White to move and not screw up his position. What's the best continuation for White?
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Well, as you'll see below, I did in fact screw up my position. The position looked so tactically rich that I figured there must be a way to win a piece...there must! I felt rushed. I was in absolutely no time trouble, but I just didn't want to sit there and evaluate for a couple minutes to try and find an absolute tactic to win a piece. I have this feeling that I'm wasting a bunch of time if I have to sit and evaluate in the middle of a game for more than a few seconds. So, with a few seconds of evaluation and a really vague plan, I winged it. Played a sacrifice that I thought might win me a piece.
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Did I miss a response to my tactic? OF COURSE!! That's what happens when you evaluate an interesting position for only a few seconds! Well, needless to say it went downhill from there and was over pretty quickly.
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Oh well. Here's the game:
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ToddvsIronRanger20080812.pgn
It's embarassing, but, if I don't show my suckage to everyone then I'll never get any good advice about improving, or encouragement.
ToddvsIronRanger20080812.pgn
It's embarassing, but, if I don't show my suckage to everyone then I'll never get any good advice about improving, or encouragement.
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Posts
9 comments:
2...Bf5?! - A crafty trap! 3.cxd5 looks so logical because if 3...Qxd5 4.Nc3! and you have a clear advantage, but 3...Bxb5 4.Rxb1 Qxd5= is the point and Black's equalized. 3.Qb3! would be a strong way to meet this plan.
5.b3?! - A bit slow... Nf3 was better, developing a piece with plans to castle kingside and giving your d-pawn more support.
7.Bb2?! - e3 would also have supported the d4 pawn while getting you closer to castling. Note you will be able to play Bc4 with a gain of time due to the placement of the Black queen.
8.Rc1?! - Again, e3.
13.O-O! - Sweet! You survived round 1 and your king is safe.
16.Bxe6?? - Yikes! In your rush to do something, you give away two pieces and the game. You have to have the patience to calculate out tactics for both sides or you will just get nailed every time.
That feeling of "feeling rushed" is something that I often run into when I play on the ICC. There have been very few games on the internet that I haven't felt rushed and I don't know why. In the OTB games (which are few at this point), that I have been fortunate enough to play I have only felt rushed in one. I still blunder when I am not rushed but it feels like my OTB blunders are more instructive because I really thought about it and still made a mistake. The reason I feel this is more instructive is that I can really get a good look at my THOUGH PROCESS and correct it's faults!
Is there a local club you could go to so that you could play some OTB games? (Even in my chess infancy I am becoming something of a purist!!)
I personally would not have played 3. cxd5. I think this gives black some initiative. My chess coach says that beginners (And I definitely am a beginner), tend to avoid pawn tension. He has often said that pawn tension can be a good thing for awhile.
I agree with Likesforests that 7. e3 would have been better as well.
16. Bxe6 and 17. d5 are a them that have shown up in my own games. I have noticed that I sometimes get too focused on chasing one of my opponent's pieces (usually the queen), and this ends up getting me into tactical and positional problems. I also won a game about a month ago where my opponent did the same thing.
Anyway, thanks for sharing the game I hope my novice comments are of some help.
TommyG
likesforests, if 5.Nf3, wouldn't Black win a pawn with Qxa2?
Yeah good point, I see why 7.e3 would be better.
Arrgghh...I know...16.Bxe6?? ridiculous....I get so nervous in timed internet games. Maybe in timed OTB games as well, but I have never played a timed OTB game (no clock).
Hey man, thanks for your annotations!! They are appreciated.
TommyG, I'm glad I'm not the only one! You know, before this blog I was a purist as well...I wanted no part of 2-d internet games. But now I do it because there is no alternative....because, no, there are no local clubs to hang out with and play OTB chess. I live in a small town and the nearest chess club is at least a 30 mile commute. That wouldn't be so bad except I'm a college student with a family to support, so you can imagine how tight the money is.
You know, when I was going back over the game I thought 3.cxd5 was silly as well and instead thought 3.Nc3 would be a better alternative...but I haven't checked out the line.
You know, that was exactly it...chasing the Queen. It feels so exciting to possibly be able to capture the opponents Queen and ruin his game. BUT...doesn't always work out that way.
Your comments have been VERY helpful, so keep them coming! Thanks.
"likesforests, if 5.Nf3, wouldn't Black win a pawn with Qxa2?"
Doh! I have foolish ideas, too. :)
LOL LikesForests, it's good to know that I'm not the only human out here!
LikesForests, I was just going over your annotations more closely...I think 3.Qb3 would indeed be a great continuation after 2...Bf5.
Is 2...Bf5 even a main line for Black? Does it have a name?
I've gotta admit, the move shocked me a little bit and made me stop and have to think...I've never seen it before.
I did some investigation. 2...Bf5 is called the Baltic Defense and ?! is underestimating it. It's been played by alot of strong players, although at the GM level it's only used as a surprise. Black's control of the center is temporary, and in the long-term giving up the bishop pair will have serious consequences.
3.Qb3!? is sharp, but if Black is willing to sac material he actually gets good counterplay.
Your 3.cxd5 Bxb1 is the mainline. The trick is not to continue 4.Rxb1 but more precisely with 4.Qa4+! c6, preventing ...Nc6 which slows Black down so White has a chance to finish developing.
From the post diagram if i was playing fast i would of played Rd2
It's not dynamic but if it is safer than Bxe6+
@LikesForests, the Baltic Defense, it sounds like a pretty interesting Opening. Maybe I'll add it to my repertoire (as if I have a repertoire!)
@chessx, Rd2 was what I was thinking would have been a good continuation too, when I was going back over the game.
Thanks for the comments, everyone
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