A Solid Blitz

I’ve been carving regular time out of my day to do chess studies and they have started paying off. Despite all of the mistakes and blunders, I believe that my fundamentals are improving steadily as a result. Here’s a solid game I played recently on lichess.org that I felt was worth annotating.

[pgn]
[Event “Rated Blitz game”]
[Site “https://lichess.org/WxA0I30F”]
[Date “2019.02.05”]
[Round “-“]
[White “Wesley Surber”]
[Black “Internet Opponent”]
[Result “1-0”]
[UTCDate “2019.02.05”]
[UTCTime “04:02:41”]
[Opening “Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense, Caro Variation”]
[WhiteRatingDiff “+12”]
[ECO “C70”]
[BlackElo “1160”]
[WhiteElo “1113”]
[Variant “Standard”]
[TimeControl “300+0”]
[Termination “Normal”]
[BlackRatingDiff “-34”]

1. e4 {[%clk 0:05:00] [%eval 0.12]} e5 {[%clk 0:05:00] [%eval 0.37]} 2. Nf3 {[%clk 0:04:58] [%eval 0.23]} Nc6 {[%clk 0:04:58] [%eval 0.15]} 3. Bb5 {[%clk 0:04:56] [%eval 0.14] The Spanish (Ruy Lopez) opening.} a6 {[%clk 0:04:57] [%eval 0.26]} 4. Ba4 {[%clk 0:04:55] [%eval 0.4]} b5 {[%clk 0:04:55] [%eval 0.36]} 5. Bb3 {[%clk 0:04:54] [%eval 0.27] The Morphy Defense. Creates a balanced position for both sides.} Bb7 {[%clk 0:04:54] [%eval 0.58]} 6. O-O {[%clk 0:04:53] [%eval 0.46]} f6 {[%clk 0:04:53] [%eval 0.9]} 7. Nc3 {[%clk 0:04:51] [%eval 1.43]} Nd4 $5 {[%clk 0:04:50] [%eval 2.18] The first inaccuracy of the game. Black misses Na5 to put pressure on the b3 Bishop.} 8. d3 $2 {[%clk 0:04:43] [%eval 0.52] I followed up with a mistake of my own. The better option was to take the Knight on d4.} Nxb3 {[%clk 0:04:46] [%eval 0.53] Losing my light square Bishop was a consequence of missing Nxd4.} 9. axb3 {[%clk 0:04:40] [%eval 0.57]} Bb4 {[%clk 0:04:43] [%eval 1.04]} 10. Bd2 {[%clk 0:04:37] [%eval 0.16] This move was simply a result of me not taking enough time to consider my position. The Knight was already defended by the b-Pawn. Stockfish preferred pushing d4.} Ne7 {[%clk 0:04:41] [%eval 0.44]} 11. Qe2 {[%clk 0:04:31] [%eval -0.37] The intent was to strengthen the e-File and connect my Rooks, but Nh4 was a better option.} c5 {[%clk 0:04:36] [%eval 0.42]} 12. Qe3 {[%clk 0:04:14] [%eval -0.44]} d6 {[%clk 0:04:31] [%eval -0.36]} {This was one of the few moments in the game where I was genuinely confused and unsure what to do. Nd5 to meet was a way for me to threaten d7, but not much else. Not the best of moves but it gave me some additional pressure on Black’s position.} 13. Nd5 $5 {[%clk 0:03:55] [%eval -1.49]} Bxd5 {[%clk 0:04:28] [%eval -1.06]} 14. exd5 {[%clk 0:03:54] [%eval -1.21]} Nxd5 {[%clk 0:04:27] [%eval 1.32]} 15. Qe4 {[%clk 0:03:45] [%eval 1.41]} Bxd2 {[%clk 0:04:25] [%eval 1.45]} 16. Nxd2 {[%clk 0:03:43] [%eval -1.43]} Ne7 $5 {[%clk 0:04:20] [%eval -0.57] The trade is complete and the Bishops are off the board. This works well for me because of the closed position on the board. The Knights are better in these situations and will come in very handy shortly.} 17. Rfe1 {[%clk 0:03:37] [%eval -1.43] Solidifying my position on the e-File.} Qc7 $4 {[%clk 0:04:13] [%eval 8.09] A major mistake that I MISSED!} 18. c4 $2 {[%clk 0:03:31] [%eval -1.42] A very bad move that missed capturing the a8 Rook.} Qc6 {[%clk 0:04:11] [%eval 0.67]} 19. Qg4 {[%clk 0:03:21] [%eval -0.83] Preparing an attack on e6.} Ng6 {[%clk 0:04:03] [%eval 0.6]} 20. Qe6+ {[%clk 0:03:19] [%eval -0.94] Unless black makes a serious counter move, it’s over.} Ne7 {[%clk 0:03:59] [%eval 1.16]} 21. cxb5 {[%clk 0:03:16] [%eval 0.18] Forcing the Queen away.} Qxb5 $2 {[%clk 0:03:56] [%eval 3.5] Black should have traded Queens, but missed the exchange and loses the game.} 22. Ne4 {[%clk 0:03:13] [%eval 3.32]} Qxd3 {[%clk 0:03:54] [%eval 10.25]} 23. Nxd6+ {[%clk 0:03:12] [%eval 9.97] Black’s only real move is Qxd6.} Kf8 {[%clk 0:03:52] [%eval #1]} 24. Qf7# {[%clk 0:03:11] Overall, I believe that this was a much more solid game than I’ve been playing. I hope that it’s a sign that my studies are paying off.} 1-0
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