My game with Loomis
With superficial annotations, and some Fritz discoveries. I am frankly happy with my play overall, though obviously I made some big mistakes, and missed some of Loomis' mistakes (his mistakes were harder to spot, especially OTB).
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posted by Blue Devil Knight at 6/08/2009 11:19:00 PM
18 Comments:
Nice game!! 18. Bf3 looks like it would have been a great move because after 20. Rxc6 Nxc6 21. Bxa8 white has an extra pawn but black could annoy you with checks since white hasn't castled yet. 18. Bxf3 is really instructive.
Another interesting comment was when you stated you were staying fairly unbooked with 1. d4. Since I have switched to 1. e4 i am staying fairly unbooked and finding it easier to play. When I played the Colle I was constantly perseverating over the books moves and always got in trouble. I am wondering if it is better to be booked up on our black defences and not so much as white?? Your statement got me to thinking!
Thanks for posting the game.
Welcome to the dark side! Glad to hear you're having fun with 1.d4. 6.Nxd5 Qa5+ 7.b4! proves your point in your post about 1.d4 helping or not helping people learn tactics; of course it does!
Tommyg: I should have mentioned that Loomis examined that line during the game, and mentioned it in our postmortem. I was so concerned with getting my Knight to safety that I didn't even see 18 Bf3.
I think the lesson might be that opening study at low levels is not a good use of time, whether you are black or white.
Aziridine: right, as I said in that post, at my level (and probably until around 2200 from what I've heard), the question is not whether there will be tactics, but when. I now like playing openings where it is deferred a little bit, and I am forced to actually think about positional concerns more (though of course sometimes the tactical opportunities or mistakes come up earlier, and I need to be on the lookout).
I really like these games where I can get in d4/c4. It's a sweet pawn center, plus still having the option (in many games anyway) of playing e4 in one fell swoop, or e3 if I need to protect my space advantage. Perhaps it is partly after four years playing 1 e4 that I appreciate this more.
"7. Nge2"
7. cxd5 Nxc3 8. bxc3 Qxd5 9. Nf3 or 9. Bb5+ is also playable (and still gives white a reasonable centre) instead of this in my eyes bad move of white.
It's a decently played game in which i could see that white has some problems when the position is more positional then tactical. But with practise even this will be concured.
CT: thanks for the comment. One reason, as you know, that I'm playing d4 is because it resonates with the lessons at the International Chess School.
The drawback to playing so many pawn moves in the opening, however, is that you easily fall behind in development, which (as you point out) was a problem in this game, so don't get carried away.
After 18.Bf3 Rxd4 19.Bxb7 Bc6 can't White just win the exchange with 20.Bxa8 Bxa8 21.Rc8+? I think Black does better with 18...Re5+ 19.Kd2 Nc6! 20.Nxc6 Bxc6 21.Bxc6 Rd8+! (if White had played 19.Kf1 instead Black would have 21...Rc8 right away) 22.Kc3 Rc8 23.Kb3 Rxc6 24.Rxc6 bxc6 with a probable draw. If only White had castled earlier...
Chesstiger's right, 7.cxd5 is a definite improvement.
Azir: yes, in mentioning the e-pawn pushes possible I didn't mean to suggest they should be made right away. Rather, it is nice to have e3 or e4 to push at any point it will be best. Often it is not for many moves, even after castling (at least in the catalan lines). It's a nice exclamation point to plant in the center.
Azirdine, 18. Bf3 Rxd4 19. Bxb7 Bc6 20. Bxa8 Bxa8 21. Rc8+ Kg7 22. Rxb8 Bxg2 23. Rg1 Bf3 and white can't prevent Rd1#. This is the line I saw in the game when I played Bd7, though I did miss 20. Rxc6 which is better for white.
you had serious chances against a 600+ opponent-- can't ask for much more than that! i wonder if 12.dxe6 is any good. maybe if Bx, Bc7 Qa6, Nd6 Qc6, Rc1 Qd7, Bb5 looks like one way to get an initiative. and 12...Qxe6 can't be any good for black. just an idea anyway!
Katar: assuming you meant 13 e6, that indeed is a very interesting line. I briefly considered it during the game but was sort of wimpy not wanting to give up that pawn, not thinking through lines that involved giving it up. I was partly blinded, at that point, with trying to capitalize on having a passed pawn. I think key would have been to really make sure I would still have a passed pawn after all the exchanges in the middle. :)
no i meant 12.dxe6 en passant.
Oh right. Loomis and I talked about that, as he said that's the line he spent the most time analyzing. That's one I didn't even consider, literally I didn't even consider that I could take en passant. I think I just learned the rules. :O
katar, 12. dxe6 Bxe6 13. Bc7 Qc6 immediately, I don't see why Qa6 first? (White can't play d5 because it's attacked twice.) Now the e-file is open and black is threatening ... a6 removing the defense of the c7 bishop. ... Bc4 could also be strong and ... Qe4+ might be useful in some lines.
Loomis,
Nice trap! Although I still think 18...Re5+ is sounder.
12.dxe5 looks more clear-cut than 12.dxe6, unless Black has a better 12th move - 12...Re8 13.Be2 Bxe5 14.Bxe5 Rxe5 15.0-0 looks like a solid edge for White, who's up a pawn and threatens 16.Rc1 followed by 17.Nc7.
13.e6 wins.
A couple things come out as I have been on the d4 side and studying games of this nature in my magical history tour. Your “Tromp-feld”or “ Grun-Kowsky” with the early Bg5 is more of a waste until Black moves the e-pawn otherwise you get the Ne4 bailout causing you to move the bishop and leaving Black with a centralized knight.
With King’s Indian defenses ( early g6 before d5 is played), Nc3 is critical. If the game goes something like: 1.d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 you are better prepared to play 4.e4! which is the answer to your Queen’s bishop’s prayers ( “Please don’t fence me in with e3….Please?”). So if your opponent is going to go KID on you with the Nf6,g6 stuff PLAY Nc3 BEFORE Bg5 if anything. Make him stop you by forcing 3…d5 before he plays the bishop to g7. Then, if he does get to play the grunfeld, actively build a queen and bishop battery on the c1-h6 diagonal and trade that bastard ( Bf4 or g5 followed by Q to d2) then start an attack on his dark squares and weak g7.
Another strategy is to just lock up the center and trade your bishop for one of his knights and see how well he can free the imprisoned bishop.
Back to your game… I love the position on move 20. True, h4 was little bit overly optimistic. Before I get into that, let me back up at the critical stage where the decision to trade queens was made ( by you) on move 13 ( though Loomis restrained until 16) A queen exchange is a major decision. It’s like asking a girl to marry you, asking your boss for more money, or deciding agree with your wife where to spend you summer vacation ( chess or beach? Hmmm). Like any major decisions, your need to take stick in what you got and what you will get in return. At move 13, materially speaking, you have two extra pawns creating a central pawn phalanx. A positional edge might suggest the angry knight on b5 looking fiercely at c7. However, your king is still in the center and very vulnerable. Black’s assets lie in his king’s safety and the pressure on e5. Black’s liability is an undeveloped queen side. Is the mood desperate? No. If the Queens are off the board, black has an easier time blocking and recovering some pawns because you have to get your king to safety while, any development of the black pieces can put more pressure on the pawns. So rather than ask for her hand in marriage, take her on a date first. Black’s queen’s side is underdeveloped and his rook is locked in. Why not 13 e6 with the threat of 14. Nc7? Then you can get your Bishop in the action to Bc4. Enough on that… no harm done. A shot gun wedding it was.
On move 20, you’re waking up with a hang-over in vegas just outside the chapel and wondered what the hell have you done and wondering, “Is that blood on my lapel or is it spaghetti sauce?” You look at your partner and see that they are still staggering ( rooks) from the party. 20. Rc3 ( keep the dogs off the same color of the black knight and bishop) would start building possibilities of clearing that groggy head of yours. Doubling the rooks on c-file would take care of the buzzing sound in your ears. Then h4 is not a taste of the hair of the dog but picking up the party where it left off. Because of the rook lift you have a choice of opening up Black’s tin can on the King’s side or keeping him from organizing his rooks to take care of that back rank.
Sorry for my colorful rendering of the game. Its what happens in my head… as one master friend of mine said, “Explains a lot” I love this game. Thanks for sharing.
Great stuff, BP. Very useful ideas and suggestions there, and entertaining to boot!
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