It's time for another annotated Chess game, and in this post I'll discuss my most recent game, played for Kidsgrove against Cheddleton F. Cheddleton is such a large club that they have six teams (A-F) and Cheddleton F is in our division.
My opponent was Dominic Taylor, aged approximately 15~16 and a strong player. I'm saying that now, as he beat me. It was a very educational match (for me) and one where I was actually able to play my favourite opening for White, the Queen's Gambit Declined. Here goes:
David Leese, Kidsgrove (White) vs Dominic Taylor, Cheddleton F (Black). 1 April 2014, Kidsgrove Club.
1.d4 d5
2.c4 c6
3.Nf3 Nf6
4.Nc3 e6
5.Bg5 Be7
6.e3 h6
7.Bh4 Nbd7
At this point, I thought I'd messed up my move order. I wanted to play something like the Rubinstein Attack variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined, with a pawn on h4 and Black already castled. However, I haven't quite managed to reach that position. At this point I should also probably have resolved the centre. Instead, I pursued my plan to attack the soon-to-be-castled king.
8.Qc2 c5
9.cxd5 ( 9.dxc5 ) 9...exd5
10.dxc5 Bxc5
It was my intention to inflict an isolated Queen's pawn on my opponent, and I succeeded. What I did not realise originally was how quickly I could attack - and capture - the isolated Queen's pawn. Once I'd seen that the knight on f6 is pinned, I captured on d5.
11.Nxd5 Qa5+
12.Nc3 Bb4
I wonder now if 12. Nd2 was better. I got very worried at this stage, as Black achieves pressure against the knight on c3, and that's why I played my next move. I wanted to prevent Nf6-d5.
13.Bc4 b5
14.Bb3 Bxc3+
15.bxc3 O-O
16.O-O Ba6
17.Rfc1 Rac8
18.Qb2 Ne4
... hitting the weak, isolated pawn on c3. I have not exchanged my bishop while the knight was on f6, but I hit on a pleasing little sequence that activated my dark-squared bishop. I was feeling fairly confident about my position at this stage, but was soon to play some very inaccurate moves. Looking back, I think this was probably the first, "pleasing" or otherwise.
19.Be7 Rfe8
20.Bb4 Qc7
Possibly the highlight of the game. I have the bishop pair, on adjacent diagonals, pointing towards the black king. My isolated pawn is well defended, and I can double rooks on the c-file and start pushing the c-pawn and forcibly gain some space for myself. And I am a pawn ahead (the e-pawn has no direct opponent). What follows is perhaps a lesson in how not to hold an advantage.
21.Nd4 Ndf6
For one thing, I'm not sure why I played Nd4. I had noticed that black's rooks can be forked by a knight on d6, and so I was planning a sequence around the board, Nf3-d4-f5-d6. Except that will take a very long time to complete - three further moves - and black could move his rooks at any point in that sequence. Additionally, I could play f3 and drive away black's annoying knight on e4. Worse still, black has started to move his pieces towards the kingside, and I'm not paying attention to this. Worse than 21. Nd4 is my next move, which black immediately exploited.
22.a4
22. ... Ng4
Bother. I am now in serious trouble, due to my fiddling around on the queenside, and black has built a significant attack on the kingside, with all my pieces far away from the action. If I'd played 21. f3 or 21. h3, then this dreadful situation would have not come about. I am now in serious trouble, and my next move isn't perfect either.
23.f4 Nxe3
No, I hadn't realised that 23. f4 would mean that the e-pawn would drop.
24.g3 bxa4
25.Rxa4 Qb6
26.Ba5 Qc5
27.Bb4 Qb6
28.Ba5
Can I persuade my opponent to go for a draw? Yes, he's got a bigger attack going, but my pieces are still active. I shouldn't have done this, either, really - better moves were Re1, Qa2, or Qe2. I was hoping my opponent would fall for a trap and move his queen to b8, so that I could play Bxf7+ and capture his queen with mine. I was underestimating my opponent's ability.
29. ... Qg6
No, he's not going for the draw, he's playing for a win. And look at my pieces - almost all of them in one corner of the board, while my opponent's knights are both massive in the middle of the board. To allow one knight on an outpost would be bad, but these two are covering each other. Any of the other moves I had considered would have been better than this.
29.Ra2 Nxg3
The situation is desperate, and desperate times call for desperate measures. If my opponent can sacrifice pieces, then so can I.
30.Bxf7+ Kxf7
31.Qb3+ Bc4
This is not going well. I thought I could pull black's king out into the open, and I missed this annoying move, which skewers my queen and rook. I have no option here but to go on with the attack (as weak as it is).
32.Qb7+ Kg8
33.hxg3 Qxg3+ (I was expecting Bxa2).
34.Rg2 Nxg2
35.Qxg2 Qxg2+
36.Kxg2
36. ... Rf8
So, I'm down by a pawn and the exchange, but my pawns are a mess and I really don't anticipate holding on to the game for much longer. Here, I should play Kg3 to cover the pawn, and keep it off the light squares and away from black's bishop.
37.f5 Bd3
I give up.
I suffered from ignoring my opponent's more immediate attack, and from diverting forces away from my king. I failed to spot the incoming attack and the plan behind my opponent's moves - always a bad sign - and after going a pawn ahead in the opening, managed to squander it by playing my own game instead of watching my opponent's. Maybe next time...!
This would have to rank as my most embarassing game. My strategy was wrong; I put my pieces on poor squares and tried to hold onto a pawn that I shouldn't have.
I have played some better games though, and I can recommend these:
Playing the English Defence
My earliest online Chess game
My very earliest Chess game (it was even earlier than I thought)
The Chess game I'm most proud of - where I made the situation too complicated for my opponent, causing him to lose a piece; I then found a fork and finished off with a piece sacrifice
My opponent was Dominic Taylor, aged approximately 15~16 and a strong player. I'm saying that now, as he beat me. It was a very educational match (for me) and one where I was actually able to play my favourite opening for White, the Queen's Gambit Declined. Here goes:
David Leese, Kidsgrove (White) vs Dominic Taylor, Cheddleton F (Black). 1 April 2014, Kidsgrove Club.
1.d4 d5
2.c4 c6
3.Nf3 Nf6
4.Nc3 e6
5.Bg5 Be7
6.e3 h6
7.Bh4 Nbd7
At this point, I thought I'd messed up my move order. I wanted to play something like the Rubinstein Attack variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined, with a pawn on h4 and Black already castled. However, I haven't quite managed to reach that position. At this point I should also probably have resolved the centre. Instead, I pursued my plan to attack the soon-to-be-castled king.
8.Qc2 c5
9.cxd5 ( 9.dxc5 ) 9...exd5
10.dxc5 Bxc5
It was my intention to inflict an isolated Queen's pawn on my opponent, and I succeeded. What I did not realise originally was how quickly I could attack - and capture - the isolated Queen's pawn. Once I'd seen that the knight on f6 is pinned, I captured on d5.
11.Nxd5 Qa5+
12.Nc3 Bb4
I wonder now if 12. Nd2 was better. I got very worried at this stage, as Black achieves pressure against the knight on c3, and that's why I played my next move. I wanted to prevent Nf6-d5.
13.Bc4 b5
14.Bb3 Bxc3+
15.bxc3 O-O
16.O-O Ba6
17.Rfc1 Rac8
18.Qb2 Ne4
... hitting the weak, isolated pawn on c3. I have not exchanged my bishop while the knight was on f6, but I hit on a pleasing little sequence that activated my dark-squared bishop. I was feeling fairly confident about my position at this stage, but was soon to play some very inaccurate moves. Looking back, I think this was probably the first, "pleasing" or otherwise.
19.Be7 Rfe8
20.Bb4 Qc7
Possibly the highlight of the game. I have the bishop pair, on adjacent diagonals, pointing towards the black king. My isolated pawn is well defended, and I can double rooks on the c-file and start pushing the c-pawn and forcibly gain some space for myself. And I am a pawn ahead (the e-pawn has no direct opponent). What follows is perhaps a lesson in how not to hold an advantage.
21.Nd4 Ndf6
For one thing, I'm not sure why I played Nd4. I had noticed that black's rooks can be forked by a knight on d6, and so I was planning a sequence around the board, Nf3-d4-f5-d6. Except that will take a very long time to complete - three further moves - and black could move his rooks at any point in that sequence. Additionally, I could play f3 and drive away black's annoying knight on e4. Worse still, black has started to move his pieces towards the kingside, and I'm not paying attention to this. Worse than 21. Nd4 is my next move, which black immediately exploited.
22.a4
22. ... Ng4
Bother. I am now in serious trouble, due to my fiddling around on the queenside, and black has built a significant attack on the kingside, with all my pieces far away from the action. If I'd played 21. f3 or 21. h3, then this dreadful situation would have not come about. I am now in serious trouble, and my next move isn't perfect either.
23.f4 Nxe3
No, I hadn't realised that 23. f4 would mean that the e-pawn would drop.
24.g3 bxa4
25.Rxa4 Qb6
26.Ba5 Qc5
27.Bb4 Qb6
28.Ba5
Can I persuade my opponent to go for a draw? Yes, he's got a bigger attack going, but my pieces are still active. I shouldn't have done this, either, really - better moves were Re1, Qa2, or Qe2. I was hoping my opponent would fall for a trap and move his queen to b8, so that I could play Bxf7+ and capture his queen with mine. I was underestimating my opponent's ability.
29. ... Qg6
No, he's not going for the draw, he's playing for a win. And look at my pieces - almost all of them in one corner of the board, while my opponent's knights are both massive in the middle of the board. To allow one knight on an outpost would be bad, but these two are covering each other. Any of the other moves I had considered would have been better than this.
29.Ra2 Nxg3
The situation is desperate, and desperate times call for desperate measures. If my opponent can sacrifice pieces, then so can I.
30.Bxf7+ Kxf7
31.Qb3+ Bc4
This is not going well. I thought I could pull black's king out into the open, and I missed this annoying move, which skewers my queen and rook. I have no option here but to go on with the attack (as weak as it is).
32.Qb7+ Kg8
33.hxg3 Qxg3+ (I was expecting Bxa2).
34.Rg2 Nxg2
35.Qxg2 Qxg2+
36.Kxg2
36. ... Rf8
So, I'm down by a pawn and the exchange, but my pawns are a mess and I really don't anticipate holding on to the game for much longer. Here, I should play Kg3 to cover the pawn, and keep it off the light squares and away from black's bishop.
37.f5 Bd3
I suffered from ignoring my opponent's more immediate attack, and from diverting forces away from my king. I failed to spot the incoming attack and the plan behind my opponent's moves - always a bad sign - and after going a pawn ahead in the opening, managed to squander it by playing my own game instead of watching my opponent's. Maybe next time...!
This would have to rank as my most embarassing game. My strategy was wrong; I put my pieces on poor squares and tried to hold onto a pawn that I shouldn't have.
I have played some better games though, and I can recommend these:
Playing the English Defence
My earliest online Chess game
My very earliest Chess game (it was even earlier than I thought)
The Chess game I'm most proud of - where I made the situation too complicated for my opponent, causing him to lose a piece; I then found a fork and finished off with a piece sacrifice
