Category: Game Analysis

[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.

Normally I reserve these entries for the weekend reviews, but things have been so exciting over the last few days that I could not wait to share. As most of you know, the primary purpose of this blog is for me to document my chess studies, improvements, and interests. Yes, I am probably one of the lowest rated people you will meet that maintains a regular chess blog, but that is the beauty of the game! *Everyone* starts somewhere and improvement is part of *everyone’s* game strategy, even Magnus Carlsen or Bobby Fischer. Since June, my blitz ELO has hovered between 700 and 850 and my win/loss ratio overall has consistently stayed at a 25 to 30 game deficit. However, things began to change earlier this week:

[pgn]
[Event “Live Chess”]
[Site “Chess.com”]
[Date “2014.10.14”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Wesley Surber”]
[Black “878”]
[Result “1-0”]
[WhiteElo “851”]
[BlackElo “878”]
[PlyCount “32”]
[EventDate “2014.??.??”]
[TimeControl “5”]

{This first game was very challenging for me and although Black blundered
horribly on move 16, it was still a close call.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Nc6
4. Nc3 f6 5. O-O Nge7 6. d3 Ng6 {[#] I was very interested to find that this
particular board pattern occured in this game and the game that followed with
a completely different player.} 7. Be3 Bd7 8. Qd2 Be7 9. Rae1 {At this point,
White is a little bit better in tempo, but both sides are mostly equal in
position. 9.Rae1 was simply a patient move to reinforce the dark squared
Bishop on e3.} a6 10. Bd5 {Black’s next move was apparent (10…b5) and
threatened my light squared Bishop, so I decided to put some pressure on his
Knight.} b5 11. a4 b4 12. Na2 {Not willing to sacrifice my Knight just yet.} a5
{Black closes off any chance for me to advance the a-pawn.} 13. c3 Rb8 14. cxb4
Nxb4 15. Nxb4 {This was a risky move because Black could have played 15…axb4
or 15…Rxb4. In any case, I was well aware that re-capturing with my Queen
would be a meaningless sacrifice. Therefore, I considered 15.Nxb4 to be a
“decent” move, but realized that I had utlimately give away my Knight.} Rxb4
16. Qc2 {My intention was to play Bc6, pinning Black’s light-squared Bishop to
his King with the ability to re-capture with my Queen if necessary.} Rb7 {The
head of my enemy on a silver platter! A devastating blunder and Black
resigned.} 1-0
[/pgn]

The game above is just one example of the wins I have managed to crank out against opponents of varying strengths and playing styles. As of writing this post, I have destroyed my previous blitz winning streak of 6 and replaced it with a current streak of 11 games in a row, now sitting on a blitz ELO of 887. My hope is that sometime tonight or tomorrow, I will be able to break through my next barrier and proceed into the 900s. For many seasoned chess players, this may not seem like much, but to a man who spends much of his time studying, researching, and playing the game, any milestone is another milestone crossed off the list.

[pgn]
[Event “Live Chess”]
[Site “Chess.com”]
[Date “2014.10.14”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Wesley Surber”]
[Black “851”]
[Result “1-0”]
[WhiteElo “851”]
[BlackElo “877”]
[PlyCount “75”]
[EventDate “2014.??.??”]
[TimeControl “5”]

{This next game was one of two that I played in which some of the same
positions and situations from the previous game appeared. This opponent was
far more challenging than my previous opponent, but the outcome was much the
same.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 f6 4. Nc3 d6 5. d3 Bd7 6. Be3 Be7 {[#] A
configuration that is nearly identical to my previous game.} 7. O-O f5 8. Nd5 {
I was being more cautious in this game and did not want to haphazardly engage
Black’s pawn structure.} f4 9. Bd2 Nf6 {Black starts adding pressure to my e4
pawn.} 10. Nb4 g5 11. Nxg5 {A opportunity to add control to the f7 square and
put pressure on Black’s King.} Bg4 12. f3 Bh5 13. Ne6 {Although 877 was
playing very well, I had to take the chance that he would miss the Queen
attack…no such luck.} Qd7 14. Ng7+ {Not much to go on with this fork, but at
least I can eliminate the light-squared Bishop and reduce the pressure on my
pieces attacking the f7 square.} Kf8 15. Nxh5 Nxh5 16. g4 Nf6 17. Qe1 Nxb4 18.
Bxb4 c5 19. Qh4 cxb4 {A noble sacrifice by my dark-squared Bishop so that I
could begin working toward some forced moves.} 20. Qh6+ Ke8 21. Qg7 Rf8 22. g5
Nh5 23. Qxh7 Nf6 {Black’s Knight is really annoying. I want it to go away,
but cannot seem to swing that at the moment.} 24. Qg6+ Rf7 {A surprising
blunder by Black. His Rook is history because my c4 Bishop controls the line
to the f7 square.} 25. Qxf7+ Kd8 26. gxf6 {Black is down another Knight and
the pressure is mounting on his King.} d5 27. Bxd5 {Black has no real moves
available to stop the advancing Bishop/Queen combination.} Bc5+ 28. d4 Qh3 {I
am not certain of the intentions behind this move beyond trying to intimidate
me with a Queen close to the Kingside. The Bishop is no threat if Bxd4
because my Rook provides an easy cover.} 29. Qf8+ {My biggest blunder in the
game. The better move was Qg8, but I let my confidence get the best of me.}
Bxf8 30. Kh1 {I saw the writing on the wall and decided to pull my King to
safety.} Kc7 31. Rg1 {An attempt to go after Black’s King with a Rook
combination.} Rd8 32. Bc4 Qxf3+ 33. Rg2 Rxd4 34. Rag1 Rxc4 35. h3 {Giving
myself an escape route if I become trapped by Black’s growing attack.} Rxe4 36.
Kh2 {Eliminating the pin on the g2 Rook.} Kd7 37. Rd2+ Ke6 38. Rg6 {Black
resigned.} 1-0
[/pgn]

Normally I reserve these entries for the weekend reviews, but things have been so exciting over the last few days that I could not wait to share. As most of you know, the primary purpose of this blog is for me to document my chess studies, improvements, and interests. Yes, I am probably one of the lowest rated people you will meet that maintains a regular chess blog, but that is the beauty of the game! *Everyone* starts somewhere and improvement is part of *everyone’s* game strategy, even Magnus Carlsen or Bobby Fischer. Since June, my blitz ELO has hovered between 700 and 850 and my win/loss ratio overall has consistently stayed at a 25 to 30 game deficit. However, things began to change earlier this week:

[pgn]
[Event “Live Chess”]
[Site “Chess.com”]
[Date “2014.10.14”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Wesley Surber”]
[Black “878”]
[Result “1-0”]
[WhiteElo “851”]
[BlackElo “878”]
[PlyCount “32”]
[EventDate “2014.??.??”]
[TimeControl “5”]

{This first game was very challenging for me and although Black blundered
horribly on move 16, it was still a close call.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bc4 Nc6
4. Nc3 f6 5. O-O Nge7 6. d3 Ng6 {[#] I was very interested to find that this
particular board pattern occured in this game and the game that followed with
a completely different player.} 7. Be3 Bd7 8. Qd2 Be7 9. Rae1 {At this point,
White is a little bit better in tempo, but both sides are mostly equal in
position. 9.Rae1 was simply a patient move to reinforce the dark squared
Bishop on e3.} a6 10. Bd5 {Black’s next move was apparent (10…b5) and
threatened my light squared Bishop, so I decided to put some pressure on his
Knight.} b5 11. a4 b4 12. Na2 {Not willing to sacrifice my Knight just yet.} a5
{Black closes off any chance for me to advance the a-pawn.} 13. c3 Rb8 14. cxb4
Nxb4 15. Nxb4 {This was a risky move because Black could have played 15…axb4
or 15…Rxb4. In any case, I was well aware that re-capturing with my Queen
would be a meaningless sacrifice. Therefore, I considered 15.Nxb4 to be a
“decent” move, but realized that I had utlimately give away my Knight.} Rxb4
16. Qc2 {My intention was to play Bc6, pinning Black’s light-squared Bishop to
his King with the ability to re-capture with my Queen if necessary.} Rb7 {The
head of my enemy on a silver platter! A devastating blunder and Black
resigned.} 1-0
[/pgn]

The game above is just one example of the wins I have managed to crank out against opponents of varying strengths and playing styles. As of writing this post, I have destroyed my previous blitz winning streak of 6 and replaced it with a current streak of 11 games in a row, now sitting on a blitz ELO of 887. My hope is that sometime tonight or tomorrow, I will be able to break through my next barrier and proceed into the 900s. For many seasoned chess players, this may not seem like much, but to a man who spends much of his time studying, researching, and playing the game, any milestone is another milestone crossed off the list.

[pgn]
[Event “Live Chess”]
[Site “Chess.com”]
[Date “2014.10.14”]
[Round “?”]
[White “Wesley Surber”]
[Black “851”]
[Result “1-0”]
[WhiteElo “851”]
[BlackElo “877”]
[PlyCount “75”]
[EventDate “2014.??.??”]
[TimeControl “5”]

{This next game was one of two that I played in which some of the same
positions and situations from the previous game appeared. This opponent was
far more challenging than my previous opponent, but the outcome was much the
same.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 f6 4. Nc3 d6 5. d3 Bd7 6. Be3 Be7 {[#] A
configuration that is nearly identical to my previous game.} 7. O-O f5 8. Nd5 {
I was being more cautious in this game and did not want to haphazardly engage
Black’s pawn structure.} f4 9. Bd2 Nf6 {Black starts adding pressure to my e4
pawn.} 10. Nb4 g5 11. Nxg5 {A opportunity to add control to the f7 square and
put pressure on Black’s King.} Bg4 12. f3 Bh5 13. Ne6 {Although 877 was
playing very well, I had to take the chance that he would miss the Queen
attack…no such luck.} Qd7 14. Ng7+ {Not much to go on with this fork, but at
least I can eliminate the light-squared Bishop and reduce the pressure on my
pieces attacking the f7 square.} Kf8 15. Nxh5 Nxh5 16. g4 Nf6 17. Qe1 Nxb4 18.
Bxb4 c5 19. Qh4 cxb4 {A noble sacrifice by my dark-squared Bishop so that I
could begin working toward some forced moves.} 20. Qh6+ Ke8 21. Qg7 Rf8 22. g5
Nh5 23. Qxh7 Nf6 {Black’s Knight is really annoying. I want it to go away,
but cannot seem to swing that at the moment.} 24. Qg6+ Rf7 {A surprising
blunder by Black. His Rook is history because my c4 Bishop controls the line
to the f7 square.} 25. Qxf7+ Kd8 26. gxf6 {Black is down another Knight and
the pressure is mounting on his King.} d5 27. Bxd5 {Black has no real moves
available to stop the advancing Bishop/Queen combination.} Bc5+ 28. d4 Qh3 {I
am not certain of the intentions behind this move beyond trying to intimidate
me with a Queen close to the Kingside. The Bishop is no threat if Bxd4
because my Rook provides an easy cover.} 29. Qf8+ {My biggest blunder in the
game. The better move was Qg8, but I let my confidence get the best of me.}
Bxf8 30. Kh1 {I saw the writing on the wall and decided to pull my King to
safety.} Kc7 31. Rg1 {An attempt to go after Black’s King with a Rook
combination.} Rd8 32. Bc4 Qxf3+ 33. Rg2 Rxd4 34. Rag1 Rxc4 35. h3 {Giving
myself an escape route if I become trapped by Black’s growing attack.} Rxe4 36.
Kh2 {Eliminating the pin on the g2 Rook.} Kd7 37. Rd2+ Ke6 38. Rg6 {Black
resigned.} 1-0
[/pgn]

After suffering through some horrific losses, my blitz play has improved significantly over the past few weeks. In fact, I was surprised to see *Stockfish* offering less and less suggestions for my moves than in recent times. The following game was played yesterday on Chess.com against a player rated 866. The reason I chose to annotate and post this game is because I made some elementary errors that I believe could benefit lower-rated players such as myself in their own blitz games.

[pgn]

[Event “Live Chess”]
[Site “Chess.com”]
[Date “2014.10.05”]
[Round “?”]
[White “AmishHacker”]
[Black “866”]
[Result “0-1”]
[WhiteElo “806”]
[BlackElo “866”]
[Annotator “Stockfish 5 64”]
[PlyCount “52”]
[EventDate “2014.??.??”]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 d6 7. Nd5 Nd4 8. Be3
Nxf3+ 9. Qxf3 Nxd5 10. Bxd5 Bxe3 11. Qxe3 c6 {[#] Up until this point,
Black and I are relatively even. Stockfish shows me up about 0.06 with a
depth of 23, so things are not going too bad for me…} 12. Bxf7+ $4 $19 {The
first major blunder of the game and it was made out of desperation and
carelessness. I should have retreated to Bb3, but decided to sacrifice the
Bishop in hopes of breaking into the King’s defenses. For the next few moves,
Black is in complete control of the game.} Rxf7 13. d4 exd4 14. Qxd4 c5 15. Qd5
Qf8 16. Rae1 Bd7 17. Qxb7 Re8 18. Qd5 Re6 19. f4 Ref6 20. f5 Kh8 21. g4 {
[#]} h5 $2 $18 {Stockfish does not like this move and I cannot say
that I would have played it if I were in Black’s position. Better was 21…
Re7 for Black.} 22. gxh5 $2 $19 {Unfortunately, my response was no better. I
should have placed pressure on the f6 Rook by playing g5, but decided on
capturing the h5 Pawn in an attempt to wrestle control of the h-file.} Bxf5 $2
$11 {A massacre begins.} 23. exf5 Rxf5 24. Rxf5 Rxf5 {I thought for a few
moments on this move because I was not ready to sacrifice my Queen. Instead,
I wanted to find a way to maintain pressure on the King while protecting my
Queen and Rook combination. Stockfish likes Qg2 better than my choice, and I
agree. It is most likely the move that cost me the game.} 25. Qe6 $4 Rg5+ {
[#] It is over for me.} 26. Kh1 Qf3# 0-1

[/pgn]

Welcome to **My Chess Week**, where I write about my weekly exploits across the chess board! As we will see, things did not get much better for me as I concluded two more correspondence games and struggle with the psychological effects of chess disaster. However, some redemption appeared later in the week during live online play on Chess.com.

The first game was nothing short of a complete disaster. As you can tell by my liberal use of dichotomous adjectives, this is the game that forced me to rethink my play entirely and, in a sense, to return to my starting point to assess what is going on. 1272 played a great game of chess, but I was simply unable to match his play in a way that was effective for winning the game and maintaining my own self-confidence, which took a hit as I watched my ELO drop from a high of 1437 to 1269. I played White.

[pgn]
[Event “Let’s Play!”]
[Site “Chess.com”]
[Date “2014.07.16”]
[White “AmishHacker”]
[Black “1272”]
[Result “0-1”]
[WhiteElo “1269”]
[BlackElo “1272”]
[TimeControl “1 in 1 day”]
[Termination “1272 won by resignation”]

1.e4 c5 2.Bb5 e5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.O-O Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.d3 Bd7 7.Bg5 Be7 8.Qd2 a6 9.Bc4 b5 10.Bd5 {First mistake of the game. I hesitated in this position and played the reckless 10.Bd5 without looking at the more sensible 10.Bb3.} Nxd5 11.exd5 Bxg5 12.Nxg5 Nd4 13.Rae1 Qf6 14.Qe3?? {A terrible mistake! My intent was to put pressure on his Knights, but all this did was take away the risk of 14…Nxc2, which was Black’s next move.} Nxc2 15.Qc1 Nxe1 {Thus began the true descent as I was immediately down -5.00 following the capture of my Rook.} 16.Rxe1 Qg6 17.Nce4 Bf5 18.f4 h6 19.h3 {Grasping at straws.} hxg5 20.fxg5 Bxe4 21.Rxe4 {21.dxe4 would have been more sensible.} f6 22.Rg4 Qxd3 23.gxf6 gxf6 24.Rg7 {I resigned about an hour later because there were no options left. 24…Qxd5 eliminates my last piece and leaves my Queen alone to defend the remaining Pawns against Black’s Queen and two Rooks.} 0-1
[/pgn]

In my opinion, the following game is the stuff of nightmares. In fact, I actually had nightmares *about* this game the night that it was played. I am not a member of the [Internet Chess Club](http://www.chessclub.com) (ICC) and although I have no problem with the site’s format, I find the resources of [Chess.com](http://www.chess.com) to be more suitable to my skill level and general chess interests. However, I decided to test drive the ICC one weeknight and played two games against 1051, who surprised me with incredible comebacks in both endgames. I was coming off of a shocking recovery from the first game and was watching him closely for some form of trickery or blunder on my part that would cost me the game. Post-game analysis by Fritz shows me up a full 25 points going into the final three moves of the game, but this player was quick-witted and managed an incredible, nightmarish finish. Here we go:

[pgn]
[Event “ICC 15 12”]
[Site “Internet Chess Club”]
[Date “2014.07.22”]
[Round “?”]
[White “AmishHacker”]
[Black “1051”]
[Result “0-1”]
[ECO “B30”]
[WhiteElo “1400”]
[BlackElo “1051”]
[Annotator “Wesley Surber”]
[PlyCount “58”]
[EventDate “2014.??.??”]
[TimeControl “900+12”]

1.e4 e5 2. Nf3 c5 3. Bb5 Nc6 4. O-O a6 5. Bc4 d6 6. Nc3 b5 7. Bd5 Bb7 8. d3 Nf6 9. Bg5 h6 10. Qd2 b4 11. Na4 Rb8 12. a3 Nd4 13. axb4 hxg5 14. Nxg5 Nxd5 15.exd5 Bxd5 16. bxc5 f6 17. c3 fxg5 18. cxd4 Be7 19. dxe5 dxe5 {I really liked this position. I have spent the last few weeks reading and studying pawn structures, and this position was the result of pushing more pawns across the center to weaken my opponent’s defenses.} 20. Rae1 {Planning to attack the e5 pawn and chip away at Black’s position.} Qc7 21. Nc3 Qa5 22. b4 {A quick and unfortunate pawn surrender. I wish I could take this one back.} Qxb4 23. Qe3 Qg4 24. f3 Qf5 25. Nxd5 Bf6 26. d4 {This was the move that cost me the game. By playing d4, I provided black with a clear pathway to bring his Queen to c2 and begin a very quick checkmate pattern.} O-O 27. g4 Qc2 28. f4 {I played f4 simply because I did not see Black’s plans. I was not paying attention to the whole board and was more wrapped up in finding a way to push my Rooks deeper into Black’s territory.} Rb2 29. dxe5 Qg2# {White checkmated and I think I cried a little.} 0-1
[/pgn]

Things were not all *doom and gloom* this week. Live chess treated me much better than correspondence chess. This game was played on [Chess.com](http://www.chess.com) and was a joy to play (and win). I actually played this one while eating one of those stuffed grillers from Taco Bell, so I was impressed by the level of concentration I was able to devote to my burrito and to the chessboard…

[pgn]
[Event “Live Chess”]
[Site “Chess.com”]
[Date “2014.07.23”]
[Round “?”]
[White “AmishHacker”]
[Black “949”]
[Result “1-0”]
[WhiteElo “856”]
[BlackElo “949”]
[PlyCount “51”]
[EventDate “2014.??.??”]
[TimeControl “15”]

1.e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 e5 4. O-O a6 5. Ng5 Nh6 {He is defending against Qf7#, which is was one plan I had considered, but prepared for his counter play.} 6. d3 b5 7. Bd5 Bb7 8. Qf3 {Considered Qf7+ one last time, but decided against making such a bold sacrifice.} Nd4 9. Qe3 Nxc2 {At this point, my a1 Rook is history, so I had to find a way to prevent further damage to the back rank.} 10. Qf3 Bxd5 11. exd5 f6 12. Qh5+ g6 13. Qe2 Nd4 14. Qe4 Nc2 15. Qe2 {If he’s going to take my Rook, I am going to make him pay for it.} Nxa1 16. Ne4 f5 17. Ng5 d6 18. f4 Be7 19. Ne6 Qb6 20. fxe5 c4+ 21. d4 dxe5 22. Bxh6 Rg8 23. Qxe5 {Was hoping to capture a Rook, but his moves allowed a much faster mating pattern to develop.} Nc2 24. Nc7+ Kf7 25. d6 {A simple move designed only to block his Queen. His best saving move would have been 25…Bxd6} Qc6 {Does nothing to help his position.} 26. Qe6# {Victory is mine!} 1-0
[/pgn]

And finally…this little gem…

[pgn]
[Event “Live Chess”]
[Site “Chess.com”]
[Date “2014.07.23”]
[Round “?”]
[White “755”]
[Black “AmishHacker”]
[Result “0-1”]
[WhiteElo “755”]
[BlackElo “885”]
[PlyCount “16”]
[EventDate “2014.??.??”]
[TimeControl “15”]

1.e4 c5 2. d3 Nf6 3. Nf3 e6 4. Bd2 Nc6 5. Be2 Qb6 6. Nc3 c4 7. Rb1 Ng4 {He needs to play 8.d4 to stop mate in one.} 8. dxc4 Qxf2# {This game reminds me of that moment in The Boondock Saints right after they shot the cat when one of the brothers points to the bloody mess and yells, “I can’t believe that just f**king happened!”} 0-1
[/pgn]

Welcome to the first edition of **My Chess Week**, where I write about my weekly exploits across the chess board! This week’s installment focuses on a pair of correspondence games played on [Chess.com](http://www.chess.com).

This week has had a variety of ups and downs in the world of my own chess play. The week started off with a pair of brilliant wins and an exciting moment where my correspondence ELO jumped to 1478 before plummeting back to 1322 by the morning of July 20th. The first noteworthy game came against a [Chess.com](http://www.chess.com) player rated at 1309. I was coming off of an exciting win and feeling the thrill of victory. However, I quickly noted in this game that I was struggling to find decent moves against White, but a key opportunity presented itself at move 29.

[pgn]
[Event “Let’s Play!”]
[Site “Chess.com”]
[Date “2014.07.16”]
[White “1309”]
[Black “AmishHacker”]
[Result “1-0”]
[WhiteElo “1309”]
[BlackElo “1398”]
[TimeControl “1 in 1 day”]
[Termination “AmishHacker won on time”]

1.c4 e5 2.Nc3 Nc6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Bc5 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O Ng4 7.e3 d6 8.h3 Qf6 9.Ne4 Qe6 10.Nxc5 dxc5 11.hxg4 Qxg4 12.d3 Bf5 13.e4 Bg6 14.Kh2 f5 15.Ng5 Rad8 16.Bh3 Qh5 17.Qxh5 Bxh5 18.Ne6 Rxd3 19.Nxf8 Kxf8 20.Bxf5 g6 21.Bh6+ Kf7 22.Bc8 Nd4 23.Bxb7 Nf3+ 24.Kg2 Rd4 25.Bd5+ Ke7 26.Be3 Rd3 27.Bxc5+ Kd7 28.Bxa7 c6 29.Bg8 Ke8 {This was the key turning point in the game. I spent several hours going over 16 different variations to find the best way to a quick and decisive end. I knew it was most important to get my King to safety to avoid 30.Re8, which would allow easy capture of my e6 Rook and destroy any chance I had of coming back.} 30.c5 Nh4+ {Even in post-game analysis, Fritz does not recommend this move. However, it was not done haphazardly. The intention was to get White to take the Knight to open up the B-file.} 31.gxh4 Bf3+ 32.Kh2 Bg4 33.Kg1 Rh3 {White’s only hope here is 34.Kb7, which prevents mate in 2. Alas, White chose an unusual response in 34.Bb8.} 34.Bb8 Bf3 35.Bf7+ {A parting shot, nothing more.} Kxf7 0-1
[/pgn]

1309/White should have resigned or made another move in the game to allow for checkmate, but instead he chose to let his clock run down. I had to wait 24 hours for the game to show up as a win, but nonetheless there was nothing White could do to prevent mate in one.

Unfortunately, things did not go so well on the next game. A combination of overconfidence and a lack of attention to the consequences of my moves cost me dearly against a 1341 playing White.

[pgn]
[Event “Let’s Play!”]
[Site “Chess.com”]
[Date “2014.07.16”]
[White “1341”]
[Black “AmishHacker”]
[Result “1-0”]
[WhiteElo “1341”]
[BlackElo “1398”]
[TimeControl “1 in 1 day”]
[Termination “1341 won by resignation”]

1.e4 e5 2.d4 Nc6 3.c3 Nf6 4.Bd3 d6 5.Nf3 Bg4 6.O-O d5 7.Qa4 Qd7 8.Bg5 exd4 9.cxd4 Bd6 {My mind started going fuzzy at this point. What should I do? Should I make a pawn trade or take the Knight on f2? Ultimately I decided to increase pressure on the center and played Bxf3.} 10.Nc3 Bxf3 {This is where the psychological destruction set in. I began examining this position and looking for mate in 3 moves. I had a variety of combinations mapped out in Chessbase and ready to go based on his responses. However, I made a critical error in my analysis and missed a very basic defense: g3! This simple move completely erased any attack ideas I had and my play never recovered.} 11.Be2 Ng4 12.g3 dxe4 13.Qb3 Nxd4 14.Qxb7 Nxe2+ 15.Nxe2 Bxe2 16.Qxa8+ {This was a brutal move. I cannot castle because my King is in check I cannot advance to the e7 square because of the h5 Bishop. This is a mate in two position.} Qd8 {The only legal move. Mate in one.} 17.Bxd8?? {I actually sent 1341 a chat message on Chess.com to tell him about his blunder. I was convinced the game was over and was just waiting on my iPhone to notify me of the mate. However, he chose the very unusual 17.Bxd8??, apparently looking to greedily snatch my Queen. I used the opportunity to play 17…O-O, but it was ultimately not enough.} O-O 18.Rfe1 Be7 19.Rxe2 Bxd8 20.Rd1 f5 21.Rxd8 Rxd8 22.Qxd8+ 1-0
[/pgn]

Following this loss, I suffered another loss before the end of the week with two games remaining to be concluded. As of right now, each of the games are even, but the middle game is just now starting and it is still anyone’s match. The important thing right now is to not let one or two losses, as damning as they are, create fear or panic when I am faced with the same positions in later games. That is the beauty of chess! Each loss is an opportunity to take away knowledge that can bring victory in the next game.

My copy of the *Chess Life* June 2014 edition arrived this weekend and it features one of the most amazing stories I have ever read about two of my favorite subjects: computers and chess. Ever since the notorious *Turk* toured the world and baffled the minds of chess players everywhere, scientists and players alike have predicted the conquering of mankind’s chess abilities by computer advances. Unfortunately, despite his generous chess philanthropy and amazing skills on the board, Gary Kasparov will probably go down in history being remembered mainly for his loss to the IBM Deep Blue computer in 1997. Since the 1970s, computers have increased their ELO ratings and human-like play exponentially and the tables have turned: human players often seek advice from computers to find the best lines of play.

Dr. Ken Regan is a chess enthusiast and the designer of a highly compilex anti-cheating system in use by multiple chess federations and tournaments around the world. In the *Chess Life* article, Dr. Regan explains in wonderful detail the way that his algorithm searches positions in active tournaments and compares them to potential *engine moves*. Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of the article is the brief discussion of *perfect play*, which Dr. Regan believes peaks at around 3600 ELO. That is an incredibly high ELO, which no player in history has come close to…yet.

Following the publication of the article, Dr. Regan set up an [extra page](http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/~regan/chess/fidelity/ChessLifeNotes.html) on his website at the University of Buffalo’s School of Computer Science and Engineering. His page include links to professional papers developed in conjunction with his algorithm research and additional Q&A from the *Chess Life* article. It is all highly fascinating stuff for any fans of chess or software engineering. If you can obtain a copy from a friend or are looking for a time to subscribe to the USCF *Chess Life* publication: this is the time to do it! Check out the June 2014 edition for the full article or visit the [USCF Website](http://www.uschess.org) to read the magazine online (members only).