Annotated chess game

i wouldn't be so eager to exchange rooks as black. the problem is that i dont see black to play for something in this end game while white can just push his pawns on the kingside and try to win.

Agree. Wait a moment......you reached the endgame in 14 moves!!!? You and your opponent must not be doing a good play. You don't want to lure this into a draw, you want to win. If that's the case, you are burning up your win quickly by exchanging. Since this is surprisingly a minor piece battle, you can expect a draw definetely.

My endgame is probably my strongest area of play - I fancy myself to outplay or match any player of similar rating. As it happens, I went three pawns up and couldn't materialise it into a win so maybe I should have kept a bit more material as you have said!

Chesskingdom64 apparently knows very little about endgame play &/or pawn majority play. I would love to see chesskingdom64 tell us that Capablanca's play was bad everytime he exchanged quickly into an endgame. excile, I would agree with you but, as I previously mentioned... to attempt to keep the rooks means to allow White the only open file & that should not be done.

but black doesnt want to swap pieces,black wants to retain his bishop pair because otherwise white will have an advantage in this position. But centralizing your king was a nice idea.

Another plan is 15 ...Nf6-d7-e5 hitting at that c4 square. The real question is... Is White forced into playing something like b3 or... can he ignore Blacks threat to jump onto c4? However, there is nothing wrong with Black's King move. Probably best (15 ...Kd7) I'm justing trying to offer alternative plans & ideas.

White should be playing for a win and working to advance his kingside majority.

Blake is right. White isn't offering a draw with a3, he is trying to get rid of the bishop pair. after that it will be easier to push his kingside pawns.

I know what he's doing with a3, but he offered me a draw.

to really try to take the bishop pair, white should have played f4. He won't get it (black can move the king and retreat (Bc4 doesn't work to keep the BP due to b3). White is just playing for drawn. Otherwise, he should have tried something like g4 - g5...

My opinion: I wished you accepted a draw.

He offered you a draw? I do not understand why he did that? You guys are rated the same, he should be able to try to outmanuever you here, he does have a slightly better position. As Black, recieving a draw offer from White in this position just tells me, he does not understand it & that would make me play for a win.

Ouch. The problem here is that black is now having a hard time to keep his bishop pair advantage in this position. since so many pawns are still on the board,the bishops aren't that flexible yet so black needs to exchange pawns. however now,black can go Bxh2 and win a free pawn here. then white won't have this kingside pawn-majority.

Bd6 needs to be challenged right away! In these drawish symmetrical endgames, it is important not to give way in the slightest bit. If your opponent gains ground little by little, unnoticed... eventually, he will have an advantage that you might not be able to neutralize. With ...Bd6, Black has found a good diagonal for his bishop, he must be challenged right away!! 17.Bf4!

I think that knight was strong where it was standing and white shouldn't exchange it quite yet,wait a few moves first. since in this positions blacks bishops are a bit blocked.

Now black has to contest white on the dark squares of the board. Now since both players doesnt have bishops of opposite colours,there is a chance that one player outmanouvers the other one and wins this game. Since black has one pawn more with a more centralized king,i would say that black is in the lead here.

Actually, dont be fooled blindly by endgame principles... opposite colored bishops would actually unbalance this dead even endgame. However, same colored bishops here... dead draw.

then let it! If white exchanges his Bishop for black's knight then i am pretty sure that black can win this game since actions are taking place on both side of the board and the bishop can move faster to the other side of the board. so its stronger than the knight. especially now that black has one pawn more,if white exchange it may just be the thing that ends the game. But now that black plays h6 he wasted a tempo unless he wants to expand on the kingside,not to mention he puts a pawn on a black squared which black MUST avoid since white has a black squared bishop. that pawn can become a serious target. In this position i think that black can however get away with playing h6 since its not immideately underfire

This should be a draw now. Neither side has anything to work with. Black has an extra pawn but, it's doubled & he no longer has the 2 bishops. White, no longer has a majority. However, since White has offered a draw twice (in slightly better positions), that means he is playing for a draw & a draw only, this can be a liability... as Black (even in this dead draw endgame)... I would press on causing as much mayhem as possible!

Alright. This is a little bit of a complex situation. Black should have played Be5 yes,but not for the fact that black potentially is threatening to double white's pawns on the c-file (infact black is pinning the knight) but for the fact that the bishop is more centralized and strong in the center,meaning it is stronger on e5. on d6 as you see,white won't move the b-pawn which restricts black's bishop even though a3 is a potential target. And so after 20. ... Be5 white can't play 21. f4 to chase away the bishop due to 21. ... Bxc3 22. bxc3 Nxe4+ followed by total pawn majority with Nxc3.

There is no trouble on c3 i.e. 20 ...Be5 21.Bd2 followed by 22.Ke3 & 23.f4! Problem solved & at the same time, White gains some space.

okay,Ne2 was a nice move by white i have to give him credit for that one. Since its a battle of the dark squares here white can controll them better with the knight on e2 plus it can be heading towards f4 and d4.. but i dont like 22. c4 by white. i have to admit that it's gripping the d5 square further more but it gives black the chance to repear his pawn structure with b5 (perhaps a bit later) AND most importantly 22. c4 weakens the important d4 square. black can somehow try to use that square somewhere in the future.

This is a difficult position to assess. My feeling is, I would not want to make this a knight vs. knight or a bishop vs. bishop ending. I want some sort of imbalance, and... if I have to choose a minor piece in this pawn structure... it would be a bishop so, having decided that: I think 23.Nf4+ is more logical, although the position is most likely drawn... anyway.

Even though White is a pawn down he should be able to hold a draw.

okay so the bishops got exchanged. suddenly the battle totally changes.now they dont fight for the dark squares as much. In this position i have to once again agree with blake, if white plays well he should be able to hold a draw.

AFTER 23 ...Be5: Again, just like White... if you want a win, I would not want to capture on f4 to make this a dead N+P vs. N+P draw but, at the same time... I cannot move my bishop away & allow White to have that diagonal so, I would want to use the tempo move to better my position which 23 ...Be5 appears to do except, e5 is not a good square for the Black monarch (after 24.Bxe5 Kxe5) due to Ke3 & f4 by White as we sahall see. So, maybe 23 ...Nd7 (eyeing e5) is better.

Endings with knights and pawns is very similar to pawn endings.

This is all too technical for me   However, I do believe a R+N does better than a R+B.

Yes, similar. However, if White still had his king-side majority, it is less of a threat due to the insufficient mating material if White cannot promote a pawn. Black can give up his knight for a pawn later in the endgame, if need be. EDIT: Haha, that doesn't mean Rooks and Bishops together... that means comparing K+R or K+B to K+N. My bad.

i dont like the idea but the thing is that i can't come up with a better plan here for black. all white has to do is to play b3 and g4 to totally neutralize this plan. i think that this position looks like a draw.

Black does not understand square control here; 25 ...Nd7 is critical here, influencing e5 atleast somewhat. I think amateur players think the center is only important in the opening, NOT SO!!!.... the center plays an important role all the way to the endgame! You must constantly think of the central squares. There are times (I admit) that they may not be too relevant but, you must always consider them & this is a position where they (e5) are relevant. However, one thing I admire from Black is... he has a plan!! he has an idea!! That is more important than just moving around blindly waiting for something to happen.

it looks like white is pretending that he can push his kingside pawns and queen them but this won't work. this totally looks like a draw.

This move (26.f4) is essential but, since Black has forsaken the e5 square, White must first consider controlling it so, 26.Ne2-c1-d3 is a bit more solid. If the knight was beautifully placed somewhere else than, I would say 26.f4! but, White has one problem in this position & that is: he has a very poorly placed knight so, let's fix it. There is an endgame principle to help us decide this (26.f4 or fix the knight): DO NOT RUSH!! However, I agree with you excile... this totally looks like a draw.

black can try but i still think that this position looks like a draw

I have something to say about 27.Nc3: As I previuosly stated... I think this knight belongs on d3, not on c3. It seems the only future this horsie has (from c3) is on a4 which is, not a very bright one. As for 28 ...b5: Excellent move!! No matter how White reacts... Black is turning his unhealthy pawn majority into a healthy pawn majority.

well white can chase away the knight with e5 at the cost of the f5 square anytime,unless he is waiting for black to first play f5 and then white plays e5. still drawish.

editted: g5 looks strong but i still believe that this looks drawish (like u said). white can for example try g3 alltho i am not sure if it will work.

With the queenside on hold, it is time to turn ones attention to the kingside so, this move is good (I think) but, I would rather continue my focus on e5 so, 29 ...f6 would be my choice.

Unfortunately, 31.g3 is not posiible so, this exchange is forced, followed by Ne4 (an attack on c5), crippling Blacks only chance for an advantage.

gosh i agree with gameknot computer. black has a small advantage because his king is a little bit more better placed than white's. allready after 29. ... g5 i saw a lot of different continuations but i dont know whether they'd be better than this one where black has a small advantage.

+1.44!! The GK computer is on some serious drugs!! I do not understand Chess Engines much but... +1.44 seems to me a serious advantage & after 33.Nxc5... I just do not see it? I guess if you just count pawns & pieces than, numerically... I guess Black is +1.44 but, I dont think you'd find a high rated player that thinks this is a dead win for Black?

It definitely still heads to a draw... but I think after 33. Nxc5 Nh4 34. g4 f5, I'm making good play on the king-side that the White knight has to react to. In effect, swapped his king-side pawn for a doubled pawn. I still agree though, very much drawn.

it's odd. This move was perhaps white's best choice. If white would not have captured on g5 black would have a king side majority and then black can focus on the kingside and actually win this game.

Wrong way!! Black has a slight advantage over on the queenside that needs to be neutralized (33.Nxc5).

Ah yes. frankly i over-looked myself the strong move 33. ... Nd6! pressuring c4,protecting f7 and kinda lets the king to hunt after the g-pawn. white could exchange on b5 if he is desperate,in an attempt for realesing the pressure BUT that allows black to play on the queenside and grind white down.