drunknknite
He was winning,
but he didn't see it
and I escaped - as usual.
-Levon Aronian

Complications

By drunknknite
I have had two long, difficult games in a row over the last two weeks. One stirred up some discussion already when I posted diagrams from it. The one from last night is also interesting. Both are extremely complicated and it is very hard to understand the forces at work. I am glad that I was able to hang with these two great players during these two games because it shows that I am starting to get a hold of how to treat these types of positions. Both games I used a lot of time, but kept to a pretty good pace, other than the end of the second game when I probably needed another half hour to be able to secure the point.

The analysis included is lengthy but I hope it helps you to get a hold of these positions, they're wacky.

Enjoy.
 

6 comments so far.

  1. wang May 9, 2008 at 6:51 PM
    Very nice game! You have to have good tactical ability and nerves of steel to play the Moscow (in this case the anit-Moscow) variation of the Semi-Slav. it is my favorite defense.

    I had to laugh out loud when I read, "And the rest is a matter of technique" For class C patzers like myself, you cannot find more infamous words in chess literature.
  2. drunknknite May 9, 2008 at 7:19 PM
    I used to hate that phrase. But it just means it's really a matter of preference, it depends on how the player wants to do it, there are enough ways to win. It's outside the scope of the discussion. If someone wants to learn how to win with rook and three pawns there are plenty of sources that will discuss this topic.
  3. Anonymous May 9, 2008 at 11:14 PM
    That comes in pretty handy if you know what a theoratical draw is. I would have probably played on in that game of your's with the Rook and Knight against Rook (and pawn). I think i can only spot a theoratical draw when it's really easy, like King vs King :)
  4. Robert Pearson May 13, 2008 at 3:04 PM
    Just FYI, I finally buckled down and analyzed our Round 1 game and posted it--I agree with most of what you wrote, but I do have a different take on a couple of points.
  5. Chessaholic May 13, 2008 at 4:28 PM
    I didn't have time to fully digest that game until now. Great annotations, and impressive defense. That game looked pretty lost for quite a while.
  6. drunknknite May 15, 2008 at 1:08 PM
    edwin - Yeah it was nice to know that. I still wasn't sure I could draw it but at least knowing that it is a draw is very comforting. When we got to Rook and three pawns versus Rook and knight I felt very comfortable.

    wahrheit - we pretty much made the same points, a couple differences here and there but all in all I think very similar views.

    chessaholic - yeah sitting in that chair sucked, i thought for sure i would lose that game.

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