Can A Move Be Ugly And Beautiful?
I came back from London very eager to play a game. Hungry almost. Then as Thursday approached I started getting a little nervous. I haven't been nervous when playing experts, but I think because I am 'expected' to win the A section it adds a little pressure. I have the highest rating and also my good results lately translate into a huge target on my forehead.
Also I had never faced this opponent. He is at his floor of 1900 but at one time he was rated well over 2100. He doesn't play regularly at the club and so I had very little idea of what to expect. I was also toying with the idea of opening with 1 d4. All in all I was just a little jittery, probably a result of my week off.
In the end I decided to play e4 and my opponent introduced a sideline in the French Winawer. When I saw his ninth move I literally cringed. My spirits were lifted; I rose to the occasion and attained a completely won position on move 12! Black tried to create complications with an exchange sacrifice but was busted by a very straightforward finish.
There are a couple moves I want to talk about in more detail.
9...Nd7 - This move condemns the Black Queenside to passivity. The Bishop is trapped and consequently the rook is trapped. Here I paused because I knew Qc7 was coming next and I had to put two pieces on e5, I chose to play Bb5 and defend indirectly because this meant that Black had to go to extraordinary lengths to get his pieces out. The bishop cannot even be kicked by a6 because Black's a-pawn is pinned to the rook. The French is marked by Black's inactivity in the early stages, if White can prolong this inactivity into the later stages of the game then Black has lost.
12. Kf1 - This move is profoundly strong. When I first started playing 3. Nc3 I was unable to appreciate moves like this. It always seemed to me that king moves like this were made mostly from a position of weakness, not from a position of strength. The variations that arise from the Winawer are very sharp, and the game hinges on White's ability to establish and maintain the initiative. My position after this move looks so ugly at first glance, but there is undeniable harmony between my pieces. Black's position at first glance looks very solid, but upon closer inspection we realize that none of his pieces can move and holes will be created before his pieces get into the game. I found Kf1 before I played Bb5, because I wanted to attack f7. I realized that by pinning the knight Black couldn't play Ne5, which would defend f7, but then I saw that if I moved my knight from f3, then Qe5 comes with check. So Kf1 parries this check. It also gains a tempo by hitting the rook. It also allows Rg1 which is the strongest follow up to any of Black's rook moves. The king needs a home, obviously castling is out of the question, but on e1 the king is vulnerable to checks from e5 or c3.
12...Rxf2 - I was very surprised when returning to my computer after leaving Fritz to dissect this move for several hours that Fritz recommended this move over all the alternatives and by a large margin. My opponent and I were under the impression that this move was an error but it turns out that White's initiative has become so strong due to the time lost by Nd7, Rg2 and now another rook move that Black will be forced to lose material in the ensuing moves. I think this sacrifice was provoked by the fact that it looks like White's king will not be so safe at f2 and also White's king has just moved and now must move again.
The hypothetical 12...Rg8 13 Ng5? - I may have already convinced myself to play this move during the game, but by the time Black played Rf2 I had found the strength of Rg1 and I was starting to play with different move orders. This move would have been a mistake, although I am pretty sure Black would have played 13...Rg5 anyway which allows White to retain some advantage. I have gotten over the bad habit of playing premeditated responses instantly (the psychological effect is not nearly enough compensation for a faulty plan, this used to be a very serious defect in my play) so I may well have found the strength of 13. Rg1, but in any case the fact that I had thought Ng5 was so strong is an error. I was too caught up in the plans that I had started to consider on 10. Nf3 and I was not open to other plans of kingside attack. Also, I overestimated White's chances after 13...Rf8. This error has taught me a valuable lesson, and also shown me that even in such a strong victory it is still possible to gain insight into my own faults.
15. bxc3 - I had glanced at the rook sacrifice on f2 at some point and as soon as I saw this position I knew that there was no chance for Black. All of his play is gone and my position is so strong. My rooks are connected, everything is defended, the king is inaccessible. I'm up the exchange and he has no compensation whatsoever.
17. h4, 18. h5, 19. h6 - After Black has retreated his queen to d7, he has blocked his Bishop in again. Fritz recommends taking the a7 pawn, which is obvious, as slightly better than 17. h4. But Black is several moves away from ever using any of his pieces and all my pieces are on good squares. Also I had realized that there was no stopping this pawn without making serious material concessions. The fact that I can play these three moves in succession show how poor Black's position really is.
20. Rag1 - I wanted to take on f6 and it took me a little bit to see Black's reply (20. exf6 Qg3+), this move puts the rook on the open file where it threatens to penetrate into Black's kingside, and also threatens exf6 since now there is no Qg3.
28. Nd4 - The c2 pawn protects my king from checks along the second rank, the knight defends c2, the bishop defends the knight, and the king defends the bishop. Black's queen has nothing to attack.
The last few weeks it has been nice to see my effort away from the board produce such strong chess over the board.
Also I had never faced this opponent. He is at his floor of 1900 but at one time he was rated well over 2100. He doesn't play regularly at the club and so I had very little idea of what to expect. I was also toying with the idea of opening with 1 d4. All in all I was just a little jittery, probably a result of my week off.
In the end I decided to play e4 and my opponent introduced a sideline in the French Winawer. When I saw his ninth move I literally cringed. My spirits were lifted; I rose to the occasion and attained a completely won position on move 12! Black tried to create complications with an exchange sacrifice but was busted by a very straightforward finish.
There are a couple moves I want to talk about in more detail.
9...Nd7 - This move condemns the Black Queenside to passivity. The Bishop is trapped and consequently the rook is trapped. Here I paused because I knew Qc7 was coming next and I had to put two pieces on e5, I chose to play Bb5 and defend indirectly because this meant that Black had to go to extraordinary lengths to get his pieces out. The bishop cannot even be kicked by a6 because Black's a-pawn is pinned to the rook. The French is marked by Black's inactivity in the early stages, if White can prolong this inactivity into the later stages of the game then Black has lost.
12. Kf1 - This move is profoundly strong. When I first started playing 3. Nc3 I was unable to appreciate moves like this. It always seemed to me that king moves like this were made mostly from a position of weakness, not from a position of strength. The variations that arise from the Winawer are very sharp, and the game hinges on White's ability to establish and maintain the initiative. My position after this move looks so ugly at first glance, but there is undeniable harmony between my pieces. Black's position at first glance looks very solid, but upon closer inspection we realize that none of his pieces can move and holes will be created before his pieces get into the game. I found Kf1 before I played Bb5, because I wanted to attack f7. I realized that by pinning the knight Black couldn't play Ne5, which would defend f7, but then I saw that if I moved my knight from f3, then Qe5 comes with check. So Kf1 parries this check. It also gains a tempo by hitting the rook. It also allows Rg1 which is the strongest follow up to any of Black's rook moves. The king needs a home, obviously castling is out of the question, but on e1 the king is vulnerable to checks from e5 or c3.
12...Rxf2 - I was very surprised when returning to my computer after leaving Fritz to dissect this move for several hours that Fritz recommended this move over all the alternatives and by a large margin. My opponent and I were under the impression that this move was an error but it turns out that White's initiative has become so strong due to the time lost by Nd7, Rg2 and now another rook move that Black will be forced to lose material in the ensuing moves. I think this sacrifice was provoked by the fact that it looks like White's king will not be so safe at f2 and also White's king has just moved and now must move again.
The hypothetical 12...Rg8 13 Ng5? - I may have already convinced myself to play this move during the game, but by the time Black played Rf2 I had found the strength of Rg1 and I was starting to play with different move orders. This move would have been a mistake, although I am pretty sure Black would have played 13...Rg5 anyway which allows White to retain some advantage. I have gotten over the bad habit of playing premeditated responses instantly (the psychological effect is not nearly enough compensation for a faulty plan, this used to be a very serious defect in my play) so I may well have found the strength of 13. Rg1, but in any case the fact that I had thought Ng5 was so strong is an error. I was too caught up in the plans that I had started to consider on 10. Nf3 and I was not open to other plans of kingside attack. Also, I overestimated White's chances after 13...Rf8. This error has taught me a valuable lesson, and also shown me that even in such a strong victory it is still possible to gain insight into my own faults.
15. bxc3 - I had glanced at the rook sacrifice on f2 at some point and as soon as I saw this position I knew that there was no chance for Black. All of his play is gone and my position is so strong. My rooks are connected, everything is defended, the king is inaccessible. I'm up the exchange and he has no compensation whatsoever.
17. h4, 18. h5, 19. h6 - After Black has retreated his queen to d7, he has blocked his Bishop in again. Fritz recommends taking the a7 pawn, which is obvious, as slightly better than 17. h4. But Black is several moves away from ever using any of his pieces and all my pieces are on good squares. Also I had realized that there was no stopping this pawn without making serious material concessions. The fact that I can play these three moves in succession show how poor Black's position really is.
20. Rag1 - I wanted to take on f6 and it took me a little bit to see Black's reply (20. exf6 Qg3+), this move puts the rook on the open file where it threatens to penetrate into Black's kingside, and also threatens exf6 since now there is no Qg3.
28. Nd4 - The c2 pawn protects my king from checks along the second rank, the knight defends c2, the bishop defends the knight, and the king defends the bishop. Black's queen has nothing to attack.
The last few weeks it has been nice to see my effort away from the board produce such strong chess over the board.
soapstone and polly - Thanks for the compliments. As far as the advice, in the western states I almost drew a game (this may be a bit of an exaggeration) because of a loss in concentration, I'll post it, but usually I don't lose concentration until the game is completely decided. My last loss was because of a simple loss in concentration allowing myself to get mated in a winning position so my laziness has cost me before.
wahrheit - I used to be afraid to play against the French, that's why I booked up and switched to 3.Nc3 (I was playing 3.Nd2). I'm glad you learned something. Thanks.