The following game was played earlier this month on [Chess.com](http://www.chess.com/livechess/game?id=1019766342) and I believe that it demonstrates the level at which my play has improved over the past six months. There were several tactical blunders in this game, but the amount of blunders and errors in games like this have decreased significantly. It is with great pleasure that I present game #2 of *Move by Move*:
[pgn]
[Event “Live Chess”]
[Site “Chess.com”]
[Date “2015.01.04”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Wesley Surber”]
[Black “1151”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “C61”]
[WhiteElo “1078”]
[BlackElo “1151”]
[Annotator “Wesley Surber”]
[PlyCount “53”]
[EventDate “2015.??.??”]
1. e4 {White prefers a King’s pawn opening because it offers the best chances
for development of center control.} e5 {Black refuses to surrender control of
the center so easily. In this instance, e5 is a powerful response to e4
because it prevents further advancement of the e4 pawn and gives Black
temporary control of the d4 and f4 squares.} 2. Nf3 {With this move, White
puts pressure on Black’s e5 pawn.} Nc6 {Black assumes that White intends to
capture the pawn on the next move and moves to secure it with this move.} 3.
Bc4 {The f7 pawn is always a volatile commodity to Black. White initiates an
attack on the pawn as a way of putting pressure on Black’s Kingside to develop
pieces and defend his position.} Nd4 {An interesting move. Black foregoes
piece development and lanches an immediate attack on the f3 Knight. This kind
of zealousness places black in a difficult position and removes the e5
defender.} 4. Nc3 {For the moment, White ignores the threat and continues to
develop pieces. Realizing that he can afford to exchange a Knight for a
Knight, White chooses to improve his control of the center and allow Black to
make the hasty decisions to attack.} d6 {This comes perhaps a move too late as
Black actives his light-squared Bishop and restores defense of the e5 pawn.} 5.
d3 {White counters by adding another line of defense to the e4 pawn.} Nc6 {
Black breaks an important rule in opening development: do not move a piece
twice in the opening. Black’s Knight has moved three times and he has yet to
develop any of his other pieces. White has two Knights and a Bishop developed
and is threatening to expand his control of the board.} 6. Ng5 {White adds
another challenger to the f7 square. 6…Qxg5?? is not possible since 7.
cxg5!! would devastate Black’s chances.} Nh6 {Black moves his Knight to the
edge of the board to avoid blocking the Queen attack on g5.} 7. O-O {White
castles to safety and now has a wonderfully developed setup.} f6 $16 {Deep
Fritz 14 is not happy! This move simply pushes the Knight out of the way, but
does nothing to deal with the growing threat of White’s development. White is
decisively better.} ({Deep Fritz 14 thinks this is better:} 7… Na5 8. Nf3
Nxc4 9. dxc4 Ng4 10. Bg5 f6 11. Bd2 f5 12. Bg5 Be7 13. Bxe7 Qxe7 14. Nd5 Qd8
15. h3 fxe4 16. hxg4 exf3 17. Qxf3 c6 18. Ne3 Qf6 $11) 8. Ne6 {White trades a
Knight for a Bishop.} Bxe6 {Black accepts the trade.} 9. Bxe6 {White completes
the Knight-Bishop trade. White now has a powerful piece deep in Black’s
territory.} Qe7 $2 $18 {Black challenges the light-squared Bishop with a Queen
attack, but this move damages Black’s position considerably as White can
simply relocate the Bishop and maintain control of the diagonal.} ({Deep Fritz
14 preferred:} 9… Nd4 {This would have launched a direct assault on the
Bishop and made it difficult for White to engage in counterplay.} 10. Bh3 c6
11. Bxh6 gxh6 12. Ne2 Nxe2+ 13. Qxe2 Qe7 14. c3 Rg8 15. Rfd1 Qf7 16. d4 h5 17.
d5 Rg5 18. dxc6 bxc6 19. Qa6 Qc7 20. Qc4 Rb8 21. b4 Kd8 $16) 10. Bd5 $2 $16 {
White counters Black’s attack by moving the Bishop to a nearby square and
retains control of the a2-g8 diagonal.} Na5 $18 {Black focuses too much on his
Queenside Knight and misses the much better 10…Nf7, which closes the noose
on White’s control of the diagonal.} ({Much better would have been:} 10… Nf7
11. Be3 $16) 11. Qh5+ {This is a dangerous move for White. The Queen is
exposed to multiple dangers and Black has the ability to gain tempo rather
quickly. Additionally, Black has multiple ways to block the check, none of
which allow for White to engage in significant counterplay.} Nf7 {The attack
on the King is blocked, but Black fails to assume control of any significant
space or material.} 12. Nb5 $16 {This is one of those moments where computers
and number calculations are difficult to translate into strategic chess
thought. In this instance, Deep Fritz 14 hated this move, but the intention
was simply to threaten 13.Nxc7+ to make Black a little jumpy. White would
have lost significant material if the move was played at that time, but it was
enough to raise Black’s blood pressure.} ({Deep Fritz 14 preferred:} 12. b4 Nc6
13. b5 Ncd8 14. Bb3 Qd7 15. Nd5 Ne6 16. Be3 Nc5 17. Bc4 c6 18. bxc6 bxc6 19.
Nb4 g6 20. Qh4 Bg7 21. Rab1 Rb8 $16) 12… g6 {Black begins a series of attack
moves on the White Queen.} 13. Qh3 {White’s Queen retreats, but assumes
control of an important diagonal.} Ng5 {Black’s main failing in this game has
been his zeal. Rarely has he passed up an opportunity to launch direct
assault on White’s pieces, which has often left him vulnerable and given White
opportunities to further develop his position.} 14. Qg4 {Nothing special.
White moves out of danger and controls the diagnoal.} h5 {Black advances his
h-pawn and asserts control of the file. White’s Queen is feeling the pressure
and retreats once again.} 15. Qh4 {The Queen is running out of space and has
to be very careful. Lack of maneuverability is deadly for any piece.} Bh6 {An
excellent move! Black is building a combination of pieces to paralyze White’s
dark-squared Bishop and to create a devastating attack on the Queen.} 16. b4 {
White challenges Black’s lonesome Knight.} f5 $2 $18 {Black’s combination is
destroyed in a single move. For the moment, White is much better. However,
White was unable to capitalize on the opportunity and chose a different route.}
({Deep Fritz 14 preferred:} 16… Nc6 17. f4 exf4 18. Bxf4 Nxb4 19. Rab1 Nxd5
20. exd5 O-O 21. Qg3 Kh7 22. Nd4 Rab8 23. Rbe1 Qd7 24. h4 Nf7 25. Ne6 Bxf4 26.
Nxf8+ Rxf8 27. Qxf4 Ne5 28. Qb4 c5 29. dxc6 Nxc6 30. Qf4 b5 $16) 17. bxa5 $2
$15 {There is no way to describe this move except with one word: greed. White
was being greedy here and it nearly cost him the game. Black is much better
in this position as White now has an isolated double-pawn and faces a growing
attack on the Kingside by Black.} ({Deep Fritz 14 yelled at me:} 17. Nxc7+ Kd7
18. Kh1 Rac8 19. exf5 Rxc7 20. f4 Nh7 21. Qxe7+ Kxe7 22. bxa5 Nf6 23. Bb3 Bxf4
24. Bxf4 exf4 25. fxg6 Kf8 26. Rxf4 Kg7 27. Raf1 Rf8 28. Rd4 d5 29. Bxd5 Nxd5
30. Rxf8 Kxf8 31. Rxd5 Rxc2 32. Rxh5 Rxa2 $18) 17… Nf3+ $3 {A devastating
fork! Black simultaneously attacks White’s King and Queen. If White takes,
then Black’s Queen captures White’s Queen and has a foothold in White’s
territory.} 18. gxf3 {Forced. White has no other choice.} Qxh4 {Forced.
Anything else and Black would ruin his initiative.} 19. Nxc7+ {White pulls out
Nxc7 at just the right time! Black must act quickly to prevent loss of a Rook.
} Ke7 {Black moves to save both of his Rooks by adding deterrence for White
capturing the a8 Rook. White was not interested in capturing the Rook as much
as he was challenging Black’s King and preventing him from castling.} 20. Bxh6
{White trades off the dark-squared Bishop to reduce pressure on the attacking
Knight. White certainly does not expect Black to capture the Bishop or else
he will lose his Rook, but the pressure is enough to keep Black busy defending
himself across the board.} Rac8 {Black does not take the bait and challenges
White’s Knight. White must make his intentions known or risk losing a major
player in his assault.} 21. Bg7 $1 {Black finds himself in a conundrum. Once
again, he is faced with the prospect of losing a Rook. Black must tread
carefully to maintain the game’s balance. At this point, Deep Fritz 14 shows
material and position equal.} Rh7 {Black refuses to go quietly and threatens
the g7 Bishop. A loss of the dark-squared Bishop and it is over for White.}
22. Ne6 $1 {White engages in a calculated defense of the g7 Bishop and
paralyzes the Rook. Now, Black is faced with an increasingly paralyzed
position thanks to White’s strategically placed Bishops and Knights. The
Black Queen is paralyzed since it has no supporting pieces to assist with a
checkmate pattern.} Rxc2 $2 $18 {This was Black’s losing move. Instead of
engaging the attack occurring against his King, Black chose to haphazardly
attack White’s pawn structure. The Rook was essential for maintaining some
control of White’s attacking pieces, but 22…Rxc2? gave up that control and
enabled White to do as he pleased.} ({Deep Fritz 14 was furious. Recommended:
} 22… Rg8 23. Rfb1 Rgxg7 24. Nxg7 Rxg7 25. Rxb7+ Kf6 26. Rxg7 Kxg7 27. Rb1
Kh6 28. Rb7 Qg5+ 29. Kf1 Qc1+ 30. Kg2 Qg5+ 31. Kf1 Qc1+ 32. Kg2 Qg5+ 33. Kf1
Qc1+ 34. Kg2 Qg5+ 35. Kf1 Qc1+ 36. Kg2 Qg5+ 37. Kf1 Qc1+ 38. Kg2 $11) 23. Rab1
{White targets the b7 pawn as a final assault on the King and his remaining
defenses. The c2 Rook is of no concern since there are no immediate moves
that can be made to posse a significant threat to White’s King.} Rxg7 {Black
tires of the dark-squared Bishop and decides to stock up on material. White’s
response is swift.} 24. Nxg7 $2 $18 {This was the lesser of two available
moves, but achieved the same result. Black’s Rook is history and his
remaining Rook is paralyzed by White’s pawn structure and supporting Rooks.} ({
Deep Fritz 14 x64:} 24. Rxb7+ Kf6 25. Nxg7 fxe4 26. Rf7+ Kg5 27. Ne6+ Kh6 28.
Rf8 Kh7 29. fxe4 Rc8 30. Rf7+ Kh6 31. Kh1 Rg8 32. Rxa7 Re8 33. Rf7 Re7 34. Rxe7
Qxe7 35. a6 Qa7 36. Bc4 g5 37. Kg2 Qb6 38. h4 gxh4 39. Rh1 Kg6 $18) 24… Kf6
$2 $18 {Black seems scared of his opponent and refuses to engage in any
serious counterplay. The b7 pawn remains open and unguarded. White has a
mating pattern prepared and Black must be careful to avoid falling into the
trap.} ({Deep Fritz 14 recommended:} 24… Rc7 25. exf5 Qf6 26. Ne6 Rd7 27. Rb3
Qxf5 28. Rfb1 h4 29. Kg2 Kf6 30. Rxb7 Rxb7 31. Rxb7 h3+ 32. Kg3 Qxd3 33. Rf7+
Kxf7 34. Nf4+ Qxd5 35. Nxd5 Ke6 36. Nb4 d5 37. Kxh3 d4 38. Kg4 Kf6 39. Nd3 a6
40. Nb4 $18) 25. Rxb7 {Another Black pawn falls and now Black’s King faces an
assault by a Rook, Knight, and Bishop on his side of the board. White is not
interested in the a7 pawn as it has no chance of advancing down the board.
White’s plan is the f7 square, which is guarded by the powerful d5 Bishop.}
Qg5+ $2 $18 {Black’s game would be over at this point if not for the check on
White’s King. Mate in two.} 26. Kh1 {There is no hope for Black to escape
White’s coming assault. Mate in one.} fxe4 $2 {Black opens a path for his
King to escape, but there are not enough moves to prevent the trap.} 27. Rf7#
1-0
[/pgn]