Campfire Chess

Tag: Chess.com

  • Carlsen’s Amazing Hamburg Simul

    Carlsen’s Amazing Hamburg Simul

    You really have to hand it to Magnus Carlsen. As one of the youngest chess champions in history, he has transformed the professional chess world with major brand endorsements, [his own clothing line](www.g-star.com/en_us/featured/collaborations/magnus-carlsen.htm), his own brand/chess app, and is noteworthy as the first World Champion to develop his chess abilities in the age of prevalent chess computers. In the [2014 World Chess Championship](sochi2014.fide.com), Carlsen effectively destroyed former champion Viswanathan Anand where there were no shortage of comments and questions about him being [*past his prime*](www.chess.com/forum/view/general/end-of-era-for-vishy-anand) and Carlsen being the *young* wave of the future.

    Earlier this week on February 21 in Hamburg, [Play Magnus](www.playmagnus.com) hosted a simul exhibition with 70 players. The German paper [Die Zeit](www.zeit.de) organized the event to commemorate its 70th birthday, which puts its first publication right after the end of World War II. In this competition sat one person for every year that *Die Zeit* has faithfully published to its readers.

    ![simulsetup](http://www.campfirechess.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/carlsensimul01.jpg)

    70 boards ready to take on Magnus Carlsen. (Credit: Play Magnus)

    As you can see, the setup for the event was stunning with each player receiving a *Play Magnus* chess set which was autographed by the World Champion after the event. Some of the competitors were invited to the event while others were chosen from a pool of over 1,000 applicants.

    ![simulcarlsen](http://www.campfirechess.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/carlsensimul02.jpg)

    Carlsen’s six-hour battle. (Credit: Chess24.com)

    At the halfway point of the event, Carlsen had shut his opponents out with an amazing 30 wins and 0 losses or draws. At the conclusion of the event, which lasted around six hours, the World Champion emerged with an exceptional record of 67 wins, 2 draws, and 1 loss. It is easy to lose sight of the wins in this situation because of the startling number of losses. This defeat came at the hands of Jens-Erik Rudolph, who is identified by [Chessbase](www.chessbase.com) as a City League chess player with an 1981 ELO.

    [pgn]
    [Event “Simultan – 70 Jahre DIE ZEIT”]
    [Site “Hamburg”]
    [Date “2016.02.20”]
    [Round “?”]
    [White “Carlsen, Magnus”]
    [Black “Rudolph, Jens-Erik”]
    [Result “0-1”]
    [ECO “A42”]
    [WhiteElo “2844”]
    [BlackElo “1981”]
    [PlyCount “114”]
    [EventDate “2016.??.??”]
    [EventType “simul”]
    [EventCountry “GER”]
    [TimeControl “180+2”]

    1. c4 g6 2. Nc3 Bg7 3. d4 d6 4. e4 e5 5. d5 a5 6. Bd3
    Na6 7. Nge2 Nf6 8. Bg5 h6 9. Bh4 O-O 10. f3 Nc5 11. Bc2 Bd7 12. O-O Qe8 13. Kh1
    Nh7 14. b3 f5 15. a3 b6 16. b4 Nb7 17. Qd2 f4 18. Bf2 g5 19. Nb5 Bxb5 20. cxb5
    h5 21. Nc3 g4 22. Qe2 Qg6 23. Rfc1 Nf6 24. Bd1 Bh6 25. Be1 Rf7 26. Ra2 Rg7 27.
    Rac2 Kh8 28. Qf1 Rag8 29. Bh4 Bg5 30. Bf2 g3 31. Be1 gxh2 32. Na4 Ne8 33. Nb2
    axb4 34. axb4 h4 35. Nd3 Bd8 36. Kxh2 Rh7 37. Nf2 Nf6 38. Nh3 Nh5 39. Ra1 Ng3
    40. Qd3 Bf6 41. Ra7 Nd8 42. Raxc7 Rxc7 43. Rxc7 Nf5 44. Rc2 Ne3 45. Ra2 Nxg2
    46. Qe2 Ne3 47. Bb3 Nf7 48. Qf2 Qh5 49. Qe2 Rg2+ 50. Qxg2 Nxg2 51. Kxg2 Ng5 52.
    Ng1 h3+ 53. Kh1 Qg6 54. Rh2 Nxf3 55. Nxf3 Qxe4 56. Rxh3+ Kg7 57. Kg1 Qe3+ 0-1
    [/pgn]

    Magnus Carlsen’s single loss in the simul.

    After struggling somewhat last year, it is refreshing to see Magnus playing such good chess recently. Additionally, it was nice to see that there was an eclectic mix of people participating in the simul including a nine-year old chess player and a famous futbol coach among others. Although I have to consider variables such as the number of people Carlsen played in this simul it is nice to know that the World Champion himself is not impervious to defeat at the hands of players < 2000 ELO. Rudolph's 1981 ELO gives me hope, I tell ya. Additional Credit: Featured Image by [IM Anna Rudolf](https://www.facebook.com/AnnaRudolfChess/) -w.s

  • Never Say Die: A Chess.com Tournament Experience

    Never Say Die: A Chess.com Tournament Experience

    May 24 will mark the second anniversary of my dedicated attempts to improve at chess, but I noticed over the holiday season that I have yet to participate in a time-honored tradition enjoyed by countless chess enthusiasts around the world: *a tournament*. I have passed on several opportunities to play in local tournaments with the [San Antonio Chess Club](http://www.sanantoniochess.com) and playing with that group is the closest I have come to developing a 2016 New Year’s Resolution. Earlier this week I was about to play a 15-minute slow game on [Chess.com](http://www.chess.com) when I noticed that a tournament for the same time control was starting within 10 minutes. I joined the tournament and spent the next 2 and 1/2 hours playing in my first chess tournament! I was skeptical of the online tournament format but was pleasantly surprised by the energy of the players and the fierceness of the competition. I finished *2nd* overall with a 4/5 score. The loss was disappointing but it strengthened my resolve to play through.

    I was thrilled to see that many of the games played in this little tournament were exceptional. Games where White or Black was winning with an enormous amount of material and excellent positional play were turned upside down with smart tactics and devastating blunders. It was during the first round as I watched a game in progress where Black was steamrolling his opponent until the chess gods intervened…

    [pgn]
    [Event “Live Chess”]
    [Site “Chess.com”]
    [Date “2016.01.03”]
    [Round “?”]
    [White “tg-13”]
    [Black “JakeBoz98”]
    [Result “1-0”]
    [ECO “A16”]
    [WhiteElo “1182”]
    [BlackElo “1075”]
    [Annotator “Wesley Surber”]
    [PlyCount “131”]
    [EventDate “2016.??.??”]
    [TimeControl “15”]

    1. e4 e5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 b6 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. a3 d6 6. d3 Bd7 7. Be3 Ng4 8. Be2 f5
    9. O-O f4 10. d4 fxe3 11. d5 exf2+ {This is about the time that I joined the
    group in kibitzing this game. I had mixed feelings about the position because
    it felt as though White had sacrificed material unnecessarily and now Black
    was literally knocking at the castle door. However, this game would go on to
    prove that chess is a game where nothing is ever a sure thing.} 12. Kh1 Nd4 13.
    Nxd4 exd4 14. Bxg4 dxc3 {This was very hard to watch. Black was literally
    gobbling up White’s minor pieces with pawns and I expected a resignation at
    any moment.} 15. Bxd7+ {From the outside looking in, this move seemed like
    desperation.} Qxd7 16. Rxf2 cxb2 17. Rxb2 O-O-O 18. Qf3 g5 19. Qf6 Bg7 20. Qxg5
    Bxb2 {At this point, White is left with only a Rook, Queen, and foot soldiers.
    He needed a miracle…} 21. Rb1 Be5 22. g3 Rhg8 23. Qd2 Rdf8 24. Qe2 Qa4 25.
    Qe3 Qxc4 26. Rc1 Qa6 27. Kg2 Bb2 28. Rc2 Bxa3 29. Ra2 Bc5 30. Rxa6 Bxe3 31.
    Rxa7 Rf2+ 32. Kh3 Rff8 33. Ra8+ Kd7 34. Rxf8 Rxf8 35. Kh4 {This is the point
    that I kept hearing the words “Never Say Die” in my head. White refused to
    give up despite being crippled early in the game.} c5 36. dxc6+ Kxc6 37. h3 b5
    38. Kh5 Rg8 39. g4 b4 40. h4 b3 41. g5 b2 42. Kh6 b1=Q 43. Kxh7 Qb3 44. g6 Bd4
    45. Kh6 Bg7+ 46. Kh7 Qf7 47. gxf7 $4 {I could not believe that just happened.}
    Rf8 48. Kxg7 Ra8 49. f8=Q Rxf8 50. Kxf8 Kd7 51. Kf7 Kc6 52. h5 Kc5 53. Kf6 Kd4
    54. Kf5 Kc5 55. h6 Kd4 56. h7 d5 57. h8=Q+ {Back from the brink, White’s
    “never say die” attitude pays off in the endgame.} Kc4 58. exd5 Kxd5 59. Qe5+
    Kc4 60. Qd6 Kc3 61. Qd5 Kb4 62. Qc6 Ka5 63. Qb7 Ka4 64. Ke4 Ka3 65. Kd3 Ka4 66.
    Kc4 {tg-13 won by resignation} 1-0
    [/pgn]

    Suffice to say that all of the kibitzers in the room were excited about this game and I felt a little nervous knowing that a player like *tg-13* was in the mix and able to turn the tables on a dime. I copied down the ID number for the game and stored it in a text file called *Never Say Die* so that I could come back post-tournament and write this entry. Unfortunately the psychological effect of that game caused more harm than good as I faced *tg-13* in the second round and was lured into an early trap, lost my Queen, and the game soon afterwards. The next exceptional game came in the second round.

    [pgn]
    [Event “Live Chess”]
    [Site “Chess.com”]
    [Date “2016.01.03”]
    [Round “?”]
    [White “AestheticFit”]
    [Black “magab001”]
    [Result “1-0”]
    [ECO “D20”]
    [WhiteElo “1144”]
    [BlackElo “1139”]
    [Annotator “Wesley Surber”]
    [PlyCount “81”]
    [EventDate “2016.??.??”]
    [TimeControl “15”]

    1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. e4 e5 4. d5 b5 5. a3 Bd6 6. b4 Nf6 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bxf6
    Qxf6 9. h3 O-O 10. Nf3 c6 11. Nc3 cxd5 12. Nxd5 Qe6 13. a4 Ba6 14. Be2 Nc6 15.
    Rb1 Rab8 16. a5 f5 17. exf5 Rxf5 18. O-O Rbf8 19. Nh4 {Black is definitely
    winning in this position. Almost all of White’s big guns are aimed directly at
    the castle, but things are not always as they seem.} Rg5 20. Bg4 Qf7 21. Bf5
    Ne7 22. Nxe7+ Bxe7 23. Ng6 Qxf5 $4 {Black falls into a devastating trap.} 24.
    Nxe7+ Kh7 25. Nxf5 {Two comments stick out in my mind from the kibitzing chat:
    1) tactics 101, and 2) that was sexy! White turns the tide of the game with a
    crippling fork.} Rfxf5 26. Qd7 e4 27. Qxa7 Bc8 28. a6 Rf6 29. Qc7 Bxh3 30. Kh2
    Bxg2 31. Rg1 Rxf2 32. Rxg2 Rfxg2+ 33. Kh1 Re2 $4 {Black missed an opportunity
    to launch a tactic of his own.} (33… R2g4 34. Rf1 Rh5+ 35. Qh2 Rgh4 36. Qxh4
    Rxh4+) 34. a7 {Nothing can stop the a-pawn from causing major problems for
    Black.} Rh5+ 35. Kg1 Rg5+ 36. Kf1 Rc2 37. a8=Q Rh5 38. Qxe4+ Rf5+ 39. Qxf5+ Kg8
    40. Qcf7+ Kh8 41. Qf8# {AestheticFit won by checkmate} 1-0
    [/pgn]

    Black was in control of the game but missing a *simple* tactic cost him bigtime. It was fun to watch *magab001* in his other games because he played some very complicated and nailbiting positions. I had planned not to annotate any of my own games from the tournament but the next game was too good to pass up.

    [pgn]
    [Event “Live Chess”]
    [Site “Chess.com”]
    [Date “2016.01.03”]
    [Round “?”]
    [White “AmishHacker”]
    [Black “yanakap”]
    [Result “1-0”]
    [ECO “C68”]
    [WhiteElo “1135”]
    [BlackElo “905”]
    [Annotator “Wesley Surber”]
    [PlyCount “51”]
    [EventDate “2016.??.??”]
    [TimeControl “15”]

    1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. O-O Nf6 6. Nc3 O-O 7. d3 {I have
    seen this position quite frequently in many of my recent games. It can be
    tricky to maneuver but I have had moderate success pushing through my
    opponent’s blockades.} h6 8. Nh4 d6 9. Ng6 Re8 10. Be3 Bxe3 11. fxe3 Bg4 12.
    Qe1 Rc8 13. Qf2 Qd7 14. h3 Bxh3 15. gxh3 $6 {I had misgivings about this move
    after I made it. It was obvious that Black planned to bring his Queen to my
    Kingside but the move had already been made and I would have to counter his
    attack as best I could.} Qxh3 16. Nd5 Qg4+ 17. Kh1 Qxg6 18. Rg1 Ng4 19. Qf3
    Qh5+ 20. Kg2 Qh2+ 21. Kf1 Qh4 22. Rxg4 $1 {To avoid an appearance of arrogance
    I only gave this move a single “!” but it was probably more of a “!!” move
    because it forced Black to withdraw his Queen and put an end to his Kingside
    attack.} Qd8 23. Ke2 {I decided to take a gamble here. I chose to sacrifice my
    d5 Knight to open the c4-f7 diagonal. If Black took the bait then the game
    would be over. If not, the game was probably over anyway for me.} Ne7 24. Nb6
    Rb8 $4 {My opponent chose not to take the Knight but failed to see the attack
    on the f7 square.} 25. Qxf7+ Kh8 $8 {Black has nowhere to go. There is no
    defense against #/1.} 26. Qxg7# {AmishHacker won by checkmate} 1-0
    [/pgn]

    I chose to annotate that game mostly because of **26.Nb6** because it was a high-stakes gamble that paid off in dividends. This was in the third round immediately following my earlier defeat so it helped to boost my confidence and carry me on to the end. The final game I want to show was played near the end of the tournament around the time that my eyelids were growing heavy and the fight for the top three positions had come down to the wire. It features *magab001* from the one of the earlier annotated games.

    [pgn]
    [Event “Live Chess”]
    [Site “Chess.com”]
    [Date “2016.01.03”]
    [Round “?”]
    [White “magab001”]
    [Black “ChronoTheCode”]
    [Result “1-0”]
    [WhiteElo “1146”]
    [BlackElo “1088”]
    [Annotator “Surber,Wesley”]
    [PlyCount “97”]
    [EventDate “2016.??.??”]
    [TimeControl “15”]

    1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bc4 d5 5. exd5 Nd4 6. O-O Bg4 7. Ne2 Nxf3+ 8.
    gxf3 Bxf3 9. Qe1 Ne4 10. Ng3 Qg5 11. Be2 Qg4 12. Bxf3 Qxf3 {Black wasted no
    time moving his arsenal into White’s territory and threatening the castle, but
    the assault would not hold for long.} 13. d3 Ng5 $2 14. Bxg5 $1 Qxd5 15. Qe4
    Qe6 16. Qxb7 Rc8 17. Qxa7 Bd6 18. Qe3 O-O 19. Qf3 f6 20. Be3 Qh3 21. Qg2 Qh4
    22. Ne4 f5 23. Ng5 f4 24. Ne6 Rf7 25. Bc5 Bxc5 26. Nxc5 Rcf8 27. f3 Rf5 28. Ne6
    {White threatens Qxg7# but Black is still fighting with that “never say die”
    attitude.} R8f7 29. Qg4 Qh6 30. Kh1 Rh5 31. Rf2 Kh8 32. Rg1 g6 33. d4 e4 34.
    fxe4 Rh4 35. Qg2 g5 36. Nxg5 Rg7 $4 {It seems apparent that Black’s intentions
    were to skewer the Queen on g2 but White was expecting this and was prepared
    to engage with a crippling tactic of his own.} 37. Nf7+ $3 {Another sexy fork!
    Black goes from being totally in control of this game to picking up the pieces.
    } Kg8 38. Nxh6+ Kf8 39. Qxg7+ Ke8 $8 {Black has nowhere to go and is now on
    the run.} 40. Qg8+ Kd7 41. Rg7+ Kc6 42. Nf5 Rh3 43. Qd5+ Kb6 44. Qc5+ Kb7 45.
    Rxc7+ Ka6 {Never say die! Black holds on to the end and refuses to resign even
    when the game is hopeless.} 46. Qa7+ Kb5 47. Rc5+ Kb4 48. c3+ Rxc3 49. bxc3# {
    magab001 won by checkmate} 1-0
    [/pgn]

    So, what’s the verdict on this tournament and the whole of chess tournaments on the site? I found the Chess.com tournament experience to be much more pleasant than I had expected. The kibitzing with other participants was a lot of fun and it took a lot of the emphasis away from ELOs and put all emphasis on individual performance. A 900 ELO player could defeat a 1200 ELO player and vice versa, so tournaments on Chess.com are an excellent way to wade into the world of *competitive* chess. Besides, it is free to enter these tournaments and there are even some [cool trophies](http://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/trophy/549.b82b6f2c.200x200o.897e21ae2221.png) to display on your Chess.com profile page.

    #### Final Tournament Standings
    | Rank | Player | Rating | Record | Tie |
    |——|—————-|——–|——–|—–|
    | 1 | TheChessierGuy (16) | 1014 | 5/5 | 8.5 |
    | 2 | AmishHacker (5) | 1151 | 4/5 | 7 |
    | 3 | AestheticFit (6) | 1134 | 3/5 | 4 |
    | 4 | yanakap (17) | 965 | 3/5 | 3.5 |
    | 5 | magab001 (3) | 1126 | 2/5 | 1.5 |
    | 6 | ChronoTheCode (10) | 1069 | 1.5/5 | 0.25 |

    * View these games on [Chess.com](http://www.chess.com).
    – [Game #1](http://www.chess.com/livechess/game?id=1409817150): tg-13 (1182) vs. JakeBoz98 (1075)
    – [Game #2](http://www.chess.com/livechess/game?id=1409841626): AestheticFit (1144) vs. magab001 (1139)
    – [Game #3](http://www.chess.com/livechess/game?id=1409870895): AmishHacker (1135) vs. yanakap (905)
    – [Game #4](http://www.chess.com/livechess/game?id=1409870894): magab001 (1146) vs. ChronoTheCode (1088)(1088)

  • The Blessing of the November Sessions

    The Blessing of the November Sessions

    December is here and that means Christmas is just around the corner! It is hard for me to believe that so much time has gone by! *Campfire Chess* will celebrate its 2-year anniversary in May and we’ve averaged around 50 visitors a day since August of this year! If the internet could be imagined as a city then *Campfire Chess* is like a novelty comic book shop in a strip mall. Even Best Buy and some of the most successful businesses in the world started out small, so we are on our way! November was a lot of fun for me because my chess activities were up-and-down as usual but ended on a *very* high note. I closed out the month of November 2015 with a win that gave me my highest online ELO ever: 1073! I am very excited with the level of improvement I have gained in the last 2 years of tracking my chess studies. My online ELO was around 650 in May 2014 when I opened *Campfire Chess* as *Off My Chess*. 1073 represents almost a 100% improvement which is not too shabby for a guy who is going to university full time, raising two kids, working full time, and supporting a family. In addition, my chess studies and improvement are without the assistance of an OTB coach although I am utilizing the [Tactics Trainer](http://www.chess.com/tactics/) and [Chess Mentor](http://www.chess.com/chessmentor/) over at [Chess.com](http://www.chess.com).

    In reflecting on this milestone I would like to share two of my favorite annotated games from November. The first game is an 9 move game that could be described as an assasination…

    [pgn]
    [Event “Live Chess”]
    [Site “Chess.com”]
    [Date “2015.11.21”]
    [Round “?”]
    [White “Internet Opponent”]
    [Black “AmishHacker”]
    [Result “0-1”]
    [ECO “B01”]
    [WhiteElo “1022”]
    [BlackElo “1051”]
    [Annotator “Surber, Wesley”]
    [PlyCount “18”]
    [EventDate “2015.??.??”]
    [Source “Campfire Chess”]
    [SourceDate “2014.10.11”]
    [TimeControl “15”]

    1. e4 {My favorite opening move regardless of which side I am playing on.} d5 {
    This little gambit used to frighten me, but I tend to play it consistently
    these days. White captures the pawn around 99% of the time. When that occurs,
    Black has to be careful because finishing the trade with 2…Qxd5 can be
    tricky.} 2. e5 {White declines to engage the gambit and marches his pawn into
    enemy territory.} Nc6 {Having been down this road several times I am not
    anticipating a capture of the e5 pawn with my Knight. He is really there to
    control the d4 and c4 squares.} 3. Nf3 {A good move by White. The e5 pawn goes
    from a nuisance to a reinforced nuisance.} e6 {Activating my dark-squared
    Bishop and preventing the e5 pawn from pushing any further into my territory.}
    4. Bb5 {A typical challenge to the Knight’s position. A capture-recapture with
    the b7 pawn weakens the castling structure options.} Bd7 {I like this defense
    typically because it allows me to maintain integrity of the Queenside pawn
    structure.} 5. d4 {White pushes up against the central pawn structure. d5 and
    e6 are immobilized but the f8 Bishop owns the long diagonal.} Qe7 {Bringing
    out the Queen opens the back rank for castling and prepares an immediate
    assault on White’s position.} 6. Bg5 {An unusually obvious attack on the Queen.
    A move like this is designed only to force the Queen to relocate in an attempt
    to steal tempo.} Qb4+ {Bearing down on the b2 pawn with a1 in my sights.} 7.
    Nc3 {White misses the tactic.} Qxb2 {The b2 pawn is history, but the connected
    Rook and Queen combination brings the attack on a1 to a temporary halt.} 8.
    Bxc6 {White realizes he is in trouble and tries to divert attention away from
    the Knight and Rook fork to the Bishop on d7. Not falling for it…} Qxc3+ $1 {
    This one is devastating for White if he plays too quickly, which he did.} 9.
    Qd2 $4 {What was he thinking? White gives away the Rook and the game.} Qxa1+ $3
    {White resigned.} 0-1
    [/pgn]

    I am attending a school in Philly, so the next game was annotated on an American Airlines 737 from Dallas to Philadelphia earlier this week. This game was a lot of fun and had me on the edge of my seat several times throughout.

    [pgn]
    [Event “Live Chess”]
    [Site “Chess.com”]
    [Date “2015.11.25”]
    [Round “?”]
    [White “AmishHacker”]
    [Black “Internet Opponent”]
    [Result “1-0”]
    [ECO “B00”]
    [WhiteElo “1059”]
    [BlackElo “1046”]
    [Annotator “Surber, Wesley”]
    [PlyCount “39”]
    [EventDate “2015.??.??”]
    [Source “Campfire Chess”]
    [SourceDate “2014.10.11”]
    [TimeControl “15”]

    {Excited and somewhat nauseous to be annotating this game through turbulence
    at 39,000 feet on an 737 to Philadelphia! A first here on Campfire Chess!} 1.
    e4 {An aggressive and spiritual opening. It was Bobby Fischer’s favorite and
    is mine as well!} b6 {Black is going the way of the fianchetto.} 2. Nf3 {
    Automatic moves in the opening is something I desperately need to work on. 2.
    Nf3 is incredibly automatic for me with White and is not always the best way
    to proceed.} Bb7 {Black’s Bishop is bearing down on my e4 pawn. It is not a
    devastating threat but it cannot be discounted.} 3. Nc3 {Most of the time I
    prefer to play 3.d3 to defend the e4 pawn but Stockfish and Fritz yell at me
    when I do. If Dan Heisman was reviewing my games he would probably do the same.
    Therefore, the Knight advances.} e6 {Attacking lines are now open for Black’s
    Bishop and Queen although both pieces remain passive.} 4. d4 {The d4 square is
    defended by the f3 Knight and advancing a pawn strengthens control of the
    central squares.} Bb4 {Black’s Bishop advances to pin the Knight to my King.
    If Bxe4 then I would be unable to re-capture with my c3 Knight.} 5. Bd3 {
    Just giving Black a reason to think twice about capturing on e4.} d5 {And the
    game is afoot! Black obviously wants to push through my pawn structure on e4
    and is committing most of his resources to the effort.} 6. e5 {Taking on d5
    would be tantamount to suicide. Therefore I elected to strengthen my pawn
    chain to make it harder for Black to advance.} Nc6 {Material and positions are
    relatively equal at this point.} 7. a3 {The annoying Bishop on b4 has to go!
    Whether it retreats into enemy territory or is captured in a trade, I needed
    to clear it away to advance my forces.} Bxc3+ {Black claims the first piece of
    the game.} 8. bxc3 {The only reasonable response. Material is even.} Nge7 {
    Simply clearing the lines for castling.} 9. O-O {The King will sleep soundly
    tonight!} Na5 {Not really sure what Black is planning with this move. The
    Knight doesn’t control any squares and is more of a positional burden on the
    edge.} 10. Ng5 {Moves like this are too obvious to be an immediate threat.
    However, the psychological effects of this move can lead Black to miss a key
    tactic at the right (or wrong) moment.} Nc4 {The Knight is in a better
    position but still has a ways to go before it can be a formidable threat.} 11.
    Qf3 {Threatening the pawn on f7!} Nf5 {This was probably the best move Black
    had in the position. Still, I am content to engage the Knight in exchange for
    a Bishop and tempo.} 12. Bxf5 {The Knight is history.} exf5 {A unfair trade is
    completed. The Bishop is re-captured but the pawn will fall and provide me
    with a material advantage.} 13. Qxf5 {Black’s position is looking shaky…kind
    of like the airplane where I am writing this commentary.} Qe7 {This is a good
    move and it typically stops me dead in my tracks. However, I was in a Bent
    Larsen mood and decided that if I was going to lose an advantage in this
    position that I was going to do it with guns blazing!} 14. Nxh7 $2 {Is it
    pretentious to add a ? to your own moves?} Qe6 $4 {No other way to say this:
    what the hell? Is Black even playing the same board as me?} 15. Qh5 {I was
    shell-shocked by Black’s previous move so I took the opportunity to move my
    Queen to safety.} Ke7 {I am convinced now that my opponent was experiencing
    some kind of psychological breakdown. He could have castled on this move if
    his intention was to connect the Rooks. This move eliminates a chance of
    castling and brings his King out into the battlefield.} 16. Bg5+ {Now that
    Black has put his King into a vulnerable position, it is time to move in for
    the kill!} f6 {A good response that loses the least amount of material.} 17.
    exf6+ {The ONLY sensible response for White.} gxf6 {All this trading makes me
    think I should play the stock market!} 18. Bxf6+ {Offering up the Bishop as a
    way to draw the Queen away from her outpost.} Qxf6 {Black takes the bait and
    will lose his Queen.} 19. Qe2+ {Forcing Black to move his King or defend him.}
    Qe6 $4 {Black makes another perilous blunder and pins his Queen to King
    defense. The game is lost.} 20. Rae1 {Black realizes that he cannot
    successfully engage my Queen and resigned. This was a fun and challenging
    game! I was on the edge of my seat at several points and think that it shines
    as a nice little tactical gem.} 1-0
    [/pgn]

    I anticipate completing my Masters of Divinity in March so I hope to devote more attention to the rest of the blog. I recently began reworking the [reading list]() this week and plan to add the *movie list* which has been in production since July 2014. Chess is growing around the world and 2016 looks to be even better than this year! Stay tuned!

  • A Tactical Exposé

    A Tactical Exposé

    Recently I have been working with the Peshk@ training tool from ChessOK. Aside from studying opening theory I have also tried brushing up on my tactical abilities. It was not until recently that I was able to identify some of those tactics in games that I have been playing online. One game in particular struck me as an exceptional tactical win and it was played on the Live Chess server at Chess.com. I have annotated it here:

    Internet Opponent vs. AmishHacker

    Chess.com | Live Chess | October 08, 2015

    1.e4 A standard and powerful opening move. White is vying for control of the center.

    1…d5 Immediately challenging White’s push for the center. Most of my online opponents take the exchange as my opponent in this game did.

    2.exd5 White accepts the exchange. 2…Qxd5 The exchange is complete but I have to be careful bringing my Queen out so early in the game. In this position she is vulnerable to attack on several fronts.

    3.Nc3 White immediately engages my Queen. 3…Qd8 Moving my Queen back to safety to continue developing my pieces.

    4.d4 b6 Preparing a clear space for my Bishop to develop. 5.Bb5+ White obviously wants to show that he is in an aggressive mood. This also delays my Bishop’s development and forces a response rather than expansion of my attack forces. 5…Bd7 A direct challenge to the attack. I am also in a mood to fight.

    6.Qg4 White doubles up his attack on the d7 Bishop. Much of the attack is counterbalanced but there is danger here if I do not play with precision.

    6…e6 7.Bg5 f6 8.Qxe6+ A strong move since the d7 Bishop is pinned by the b5 Bishop. The attack on my position was well coordinated and there were several opportunities for Black to exploit weakness. 8…Be7 [8…Ne7 9.Bxf6 gxf6 10.Qxf6 And White is comfortably winning.] 9.Qxd7+?? Was played in the game. A tragic error that cost White his Queen and the game. It seems that he failed to notice the b8 Knight defending the d7 square.

    [9.Bxd7+ Qxd7 does nothing.]9…Nxd7!! The only reasoanble response to White’s blunder. 10.Bf4 Obviously blindsided by the devastating blunder, White retreats his Bishop in an attempt to regroup and recover with a new strategy. 10…g5 11.Bg3 Bd6 12.0-0-0 Ne7 13.Re1 A nice pin, but I am still able to castle to safety. 13…0-0 14.Bc4+ This attack seems only designed to force my King from its safety net. 14…Kh8 15.Nf3 c6!? This move made me nervous because it isolated my d6 Bishop and almost handed White the initiative. However, my opponent did not see the move and chose a different path. 16.d5?? The second major blunder of the game missing Bxd6!! 16…Bc5 17.dxc6 Nxc6 18.Nd5 Re8 19.Nc7 Rxe1+ A tactical sacrifice designed merely to delay White’s capture of the Rook. 20.Nxe1?? My opponent suprrised me again with this move. Normally the response would be Rxe1! but the choice to go with the Knight prevents the Rook from developing and leaves White handicapped.

    [Much better was: 20.Rxe1 g4 21.Nd2] 20…Rc8 21.Ne6 Qe7 22.Nd3 Nd4 23.Re1 Nxe6 24.Rxe6 Qf7 25.Rc6?! My opponent struck back with a poorly planned tactic. He threatens to take my c8 Rook and believes that I will place such a high value on it that I would miss his Bishop threatening my Queen. However, the Bishop capture was much more valuable. 25…Qxc4 26.Rxc8+ Kg7 27.a3 Qd4 Moving out of the way in preparatiion for b3. 28.Rd8 Bxa3!! I debated this one for awhile, but recent tactics studies boosted my confidence in this sacrifice. 29.bxa3 Qa1+!! This was a turning point in the game as White took the bait and my Queen began to systematically ravage his forces through forced moves. 30.Kd2 Qd4 31.c3 Qd5 32.f3 Qa2+ 33.Ke3 Qxa3 34.Rxd7+ I got nervous here because now I was down to only a Queen and 3 pawns while my opponent still had several minor pieces to work with. 34…Kg6 35.c4 Qf8 36.Rxa7 Qe8+ 37.Kf2 Qc6 38.Rc7 This demonstrates the power of a well-placed Bishop. Although I had confidence in a positive outcome for me, White’s Bishop on g3 was devastating to my attack plans. 38…Qa4 39.c5 Qc2+ 40.Ke3 bxc5 41.Rxc5 Qxg2 42.Rc6 Qg1+ 43.Ke2 Kf5 With few pieces left it was time to bring my King into the action. Instead of running from the Rook, my King now became an active part of my assault on White’s position. 44.f4 Qg2+!! A tactical and psychologically devastating attack! White’s Rook is lost and I continue to pick off his pieces one-by-one.

    45.Nf2 Qxc6 46.Ke3 gxf4+ 47.Bxf4 Qc1+!! Another piece falls to tactics! White cannot save the Bishop and suddenly he finds himself in a perilous position. 48.Kf3 Qxf4+ 49.Kg2 h5 50.h3 h4 51.Kf1 Qg3 52.Ke2 Qg2 53.Ke3 Kg5 54.Ne4+! A decent move to keep my King from chasing the h3 pawn. 54…Kf5!! An even better move to force White to consider the future of his Knight. 55.Kd4?? My opponent missed several opportunities in this game and I think this was simply a result of indecision. The Knight is lost since the King will defend any attack.

    55…Qxe4+ 56.Kc3 Qe3+ 57.Kc2 Qxh3 The last of my opponent’s pieces are gone. The rest is self-explanatory. 58.Kd2 Qg3 59.Ke2 h3 60.Kf1 h2 61.Ke2 h1Q 62.Kd2 Qhh2+ 63.Kd1 Qgg1# AmishHacker won by checkmate 0-1