Annotated chess game: An Expert Lesson in Pins and Deflections

ANNOTATED GAME

An Expert Lesson in Pins and Deflections
ionadowman (2036) vs. jstevens1 (1586)
Annotated by: jotheblackqueen (1200)
Chess opening: Four knights (C47), Belgrade gambit

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1. e4	Hi everyone! This game was played nearly two years ago against my mentor, Ionadowman. It has only been now that I could bring myself to annotate it as I was the victim here. Some mistakes stay in the memory for a long time. I had almost forgotten that game until my buddy Bob Jacobs lost big material in a recent game (which I will be annotating shortly as The Perils of Giving a Check) against me because he was lulled into a false sense of security by giving a check - it therefore revived the painful memories and I thought that some catharsis was necessary to try and get this loss out of my system once and for all. One constructive way of doing this is to put this annotation into the Knights Coaching Project Forum because I feel it will be a useful learning tool for the guys who are taking part in Master Freddy's minefield of a Knights Coaching Project Mini-tournament. Anyhow, the game becomes a Four Knights Game. We start with the move 1. e4 which is a common starter among players and especially recommended to beginners because it opens lines for the WB on c1 - also to the WQ who can get to h5 - although Master Freddy played the Patzer Opening against me, regicide manuals do not recommend it to beginners!



1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6	3. ..... Nf6 - this follows the opening principles of knights before bishops. All four knights are in play so this is called The Four Knights Opening.



4. d4	4. d4 - this is called The Scotch Variation of the Four Knights Opening. It is very much like the Scotch Opening but in that one only one pair of knights are developed. I decided to take on d4.



4... exd4 5. Nd5	5. Nd5 - Ion does not recapture with Nxd4 - Qxd4?? is scuicidal because the WQ who in this instance I call the Wicked Witch of the West (enemy queen and very wicked she can be!) will drop to the black knight placed on c6. This move is called The Belgrade Gambit - possibly because it was popular in that particular country!
	2 comments archduke_piccolo (2340) on 14-Dec-09: Rather a tricky line, but with accurate play by Black, White doesn't seem to get much. It was a favorite of mine many years ago. Check out my annotation of a club game with this opening under the title of 'The Wild West' (gameknot.com) for the utter carnage that can ensue from this line. dmaestro (1646) on 14-Dec-09: If I recall, one main line ends with perpetual check.


5... Be7	5. ..... Be7 - this developing move is in accordance with my style, it develops a piece and prepares castling. You, the Inquest Jury - feel free to study the immediate play of 6. Nxe4 or Nxd5 by using the database.
	2 comments archduke_piccolo (2340) on 14-Dec-09: Both alternatives are good. 5...Nxe4 is the excitingest - a direct attempt to combat the gambit. There is nothing wrong, though, with Joanne's treatment. dungeonking (785) on 16-Dec-09: would 5...d6 be a good move?


6. Bc4 O-O 7. O-O	7. 0-0 - both sides tuck their kings away on the kingside. I now open up the diagonal for my lsb (named Fou Leblanc) by playing d6. This move holds back e5 and now follows a plethora of exchanges.
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2340) on 14-Dec-09: An alternative to 7...d6 here is the take on e4: 7...Nxe4 8.Re1 Nf6 9.Ng5!? Nxd5 10.Nxf7 which L.M. Pickett described as 'unclear'. Looks fairly exciting, though, after 10...Rxf7 11.Bxd5 Kf8, White doesn't seem to have very much.


7... d6 8. Nxd4 Nxd4 9. Qxd4 Nxd5 10. Bxd5	10. Bxd5 - a lot of dust has been cleared. The Wicked Witch is now in a very active position indeed placed on d4, she hits at g7 for starters. Glenda (my queen) by contrast is still on her home square. She is sometimes known as Glenda the Defender because of her usually defensive role, but look out, that is not always the case!
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2340) on 14-Dec-09: But already there is not a lot in the game. White's game looks superficially the more active, but Black can now equalise quickly.


10... Bf6 11. Qd3	11. Qd3 - Fou Lenoir (my dark square bishop) forces the Witch to retreat - she chooses d3 which indirectly hits at h7, with a lsb on the board I must watch out for Old Matey (checkmate) on h7.



11... c6 12. Bb3	11. c6 - this move drives back the lsb. Let's see if I can use this to gain better piece placement here.
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2340) on 14-Dec-09: Pickett gave 11...a5 12.a4 c6 , with 13...Be6 to follow and a level game. Black need not play the a-pawn, and it seems to me the assessment is still the same. Joanne is doing fine so far.


12... Re8 13. c3 Be6	13. ...... Be6 - hoping for a trade off but Ion lines his bishop up on c2 - see my previous note.
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2340) on 14-Dec-09: Of course, the trade would have been unavoidable had Black played 12...Be6 - i.e. before the rook move. I was glad to have the chance to duck the exchange.


14. Bc2 g6	14. ..... g6 - a precaution against such a line up and indeed it is necessary to prevent Fou Lenoir being lost to Ion's pawn plonking himself on e5. You wouldn't think this move would be possible would you? It is when your opponent finds himself in Old Matey's shadow (threatened with mate) and has no holding checks available to escape from the discovered attack.
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2340) on 14-Dec-09: Sensible and good. The f6-bishop will soon retire behind the lines at g7. White has very little in the way of attack.


15. Bf4 d5	15. ..... d5 - this pawn is doubly attacked so it advances.
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2340) on 14-Dec-09: Now, here I probably ought simply to have advanced the e-pawn and sought a direct attack against the King.


16. Rfe1 dxe4 17. Qxd8 Raxd8	17. ...... Rxd8 - queen trade - I like this trade because it enables me to centralise my QR which now occupies the open d column. Rooks do belong on open and half-open files.



18. Rxe4 Bd5 19. Rxe8+ Rxe8	19. ...... Rxe8 - rook trade. It looks like a nice peaceful ending, does it not? Things can change dramatically though.
	2 comments gonefromgk (1200) on 14-Dec-09: I agree... I'm thinking I would be happy with black in this position. archduke_piccolo (2340) on 14-Dec-09: The game is dead level at best for White. I rather fancy myself in the endgame, but really ought to have avoided this one.


20. Be3 a6 21. a4 Kf8 22. a5 Be4	22. ..... Be4 - after a few pawn moves I get carried away with trying to swap off - sometimes it is a good thing, in this case it is a very bad thing. First comes the decoy 23. Bh6+.
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2340) on 14-Dec-09: A bolt from the blue: a complete surprise. Even in apparently lifeless positions, there is a chance to go horribly wrong.


23. Bh6+ Bg7	23. ..... Bg7 - If I move Henry my king to e7 then I lose Fou Leblanc outright to Bxe4 so I play this move. Now Henry is decoyed from the BR on e8 by Bxg7+. Henry must recapture and now Ion plays the deadening Re1 putting Fou Leblanc in a pin. I have 3 options, I can lose Fou Leblanc, I can drop the exchange or I can wave the white flag (resign) on the grounds of ruinous loss of material. I chose Option 3. If you, the Inquest Jury (dear readers) have any comments on an alternative plan to 22. ...... Be4 please feel free to comment. Hope you have had a good read - bye for now - Joanne
	2 comments nuntar (1702) on 14-Dec-09: Pity. The position looks almost dead to me at move 22 and I would have offered a draw. Were that refused, I might have played a quiet move like 22... Bg7 to wait and see what White intended. archduke_piccolo (2340) on 14-Dec-09: Yes: nuntar has the right of it: I might well have done the same with the Black pieces. 22...Bg7 is a secure consolidating move that would have made safe the offer to trade bishops. As White, I probably would have declined the offer, but not without considerable thought, fully conscious of the lack of any advantage in the position. I really did think the game would end in a draw, even so.


24. Bxg7+ Kxg7 25. Re1
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2340) on 14-Dec-09: Unfortunately for Black, a pawn goes, along with the exchange: 25...Bxc2 26.Rxe8 c5 27.Re7 and the b-pawn falls. The alternative was to lose a whole piece and all chance of saving the game.