Personal Analysis – Pushing and Discovering

Since I returned to writing about and playing chess regularly, I’ve tried to center myself more on developing a comprehensive study plan and maintaining some sense of focus. Previously, I was obsessed with openings, but these days I’m trying to focus more on positional play and strategic level positions in the middlegame. I’m finding myself more able to find discovered checks and push my pawns forward with more momentum and purpose.

[pgn] [Event “Daily Chess (1 Day/Move)”] [Site “Chess.com”] [Date “2021.06.14”] [White “Internet Opponent”] [Black “CMDRExorcist”] [Result “0-1”] [Termination “CMDRExorcist won by checkmate”] [BlackElo “980”] [ECO “B20”] [TimeControl “1/86400”] [EndDate “2021.06.14”] [WhiteElo “984”] 1. e4 c5 2. Qh5 $6 {I’ve seen this move many times in games against people with my rating. It looks wrong at first, but it can be a deadly trap if not handled properly.} d6 3. Bc4 e6 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Qf3 e5 {The problem with trying to gain position in the center with Knights is that you often lose the protection for the other squares. In this case, the d5 square is free for White to capture.} 6. Nd5 Be6 {A nice skewer.} 7. Nxf6+ Qxf6 8. Bb5+ Nc6 9. Bxc6+ bxc6 {White wants to remove my Knights from the board and I’m okay with that. Given the choice in trade, I prefer to keep Bishops whenever possible.} 10. Qc3 $4 {A major blunder for White. His path of attack is obvious, but I couldn’t understand what he hoped to gain from it. The space on my Queenside is wide open, but defended by my e6 Bishop and a8 Rook.} Be7 {In anticipation of 11.Qa5!?…} 11. Qa5 O-O {King to safety and whatever White’s plan was on the Queenside is finished.} 12. Qc7 Qg5 13. g3 Qg4 14. Qxc6 {The only free pawn that Black could hope to capture on that side of the board. Notice that none of Black’s other minor pieces are activated. Everything is still hidden behind a pawn blockade.} Rac8 15. Qa4 Bd7 16. Qxa7 {Black takes the bait.} Qxe4+ $3 17. Kf1 {I actually thought for several hours about this position and analyzed a few ideas on my Chessmate pocket board. I knew that I was going to take the Rook, but wasn’t sure when. Then, I noticed Bb5+! would absolutely crush my opponent’s position.} Bb5+ 18. d3 Qxh1 {White’s position is quicky crumbling.} 19. Qxe7 c4 {Thus begins one of the reasons I chose to annotate this game. The pushing of pawns and use of discovered checks in this game are very fulfilling for a learning chess player.} 20. Qxd6 cxd3 21. cxd3 Rfd8 22. Qxe5 $2 {Another fatal mistake for Black. He should have kept his Queen on the d-file to protect the d3 pawn. Another discovered check is coming and it’s mate in 7.} Bxd3+ 23. Ke1 $2 {Removes the defender of the Knight on g1.} (23. Qe2 Bxe2+ 24. Kxe2 Rc2+ 25. Bd2 Rdxd2+ 26. Ke3 {Is not much better, but at least it puts up a fight.}) Qxg1+ 24. Kd2 {Everything else is forced.} Qxf2+ 25. Kd1 Bc2# {My opponent came out swinging with his Queen, but things fortunately turned out in my favor. This game was exciting for a number of reasons, especially the pawn pushes and discovered checks. A worthy opponent, for sure.} 0-1 [/pgn]

The game above was played against an internet opponent on Chess.com on the Daily Chess function. The time control was 1 move per day, but we finished it much sooner than that. I decided to annotate this game because while it’s filled with amateur mistakes, I believe it’s representative of my improvement in the middlegame and my growing ability to identify key moments that can turn a losing position into a winning steamroller. My opponent played hard, but I was fortunate that the chess gods shined their light on me for this one.