Chess X

Thaniri

1264 Posts

February 10 2014 06:10 GMT

I'm starting to hit a certain stride in terms of chess practice.

In the beginning it was hard to get myself to actually play, mostly because I didn't really find chess all that much fun.

The reason I kept playing though, was that once in a while I would get totally absorbed into the game and really enjoy myself. Simply going through the mental process and check list for each move was a pleasure in itself. These days would remind me of when I competed in starcraft, or when I was preparing for a piano exam. I wanted to rekindle that fire in myself.

Recently I've been finding more time in my day to play online or on a chess trainer, and get into a good rhythm for it.

I don't know what's changed. I'm just feeling better.

I still don't have the drive to wake up thinking about chess, play chess for 12 hours, and fall asleep dreaming about chess. But hopefully the motivation just grows on it's own.

+ Show Spoiler +

I'm trying to figure out what exactly I'm pressing that closes the entire chrome window. It's not Alt+F4, nor is it CTRL+W which only closes one tab. It's quite frustrating to type up thousands of words and have it all go poof.

I recommend that the blog be read like this, so that you can read my comments throughout while also being able to see the board for yourself.

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+ Show Spoiler +

http://www.chess.com/livechess/game?id=722764523

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d5 3. d4 dxe4 4. Nxe5 Bd6 5. Nc3 Bxe5 6. dxe5 Nc6 7. Qxd8+ Nxd8 8. Nxe4 h6 9. Bd3 Nc6 10. Bf4 Nd4 11. O-O Be6 12. b3 O-O-O 13. Be3 Nf5 14. Bxa7 b6 15. Ba6+ Kd7 16. Rad1+ Ke7 17. Rxd8 Kxd8 18. Rd1+ Ke7 19. Bb8 f6 20. exf6+ Nxf6 21. Nxf6 Rxb8 22. Ne4 Ra8 23. Bb5 Rxa2 24. c4 Rb2 25. Ba4 c5 26. g4 Nh4 27. h3 Nf3+ 28. Kg2 Nd4 29. Rd2 Rxd2 30. Nxd2 Ne2 31. Kf3 Nd4+ 32. Ke4 Bc8 33. f4 Bb7+ 34. Ke5 Bg2 35. h4 Bh3 36. g5 hxg5 37. hxg5 Kd8 38. Ne4 Nf3+ 39. Kd6 Bf5 40. Ng3 Bc2 41. Kc6 Nd4+ 42. Kxb6 Bxb3 43. Bxb3 Nxb3 44. Nf5 g6 45. Nh4 Nd4 46. Kxc5 Ne6+ 47. Kd6 Nxf4 48. Nxg6 Nxg6 49. c5 Ne7 50. c6 Nxc6 51. Kxc6 Ke7 52. Kd5 Kf7 53. Ke5 Kg6 54. Kf4 Kg7 55. Kf5

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To visualise this game, I recommend imagining two bronze leaguers who 3 raxed and proxy 2 gated each other but somehow didn't die and the game continued.

1.e4
1...e4
2.Nf3
2...d5
3.d4 <- Bet you didn't see that coming.

My theory behind playing d4 is that I can quickly devolve the game into a simple endgame and defeat my opponent through sheer calculation superiority. My consistently bad endgames coupled with the fact that there are multiple ways to outplay your opponent in chess demonstrate that this theory "doesn't hold any shit" in the Polish way of putting it.

Stepping outside of the game, it's easy to say that. In the game however, I am operating on the premise that beginners should practice their endgame skills above all else. For better or for worse, this is what I'm going for.

3...dxe4
forces
4.Nxe5

As white, I'm looking for a way to get rid of the e4 pawn. While I expect black's best plan of action to be to harass my forward knight and develop his middle pieces.

4...Bd6
5.Nc3

I see this move going two ways.
1) He leaves the center be and continues to develop, which I suspect is his best course of action.
2) He takes the trade and ends up clearing both queens off of the board.

He ends up taking the trade.

5...Bxe5
6.dxe5

Here I believe black's best move is to immediately take my queen and relieve the pressure on his e4 pawn. If he doesn't take my queen, I'm fine with taking his.

If he does take my queen, my natural response would be to take back with the knight. But I want to test out taking it with my king and castling by hand instead one day.

6...Nc6
Like I said, if he doesn't take my queen, I'm just going to take his.
7.Qxd8
7...Nxd8
8.Nxe4

Going back to the parallel story. This position is like the moment when Terran kills the pylon holding up the proxy gates and is in a bit of an advantage due to MULE power. Yet things are still not quite right.

The e5 pawn is going to be very difficult to hold on to due to how far forward it is. This slight advantage can be turned on me quickly I think.

He chooses to play 8...h6 which I think is just a pure blunder. I can't see what this move is possibly trying to accomplish.

9.Bd3 says "I want to castle."

I was just as close to a queenside castle as my kingside castle on this move, but I didn't see the point of trying the queenside castle. My a pawn would be hanging, and the black bishop on f4 or e3 is not any more useful than the white bishop on d3. The kingside castle seems safer.

That doesn't mean I want to give up my e pawn though.
9...Nc6
10.Bf4
10...Nd4
11.0-0

I don't like 10...Nd4. I don't see anything inherently wrong with the move in a vacuum, but when one looks at the fact that black is behind on castling and development one has to see that it is not the optimal move.

In retrospect, I think that c3, ??? e6, ??? Bxc7 would have been the best way to take advantage of this error. At the time though, I didn't see this weakness and after
11...Be6

I played

12.B3

The idea behind that move was to relive my rook's babysitting responsibility on a2 and move it to the center. What I've noticed is that rooks on center files behind middling pieces are incredibly strong, but quite weak behind pawns (unless passed.) In this particular case it wasn't the best move.

It shows how chess is a lot like studying quantum physics, where every question feels like it involves some sort of exception or trick to the rule.

12...0-0-0

This move shows the weakness of the a pawn after a queenside castle that I was worried about earlier.

13.Be3

I think that if he just chilled out with the knight it would have bought him time to secure the weakness. That would force me to play c3 to shoo the knight, but that one move of time is all he needs to defend a7.

He doesn't and plays 13...Nf5
So I just play 14.Nxa7

Suddenly though, something happens that surprised me. I'll have to think quick to get myself out of trouble.

14...b6

Now my bishop is trapped. I'm two pawns up, but that means nothing if I lose the bishop which is 3 value points. I need to trade down fast because his rooks still aren't connected. Once they connect my bishop is doomed.

15.Ba6+
15...Kd7
16.Rad1+
17...Ke7
17.Rxd8
17...Kxd8
18.Rd1+
18...Ke7
19.Bb8

Crisis averted!

I was quite proud of that chain of moves because I'm pretty sure every one of blacks moves was completely forced. That showed strong control of the game and being able to dictate the pace.

It doesn't mean that the game was clean after that though.

19...f6

This move should have been ignored by me. I would have ended up with a net +3 in pawns after fxe, Bxc, ???, Bxb

I made the mistake of taking the pawn with 20.exf6+, which activated his knight and rook simultaneously with 20...Nxf6.

I default to trade-down-to-the-endgame mode and play 21.Nxf6. It could have been much better though.

21...Rxb8 was the correct piece for black to take. My knight wastes a tempo retreating from his king with 22.Ne4 and is rendered useless by his b, c, g, and f pawns.

He then plays another really good move in 22...Ra8

There is nowhere useful for my bishop to go, and he wins himself a free pawn.

23.Bb5
23...Rxa2
24.c4

I determine at this point that my endgame goal is to queen from one of my pawn islands. If I pressure heavily on the b and c files, I should buy enough time to overwhelm the kingside and queen a pawn. At least, that's my plan.

24...Rb2 This move is not that deep, he's just trying to pressure my offensive. With the bishop on e6, he is cutting at my position quite viciously but he can't push forward himself because my rook owns the d file.
25.Ba4 A simple attack usually only needs a simple defence.
25...c5

Now that this portion of the board is essentially Zugzwang I focus my attention on the kingside. I have to develop my king in order to achieve anything and that is where I tend to crumble in the lategame.

26.g4
forces
26...Nh4
forces
27.h3
27...Nf3+

Here I disagree with my opponent again. The knight on h4 was decentralized, sure, but he was severely restricting my king's mobility. If I moved the f pawn while his knight was sitting up there, my king would be completely penned up in the corner by his rook.

I play 28.Kg2 which begins my development of the king.
Then he plays 28...Nd4

This puts too much pressure on my b and c pawns, now I am forced to play 29.Rd2 and trade off the rooks. 29...Rxd2.
30.Nxd2

30...Ne2 doesn't look the the best move he could have played. I think that he should also focus on developing his king as kings are absolutely crucial to controlling space in endgames.
31.Kf3
31...Nd4+
32.Ke4
32...Bc8

I can't quite cut up to c6 yet because his king or bishop can prevent me from reaching c6 quite easily. So I determine that the best course of action is to play
33.f4
33...Bb7+
34.Ke5

Now my opponent will be constantly harassing my king and pieces, but none of it really matters because all of my evasive maneuvres end up pushing my pawns and king forwards. Things are really looking bad for him as he simply controls less of the board than I do.

23...Bg2
35.h5
35...Bh3
36.g5

You should be seeing now how my pawns are slowly being prodded forward by his bishop and ultimately closer to the queening squares.

36...hxg5
37.hxg5
37...Kd8

This move from black was probably his biggest blunder of the game, and the move where I think he ultimately lost. Now he can't possibly prevent me from reaching the c6 square and killing both pawns on b and c with my king.

38.Ne4
38...Nf3+
39.Kd6

He keeps pushing my forward with his pieces, while achieving nothing on his own part.

39...Bf5
40.Ng3
40...Bc2
41.Kc6
42.Kxb6 <- This is where I observe the game to be over.

The rest of the game is me just trading down. Its not nearly as clean as it could have been, but a win is a win.

The reason my opponent ultimately surrendered on move 55 was that in a king pawn ending, the with the pawn on g white will always be able to push the black king out of the way and queen.

GG. Terrans always win, because MULEs imba.

don_kyuhote

3007 Posts

February 10 2014 06:24 GMT

Keep up the good work Thaniri!

As for the game, someone correct me if I'm mistaken but isn't that a drawn king and pawn endgame?

Thaniri

1264 Posts

February 10 2014 06:34 GMT

@don_kyuhote

Actually, you're right. I just worked it out. It's a draw.

hp.Shell

United States2527 Posts

February 10 2014 06:44 GMT

Wow, you're getting so much better!

I'm not sure who would win the pawn endgame here. There is definitely still a chance for black to stalemate, but as to whether it is a forced stalemate, I'm not sure.

Edit: Thinking it can be forced now.
Edit2: Yep, it's forced: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_and_pawn_versus_king_endgame#Rules

don_kyuhote

3007 Posts

February 10 2014 08:43 GMT

haha too bad for him that he didn't know this was a drawn ending.
If he didn't know it, then he didn't deserve half a point I suppose

Darkwhite

Norway352 Posts

February 10 2014 09:06 GMT

You just spent five pages analyzing the game, and you think that's a won endgame?

Black can draw in that position, regardless of who moves first: http://www.k4it.de/?topic=egtb&lang=en

don_kyuhote

3007 Posts

February 10 2014 09:30 GMT

On February 10 2014 18:06 Darkwhite wrote:
You just spent five pages analyzing the game, and you think that's a won endgame?

Black can draw in that position, regardless of who moves first: http://www.k4it.de/?topic=egtb&lang=en

You know how to read the op, but you do not know how to read replies.

wingpawn

Poland1342 Posts

February 10 2014 09:37 GMT

This game was much more interesting than the previous ones, as it immediately transposed to complicated endgame.

You had large advantage out of the opening after your opponent refused to exchange Queens on d1. You were pawn up and had wonderfully developed Knight on e4 (as well as two Bishops that are usually stronger in endgames than Knights).

You've decided to develop Bishops to d3 and f4, which I think was a little sub-optimal. c4 was definitely the most active post for your light-square one, while e3 was perhaps better for the other. Whenever there are multiple okay moves to choose, always seek the one that gives you maximum mobility (note that the e5-pawn could always be protected with f2-f4).

Moves like 14...Bxa7 have bad reputation for a reason. On the other hand, even Bobby Fischer and Magnus Carlsen played in WCh games. The reason is that most of the times, your piece gets trapped by enemy pawns and only complicated calculations can determine whether it can survive or must die (which often is a difference between the win and the loss). In your case, you've chose pretty much optimal way of saving your Private Bishop, but the endgame you've got at move 23 was still rather bad, even despite being a pawn up. So I think in general taking on a7 wasn't a good idea at all.

Regarding the rest of the game: the general principle when ahead in material is to trade down the pieces and avoid trading pawns. The reason is that each your pawn that stays on the board is a potential Queen while each of you opponent's pawns is a potential target. You played reasonably well there, but also skipped over the part where you went 44. Nf5, while 44. Ne4 would win you the c5-pawn for free. In simple endgames, having passed pawns on opposite flanks is often times better than having them on one wing, because the other player usually has to spread himself too thin to defend.

And yeah, it's a draw. The only way you win such King and Pawn battle is when your Pawn is too far for his King to catch or when your King can push his King away from queening square. But for the latter to happen, you have to get your King on a square in front of your pawn, which is impossible here.

Quint

467 Posts

February 10 2014 13:50 GMT

What wingpawn said. One more thing: You regarded your pawn on e5 as a liability ("The e5 pawn is going to be very difficult to hold on to due to how far forward it is" + the line where you were willing to voluntarily exchange it for c7 ["In retrospect, I think that c3, ??? e6, ??? Bxc7 would have been the best way to take advantage of this error".]).

If you manage to push a pawn into your opponent's half of the board you are gaining space. Your pawn on e5 prevented his knight on g8 to develop to his natural spot on f6 and thus slowed down his development of his rook (which in turn allowed you to save your trapped bishop on a7). Hence, your pawn on e5 was much more worth than his pawn on c7 (which isn't a centre pawn and hadn't even moved throughout the game). So all pawns are equal, but some are more equal than others

8. ... h6 is not a blunder. A blunder is a move which instantly loses you the game (losing your queen, overlooking a mate, etc.). Of course, 8. ... h6 is still pretty bad in this situation but it is not a blunder.

Grumbels

Netherlands7031 Posts

February 10 2014 17:29 GMT

#10

What, all these blogs about chess and forcing yourself to get better and you don't even enjoy the game?

Thaniri

1264 Posts

February 11 2014 03:11 GMT

#11

@hp.Shell

Thank-you. It's funny to think that I started at the earth shatteringly large ELO of 450. But then the law of powers in skill based fields states that my progress so far is absolutely nothing compared to where I'm trying to get.

@Darkwhite

Yes.

@wingpawn

I am grateful as ever for your advice, it helps me a lot. Thank-you.

@Quint

Thanks, I noticed that his knight was having a hard time developing as well. Just takes a small shift in perspective to understand what's really going on.

As for 8...h6, I'll try to use better wording next time.

@Grumbels

I like practicing things and getting better at them. I also have to let things grow on me before I can decide whether or not I like them. Often for a much longer time than other people.

I didn't like starcraft at first when I bought it. Not having heroes like in WC3 made the battles seem boring. I grew to love it though and ended up training 8+ hours a day and was able to defeat GMs on ladder regularly.

I have been weightlifting for about a year now. I still don't really enjoy weightlifting, but I make myself go 6 days a week and I feel amazing when I set a record deadlift at 162kg's for 5 reps as an amateur. My goal is to reach 190kgs by 2015. But then I'll have something like benchpress stall at 80kg's for 7 weeks and I'll hate that. It's the progression that I like.

The reason I play chess is that I love constantly improving and challenging myself. I have to grow to understand chess though. Right now, how can I make any judgement on the game when I know less than 1% of what goes on during it? Some days are fun, some days are confusing and frustrating. That's the nature of the situation when I don't know what is going on around me.

The enjoyment of skill based activities comes from a deep understanding of them.

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