Annotated Game #190: Reasonable moves that don't work; blind spots

Analysis of this next tournament game produced a couple of interesting themes.  (It's worth noting that these types of insights are a common feature of analyzing your own games - lessons that will benefit your game in the future often simply highlight themselves during the process, in a very practical way.)

The first recurring theme is that my opponent makes some very reasonable-looking moves that don't in fact work in the position; examples include on move 8, move 10, and move 28.  How often do we make a move relatively quickly in a position, because it looks reasonable or perfectly normal, without actually working it out?  This can especially be a problem in the opening phase, when we reach a similar (but not exact) position to one we're familiar with, and make a move on autopilot that turns out badly.

The second theme is that of blind spots.  Here, for me it is the beautiful-looking Bg2 on the long diagonal, which I nevertheless should have looked to exchange around move 14 for a concrete advantage.  A lesser version of this long diagonal blind spot can be found on move 25, when I didn't even consider f3 as a possibility; however, when my opponent makes himself vulnerable on the long diagonal, I eventually find the idea.

New ...

New Game

Edit Game

Setup Position

Open...

PGN

FEN

Share...

Share Board (.png)

Share Board (configure)

Share playable board

Share game as GIF

Notation (PGN)

QR Code

Layout...

Use splitters

Swipe notation/lists

Reading mode

Flip Board

Settings

Move	N	Result	Elo	Players

Replay and check the LiveBook here

Please, wait...

1.c4       A26: English Opening vs King's Indian with ...Nc6 and d3 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.g3 Bg7 4.Bg2 0-0 5.Nf3 d6 my opponent indicates he is going for a KID formation rather than transposing into, for example, a Symmetrical English with ...c5 6.0-0 e5 7.d3 Nc6 8.Rb1 Be6 a large number of different moves have been tried here by Black. The text move fights directly for d5, but may prematurely commit and expose the bishop. 9.Ng5 this takes advantage of the opportunity to pressures the Be6 and at the same time unleash the Bg2. 9.b4!? is also good, proceeding with the queenside expansion plan. 9...Qd7 10.b4 10.Nxe6 is preferred by the engine. fxe6 I thought at the time this would help Black, by clearing the f-file for his rook and strengthening his claim to the d5 square. However, White's queenside expansion comes first, beating Black's potential central play. 11.b4 and now the combination of the vulnerable Nc6 and b7 pawn becomes awkward for Black. For example Nd8 12.b5 c5 12...d5? 13.cxd5 exd5 14.Nxd5 Nxd5 15.Qb3 now the Nd5 cannot escape the pin. c6 16.bxc6 bxc6 17.e4+- 13.Qb3± with the simple plan of pushing the a-pawn. 10...Rab8 a reasonable-looking move, with the rook protecting b7 and getting off the long diagonal, but White can rapidly realize an advantage. 10...Bf5!? 11.Nxe6± Qxe6 12.Bg5 done with the idea of getting the dark-square bishop off the first rank and potentially exchanging it for the Nf6, which is a key defender of d5. 12.b5 would instead force the issue for Black, for example Nd4 13.e3 Nf5 and now White has a pleasant choice of moves. 14.Nd5 14.Qa4!? 12...h6 I am perfectly happy to exchange. 13.Bxf6 Qxf6 14.Nd5 a nice square for the knight, but I should have been looking for more forcing opportunities on the queenside, which is vulnerable. 14.Qa4 this or immediately capturing on c6 are both good. I had a bit of a blind spot here, ignoring the concrete benefits of exchanging off the Bg2. It is beautifully positioned on the long diagonal, but capture possibilities should not be ignored as a result. Nd4 15.Qxa7 c6 16.b5± 14...Qd8 15.b5 Nd4 16.e3 I've learned the hard way not to leave a centralized Black knight on d4, so immediately kick it. Without a dark-square bishop, having a pawn on e3 also does not cramp my pieces. Ne6 17.a4 f5 my opponent clearly wants to create some kingside counterplay, but the center of gravity is still on the queenside. 18.Nb4 Kh7 ignoring the coming threat. 19.a5 now Black's main problem is that the b-pawn cannot advance to b6 without giving up the c6 square to my knight. Qd7 20.a6 bxa6 20...b6 21.Nc6 Ra8 22.Bd5± and White's minor pieces are dominant. 21.Nxa6 now Black's a-pawn is weak and isolated and my minor pieces are much more effective than Black's. Rbd8 22.Ra1 22.Bd5 played first would have enhanced the bishop's domination and avoided Black's next move. Ng5 23.h4 Ne6 24.Ra1+- 22...e4 23.d4 the natural move, blocking Black's Bg7 and enhancing my central pawn structure. Ra8 24.Nb4 24.h4!? is Komodo's idea, more or less forcing Black to fix the pawn structure on the kingside and then White has plenty of time to maneuver on the queenside. h5 25.Ra2+- 24...Rfb8?!+- 24...a5 is the best try here, although it's not at all obvious, as it seems White can just take en passant on a6. However 25.bxa6?! 25.Nc6± is best 25...c5 and now Black has significant counterplay. 25.Ra2 25.f3 played immediately would be beneficial, as e4 is now vulnerable. a5 26.Na6+- 25.Ra6!? is a better version of the text move's idea of doubling rooks on the a-file. Black's a-pawn is blocked and the rook exerts lateral pressure along the 6th rank. 25...Rb7? now with Black lining both his rooks up on the long diagonal as targets, I find the correct move. 26.f3+- Ng5 the best try. 27.fxe4 Nxe4 28.Qd3 Qe8? another reasonable-looking move that does not work. 29.Rf4 29.g4 is the quicker path to victory, immediately undermining the Ne4. c6 30.gxf5 gxf5 31.Rxf5+- 29...c5 30.Bxe4 fxe4 31.Rxe4 at this point the game largely plays itself for White, although Black fights on. Re7 32.Rxe7 Qxe7 33.dxc5 following the rule of simplification when ahead. dxc5 34.Nc6 Qc7 35.Qd5 centralizing the queen and setting up a discovered attack threat against the Ra8. Bf8 36.Rf2 threatening a fork on f7. Kg7 37.Ne7 forcing material loss. Qxe7 38.Qxa8 h5 39.Qxf8+ and now with a 100 percent won K+P endgame, I simplify down. Black cannot protect his weak a- and c-pawns and also prevent the e-pawn from queening. Qxf8 40.Rxf8 Kxf8 41.Kf2 Ke7 42.Kf3 Ke6 43.Ke4 43.Kf4 Kf6 44.h3 Ke6 45.e4 Kd6 46.e5+ Ke6 47.Ke4 g5 48.h4 gxh4 49.gxh4 Ke7 50.Kf5 Kd8 51.e6 Ke7 52.Ke5 Kd8 53.Kf6 Kc7 54.e7 Kd7 55.Kf7 Kc7 56.e8Q Kb6 57.Qd8+ Kb7 58.Kf6 a6 59.b6 a5 60.Qc7+ Ka6 61.Qa7# 43...g5 this is just a distraction, and now the g-pawn will also become a target. 44.h3 h4 45.g4 maintaining the opposition for White and forcing Black's king to give way. Kd6 46.Kf5 a5 47.bxa6 Kc7 48.Ke5 keeping the win simple. Kb6 49.Kd5 Kxa6 50.Kxc5 50.e4 Kb6 51.e5 Kb7 52.Kxc5 Kc7 53.e6 Kc8 54.Kd6 Kd8 55.c5 Ke8 56.c6 Kf8 57.e7+ Kg7 58.c7 Kh7 59.c8Q Kg7 60.e8Q Kh7 61.Qh5+ Kg7 62.Qch8# 50...Kb7 51.e4 Kc7 52.Kd5 and my opponent resigned. 52.Kd5 Kd7 53.e5 Ke7 54.e6 Ke8 55.Kd6 Kd8 56.e7+ Ke8 57.c5 Kf7 58.c6 Ke8 59.c7 Kf7 60.c8Q Kg7 61.Qf5 Kg8 62.e8Q+ Kg7 63.Qef8# 1–0

• Start an analysis engine:
• Try maximizing the board:
• Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
• Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
• Drag the split bars between window panes.
• Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
• Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
• Create an account to access the games cloud.

White	EloW	Black	EloB	Res	ECO	Rnd

ChessAdmin

-

Class B

-

1–0

A26

Please, wait...