Annotated chess game

Well played! Black was threatening 11...dxe5 with the idea 12.dxe5 Qxd2 13.Nxd2 Bxe2 winning a piece! With this timely capture, the threat has been averted.

From a strategic perspective, 11...cxd5 would have been preferable, with a more solid pawn structure.

? This is a mistake that will cost you a pawn. Better was 12.c3.

In playing this move, White must be prepared to exchange queens. It should not cost material though.

White had to recapture on c4, with this likely continuation: 13.dxc4 Qxd2 14.Bxd2 ... and the Q-side pawns are covered.

This advanced pawn has become dangerous, quite apart from Black's now being two pawns ahead. After 14.Bd1, The bishop will have no moves.

14...Qxd3 would have won the bishop.

This is also why 12.c4 was a mistake. As that lost a pawn, I didn't see it until Simon mentioned it, but he's right. You'd think that black can't win a piece, but the Bishop was half pinned with an attack behind it. Having said, just as powerful was 14...Bxd3 which also would've led to the same thing as 14.Qxd3.

Having created a fine opportunity to win material, Black lets it go. She certainly saw that the White bishop atacked her own, why not vice versa? Most odd. Correct would have been 14...Qxd3, but 14...Bxd3 would have been OK, too.

Trying to win a pawn which is a good try. But, better was to try with the other Rook, so with 15.Rfc1 As your Bd3 is pinned to your Rook. This is actually a half pin that can be broken by moving the Rook with a more successful if you brought it to c1. As then, a move like 16.Be4 would be possible and would eventually win the c6 pawn. But, now, it can't move since it's pinned.

I can't answer, Erika, but it is a good enough move. Black has an isolated pawn on the half-open c-file, at c6, with the Black queen directly behind it. So 15.Rac1 makes a lot of sense to me!

Having said that, this is also what I would've played. It's always about when to exchange or not. But, this break the pin. The only thing is that it no longer wins a pawn.

I rather expected this to be played. But White did have a rather neat little combination available here: 16.b5! The idea is that if 16...Bxb5, 17.Bxb5 wins the bishop, as the pawn can't retake on account of the rook on c1 aiming at the Black queen. Hence the tactical value of White's previous move! So the bishop retreats to b7 (16...Bb7. Then comes 17.bxc6, and again, if 17...Bxc6 18.Bb5 exploits the pin on the c-file. So Black would have to play 17...Ba3, to which White replies 18.Bxa6 Qxa6 19.Rfe1, with a great position: To recap: 16.b5 Bb7 17.bxc6 Ba6 18.Bxa6 Qxa6 19.Rfe1 ... Here, the BK is stuck in the centre having to protect his bishop, which can not move as it is pinned against the King! White threatens 20.Qd6 or 20.Qe3 or 20.Bd6 (or even 20.Qb4 in reply to 19...Rd8), and it doesn't look as though Black could have held.

! This is a very good move. As now, the pawn is attacked twice, and the Knight is right in the center. Not only that, but there might be more here that we can do.

This knight move has its points. But I would have moved 17.Rfe1, here, which would have immobilized Black's bishop and king, both. Can you spot why? (If you have read and played through my previous comment right to the end, you'll spot it at once).

This, however, counters that.

Oops. Which square was the black knight protecting?

I would have expected 17...Rc8 here,against which I might have played 18.Rfe1. I don't think White could have prevented Black's castling though.

?? Ironically, had the Queen not been attacked, I would've suggested this move since there is a threat. The problem is that your Q ought to be taken as you point out. This is something you need to weary of. However, up until now, you played extremely well except for that one mistake that almost lost a piece which I, believe it or not, would've overlooked since that was something tied down, as Simon pointed out.

18. Qd7+ now since it's unprotected. 18...Kf8 19. Nxc6 (threatening checkmate on e7) and black is in a world of pain (eg19...Re8 20. Nxe7! Rxe7 21. Rc8+ etc)

I have been wondering if sometimes you see a sequence of moves, and play the second move of the sequence. i've done that myself to my cost. One forgets that the first move hasn't been played yet, and imagining that it has already been played, goes straight to move 2. Such 'hallucinations' can turn a winning game into a losing one. Of course (for a given value of 'of course') 18.Qd7ch ... (protected by the e5-knight) was a safe and active move for the Queen. After 18...Kf8, white could then play 19.Rfe1 or even 19.Nxc6 with a huge attack. Such is chess: one move can make the difference between winning and losing.

?? He did this to stop your threat against the King. But, best was, of course, 18...Nxd2

18...Nxd2 would have won for Black. Now Black should lose a knight for nothing.

19. Rxe4 to win the knight.

?? I couldn't have said that any better then Simon.

There have been some good moves in this game, and the potential for a whole lot more. Both sides have lately lost the plot a bit, though, in a position that, it has to be said, quite complicated. All the same, both players have forgotten to ensure that they aren't leaving pieces to be taken 'on the move' for less than their value. You must always maintain that alertness.

The Queen is attacked here but something is. The good news is that you can stop it in different ways.

Good: White has spotted the threat - at least in part. The major threat is 19...Bxf2ch 20.Kh1 Bxd4, winning White's Queen (which is why 20.Qxf2 would be a better way of stopping the check, as White would then get two pieces for it - better than nothing!) However, the threat can be averted by one simple move...

I would've taken with 20.Rxe4 which does exactly the same way, except that it allows you to double up Rooks since you're using one of them, as opposed to, the Queen.

... and this is it. I'm fairly certain I would have taken with the Queen, myself, though Joe's idea makes a lot of sense.

Your opponent is threatening something, but the good news is that it's not mate. He might think it is, but there's no checkmate here. However, it's something to take note of. What does he want?

This is one threat by Black that is easily defeated by counter-attack that will win WHITE a piece.