Annotated chess game

It is a good idea to play openings that people usually don't know, if you have studied it. This works well if you play against people you have never played against. But if you play against the same opponent a lot, then they might study your opening a bit and that can lead to a difficult game. One of the uncommon openings that are worth a study, in my opinion, is 1 Nc3. People don't really know how to reply to that.

1.e3 isn't the best move, but it doesn't matter at your level. Instead, thought process and tactics should be your concern. If you would like proof, take a look at your past 10 games. How many were decided by a tactic / tactics? I would say all your games. Even at my level, more than 95% of games are decided by tactics.

Really, 1.e3 doesn't have much independent significance, and in my view is unexceptionable at intermediate levels of the game. It could easily transpose into a Colle System or Stonewall Attack; and if Black were now to play 1...e5, White could play a reversed French Defence a move in hand, or, with 2.c4, a Sicilian Reversed, a move in hand.

A high rated opponent opened this! game

Here is the game, for anyone interested in the post game computer analysis: game. Well, I agree 1. e3 is not the best move most of the time, but hey, if a 2400+ rated player uses it, as geniusacamel brought out, it must have good as an opening. For sure he used a different strategy than mine, but e3 works for some. For me, I try to open now with c4 as white or c5 as black, unless my oppositions throws a curve-ball. You all make good points though.

e3 isn't my thing either. I used to play e4 a lot, but already for quite some time i prefer c4 or d4 openings. But further i am no opening freak. I just play according to the general principles and i have learned that e4 can be full of traps and that's less the case in my openings now. It's only afterwards that i sometimes see i have played a certain opening. But often i have played an Unusual Opening. That's apparently one of my favorites :lol @geniusacamel and @joveyboy1, my point is that a good move (opening) for experts is not the same as a good one for me (or others at or even below my level). In theory a move can be very good, but when i don't know (how to apply) this theory it can turn out to be a very bad move for me ! Always keep this in mind, also with all well meant advices ..... will it turn out to be a good thing for my play (level) ???

"Expect the unexpected" is a confusing, metaphorical term which is easily misunderstood. Instead, you should consider all checks, captures, and threats 3 times: Time 1: When your opponent makes a move and it's your turn, you must decide which forcing moves he can play if he gets an extra free move. Time 2: When you're considering candidate moves for yourself, always consider all checks, captures, and threats. About 50-60% of all missed tactics are missed because a player did not consider ALL checks, captures, and threats. Time 3: When you are considering or comparing a move, consider your opponent's possible forcing replies. Don't play the move and wait for your opponent's move then think, How do I meet the threat. That is called Hope Chess because the player hopes that any forcing reply by the opponent can be met safely. (Sometimes and frequently, threats cannot be met; therefore, you must consider all threats beforehand.)

This move is as non-committal as White's choice of first move. I would recommend White play 2.d4 or possibly 2.f4 here.

Play conform some simple sound rules. We are only at the bottom level and cannot follow the Master Advices! Do the checks which are mentioned here above. I would like to add one explicitly .... Check the possible moves of your opponent's horses. I am still too often surprised in an uncomfortable way .... Because i have forgotten this guy   .... More  

These are good points to remember. I gradually continue to get better, but one thing I do need to get used to is to expect the unexpected, that way, I have a better chance of making a good counter move. I'll remember what you brought out cplusplus11 and jkarp.

This is a central pawn. Therefore, it is a good move.

OK: as good as my earlier suggestions. White's choice will lead to English Opening type positions...

It aims at the central field c5 and in combination with d4 it can give you enough space. The thing with your opening here is that you don't create this space in the center which will lead to a difficult position. As you can already see here, both B's are locked up. Bd3 is of course awful because it hinders the d pawn. So d4 or maybe fianchetto would be the solution .... Imho ..... And regarding our levels. Again .... Advices are often meant for higher level players. We should probably best lusten to the more simple advices .... See the advices on our (team) site  

Black probably hasn't got a plan yet and is probably just making natural developing moves and taking ground in the centre.

This is just natural development. Getting a pawn on the center, develop develop develop and castle.

I agre with charleshiggie. This is simply a developing move staking a claim in the centre. Black might having been interested in controlling d4, but White is already disputing that with the pawn on e3!

I might as well point out that developing takes planning, but yeah, I see what you all mean, development is key!

Just a good opening move into the center. Nothing confusing about it ....

h3 doesn't help white in any of his opening aims, such as developing pieces or seizing central control. It is just a waste of a move.

h3 is just a wasted move. You must think "is it a threat if the knight moves to g4?" In this case, the answer is just no. The knight advancement would be way too early (a one man's army can't do much), so much better for you is to develop pieces like the suggested Nc3.

This move wastes a tempo while preventing your opponent from wasting a tempo. Not so good.

3.Nc3 was a natural move, developing behind the pawn. If you want to play h3, or similar moves, sit on your hands until the feeling passes. You should make such moves only if there is a positive and concrete plan requiring it.

Reading this annotation has helped me realize actually that a move like h3 or a3 is not as good as I thought. Thus, I'm tweaking my openings now. The main difference is that I won't do h3 or a3 now if necessary. I guess we'll see how this effects, and likely improves, my chess opening skills. Thank you all for pointing that out  

Forgetting the opening rules here. Opening is about getting influence into the center and h3 isn't helpful for that. On the contrary, it gives the initiative to your opponent. Ng4 isnt a threat which must be prevented. And normally a piece isn't played twice in a good opening ...... As said above, d4 was needed here to answer his claim for the center. Or Nc3 (maybe followed by d3) when fearing .... e4

That you were expecting this ought to tell you what you should have been doing!

He is just playing some sound opening principles. Playing one or two pawns into the center, developing his N's (normally before the B's) .... as wanting to show you the right way ....

Yes but you are just wasting moves again.

This move is really bad for the same reasons mentioned before. Black already has 2 knights out. You have no pieces out yet. So black is already ahead.

This is OK but not so great for the same reasons h3 was bad.

Here's a thing. Why not wait until Black moves a minor piece to b4, and then play a3? That will force it away, and Black will have wasted at least one move, possibly two. If 4.Nc3 Bb4 5.a3 Bxc3 6.bxc3, the doubled pawn goes toward strengthening White's centre, and the open file may well prove useful as well. Having said that, in my view this move is not so bad, in keeping with the Sicilian Reversed type of position that has been set up here. Black - I mean White - will want to expand on the Q-side (b4), and this move goes towards that. You see? A positive and concrete plan.

Normally not more than two pawns in the opening ..... And CENTRAL pawns , then your N's and then B's or other developing moves. You have one pawn heading at two field in his territory, whereas he already eyes at 6 fields (with a move behind!), some being doubled! It gives him now already a decisive advantage! Again d4 would have been sound here

If he takes your pawn, then you can already put your bishop out with a free tempo. Much better than taking would be wasting no time and get your pieces out. However, I think black can consider advancing one of the two pawns instead of taking it, creating much more space. Black is already much better. d5 is a very good move, as it also frees the bishop on c8.

Not taking here would not lose a pawn; e.g. 5...dxc4 6.Bxc4.

in addition to cplusplus11 : yes, most of the times you don't need tot take the initiative to capture. Normally , when your opening is not too wild, your pawns and pieces are often protected, so -- as is the case here -- you can always take back, when your opponent claims some space and is sweeping your pieces away   Try to get some exercise to open (to get control over the center of course  ) and let your opponent do the first capture (as long as it will stay a simple exchange of course). It gives you the time to concentrate on your development and to learn some patience  

Good choice. You now have a Reversed Sicilian Defence, with h3 thrown in. Mind you, there could have been a more useful 'throw in', one feels.

count the fields he is controlling in your territory and count the fields you control in his space. With the latter you will be ready very soon !!! Heard (in a video by a GM) a great advice lately: "Play s q u a r e s , not material". And: "When your opponent has control of the center, more space, and a better pawn structure, you are responsible for doing something about it" And: "If you control more squares, you will always be in better shape"

Unfortunately you have lit upon a rather theoretical line in the Sicilian: the Kan System (Reversed). Thematic here would be 6.Qc2.

a real development move would have been better. Now you lose time again; you already realize you can be chased away soon .....

This move shows how bad your position is, really. Getting the queen out early is usually a bad idea, yet because you lack so much development you don't have any good way to attack the queen yet. Your position at this stage is just horrible.

"Always expect the unexpected" means that you should expect your opponent to play a move that you have not considered. It implies that you should not consider replies, which is Hope Chess. "expect the unexpected" is not an accurate term, and teaching it to players does more harm than good.

Black wanted to keep his Queen mobile, at same time be so placed as to recapture on c6 (after Bxc6ch) with a piece. I suspect his plans for the c8-Bishop were more ambitious than placing it on d7.

Good points, I agree. Expect the best moves, yeah that sounds more logical than expect the unexpected. I see how that works, expect the best moves and think about the best counters, and if they make a not so good move, then you can counter attack hard!

when i would always expect the unexpected that would mean i would never learn sth. I try to expect the expected ..... , but yes it's a hard way to go. As long as i still encounter the unexpected , it means my analysis and my comprehension of the game is far from perfect   Expect the "best moves" is also an empty advice ... as long as i am still not aware of the best moves ! Maybe more easy to get is "Don't expect simple replies" : f.e. just the conventional recapture/defense where a counterattack is maybe more harmful .... Or: When you see a good move, look for a better one (said by Lasker). It just means: don't fall asleep, stay alert !

It may have been better to just develop, but on the other hand this stops Bf5, which is a very good move for black, since he would already control almost the whole board. I think that is why the computer thinks this move is OK.

Always trust the computer unless you can find a long line going past the engine's analysis depth.

Thematic. I don't believe there is anything wrong with this move at all.

looks like a good move, although you still have minor pieces to develop. But it's hard to attack. But your Q already had some control (and gains not so much more, ecept this good field f5) ..... it's time to awake the rest of your army. They are rather sleepy in this fight !

That's a really weird comment, a lot of people play a6 sooner or later, what does rating have to do with it?

You will note that Black played this move AFTER a target had presented itself at b5. There are occasions in which such flank moves are useful without such immediate targets (White's 4th move in this game is arguably a case in point), but in general it's not a bad idea to wait.

what did you achieve? Just a waste of time . In an open game you'll have to exchange now your good B for a N (otherwise you'll land on a field where you could have landed before ....).That's normally not in your advantage. Maybe you could have asked your opponent to take your bad B away :lol

In my view, a good move. I'll say why later...

well the bad thing happened not exactly here .... but at the moment you did this Bb5 move while expecting a6 ! You should have considered at t h a t moment whether an exchange would be profitable or not .... now is a bit late .... @archduke .... i doubt whether your idea is of value for a player at this level. Playing a good move by luck is not as good (educational) as playing a lesser move with at least some plan behind it. In latter case the game will learn you what you have to study on (you'll notice yourself that your plan didn't work). In the first case .... you maybe even don't notice the health of some moves, unless it is told you of course ....  

As you see by my rating how low it is. Can anyone explain why taking is better?

well, rather certain that he didn't play Qd6 because he didn't know what to do else .... You're invited to do the exchange now ..... , leaving him with a (well especially in this game) minor problem ....the double pawn  

You should have just taken the queens off on c6. You would double his pawns, and it is hard for him to make anything of his better development. (He has a knight developed, you have no pieces developed. He is also ready to develop both his bishops, you can't develop yours yet)

I don't agree with you, you have already made a lot of mistakes. Both a3 and h3 are horrible moves.

Trading queens, inflicting doubled ISOLATED pawns, should be a draw with normal play.

Definitely not a draw.

What made 8.Bxc6ch a good move was 9.Qxc6ch to follow. Black would have been left with a very broken Q-side - an isolated a-pawn, and, better yet, isolated and doubled c-pawns sitting on a file open for White's rooks. True, Black would have got the bishop pair on an open board, so a fine battle would have been in prospect. But White's chances would have been at least as good as Black's.

fully agree with jkarp here. Black has nothing to fear. The double pawn is not awful; Rb8 has already a nice half open file. I would like to offer this pawn for the position of black, if my other choice would be to play with white here ! (despite ,my engine which gives an about equal position here, i mean after Q exchange and -+ advantage for black in the played situation)

I found the queen exchange was better because of QXc6 then bxc6. Nc3 Nxc3 then Bxc3. White is better because he has a better pawn structure while black has a double pawn on the C file

10. f3 just leaves you with a knight down. Your mistake was no exchanging queens when you had the chance.

I agree, but losing a knight is better than losing a rook. That is what I was thinking when I was annotating at least.

The thing is that you didn't have to lose anything at all.

@geniusacamel .... just the game in the end, i suppose :lol

id=joveyboy is correct, though: 11.Qxe5ch Be3 12.Qh2 would have saved the rook.

@archduke_piccolo 11. ... Be6 probably .... yes, would have been better. Lesson: always try to look for a (safe  ) check when you are in danger .... A check can give you possibilities which you hadn't before. It gives you time to move your pieces and maybe (as in this case) you can position your pieces in a better way , so you can improve your situation.

A rook down is still a rook down, a pawn won't change much about the fact. This is as big a blunder as any other move except Qxe5+

11.Qxe5ch was essential. A single pawn is not enough for a rook: White would have needed 5 pawns to make it a bargain.

When I look at this, 11. Qxe5+ was so obvious, I wonder how I did not see it. Yes I got a pawn, but this was definitely quite a blunder.

well, i guess you're still young enough to learn ...   even I still have hope :lol