At the beginning of 2019, one of the chess enthusiasts I follow on Twitter took the initiative to start a tournament between the growing community of adult improvers. It was a success and a lot of fun so when the opportunity came up to play in Twitter Chess Tournament II, I couldn’t resist. The games are played on lichess with a time control of 30 min + 15 sec (though it is flexible to accommodate player’s schedules) and a rate of one round every two weeks so there is plenty of time to schedule your game.
Here’s my first round game which was a win after my opponent made a misstep in the opening which cost him a piece and then I was able to find a checkmate to bring the game to a close.
[Event "Rated Classical game"]
[Site "https://lichess.org/t52AbzTp"]
[Date "2019.10.06"]
[Round "-"]
[White "show_me_patzer"]
[Black "VishyNotAnand"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "2162"]
[BlackElo "1616"]
[TimeControl "1800+15"]
[Termination "Normal"]
[UTCDate "2019.10.26"]
[UTCTime "14:55:13"]
[Variant "Standard"]
[ECO "A20"]
[Opening "English Opening: King's English Variation"]
[Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/show_me_patzer"]
1. c4 { [%clk 0:30:00] } e5 { [%clk 0:30:00] } 2. g3 { [%clk 0:29:41] } (2. Nc3 { This is the most common reply by White, but it allows Black to play Bb4 which can be a little annoying. } 2... Bb4 3. Nd5 { It’s generally a bad idea to move your pieces more than once in the opening, but here it is okay since Black will have to move his bishop again or else give up the bishop pair. Also if White plays something like 3.g3 then Black can take on c3 and leave White with some pawn weaknesses. } 3... Bc5 4. Nf3 c6 5. Nc3 d6 6. e3 { Black has managed to prevent White from fianchettoing the light squared bishop which isn’t a disaster for White, but I like the bishop on the diagonal when I can get it. }) 2... c5 { An unusual move and a bit too committal. More flexible would be something like: } { [%clk 0:29:40] } (2... Nf6 3. Bg2 c6 4. d4 exd4 5. Qxd4 d5 6. cxd5 cxd5 { While Black does have an isolated queen’s pawn, which can be a weakness, he can develop his pieces actively. }) 3. Bg2 { [%clk 0:29:35] } Nc6 { [%clk 0:29:50] } 4. Nc3 { [%clk 0:29:03] } g6 { [%clk 0:29:20] } 5. a3 { This pawn move seems odd, but I’m planning on playing Rb1 then b4 and with the bishop on the h1-a8 diagonal White can develop a lot of queenside pressure. } { [%clk 0:28:48] } 5... Bg7 { [%clk 0:29:19] } 6. b4 { Getting in b4 before Black can stop it with a5. At first glance it looks a bit risky given Black’s hard squared bishop on the a1-h8 diagonal, but there is no way to make that idea bear fruit right now. } { [%clk 0:27:55] } (6. Rb1 a5 { Halts White’s queenside expansion plans for now, but it does leave a big hole on b5 that White may be able to exploit. }) 6... b6? { A tactical error that allows me to win a piece. } { [%clk 0:27:04] } (6... d6 7. bxc5 dxc5 8. Bxc6+ { An interesting idea that has been deployed successfully for White a few times. I’ve played a similar idea as Black after 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c5 4.dxc5 Bxc3+ and 4.d5 Bxc3+ that has scored pretty well for me. } (8. Rb1 { Seems less committal if White doesn’t want to give up his fianchettoed bishop, but Black is okay also. }) 8... bxc6 9. Rb1 { White has traded the bishop pair for some concrete weaknesses (doubled isolated pawns) to play against. Objectively Black stands a bit better due to the long term advantage of the bishop pair, but White certainly has chances. }) 7. b5 { The knight cannot move because the light squared bishop would capture the rook. } { [%clk 0:27:45] } 7... Nge7 { [%clk 0:26:10] } 8. bxc6 { [%clk 0:27:13] } Nxc6 { “The hardest game to win is a won game.” is a famous quote from World Champion Emanuel Lasker. Despite being a piece down, Black plays on and if White is to win then he must demonstrate the technique to do so. } { [%clk 0:26:22] } 9. Nb5 { White should just get about getting the rest of his pieces into the game, but the d6 square looked like a very nice place to plop a knight. I couldn’t see a way for Black to kick me out or otherwise cause problems so I went for it. } { [%clk 0:26:22] } 9... O-O { [%clk 0:26:05] } 10. Rb1 { [%clk 0:25:57] } Rb8 { [%clk 0:26:02] } 11. d3 { [%clk 0:25:12] } (11. h4 { Recommended by the computer. h4 pushes are all the rage these days so why not? } 11... Nd4 12. Nc3 Bb7 13. Bxb7 Rxb7 14. h5 h6 15. Nf3 g5 (15... Nxf3+ 16. exf3 g5 17. Kf1 { White’s king is headed for g2 where it will be quite safe and the knight will find a happy home on d5. Black’s bishop is looking pretty bad behind all those pawns on dark squares and there’s also White’s extra piece to contend with. }) 16. Nxd4 exd4 17. Nd5 { Looks very good for White. }) 11... a6 { [%clk 0:24:59] } 12. Nd6 { [%clk 0:25:15] } Qc7 { [%clk 0:24:29] } 13. Nxc8 { Gaining the bishop pair. } { [%clk 0:25:26] } 13... Rfxc8 { [%clk 0:24:30] } 14. Nf3 { [%clk 0:24:00] } b5 { [%clk 0:21:11] } 15. O-O { [%clk 0:21:49] } bxc4 { [%clk 0:19:28] } (15... b4 16. axb4 cxb4 { During the game I thought Black might have some good chances to complicate things with this continuation. Connected passed pawns combined with the bishop looking down the diagonal seem scary. Is it enough for the piece? Not likely, but strange things happen as the clock ticks down. }) 16. Rxb8 { The more pieces that come off the board, the better my extra piece looks. } { [%clk 0:21:51] } 16... Rxb8 { [%clk 0:19:35] } 17. dxc4 { [%clk 0:22:03] } e4 { [%clk 0:19:45] } 18. Ng5 { [%clk 0:21:20] } Rb1 { [%clk 0:17:14] } 19. Qd5 { The queen and knight are a scary team and they’re both hitting f7. Black has to be very careful. } { [%clk 0:17:50] } 19... Nd4?? { Now White has a forced checkmate. } { [%clk 0:14:02] } (19... Nd8 { f7 has to be protected. } 20. Qxe4 Rb8 21. Qe8+ Bf8 { White is winning, but there is no immediate knock out. }) 20. Qxf7+ { [%clk 0:17:36] } Kh8 { [%clk 0:14:15] } 21. Qe8+ { Since working through the Weekly Checkmates course on Chessable, these types of moves have become much easier to find. } { [%clk 0:17:42] } 21... Bf8 { [%clk 0:13:22] } 22. Qxf8# { 1-0 White wins by checkmate. } { [%clk 0:17:38] } 1-0
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Hi,
I don’t understand : “and 4.d4 Bxc3+ that has scored….”. What are the first moves?
Thanks for asking! 1.e4 g6 2.d4 Bg7 3.Nc3 c5 are the starting moves when White can play either 4.dxc5 or 4.d5 (4.d4 is a type-o which I’ll correct here shortly).