FT article: The sports helping executives stay at the top of their game

The latest Financial Times article involving chess - "The sports helping executives stay at the top of their game" - sadly was evidently written by non-chessplayers. How could I tell? From this quote:

Chess is not a solved game: despite the computing advances, there is no known perfect way to play it. But for some, it is too controlled an environment to offer a window into the real world — too little emotion, too many pre-planned sequences. How much can you learn about life from a sport that machines play far better?

There are several things wrong with the above statement, but the primary tipoff was the "too little emotion" part - no one who has played a serious game would ever say that, including Magnus Carlsen when he loses. The part about not learning from life in anything that machines "play [or do] far better" would mean abandoning all sorts of activities in modern life. I suppose we should all stop writing and drawing now that generative AI exists?

The other chess quote from the article is more on point:

Demis Hassabis, co-founder of Google DeepMind, became a chess master aged 13. He attributes his early interest in AI to playing chess “and trying to improve my own thought processes”.

And I would say an article quote on tennis is also very applicable (see Chess vs. Tennis here for more parallels) and one of the reasons I enjoy chess as a pastime:

“There’s no favouritism, there’s no politics. You either win or lose based on how you perform in the moment.”

Annotated Game #311: Karma in the KIA

Continuing the karma theme from Annotated Game #310, this last-round draw should have been a win for my opponent, who did a good job outplaying me in a Caro-Kann King's Indian Attack (KIA) middlegame. He then missed some defensive tactics leading to an imbalanced queen vs. rook and knight (and pawns) endgame, which I could have won.

In the KIA setup, Black has some unclear strategic decisions to make regarding where to put his light-square bishop (and when), along with keeping the center mobile or advancing with d5-d4. In this game I make bad choices in both cases and the punishment is enlightening. The other overall learning theme I came away with was the superiority of active defense, which is highlighted in several variations analyzed.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Class B"] [Black "ChessAdmin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "B10"] [PlyCount "128"] [GameId "2176007735169218"] 1. e4 c6 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 {heading for the King's Indian Attack} e5 4. Ngf3 Bd6 5. g3 Nf6 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O Re8 8. Re1 Nbd7 {this is the first real think for me now, although I had to concentrate a bit to remember to bring the rook out on the previous move.} (8... Bg4 {here also scores well in the database.}) 9. a4 a5 {a near-automatic reaction. Black wants to play this anyway, to contest the b4 square, while also preventing White's pawn from advancing further.} 10. Nf1 Nf8 $15 {next big think here, about the middlegame plan. The idea is to free up the Bc8 while preparing to go to g6 if necessary.} (10... d4 $5 {I considered to prevent White's next move, but I felt it was too committal.} 11. c3 c5 $11) (10... h6 $15 {this prophylactic move controls g5 and also acts as a waiting move, putting the question to White about what to do next, without committing Black unnecessarily.}) 11. Ne3 {I assessed this as being stronger than it actually was, threatening to go to f5 and hit the Bd6.} d4 (11... Ng6 $5 $15 {would be more consistent with my previous move and leave the central tension in place.} 12. Nf5 Bc7 $15 {and} 13. exd5 $4 {breaking up Black's center is of course now refuted by} Bxf5 $19) 12. Nc4 {here the knight avoids being exchanged on f5, and after some thought I overly complicate matters in response.} Bb4 $6 {I liked the idea of controlling c3, but this just improves White's position in relative terms.} (12... Bc7 {simple and best, according to the engine.} 13. c3 b5 14. axb5 cxb5 15. Na3 b4 16. Nc4 dxc3 17. bxc3 Ba6 $11) 13. Bd2 $14 {the simplest response.} Ng6 $6 {passive defense.} (13... Bg4 $11 {effectively gets the bishop into play, with the pin on the Nf3 protecting e5, and it can usefully exchange off White's good knight.}) 14. c3 $1 {White now seizes the initiative.} Bc5 $6 (14... dxc3 15. bxc3 Bf8 $14) 15. cxd4 $16 {White gladly exchanges the central pawn and my strong bishop.} Bxd4 16. Nxd4 exd4 17. f4 {now the pressure is really on and I have trouble coming up with a good defense.} Nf8 $2 (17... Be6 $5 {there is nothing better; here I did not adequately consider/calculate the pawn fork after} 18. f5 $2 (18. b3 $16) 18... Bxc4 $1 19. fxg6 Be6 $11) 18. f5 $18 {White controls the center and his active pieces and advanced f-pawn threaten my king.} N6d7 19. Nd6 Ne5 {I decided to make a defensive exchange sac, since otherwise I felt White would simply squeeze me to death.} (19... Re7 {is the engine's choice, but with a similar idea in the variation} 20. Nc4 Ne5 21. Nxe5 Rxe5 22. Bf4 Nd7 $16) 20. Nxe8 Qxe8 21. Bf4 Nfd7 {the idea is to set up as much of a blockade as possible.} 22. Qc2 c5 $16 {White is up the exchange and has the two bishops, but my defense is starting to form.} 23. Rad1 b6 24. h3 (24. g4 {is the hard-to-find engine move, with the point being} Nxg4 $2 25. e5 {with a discovered attack on the Ra8} Ra7 26. Qe2 $18) 24... Ba6 {with my last minor piece now developed usefully, hitting d3, I've whittled White's advantage down some.} 25. Qb3 $2 {this just loses a pawn, although I was too timid and also did not seriously calculate the idea of taking with the bishop on d3.} Rb8 $6 (25... Bxd3 $1 {and if} 26. Rxd3 $2 {I did not see} (26. Qa3 Ba6 $15) 26... c4 $1 $19 {the knight protects the c-pawn, the crucial difference in choosing which piece to take with on d3.}) 26. Qc2 {eliminating the pawn fork tactic.} Qe7 {developing the queen to a better diagonal.} 27. Qe2 f6 $6 {now is when active defense/counterattack would be best. However, I was still focused on creating a fortress.} (27... b5 28. axb5 Bxb5 $11) (27... g5 $5 28. fxg6 hxg6 29. h4 c4 30. dxc4 Bxc4 $11 {followed by ...d3 is an idea I saw, but judged too risky.}) 28. g4 Qf7 {eyeing the penetration possibility on b3} 29. g5 {again I miscalculate the defense.} Kh8 (29... fxg5 30. Bxg5 Qb3 $1 $14) 30. Kh1 Rg8 $6 (30... fxg5) 31. Qf2 Nxd3 {unfortunately this does not work objectively, but it was certainly a shock to my opponent, and I erroneously thought it was my best chance.} (31... fxg5 $1 {eliminating the g-pawn first is necessary.} 32. Bxg5 Nxd3 $15) 32. Rxd3 Bxd3 33. g6 $1 $18 Qe7 34. Qh4 Nf8 {best and only move that does not immediately lose. My opponent appeared surprised, and was getting low on time.} 35. e5 $4 {attempting to increase the pressure, but this allows} Bxf5 $19 {and he apparently missed this backwards bishop move. Black is now winning.} 36. exf6 Qxf6 37. Bg5 Qxg6 38. Bd5 {I now block with the wrong minor piece, having missed White's follow-up.} Be6 $2 (38... Ne6 $1 {and Black is now simply a winning amount of material up.}) 39. Rxe6 $1 Nxe6 40. Be4 {this is what I missed. Now I find the drawing continuation, which seemed to surprise my opponent.} Qxe4+ 41. Qxe4 Nxg5 $11 {the engine rates this as a draw, but of course with the major imbalances involved either side could still blunder, especially since we were both low on time. I would say winning chances practically are with Black, due to the extra pawns.} 42. Qf5 h6 $1 {now I should not have to worry about losing by force.} 43. h4 Nh7 44. Qd7 Rf8 $6 $15 (44... Nf6 {much better having this move come with tempo, and the engine even assesses Black is now winning.} 45. Qd6 Re8 46. b3 Kh7 47. Qxb6 Re5 $19) 45. Qd6 Rf6 {the idea was to maintain an easy draw with the 6th rank defense.} 46. Qd8+ Rf8 $6 {this was an unnecessary (and unintentional) pawn sac, but the evaluation stays the same.} (46... Nf8 $15) 47. Qxb6 d3 $11 {the power of the advanced passed pawn outweighs the queenside pawn weaknesses for Black.} 48. Qd6 c4 49. Kg2 Re8 50. Kf3 Nf6 51. Qd4 Re4 52. Qd8+ Kh7 53. Qxa5 Rxh4 54. Qf5+ {now there is no way to escape the checks.} Kg8 55. Qe6+ Kh7 56. Qd6 $4 (56. Qf5+ $11) 56... Ne4 $2 {this is good enough for the draw, but the engine shows a win after} (56... Rh3+ $1 57. Kg2 Rh5 $19 {as White cannot prevent the rook from going to d5 behind the passed pawn.}) 57. Qd5 d2 58. Qf5+ {and we're back on the check circuit.} Kg8 59. Qe6+ Kf8 60. Qc8+ Ke7 61. Qb7+ Kf6 62. Qc6+ Kg5 63. Qd5+ Kg6 64. Qe6+ $4 (64. Qc6+ $11) 64... Kh7 {unfortunately I didn't have enough time to calculate the alternative, so agreed a draw here.} (64... Nf6 $1 $19 {without another check by White, Black's rook can now get behind the d-pawn, for example after} 65. Qe2 (65. Qd6 Rh3+ 66. Ke2 Rd3) 65... Rh3+ 66. Kg2 Rd3) 1/2-1/2

Onion article: Befuddled Magnus Carlsen Bested By Dreaded Checkmate Gambit

You know it's bad when The Onion does a story on you losing at chess:

https://theonion.com/befuddled-magnus-carlsen-bested-by-dreaded-checkmate-gambit/

Annotated Game #310: A just result (karma-wise)

I unexpectedly had two Whites in a row in this tournament, so was able to immediately rectify my error of an incorrect e3-e4 pawn push in Annotated Game #309 with an example of a correct e3-e4 pawn lever. The difference here is that Black closes the center early, making the pawn break possible since White's d-pawn cannot be undermined or exchanged as a result. My opponent then makes a tactical error which should have led to a loss, but I fritter away my advantage into an even endgame. A late blunder as we officially agreed a draw was bad, but given that I should have easily won earlier, perhaps it was just karma evening out.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "ChessAdmin"] [Black "Class B"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "D00"] [PlyCount "79"] [GameId "2176007679303869"] 1. d4 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. Bd3 e6 4. f4 c5 5. c3 Nc6 6. Nf3 c4 {this decision by Black to close the center now makes the e3-e4 pawn lever White's main (correct) idea.} 7. Bc2 b5 8. O-O a5 9. Qe2 {the idea is to support the e-pawn push, while getting the queen off the back rank.} (9. Nbd2 {followed by e4 is better for development, however.}) 9... Be7 10. Nbd2 b4 11. e4 $14 {while Black's queenside pawns are further advanced and therefore control more space, White's central play more than offsets this.} a4 12. Ne5 Qc7 13. Nxc6 bxc3 $2 {after a long think, my opponent goes for this trick option, which should in fact lose.} (13... Qxc6 14. e5 Ng8 {and White only has a slight plus, but this must have looked unappetizing.}) 14. Nxe7 $1 {also played after a long think, to make sure it worked tactically.} cxd2 15. Nxd5 $18 {the key follow-up.} Nxd5 16. Bxd2 Nf6 17. Bc3 {another long think here. While this isnt bad, I should have prevented castling instead.} (17. Bb4 {and White's task is much easier with the king in the center.}) 17... O-O 18. d5 $6 {this unnecessarily loosens central control and gives back much of White's advantage.} (18. a3 {is simple and locks up Black's a-pawn while giving the bishop a postential outpost on b4.}) (18. Rac1 {also works after} a3 19. bxa3 Rxa3 $2 20. Bb4 $1) 18... Qb6+ $6 (18... exd5 19. e5 Re8 $16) 19. Kh1 $16 exd5 20. exd5 $6 {an example of too-materialistic thinking.} (20. e5 $1 Bg4 21. Qe1 d4 22. Qf2 $18 {a nice tactical finesse with the pin, which I did not see.}) 20... Re8 $14 21. Qf3 Re3 $6 (21... a3 $14 {breaking up the pawns, one way or another, would essentially equalize.}) 22. Qd1 $6 (22. Qf2 $1 $18 {again missing the pinning idea.}) 22... Bg4 23. Qd4 {the best choice.} (23. Bd4 Qd6 $11) 23... Qxd4 24. Bxd4 Re2 25. Bd1 Rd2 $6 (25... Re4 $14) 26. Bxf6 {seizing the chance to inflict structural damage on Black.} Rxd1 27. Raxd1 Bxd1 28. Rxd1 gxf6 $16 {Black's fragmented pawn structure gives White an obvious edge, but as the saying goes, "all rook endings are drawn"} 29. Kg1 $6 (29. a3 {again is a key idea, preventing the advance of Black's a-pawn.}) 29... Kf8 (29... a3 $1 $11) 30. Kf2 {now my opponent recognizes the idea of the a-pawn advance, eliminating Black's pawn weakness on the queenside, after which she can cover the kingside adequately.} a3 $1 $11 31. bxa3 Rxa3 {now it's a draw.} 32. Rd2 (32. Rc1 Rxa2+ 33. Kf3 Ra4 $11) 32... Ke7 33. d6+ Kd7 34. Ke2 c3 35. Rc2 Kxd6 36. Kd3 f5 37. g3 Kd5 38. h3 h5 39. Rxc3 Rxa2 40. Rc2 $4 {if exchanged, this is now a lost K+P ending. I was hallucinating under time pressure and did not see how Black's king could penetrate. However, my opponent also was tired of the struggle and took the draw.} (40. Rb3 Rg2 41. Rb5+ $11) (40. Ke3 Rg2 41. Kf3 $11) 1/2-1/2

Annotated Game #309: Don't assume the move is good

In this next tournament game, I make two bad assumptions about a move being good, and am punished for it. The first one is the e3-e4 break in the Stonewall Attack, which has to be more carefully prepared. The second one is the result of a hallucination and assuming that I could escape a pawn fork, which in fact I could not. For whatever reason I was more mentally tired than I should have been during the game, which led to the unfortunate short-circuiting of my thinking process.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "ChessAdmin"] [Black "Class A"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "D05"] [PlyCount "44"] [GameId "2173571441721411"] {[%evp 0,23,25,26,13,5,9,-8,9,-15,-22,-31,-33,-14,-12,-20,-22,-12,-24,-12,-4,-28,-8,-18,-25,-8]} 1. d4 d5 2. e3 Nf6 3. Bd3 e6 4. f4 Be7 5. Nd2 b6 6. Ngf3 Bb7 7. O-O O-O 8. Ne5 c5 9. c3 Nbd7 10. Qf3 a6 11. g4 {pursuing the standard Stonewall Attack kingside expansion plan.} Nxe5 12. fxe5 Nd7 13. Qh3 g6 14. e4 $2 {this looks active, but unfortunately the e-pawn break idea is not supported sufficiently.} (14. Nf3 f6 15. exf6 (15. g5 $5 fxg5 16. Qxe6+ Kg7 17. Qg4 Bc8 18. Qg2 $11) 15... Nxf6 (15... Bxf6 16. g5 Bxg5 17. Qxe6+ $11) 16. Bd2 Ne4 17. Bxe4 dxe4 18. Ne5 $11) 14... Bg5 $6 {this should let White escape after exd5, but instead I play} (14... cxd4 15. cxd4 b5 {taking away the c4 square from White's minor pieces.} 16. exd5 Qb6 {White's center is not sufficiently defended.} 17. Nb3 Nxe5 $17) 15. Nf3 $4 {my "internal board sight" failed here - of course after the Bc1 is exchanged the knight cannot go to g5, which I hallucinated, because of the Qd8 covering the square. I was mentally tired and prematurely cut off my own thinking process, with plenty of time on the clock.} (15. exd5 Bxd5 16. Be4 $11) 15... Bxc1 16. Raxc1 dxe4 $19 {and now the game is effectively over, although I try for a swindle based on a desperate kingside attack.} 17. Qh6 exf3 18. Rce1 cxd4 19. Be4 Bxe4 20. Rxe4 f5 21. gxf5 Rxf5 22. Rh4 Qg5+ 0-1