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1. e4
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I am annotating this game for a few key learning elements. Although I wound up winning the game both allanshessw and I made several mistakes that warrant further investigation. |
  1 comment
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1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5
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Ruy Lopez (Spanish opening) |
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3... a6 4. Ba4 b5 5. Bb3
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All fairly standard Ruy Lopez so far. Black has several options here to move the game forward. The most common play here is to bring the knight out at Nf6. |
1 comment
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5... d6
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Shoring up the e pawn and giving his bishop more options for development, a solid move. |
1 comment
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6. O-O
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Discretion being the better part of valor, I protect my king, to allow my rook to eventually get into the game on the e file. |
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6... Be7
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This move is logical and will give Black's bishop some good options. g6 as an alternative is not very sound in my opinion. I would have played Nf6 in this position most likely, but no fault anywhere yet. |
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7. d4
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In recent games I have taken to attacking the center early and often. I like creating opportunities and you need to attack to do that. This move allows my dark-squared bishop entrance into the game and also attacks the center. Moves that can accomplish more than one thing are always best. |
2 comments
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7... exd4
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An alternative could have seen Black take with the knight (Nxd4) instead of this move. The logical conclusion to that series would be
8. Nxd4 exd4
9. Bd5 Rb8
10. Qxd4
By taking here, I now have an opportunity. There is now no longer a pawn in front of his king. My main goal now is to get my own e pawn out of the way so I can directly challenge his king. |
1 comment
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8. Bd5
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Now I move to bring my plan into effect. Black has two potential responses here, and only one of them is worth considering. |
1 comment
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8... Bb7
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This move is basically forced. Had black chosen Bd7, Nxd4 will cause some problems. |
1 comment
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9. Nxd4
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The natural follow through. As I see it Black has a few options here. He can take my knight (Nxd4), Move the queen up to d7 (my favorite) or what he wound up doing. |
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9... Na5
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This move I think is a mistake. It allows me to add some pressure onto him by my next move. It does appear to be a good move on the surface and gave me some pause. If I take his bishop on b7 with my own, he can retake with his knight, and while that puts his knight in a bad position, it doesn't give me a lot of attack options. I still need to see if I can get him to take my bishop so I can move my e pawn and get my rook into the game. |
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10. Bd2
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Putting pressure on his knight and continuing my development. |
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10... Bxd5
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Success so far, let's see where this takes us. |
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11. exd5
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Retaking is imperative here, but it also allows me to bring my rook into the game. As his knight is still under attack, he has to either move it or defend it. The best move from this position, I think, is the one he made. |
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11... Nc4
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Not only does this give his knight a good-looking post, it also simultaneously attacks my bishop and b pawn. |
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12. Bc3
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To defend the b pawn and move my bishop out of harm's way. So far we are even on exchanges, but I have a significant attack angle on his king, almost no matter what he does. |
1 comment
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12... Bf6
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This move surprised me a little bit, as I anticipated him bringing his knight to the same square, to allow him to move closer to castling and safety for his king. However, the post of his d pawn looks to be helpful. |
1 comment
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13. Re1+
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Building the pressure. |
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13... Ne5
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Black's best move here is to move his king to f8. It will complicate his position as he will have to find an alternative way to get his rook into the game, but this move opens him up to a nasty attack which I did not use because of tunnel vision. |
2 comments
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(2063)