Annotated chess game: Team match

ANNOTATED GAME

Team match
otakumadness (1048) vs. harzer (948)
Annotated by: otakumadness (1230)
Chess opening: Queen's pawn (D00), Chigorin variation

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1. d4 d5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nf3 e5	I gain a free pawn.
	2 comments cdeburca (1823) on 22-Oct-15: As a general rule, black needs to be aware that, by going second, white has a bit of an advantage, and black therefore needs to be quite careful about such aggressive moves. That's why there's more gambit lines as white (King's Gambit, Scotch Gambit, Evans Gambit, Danish Gambit, Blackmar-Diemer Gambit) than as black (Latvian Gambit). Black generally should start off solidly. archduke_piccolo (2340) on 23-Oct-15: It is just possible Black played this as a gambit...


4. dxe5 Bb4 5. Bd2 Bg4 6. h3 Bxf3 7. exf3	Exchange of pieces.
	2 comments cdeburca (1823) on 22-Oct-15: Worth considering 7. ... NxP here. It might work, but it's tricky - 8. Qe2 (threatening 9. f4) Qe7 (what else?) 9. NxP BxB+ 10. KxB (If QxB Qd6 allows black escape) Qd6 and now both knights are pinned to their kings! If white saves his knight, black has time to castle long and save his own piece. Entirely possible I've missed something there though. archduke_piccolo (2340) on 23-Oct-15: @cdeburca: Seems reasonable to me!


7... f6 8. exf6 Qxf6	Exchange of pawns.
	2 comments cdeburca (1823) on 22-Oct-15: 8 ... NxP was better here as a general rule - get the knight developed before the queen. Why? You know where the knight is going to go early in the game - almost certainly this one will go to f6. But you don't know where the queen will go yet. And, as jkarp notes, this just drops a pawn of course. archduke_piccolo (2340) on 23-Oct-15: Black probably wanted to get castled ASAP, but really 8...Nxf6 was just about essential to stay in touch. With a second extra pawn, White gets a big edge. There are no tricks based on ...Qxb2, neither, as White will be threatening a fork attack by Nc7ch.


9. Nxd5	I take the unprotected pawn.



9... Qd6 10. Bb5	This was actually a stupid move on my part. My knight is now unprotected and Black is free to take it with the queen.
	2 comments cdeburca (1823) on 22-Oct-15: 10. Nxb4 doesn't win a piece after 10. ... NxN (the knight isn't pinned in this line) archduke_piccolo (2340) on 23-Oct-15: White seems to get a strong attack after this line: 10.Bxb4 (or Nxb4 - makes no difference) 10...Nxb4 11.Nxb4 Qxb4ch 12.Qd2 Qxb2?! 13.Rd1, with a possible (sample) continuation: 13...Qxa2?! 14.Qe7ch Kf8 15.Qf5ch Nf3 16.Qc5ch Ke8 17.Bc4 Qb2 (the only 'safe' spot for the Queen) 18.0-0 ... wins for White.


10... a6	Black doesn't take the knight, for some reason. Phew!
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2340) on 23-Oct-15: Black would not have won a piece anyhow: 10...Qxd5 11.Bxc6ch Qxc6 (or ,,,bxc6) 12.Bxb4. So 10.Bb5 doesn't seem so bad after all.


11. Bxb4	Taking Black's bishop and threatening the queen.



11... Qe5+ 12. Be2 Qxb2	Black takes my pawn.
	2 comments cdeburca (1823) on 22-Oct-15: Black is in big trouble here. archduke_piccolo (2340) on 23-Oct-15: Black is fighting hard, but this tactical shot was never going to work. He had to try 12...Nxb4, but he was still down a piece. He probably ought to have taken 10...Qxd5, even though it did not win material.


13. Nxc7+	I take Black's pawn and pin the king.



13... Kf7 14. Nxa8	Taking the Rook.
	2 comments archduke_piccolo (2340) on 23-Oct-15: I don't see a forced mate after 14.Qd5ch. Instead. 14.Bc5ch is better, with the idea 14...Ke7 15.0-0! Rd8 16.Re1ch Kf3 17.Re6ch with a decisive attack. But simply taking the rook seems decisive enough to me. madthinker (1604) on 24-Oct-15: 14. Q-d5+ and white can mate in a couple of moves. Edit: 14.Qd5+ Kf6 (Kg6 15.Bd3+ Kh6 (Kf6 16.Qf5#) 16.Bd2+ g5 17.Qxg6#) 15.Qd6+ Kg5 (Kf7 16. Bc4#) (Kf5 16. g4+ Kg5 17.h4#) 16.h4+ Kf5 (Kh5 17. g4#) 17.g4#


14... Nxb4	Black takes my unprotected bishop.
	1 comment cdeburca (1823) on 22-Oct-15: Maybe taking with the queen was better - the check gives black a small bit more time to try salvage something. For example, it prevents Bc4+.


15. Nc7	Moving my knight back out
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2340) on 23-Oct-15: Even after this inaccuracy, Black would not be out of the woods: 15...Nxc2ch 16.Kf8 and now: 16...Qxa1 17.Qxa1 Nxa1 18.Bd3 (or Bc4ch and then Bd3). White can then go after the stranded Black knight by Ke2. Things don't look all that much more promising after 16...Nxa1, keeping the Queens on for the moment.


15... Ne7 16. Bc4+	This move was mainly to bring in the bishop to protect e6 and make it possible for my knight to move to that square.
	1 comment cdeburca (1823) on 22-Oct-15: Qxc2 is bad - black is a rook down and can't really swap off queens. Nxc2+ is good though - checks are more forcing, and it wins a rook back.


16... Kg6 17. Ne6 Nf5 18. Nf4+ Kf6 19. Rb1	Threatening the queen.
	2 comments cdeburca (1823) on 22-Oct-15: 19. Rb1 Nxa2??? 20. RxQ and white wins. archduke_piccolo (2340) on 23-Oct-15: White missed the chance to win a piece after 16...Kg6 by 17.Qd6ch.


19... Qe5+ 20. Ne2	If I were Black in this situation, I would do Nc6 to avoid losing a knight.



20... Nd4 21. f4 Qe4 22. Rxb4	Taking Black's unprotected knight.



22... Nxe2	Thus begins checkmate.
	1 comment archduke_piccolo (2340) on 23-Oct-15: 22...Nxc2ch 23.Kf1 Nxb4 would have been no better: 24.Qd6ch Kf5 25.g4#.


23. Qd6+	Checking the king. Black's only move at this point is either a useless interposition by the Queen or else moving the king to f5, which is what he did.



23... Kf5 24. g4#	Mate. I think several of Black's key mistakes in this game were 1) move number twelve, when he didn't take precautions against the King being pinned and I was able to gain myself a Rook, and 2) leaving a lot of pieces unprotected and taking too many unnecessary risks. Like the knight on b4; that knight could have easily retreated to c6, but instead, Black moved the other knight forward into my territory. That knight was protecting the key square at d6; if that knight hadn't moved last turn, my queen wouldn't have been able to move to that square to check the king.
	1 comment kenderfender (1200) on 22-Oct-15: Yep, otakumadness. It would have been funnier for the readers to see what you were thinking with some (the most interesting or critical) moves, instead of a mere descriptive writing of moves like "I take a pawn". Try to address what consequences they had, what alternatives your opponent has, what is your plan, etc, and would be not only much funnier, but it will help you learning tactics. Best wishes with the next games!