Category: Game Analysis

Chess is a game of skill played out among some of the world’s greatest strategic minds. Legend has it that chess is the result of attempts by ancient military commanders and kings to demonstrate their battle strategy before engaging in conflict. In the case of the great players like Bobby Fischer, Garry Kasparov, and Magnus Carlsen, victory often came to the player whose strategic understanding and execution of the game was faster and more devious than their opponents. For those of us who spend our lives at the bottom of the ratings barrel, victory often comes to the player who makes the next to last mistake.

This game was played last month and is an excellent example of tactical play and some intriguing choices in tight situations.

[pgn]
[Event “Live Chess”]
[Site “Chess.com”]
[Date “2015.05.17”]
[Round “?”]
[White “914”]
[Black “AmishHacker”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “B01”]
[WhiteElo “914”]
[BlackElo “799”]
[Annotator “Stockfish 6 64”]
[PlyCount “56”]
[EventDate “2015.??.??”]

{I get nervous whenever I see a player with an ELO around 100 points higher
than mine. However, with that anxiety comes an increased sense of focus.
Higher players tend to play more like the games I have studied, which can make
them much more fun, more challenging, and less frustrating than a noob who
wants to move his Queen around the board for 16 moves gobbling up minor pieces.
In this game, white and black take on some interesting tactical positions, but
ultimately it is the one who makes the last mistake that will give the game
away…} 1. d3 d5 2. e4 d4 {I have only recently started making this move on a
regular basis. Leaving the pawn on d5 and reinforcing it with Nf6 or e6 has
traditionally created more havoc for me than I would like.} 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Be2 {
White would have been within his right to trade Knights, but the threat of a
Queen also bearing down on the d4 square was most likely cause for second
thought.} Nf6 5. e5 {This is the move that made me avoid playing f6 earlier.
There are several options here, but I have not had much consistent luck with
many of them in the past.} Nd5 6. c4 Ndb4 $16 {Stockfish notes that I should
have taken c4 en passant. Instead, the blunder on Nb4 costs me a Knight for a
pawn.} 7. a3 Nxd3+ $18 {Nowhere to go…} 8. Bxd3 e6 9. O-O Bd7 10. b4 f6 $2
$18 {Perhaps it is my constant disagreement with my engine analysis that has
kept me at such a low ELO for so long. Stockfish instead recommends moving my
Knight to Ne7, but I wanted to eliminate the f3 Knight’s stronghold on the
kingside, so f6 was an intermediate move to exchange Knights.} 11. b5 Nxe5 $2
$18 12. Nxe5 fxe5 $2 $18 {The exchange is complete and a path is now open to
begin assaulting the kingside.} 13. Re1 $2 $18 Bd6 14. Be4 $18 {White misses
the better 15.Qh5+ in favor of threatening the protected Rook on a8. Sure,
the e1 Rook protects the Bishop, but from what?} ({Stockfish prefers:} 14. Qh5+
Kf8 15. Nd2 Kg8 16. c5 Bxc5 17. Qxe5 Bd6 18. Qe4 Qf6 19. Nf3 Rf8 20. Bb2) 14…
Rf8 $18 15. Bxb7 Qf6 $2 $18 {Stockfish hated this move, and for good reason.
This move effectively sacrifices the a8 Rook while betting on white making a
huge blunder to allow black’s battery forces to force him into a corner. In
fact, this is why I made the move. I was willing to sacrifice the Rook if
white was willing to spend his time going after it.} 16. Rf1 $2 $18 {This is
an understandable move, but also a dangerous one. Yes, the King is once again
protected within his fortress, but black’s forces are gathering strength and
will soon bring the castle walls down.} Rb8 17. Bf3 $2 $18 Bxb5 $2 $18 18. cxb5
Rxb5 $2 $18 19. Be2 $2 $18 Rc5 20. a4 $2 $18 Ra5 $2 $18 {The only purpose of
this move was to stop the advancing pawn before it became a Rook to Rook trade.
} 21. Bd2 $2 $18 {Just as he did earlier with my Knight, white is determined
to scoop up the Rook and in turn, he devotes all of his available resources to
capturing that single piece.} Rc5 22. Bb4 {At this point, the Rook is not as
important as my waiting d6 Bishop. It must be sacrificed…} e4 23. Bxc5 Bxc5
{White was probably excited at this point. A Bishop for Rook trade is a sweet
deal.} 24. Nd2 Bd6 $2 $18 {This was an obvious setup for Bxg2, so I was
expecting white to counter with a pawn advance. Instead, he chose to ignore
the attack and continue playing his own game.} 25. Nxe4 {Forking the Queen and
the Bishop is a good move, but not since the Bishop has a checking move in its
sights.} Bxh2+ 26. Kh1 $2 $18 {This move confused the hell out of me! Why did
the King not take the Bishop? Was he concerned that he would lose the Knight
through Qf4+? Still, moving to Kh1 is a suicidal gesture and it decisively
cost him the game.} Qh4 27. g3 $2 {A valiant attempt to counter the assault on
the King, but the Bishop will easily take the pawn and force the King into
mate.} Bxg3+ 28. Kg2 Qh2# {A beautiful end to a challenging game! White
played good chess, but it all came down to who made the last mistake.} 0-1
[/pgn]

I am excited that Campfire Chess will be celebrating its one-year anniversary in less than a week, but that does nothing to stem the tides of my late fortunes on the chessboard. Put aside the fact that despite the prevalence of chess news and information that has been published in the last few months, I have not been regularly available to consistently post updates and game annotations. In the midst of all of this, my already abysmal blitz ELO on Chess.com has taken an enormous pounding this last few weeks: dropping from 920 to 750 in just a few days. My mind has been so distracted with other things that even those 722 and 800 ELO players seem to be an immense challenge lately. For example, this horrifying gem:

[pgn]
[Event “Live Chess”]
[Site “Chess.com”]
[Date “2015.05.20”]
[White “AmishHacker”]
[Black “827”]
[Result “0-1”]
[WhiteElo “778”]
[BlackElo “827”]
[TimeControl “5|0”]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Bc5 3.Qe2 Nf6 4.Nc3 Ng4 5.Nxe5 Nxf2 6.Qf3 Qf6 7.Qe2 Nxh1 8.Nd5 Qxe5 9.Nxc7+ Qxc7 10.Qc4 Bf2+
11.Kd1 Qxc4 0-1
[/pgn]

Basic principles, which I have studied and digested for so long, continue to elude me. At this point, I have resigned myself to having a mere slump and have re-engaged in meaningful study of grandmaster games and I have started reading Artur Yusupov’s incredible *Boost Your Chess, vol 2.*, which was originally written for his personal chess students. The scene has been difficult for me for some time, so the struggle is nothing new. The lack of advancement, however, is… That is why I hope that over the next few weeks that I am able to conquer this slump and find my way back into some moderate chess success, resume writing regularly, and *finally* make my way downtown to the San Antonio Chess Club. For a nice laugh to end the night, here is another atrocity from my growing collection:

[pgn]
[Event “Live Chess”]
[Site “Chess.com”]
[Date “2015.05.18”]
[White “AmishHacker”]
[Black “836”]
[Result “0-1”]
[WhiteElo “785”]
[BlackElo “836”]
[TimeControl “5|0”]

1.e4 a6 2.Nf3 d5 3.e5 c5 4.Nc3 f6 5.Qe2 Nc6 6.d3 d4 7.Ne4 f5 8.Nxc5 e6 9.Ng5 Bxc5 10.Qh5+ g6
11.Qf3 Bb4+ 12.c3 dxc3 13.bxc3 Bxc3+ 14.Bd2 Bxa1 15.Be2 Nd4 16.Qe3 Nc2+ 0-1
[/pgn]

Well friends, vacation time is over and it is back to work for me! It has been a while since I posted game commentary and much of that had to do with prepping for my vacation time as well as covering some extensive and stressful last-minute family items. Now, all that is gone and the grind has returned, although now I feel my batteries are recharged and I am ready to go!

The following game was annotated on the Carnival Magic cruise liner while at sea in the Bahamas! I have the sunburn to prove it! It was played on [Chess.com](http://www.chess.com) in late March and I chose to annotate it because it has some cool tactical plays, it demonstrates how the balance of power on the board can change in a moment’s notice, and it ends with a exceptional Queen sacrifice. Play through the full game at the bottom of this post after the move-by-move commentary.

**1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ Bd7 4. Nc3 Be7 5. d4 Nf6 6. O-O O-O 7. dxe5 Bxb5** In an unusual counter move, Black ignores the dangerous advancing pawn and challenges White’s relatively solid Queenside by taking the Bishop on b5.

**8.Nxb5 d5 9. exf6 Bxf6 10. Bf4 Qd7 11. Nxc7** Black is powerless to stop the Knight from destroying the a8 Rook. Black’s best move here is to further develop his pieces to minimize the damage.

**11…Nc6 12. Nxa8 Rxa8 13. Qd2 Rd8 14.Rad1 Bxb2 15. exd5 Ne7 16. Ne5 Qb5 17. d6** Now, White has a deadly passed pawn in enemy territory and his Queen-Rook battery remains intact.

**17…Nd5 18. Bg5 Rxd6 19. Rfe1 f6 20. Bxf6 gxf6 21. Qh6 Bxe5 22. Rxe5** A devastating blunder! I felt my heart sink when this move was made. Trading the Rook for the Bishop in this case made almost no sense whatsoever.

**22…Qb2 23. Re8+ Kf7 24. Qf8+ Kg6 25. Qxd6 Nc3 26. Qg3+ Kf5 27. Qf3+ Kg6 28. Rg8+ Kf7 29. g3 Nxd1 30. Qxd1 Kxg8 31. Qd8+ Kg7 32. Qe7+ Kg6 33. Qe4+ Kf7 34. Qxh7+ Ke6 35. Qg8+ Kf5 36. Qd5+ Kg6 37. Qg8+ Kf5 38. Qh7+ Ke6 39. f4 Qc1+ 40. Kg2 Qd2+ 41. Kh3 Qe2 42. Qg8+ Kd6 43. Qf8+ Kd5 44. Qf7+ Kd4 45. Qxf6+ Kc4 46. Qf7+ Kc3 47. Qc7+ Kd2 48. Qa5+ Kc1 49. Qa3+ Kd2 50. c3 Qh5+ 51. Kg2 Ke2 52. Qe7+ Kd2 53. Qd6+ Ke2 54. Qe6+ Kd2 55. g4 Qb5 56. Qd6+ Ke2 57. Qe5+** White thought long and hard about this move. Until this point, Black had been unwilling to accept any significant trades or sacrifices. If he foolishly chose to save his King by Kd2, then his Queen is lost and the game is over. On the other hand, capturing the e5 Queen is just as deadly since the recapture by the f-pawn guarantees a new White Queen and game victory.

**57…Qxe5 58. fxe5 Kd3 59. e6 Ke4 60. e7 1-0** The King’s futile race to stop the pawn is over. Black resigned and the Queen sacrifice brought White a clear and decisive victory.

[pgn]
[Event “Live Chess”]
[Site “Chess.com”]
[Date “2015.03.27”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Wesley Surber”]
[Black “870”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “C41”]
[WhiteElo “865”]
[BlackElo “870”]
[Annotator “Surber,Wesley”]
[PlyCount “119”]
[EventDate “2015.??.??”]
[TimeControl “10”]

1. e4 {One of the most popular opening moves in chess. This move gives White
maximum initial ownership of the central squares.} e5 {Black counters by
blocking the pawn’s advancement.} 2. Nf3 {White threatens the advancing Black
pawn although the move is more developmental than confrontational.} d6 {Black
responds by advancing the d7 pawn to further develop control of the central
board and also to defend the e5 pawn from any premature attack from White’s
i aforces.} 3. Bb5+ {The Bishop attacking on b5 moves the game into the Phildor
Defense of the King’s Knight Game. The Bishop itself is no serious threat to
Black, but it does indicate White’s desire to go for blood.} Bd7 {The Bishop
blocks the check and threatens the b5 Bishop.} 4. Nc3 {Planning against an
assault on the Bishop, White develops his Knight to defend against a loss of
material.} Be7 {Preparing a defense against a Bishop challenge on g5.} 5. d4 {
The first real threat of the game as White challenges the weaker Black e5
square. In some of these lower rated games, I have seen players take the bait
quite often and quickly lose ground in the center.} Nf6 {Black responds by
adding an attacker to the e4 pawn.} 6. O-O {A critical move that should
usually be made within the first six moves.} O-O {Black responds in kind.} 7.
dxe5 {White launches the first rearl attack of the game.} Bxb5 {In an unusual
counter move, Black ignores the dangerous advancing pawn and challenges
White’s relatively solid Queenside by taking the Bishop on b5.} 8. Nxb5 {White
captures the b5 Bishop to complete the exchange.} d5 {It is unclear here what
Black’s plan is or if he even has a real strategy in the game. The advance of
the d6 pawn results in an immediate loss of material, tempo, and advantage for
Black.} 9. exf6 {White easily gobbles up the free Knight. If Black does not
do something about the advancing pawn soon, he will have some serious trouble
on his hands.} Bxf6 {Black finally eliminates the advancing pawn, but now he
is left with a gaping hole in the center and is down a Knight thanks to the
unfortunate d5 move.} 10. Bf4 {White reognizes Black’s increasingly precarious
position and moves in to capitalize on the vulnerable Queen.} Qd7 $5 {I am
beginning to wonder if Black is even in this game! Qd7 protects the Queen
from direct attack, but needlessly sacrifices the a8 Rook!} 11. Nxc7 $1 {Black
is powerless to stop the Knight from destroying the a8 Rook. Black’s best
move here is to further develop his pieces to minimize the damage.} Nc6 {Most
likely the best move available.} 12. Nxa8 {A huge win! White has easily
infiltrated Black’s back rank and has devastated the Queenside.} Rxa8 {
Fortunately for Black, he is not content to sit back and let his forces
continue to be picked off.} 13. Qd2 {White’s Queen enters the fight to defend
the f4 Bishop and to make way for activating the a1 Rook.} Rd8 {It seems that
Black is anticipating entry of the a1 Rook and moves to create a battery on
the d-file.} 14. Rad1 {The d-file is an atomic war waiting to happen with both
sides prepared to strike using their Rook-Queen battery combinations…} Bxb2 {
Black’s Bishop goes for a material gain.} 15. exd5 {This move has two purposes.
The first is to challenge Black into the battery duel and the other is to
threaten the c6 Knight. In either event, Black must make a positional
concession if he wants to get ahead.} Ne7 $1 {This is a well executed tactical
maneuver by Black. With the Knight as a threat to the d5 pawn, Black’s battery
is (for the moment) stronger.} 16. Ne5 {In this game, White prefers to force
his opponent into positions that are terribly difficult and tricky to maneuver.
In this case, Black can take the d5 pawn, but his Queen and the game would be
over.} Qb5 {Black misses the capture with the Bishop on b2 and allows White to
push another pawn deeper into his territory.} 17. d6 {Now, White has a deadly
passed pawn in enemy territory and his Queen-Rook battery remains intact.} Nd5
{Black blocks the d6 pawn’s primary defenders and prevents the battery from
attacking without heavy losses. This is where things get tricky.} 18. Bg5 {
Realizing that the pawn has served its purpose and is lost, White engages the
Rook with his Bishop, a move that effectively forces the pawn’s capture.} Rxd6
{The Rook moves to safety and wins the pawn.} 19. Rfe1 {White’s Rook is now
activated and threatening the increasingly unprotected Black King.} f6 $3 {A
devastating fork! White loses a piece and remains in danger for losing more.
The choice between Knight and Bishop is never easy because they each perform
an important function on the board.} 20. Bxf6 {The Bishop is sacrificed to
open up the King’s defenses.} gxf6 {White is now down heavily on material, but
his King remains much more protected than his opponent.} 21. Qh6 {At this
point, White is out for blood. Bringing the Queen to the h-file is meant to
threaten material gain as well as hopefully distract Black from the growing
gap in the center.} Bxe5 {White continues to see his material (and his game)
slip away.} 22. Rxe5 $4 {A devastating blunder! I felt my heart sink when
this move was made. Trading the Rook for the Bishop in this case made almost
no sense whatsoever.} Qb2 $4 {Really? Did that just happen?! Black complely
missed an elementary move and let the Rook live despite White’s horrific
blunder.} 23. Re8+ {If Black realized his mistake, it was too late to do
anything about it. The e-file Rook engages Black’s King and White is once
again in control.} Kf7 {Black’s only option.} 24. Qf8+ {White made this move
much too soon. He should have reinforced the e-file Rook with Rde1! before
engaging with the Queen.} Kg6 {Black moves easily to safety.} 25. Qxd6 {Black
loses another Rook and now faces a serious material disadvantage. In a
professional game, Black would have most liekly resigned here.} Nc3 {Black
removes the Knight and forces the d-file Rook to a new position.} 26. Qg3+ {
White is in a very dangerous position since his King is stuck. If Black
manages to remove the defending Rook then the game is immediately over for
White.} Kf5 {Black’s King moves to safety.} 27. Qf3+ {The White Queen
continues to make life difficult for Black. The Rook remains under threat,
but forced moves will keep Black’s King busy for awhile.} Kg6 {Without a solid
plan of attack, the Black King retreats once more.} 28. Rg8+ {White adds
pressure to his opponent’s position by bringing the Rook into the battle.} Kf7
{Black’s King moves to safety while challenging the g8 Rook. White should
have taken time to address the attack on the Rook. but more immediate matters
required attention in his own territory.} 29. g3 {Strategically, this is a
sound move since it gives the White King options to escape in the event that
Black tries to trap him behind the pawn stucture.} Nxd1 {As expected, the Rook
is gone.} 30. Qxd1 {Black’s last Knight is finished.} Kxg8 {As Black destroys
White’s last real advantage, both players settle in for an extended Queen and
pawn endgame.} 31. Qd8+ {White continues to assert his dominance and
aggression. This check takes advantage of White’s position while setting up
opportunities to win material.} Kg7 {This move puts Black’s King out of danger
while protecting the valuable f6 pawn.} 32. Qe7+ {At this point, White is
operating with half of a plan. The forced moves will keep Black occupied, but
White needs more of a solid plan to capitalize during the endgame.} Kg6 {Black
continues to defend the f6 pawn.} 33. Qe4+ {Another forced move, this time in
an attempt to skewer the h7 pawn.} Kf7 {An unfortunate move for Black. It
continues defense of the f6 pawn, but abandons the h7 pawn and threatens the
loss of more material.} 34. Qxh7+ {White needs to be careful in these
situations because material greed without active work to mate can be disastous.
} Ke6 {Black contiues his merry-go-round trip to protect the f6 pawn.} 35. Qg8+
{White engages the Black King to prevent any futher piece development.} Kf5 {
Forced.} 36. Qd5+ {Continuing to push the King.} Kg6 {Forced.} 37. Qg8+ {
Something different in an attempt to stop the merry-go-round.} Kf5 {Still
unwilling to give up the f6 pawn.} 38. Qh7+ {White pushes the King again.} Ke6
{Forced.} 39. f4 {White needs to close the circle and prevent Black’s King
from continuing to evade.} Qc1+ {Black takes advantage of the first non-forced
move and forces White’s King off the back room.} 40. Kg2 {Preparing to escape
via the h-file.} Qd2+ {Probably frustrated with the number of forced moves in
the game, Black begins to systematically chase the White King.} 41. Kh3 {
Escaping to the h-file ensures that Black cannot continue to force moves.} Qe2
{Black’s Queen moves to prevent the White Queen from moving to e4 and
beginning a new series of forced moves.} 42. Qg8+ {White continues to exploit
the unprotected King.} Kd6 43. Qf8+ Kd5 44. Qf7+ Kd4 45. Qxf6+ {Another pawn
falls and the King is forced to move again.} Kc4 46. Qf7+ Kc3 47. Qc7+ Kd2 48.
Qa5+ Kc1 49. Qa3+ Kd2 50. c3 {The pawn move in this moment serves a dual role
as it further develops White’s remaining pawn structure and pins the King to
defending the Queen in the current position.} Qh5+ {Sensing danger, Black’s
move forces the White King to retreat.} 51. Kg2 {No other choices.} Ke2 {Out
of options for the moment. Black moves his King closer to tighten his grip on
the White King.} 52. Qe7+ {Another forced move.} Kd2 53. Qd6+ Ke2 54. Qe6+ Kd2
55. g4 {With Black frustrated and preoccupied with his King defence, White
challenges the Black Queen.} Qb5 {A rather weak retreat as there are no easy
advantages for Black in the current position.} 56. Qd6+ Ke2 57. Qe5+ {White
thought long and hard about this move. Until this point, Black had been
unwilling to accept any significant trades or sacrifices. If he foolishly
chose to save his King by Kd2, then his Queen is lost and the game is over.
On the other hand, capturing the e5 Queen is just as deadly since the
recapture by the f-pawn guarantees a new White Queen and game victory.} Qxe5 {
Black captures the Queen and chooses the lesser of two evils. Black is lost
in this position.} 58. fxe5 {The deadly e5 pawn will now rush unopposed to e8.
Black should resign.} Kd3 59. e6 Ke4 60. e7 {The King’s futile race to stop
the pawn is over. Black resigned and the Queen sacrifice brought White a
clear and decisive victory.} 1-0[/pgn]

I once read in a chess book that beginning players and anyone wanting to improve their level of chess play should *never* resign, but should play until checkmated or all material has been exhausted. Needless to say that I still resign in many of my games, but I am more hesitant to resign these days than in the past. These days, I look at a position I believe is lost, give it a quick analysis, and then decide whether there are things I can try based on the material and position I am given. Even if the position is obviously lost, there are often things to learn and challenges to behold past those positions. This game was *hopelessly lost* early on, but a series of blunders created by bait-traps I set throughout the game had an exhilaratingly positive outcome. It just goes to show that even when a position *seems* lost that unless a King is in checkmate (#), the game is not over until we, the players, decide it is. Enjoy!

[pgn]

[Event “Live Chess”]
[Site “Chess.com”]
[Date “2015.01.12”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Wesley Surber”]
[Black “1127”]
[Result “1-0”]
[WhiteElo “1089”]
[BlackElo “1127”]
[Annotator “Surber,Wesley”]
[PlyCount “51”]
[EventDate “2015.??.??”]
[TimeControl “15”]

1. e4 {A strong and popular move at all levels of chess. 1.e4 allows White a
multitude of options for proceeding with development of his pieces.} d5 {Black
wasted no time challenging White’s control of the center. The intention is to
get White to take the bait and sacrifice a pawn for a pawn. If White chooses
the sacrifice, he would find himself behind in development.} 2. Nc3 {White
rejects the sacrifice and attacks the d5 pawn while offering support for the
attacked e4 pawn.} dxe4 {It was obvious that Black was going to be greedy for
material in this game. He quickly gobbled up the e4 pawn and opened the
d-file for his Queen.} 3. Nxe4 {White recaptured the e4 pawn and completed the
sacrifice. White came out on top in this instance and now had a powerful
piece in the center to support further development.} e6 {A curious response.
Better was:} (3… Bf5 4. Ng3 Bg6 5. Nf3 c6 6. d4 Nd7 7. h4 {and White would
be better.}) 4. d3 {Sensing that Black is prepared to build along the d-file,
White released his dark-squared Bishop and shored up support for the outpost
Knight in an attempt to counter the advance.} a6 {Black seemed confused when
making this move. None of his pieces were developed and the a6 pawn offered
no chance for a Bishop or Rook to develop. White watched this move with
cautious optimism.} 5. Nf3 {Showing signs of some broken Sicilian Defense,
White advances his Knight to sieze control of the e5 square and to threaten on
the g5 square. However, advancing to the g5 square would be dangerous since
Black has simple counterplay (see note on 6.Be2).} Nc6 {At this point, Black
developed his first piece. The c6 Knight balances the pressure on the e5
square and brings Black into the center-control struggle for the first time.}
6. Be2 (6. Bg5 f6 7. Bh4 g5 8. Nexg5 fxg5 9. Bxg5 Be7 {and White would not
stand a chance.}) 6… Nd4 {Black engaged White’s arsenal immediately by
forking the Knight and Bishop. White considered this move for a short time
before deciding against going after the threatening Knight.} 7. O-O {White
rejected the threat and castled to safety.} (7. Nxd4 Qxd4 8. c3 Qd8 {and White
is down in material.}) 7… Qd5 {Black developed his Queen fairly early in the
game and still had not cleared a way for his King to castle safely. Black’s
Queen threatens both Knights, but not without effective responses from White.
At this point, the Queen was merely a tool of intimidation.} 8. Be3 {White
engaged the Knight to force him off of his outpost. Black was not going to
sit back and allow White to capture a Queen with his Knight, so therefore the
purpose behind this move was to push the Knight away by forcing it to attack a
piece or move away to further White’s development.} Nxf3+ {Black chose to
trade Knights and White was happy to oblige.} 9. Bxf3 {White completed the
trade and was left with a pair of highly developed Bishops.} ({White also
considered this move, but it restricted development of his Bishops and opened
his King to attack.} 9. gxf3) 9… Qb5 {Black moved his Queen to safety,
sensing that white was preparing to play Nf6+ and Black would immediately have
lost his Queen.} (9… f6 10. Nxf6+ gxf6 11. Bxd5 exd5 {and Black would have
been lost.}) 10. c4 {White made this move because he was running out of
counterplay ideas. The simple attack on the Queen was a blunder initially,
but it paved the way for White’s dramatic comeback.} Qxb2 {Black gained
position and material in White’s own territory with this move. The natural
urge to counter this move is Rb1, but the a2 pawn would have been history.
Instead, White chose a different approach.} 11. Qa4+ {White had been eyeing
this move for quite some time. Black certainly had a large number of
responses, but this move checked the Black King and reminded Black not to get
too comfortable.} Bd7 {Probably the best of Black’s move options. White’s
Queen was threatened from multiple angles and had to retreat.} 12. Qd1 {
White’s Queen retreated to safety on the first rank.} Nf6 {Black took the
opportunity to sieze tempo and began an attack on White’s center control.} 13.
Nc5 {White offered the Knight as a sacrifice to gain position closer to
Black’s territory.} Bxc5 {Black refused to allow White additional chances to
develop into his territory and eliminated the Knight with a trade.} 14. Bxc5 {
White completed the trade and applied addition pressure to Black’s King.} Qe5 {
Black brought his Queen back to the center to threaten the c5 Bishop.} 15. Bxb7
{White offered Black a choice: take the Bishop and lose a Rook, but Black had
other plans. White missed the fact that this move was another devastating
blunder.} Rb8 {Black challenged the White Bishop. At this point, White
realized his mistake and knew that one of his Bishops would soon be gobbled up
by Black’s threatening Queen.} 16. Bxa6 {White captured a consolation prize.}
Qxc5 {White’s advantage was quickly disappearing as Black’s Queen maintained a
strong position in the center of the board and White’s options remain
increasingly limited.} 17. Rb1 {White threatened Black’s Rook with the hope of
engaging in forced-move counterplay.} O-O {Black quickly castled to safety and
eliminated White’s plan for forced-moves.} 18. d4 {White continued to attack
Black’s Queen in hopes of regaining some hope of cohesiveness in the center.}
Qa5 {Black moved his Queen to safety on the a-file to prepare his counter play
against what he believed was a White pawn-push.} 19. d5 {White continued to
push his pawns toward Black’s front lines.} Qxa6 {White’s final pawn fell, and
the game became significantly desperate for White.} 20. Rxb8 {This was a move
of desperation! White realized that Black’s counterplay was simple, but he
needed to eliminate the Rook if he had any hope of continuing the game.} Rxb8 {
Black completed the trade and was up a Knight.} 21. dxe6 {White pushed his
pawn deeper into Black’s territory with little expectation of positive outcome
except for collecting more material and possibly dislodging Black’s back-rank
fortress.} Bxe6 {Black surprisingly took the pawn with his Bishop and opened
the d-file for attack. This is probably the move that lost the game for Black.
White recognized the importance of the open file and sought desperately to
capitalize on it.} 22. f3 {White dismantled his castle infrastructure in a
last-ditch effort to force Black to engage in deeper counterplay.} Qxa2 {Black
gobbled up another pawn and threatened to move into White’s territory for a
final assault.} 23. Rf2 {Realizing that death is certain, White challenged
Black to begin his attack or go home.} Qxc4 {Despite obvious advantages, Black
seemed hesitant to begin his assault. Qxc4?? gained material, but reduced the
cohesiveness of Black’s attack and further opened the d-file for a White
incursion.} 24. Rb2 {A move of solid desperation as White sought to sacrifice
his Rook to gain a surprise advantage over Black’s position. In this position,
Black had only one move to make that would seal his fate in the game…and he
made it.} Rxb2 {A devastating blunder as Black goes for the bait. There is no
hope for Black to win this game.} 25. Qd8+ {White’s Queen launched a
devastating assault on Black’s King and left him with only one available
forced move.} Ne8 {The only move Black could make.} 26. Qxe8# {Checkmate, and
Black’s decisive advantage is over as White wins by checkmate.} 1-0

[/pgn]

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]

Every so often, a chess player experiences a game that challenges them to move beyond basic strategy and tactics to explore the core of what embodies the fighting spirit of chess. For the first edition of *Move by Move*, we will examine a game that I played in December of 2014 against a player with an ELO of 1057 on [Chess.com](http://www.chess.com/livechess/game?id=1005851832).

[pgn]

[Event “Live Chess”]
[Site “Chess.com”]
[Date “2014.12.21”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Wesley Surber”]
[Black “1057”]
[Result “1-0”]
[ECO “C47”]
[WhiteElo “1066”]
[BlackElo “1057”]
[Annotator “Wesley Surber”]
[PlyCount “51”]
[EventDate “2014.??.??”]

1. e4 {One of the most common opening moves in chess. This move grabs control
of the d5 and f5 squares while simultaneously activating the light-squared
Bishop and White’s Queen.} e5 {Black answers by blocking with e7-e5. White
retains control of its squares, but the advancement of the e4 pawn is halted.}
2. Nc3 {White’s development adds protection to the e4 pawn, gains control of
the a4 and b5 squares in addition to increasing pressure on the d5 square.} Nf6
{A solid developmental move. Black controls the h5 and g4 squares while
putting pressure on the e4 pawn.} 3. d3 {White’s move activates the
dark-squared Bishop and adds another defender to the e4 pawn.} Nc6 {Black has
worse moves than developing the c6 Knight, but this position limits the scope
of Black’s possible piece development and adds risk to the d5 square with:} 4.
Bg5 (4. Nd5 Nxd5 5. exd5 Ne7 6. c4 {And White has a solid pawn defense in the
center.}) 4… d6 {This move comes a little too late for Black to gain any
significant advantage over White. The light-squared Bishop is activated, but
does not have a solid control of the c8-h3 diagonal.} 5. Nf3 {Material and
position remain relatively balanced at this point. The major downside to
developing the Knight is that it cuts off the Queen’s control of the diagonal,
but the developing piece frees up a space for future castling once the
light-squared Bishop moves.} d5 $16 ({Deep Fritz 14 recommends:} 5… Be7 6.
Be2 O-O 7. Bxf6 Bxf6 8. Nd5 Be6 9. c4 Bxd5 10. cxd5 Ne7 11. O-O c6 12. dxc6
bxc6 13. Qd2 h6 14. Rac1 Rb8 15. b4 Qb6 16. a3 c5 17. Qa2 cxb4 18. axb4 Qxb4
19. Qxa7 $11) 6. Bxf6 {White is willing to sacrifice the Bishop in order to
eliminate one of Black’s threatening Knights.} Qxf6 {White expected gxf6, but
Qxf6 creates a new dynamic for Black. Now that his Queen is out in the open,
he must utilize it carefully or lose momentum and material in a hurry.} 7. exd5
{The slaughter of the innocents. White wants a passed pawn that will force
Black to retreat to his back rank.} Nd4 8. Ne4 {This was an aggressive move in
which White ignored some basic chess principles and engaged in an overt attack
on Black’s matriarch.} (8. Nxd4 exd4 9. Ne4 Qe5 {Is death for White.}) 8… Qf4
{Black simply moves his Queen out of the way and threatens to invade White’s
back rank.} 9. g3 $4 $19 {[#] This was a serious blunder for White and it
should have cost him the game. White disengages its defense of the f3 square
and clears the way for Black’s Queen to infiltrate further into White’s
territory. There is no defense against the imminent Qxf3 since Qdxf3 would be
met with Nxf3.} ({Deep Fritz 14 prefers:} 9. Be2 Nxf3+ 10. Bxf3 Bd7 11. O-O
O-O-O 12. c3 Kb8 13. Re1 h5 14. Qd2 Qxd2 15. Nxd2 f6 16. h4 g6 17. b4 Be7 18.
a4 a6 19. d4 Bf5 20. dxe5 fxe5 $14) 9… Qxf3 {The unavoidable and devastating
loss of White’s Knight should have ended the game, but victory in chess often
comes to the player that makes the last blunder. White was about to
experience more destructive losses on the Kingside before finding momentum to
make a comeback.} 10. Be2 $2 $19 {Deep Fritz 14 disagreed strongly with this
move and encouraged a Queen sacrifice, but White risked losing the game to
lure Black into a clever trap.} Qxh1+ {This was the better of Black’s two
options. Taking the Bishop would have resulted in balanced counterplay and
have given White an opportunity to play for a draw. Instead, Black attacks
the Rook and threatens to dominate White’s King for the next few moves.} 11.
Kd2 {White moves his King out of the way and prepares for an exchange with
Qxd1 Qxd1 Rxd1, but Black had other plans.} Qxh2 $4 {Black refuses the
exchange and begins picking off the Kingside pawns. However, this move
essentially hands the iniative to White.} 12. c3 {White challenges Black’s
Knight to make his intentions known. Only two squares offered protection for
the Knight, but the e2 Bishop is too appetizing to pass up.} Nxe2 {Black
exchanges Knight for Bishop since White easily recaptures with his Queen.} 13.
Qxe2 {Practically forced.} Qh6+ {Black misses an opportunity to further
develop his pieces by finding a superficial check on h6. White has easy
counterplay.} 14. Kc2 {Moving the King to the c2 square opens up the d-file
for White to begin his primary counterplay.} f5 {Despite missed development
opportunities, Black’s position is still considerably better than White.} 15.
Nd2 {Retreating the Knight to the d2 square protects the piece with the King
and Queen while allowing the Queen to gain control of the e-file.} g5 $2 $19 {
Black commits a serious blunder by ignoring White’s threat on the e5 pawn. If
White can execute careful counterplay, it is all over for Black.} ({Deep Fritz
14 was not happy. Better was:} 15… Qd6 16. Nc4 $19) 16. Qxe5+ {[#] White
challenges Black’s unprotected King. His counterplay is extremely weak with a
Queen on the h-file and a forked Rook.} Be6 $19 {Blocking the check was the
only way for Black to retain the possibility of castling at a later time.} ({
Deep Fritz 14 prefers:} 16… Kf7 17. Qxh8 Qg7 18. Qxg7+ Kxg7 19. f4 Bd7 20.
Nf3 gxf4 21. gxf4 Bd6 22. Ne5 Ba4+ 23. b3 Be8 24. Rh1 h5 25. Kd2 Kf6 26. d4 Rd8
27. Ke3 Bf8 28. c4 a5 29. Kf3 Bb4 30. Ke3 Bf8 31. Kf3 Bb4 32. Ke3 $19) 17. Re1
$2 $19 {Deep Fritz 14 was not happy with this move, but the suggested
variation line did not take into account White’s desire to strengthen the
e-file to assault the King.} Bd6 $2 $18 {Black challenges the White Queen for
control of the e-file, but leaves the h8 Rook hanging.} ({Deep Fritz 14 x64:}
17… O-O-O 18. dxe6 Be7 19. Nc4 Rhf8 20. Na5 c6 21. Qe3 Kb8 22. Qe5+ Bd6 23.
Qe2 Rfe8 24. Nc4 Qf6 25. Kb1 g4 26. d4 h5 27. Ka1 f4 28. Nxd6 Rxd6 $19) 18.
Qxh8+ {White delivers a crushing blow to Black by capturing the h8 Rook. If
Black moves his King, then he loses the chance to castle and will lose his a8
Rook.} Bf8 $2 $18 {Black panics and misses a chance to engage counterplay
against White’s invading Queen. If Black had moved his Queen to e8, White
would have been forced into a retreat or forced to advance his Rook a little
too early.} ({Deep Fritz 14 recommends:} 18… Qf8 19. Rxe6+ Be7 20. Qxh7 Qf7
21. Qh8+ Qf8 22. Qe5 Kd8 23. Nf3 f4 24. g4 Rb8 25. Nxg5 Bxg5 26. Qxg5+ Kc8 27.
Rf6 Qe8 28. Qf5+ Kd8 29. Rf8 $18) 19. dxe6 $2 $16 {This is another move that
Deep Fritz 14 was not happy with, but White felt that creating a passed pawn
with an anchored Rook and looming Queen attack was the best way to proceed.}
O-O-O $2 $18 {Black gets the opportunity to castle, but White continues to
threaten with his Queen and passed pawn.} 20. Qe5 {White retreats his Queen to
avoid a trap by the Bishop, Rook, and Queen combo.} Bd6 $18 {Black has become
desperate and is trying to keep the White Queen and Rook from remaining
connected.} 21. Qxf5 {A safe move that allows White some breathing space and
sets up for a discovered check.} Rf8 $2 {Black takes the bait and launches a
premature attack on White’s Queen. If Black had considered his options, he
would have noticed that White never intended to capture the Rook, but had a
discovered check waiting in the wind. White has mate in 3 moves.} 22. e7+ $1 {
[#] White opens a devastating discovered check on the Black King and drives
him deeper into a corner.} Kb8 {Black is doomed.} 23. Qd7 $2 $18 {Deep Fritz
14 was not happy with this move, but White’s move also ensures an end to the
game.} ({Deep Fritz 14 preferred:} 23. e8=Q+ Rxe8 24. Rxe8#) 23… Bxe7 {Once
again, Black refuses to engage in any significant counterplay.} 24. Rxe7 {
White gobbles up Black’s last line of defense and the noose is about as tight
as it can get.} Rc8 $2 {Black re-establishes a castled position in a
last-ditch effort to defend the King.} ({Deep Fritz 14 preferred:} 24… Qc6
25. Qxc6 bxc6 26. Ne4 h5 27. Rh7 h4 28. gxh4 gxh4 29. Rxh4 a6 30. f4 Ka7 31.
Nc5 Rf7 32. d4 Kb6 33. Rh8 a5 34. Rb8+ Ka7 35. Rb7+ Ka8 36. Kb3 Rxf4 37. Rxc7
Rf6 38. Nd7 Rf2 39. a4 Rg2 40. Rxc6 $18) 25. Re8 {Black’s only option for
salvation is b7 to allow the King an escape route.} Qf6 {Black assumes that
White’s intention is to play a piece on d8, but wih mate in 1, there is no
need. Black’s Queen is in a powerless position and the game is over.} 26.
Qxc8# {The speed at which the initiative in this game changed made it an
incredible experience. White was facing a lost position, but managed to
manipulate key tactical sequences to pull off a dramatic win.} 1-0

[/pgn]

[pgn]
[Event “Live Chess”]
[Site “Chess.com”]
[Date “2014.10.22”]
[Round “?”]
[White “921”]
[Black “Wesley Surber”]
[Result “0-1”]
[WhiteElo “921”]
[BlackElo “903”]
[PlyCount “40”]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e3 Be6 4. Qa4+ Nc6 5. Bxc4 Bg4 6. f3 Bf5 7. Qb3 e6 8.
Ne2 Bb4+ 9. Bd2 a5 10. O-O Nf6 11. e4 Bg6 12. a3 Nxd4 13. Nxd4 Qxd4+ 14. Kh1
Bxd2 15. Nxd2 Qxd2 16. Qxb7 Rd8 17. Bb5+ Ke7 18. Qxc7+ Kf8 19. h3 Nxe4 20. Rad1
Nf2+ 0-1
[/pgn]

Today has been one of the worst days in recent memory, but it seems that there is always a silver lining to a darkened cloud. The game above was played today on Chess.com and although it is not much to look at, it represents an important milestone in my chess training because it is the first game to **ever** place me above 900 ELO in blitz! As I blogged about [recently](http://www.offmychess.com/approaching-900/) and followed-up with in the current edition of [OMC Weekend Review](http://www.offmychess.com/omc-weekend-review-volume-1-issue-10/), 900 has always eluded me, but today is a day for celebrating the fruits of hard-earned labor.