for a tempo-gaining move with the queen. Hitting Black's hanging Nc6 fit the bill.} (24. g4 Nxg4 25. hxg4 Bxg4 {with the threat of ...e4, but now} 26. Qxd5 $1 $18 {and the queen breaks the pin and simultaneously protects the knight, backwards along the diagonal.}) 24... Qd7 {now I knew a piece should go to h4, but picked the wrong one.} 25. Qh4 $6 (25. Nh4 $1 {with the threat of Bf5, kicking the Black queen away from the defense of the Nc6. After} Bg6 26. Nxg6 hxg6 {I thought Black was fine, but the engine still shows a large plus for White after} 27. Bd3 $18 {renewing ideas of Ba6 or Bb5.}) 25... Bg6 26. Nd2 {here I played defensively, being most concerned about preventing ...Ne4 and an exchange on d6.} (26. Ba2 $1 {instead actively pressures the now-weak d5 pawn. If} Ne4 $2 (26... Rac8 27. Rfd1 $16) 27. Bxd5 Nxd6 28. cxd6 {and the pawn is tactically protected.} Rac8 (28... Qxd6 29. Bxc6 $18) 29. Rfd1 $18) 26... Bxb1 27. Rxb1 Ne7 $11 {somewhat ironically, now that my advantage has disappeared, I decide to "go for it" with} 28. g4 {clearly surprising my opponent. This is a bit too loosening of the kingside pawns, but the best alternative would be to exchange on e7 and reach sterile equality, which I was not interested in. The text move also prevents the threatened ...Nf5 fork.} Nc8 $6 (28... h6 $11) 29. g5 $1 {the other point of the g-pawn advance, as the Nf6 does not have any good squares left.} Ne4 30. Nxe4 dxe4 31. Rfd1 $1 {I thought for some time before choosing this more dynamic rook move (correctly) over the immediate capture on e4.} Nxd6 {unfortunately now I choose the wrong recapture on d6, with time pressure starting to be a factor.} 32. cxd6 $6 (32. Rxd6 {I erroneously thought that Black now would have time to concentrate his forces against the isolated c-pawn, but this is not the case.} Qc7 33. Rd5 Rac8 34. Qxe4 $18 {the Qc7 is awkwardly placed, preventing the c-pawn's capture.}) 32... Re6 $2 (32... Rad8 33. Rbc1 Qe6 34. Rc6 Qg6 $14) 33. Qg4 {this relied too much on a cheap tactic which I did not really think my opponent would fall into.} (33. Qxe4 $1 {now is the time to capture the pawn.} Rd8 (33... Rxd6 $4 34. Qxa8+) 34. Rb7 $1 $18) 33... Rd8 $11 {now the position is equal again.} (33... Rxd6 34. Qxd7 $18) 34. Qxe4 Rxd6 35. Rxd6 {forced} Qxd6 36. h4 {consolidating g5} h6 37. Kg2 {I felt I had to be careful to maintain the balance. This allows the rook to transfer to the g- or h-files in the future, to shore up my kingside or potentially threaten Black's king.} hxg5 38. hxg5 Qxa3 {snatching the pawn, which however lets me exploit the h-file with} 39. Rh1 Qd6 40. Qh7+ Kf8 41. Qh8+ Ke7 42. Qxg7 Qd5+ {now I had to make sure I kept safe from checks, so carefully calculated the next sequence.} 43. Kh2 Qf3 44. Qxe5+ {my opponent said he missed this, although other moves are equal as well. Now I can force a repetition in this drawn position.} Kd7 45. Qd4+ Ke7 46. Qe5+ Kf8 47. Qh8+ Ke7 48. Qe5+ 1/2-1/2

Training quote of the day #69: Viswanathan Anand

      

From Mind Master: Winning Lessons From A Champion's Life by GM Viswanathan Anand:

As in any sport, and in life, in chess too learning must be constant – not just new material, but fresh methods of learning too. If I have to name a single virtue that’s carried me through my years of playing chess, it’s curiosity. There has to be a willingness to learn things you’re not good at or you thought you were not good at. The process will invariably involve a certain degree of unlearning, and the readiness to do that is extremely important. If your way of doing things isn’t working, clinging to your conclusions is only going to hold you back. You have to get to the root of a snag in order to make a breakthrough, because it’s possible that what you thought you knew is actually wrong. Unlearning is perhaps the hardest thing to do, but it must be done. Any knowledge, unless updated, becomes worthless.

Pop culture chess: Gentleman of Leisure (performed by Jimmy Buffett)

 

From "Gentleman of Leisure (Lyrics)" performed by Jimmy Buffett (YouTube)