[Category: Miscellaneous]

Here are the moves of my third chess game with Eve. Links to Game 1, Game 2.

The games are transcribed in each of the two commonly used forms of notation. Feel free to comment or ask questions. Eve and I will be sharing our own thoughts even if no one else does, though we hope someone else does. ("Calling dandelion...")

For an explanation of chess notation and information about organized chess in general, please see the U. S. Chess Federation site. Neither Eve nor I work for that entity, in case anyone might suspect a shameless marketing scam.

Played by electronic correspondence, January through April 2001
White: Eve
Black: David L

(In Descriptive Notation)
1. P-QB4 P-K4
2. P-K3 N-KB3
3. N-QB3 B-N5
4. P-QR3 BxN
5. QPxB P-Q3
6. N-KB3 QN-Q2
7. Q-B2 P-K5
8. N-Q2 Q-K2
9. P-QN4 Castles
10. P-QR4 R-K1
11. B-R3 P-QR4
12. B-K2 Q-K4
13. R-Q1 Q-KN4
14. K-B1 N-N3
15. P-QN5 N(N3)-Q2
16. P-R4 Q-K4
17. N-N3 N-B4
18. N-Q4 N(3)-Q2
19. P-KN4 N-N3
20. K-N2 N(B4)xP
21. R(Q1)-KN1 B-Q2
22. K-B1 P-QB4
23. PxBP PxP
24. B-Q1 P-QB4
25. N-K2 N(N)xP
26. Q-R2 Q-Q4
27. K-K1 N(R)-N7
28. B-N3 P-R5
White Resigns

(In Algebraic Notation)
1. c4 e5
2. e3 Nf6
3. Nc3 Bb4
4. a3 Bxc3
5. dxc3 d6
6. Nf3 Nbd7
7. Qc2 e4
8. Nd2 Qe7
9. b4 O-O
10. a4 Re8
11. Ba3 a5
12. Be2 Qe5
13. Rd1 Qg5
14. Kf1 Nb6
15. b5 Nbd7
16. h4 Qe5
17. Nb3 Nc5
18. Nd4 Nfd7
19. g4 Nb6
20. Kg2 Ncxa4
21. Rdg1 Bd7
22. Kf1 c5
23. bxc6 bxc6
24. Bd1 c5
25. Ne2 Nxc4
26. Qa2 Qd5
27. Ke1 Nab2
28. Bb3 a4
0-1

-- David L (bumpkin@dnet.net), April 30, 2001

Answers

Hi Dave and all,

To kick things off, I thought I'd copy an exchange from our e-mail...

(Eve): For starters, I think I went wrong with 4. P-QR3, which allowed you to get ...P-K5 in, although you chose to defer it a bit.

(Dave): Because pawn moves are irrevocable, I try to defer them until the last possible moment, which in this case was when White was ready to play P-K4. If I had played P-K5 before White's knight had come to KB3, the latter might have gone to K2 and possibly later to Q5 via KB4. This might not have been good for White, but I figured it's better not to even allow it.

If White had played Q-B2 before developing the King's knight, then Black would have had to play P-K5 despite the possibility of the above knight maneuver.

(Eve): I think your pawn on K5 contributed a great deal towards your putting a stranglehold on me.

(Dave): I agree, the pawn on K5 was a scuttled ship in White's harbor. Did you consider playing P-B3 to liquidate it? If so, was there a reason that move never seemed playable? If so, is there something White could have done (or refrained from) that may have made P-B3 playable?

----------------------------------

That pretty much was the gist of our e-mail post-mortem; we then decided to bring the "excitement" to the thread. :) Well...maybe we need a coach who paces the sidelines and throws chairs. (after a bad move, the coach screams out sarcastically, "Ok, Eve...why don't you just GIVE him the king? Just GIVE him the king!")

(Credit: The above thing with the coach was shamelessly lifted from an old Saturday Night Live)

I'll try to get in a response to the P-B3 questions soon.

-- Eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), May 01, 2001.

Dave and Eve,

Thanks for sharing another game. I will look it over this evening.

dandelion

-- dandelion (golden@pleurisy.plant), May 04, 2001.

Eve,

I agree with your opinion that 4) P-QR3 was not the best. Additionally, I think that after 4) P-QR3, BxN that you needed to capture toward the center, i.e. retake the bishop with the QNP instead of the QP. The way you chose made it hard to get open lines for your bishops, especially the queen bishop, and you got no benefit from the half-open queen file. Your only pawn break to open up some lines was with the KBP. After Dave played 5) ... P-Q3 you might have tried 6) P-KB3 with the idea of hiding your king on the queenside behind your thick group of pawns and using the K1-KR4 line to get your queen bishop into play. However, choosing such an awkward plan would be an admission that you are already in trouble.

dandelion

-- dandelion (golden@pleurisy.plant), May 07, 2001.

Hi dandelion and Dave,

dandelion, it's good to see ya back!

Here’s an example of why in general I was very hesitant to try P-B3...

dandelion, after I'd written out my post I noticed you mentioned 6. P-B3, which I haven't reviewed yet. Maybe 6. P-B3 would have been ok.

But if, for example, I’d played 9. P-B3, then:

9. ...N-Q4; 10. P-QN4 PxP; 11. PxP QxP ch with black better. And what about 11...N-KN5!? Two knights en prise and black looks good!

If 11. PxN QxPch; 12. K-Q1 PxP; 13. BxP B-N5ch wins.

Best for white seems to be 11. NxP N-(QB4) – K5 with black still better.

I dunno -– maybe I need some training films. Like Fischer and Spassky staring at the board for an hour. I mean, if nothing else, just think of the adrenaline rush!

-- Eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), May 08, 2001.

Good to see you, dandelion.

My intent was to meet 6) P-B3 with 6)...P-K5 so as to keep the dark square bishop bottled up. Then 7) PxP would leave White's king pawn isolated while creating holes (i.e., squares that no White pawn can control) all along the king file, whereas allowing Black to play ...PxP would create a lot of weaknesses in White's camp. But if White plays 7) P-B4 to avert trouble on the kingside, Black can play 7)...P-B4 to hamper White's pieces still further, since White cannot readily pile up on Black's backward Black's queen pawn.

I agree that 5) NPxB is an improvement over the game, as by keeping the queen pawn at home (where it supports the king pawn), White could meet ...P-K5 by P-B3 without incurring an isolated king pawn. But in looking at this more deeply, I'm finding certain problems for White that are not easily solved. I'll cover this in a later post.

4) KN-K2 (to recapture on QB3 with a piece) would have prevented White's pawn structure from being disrupted.

Hi Eve. In your line, the simple 9. ...PxP looks good (as an alternative to 9. ...N-B4 [which I believe was intended rather than ...N-Q4]), since the forced 10. NxP leaves White with the isolated king pawn and king file square weaknesses mentioned above.

-- David L (bumpkin@dnet.net), May 08, 2001.

Dave, this is just to note that my 9...N-Q4 was indeed a typo; as you understood, it should have been 9...N-B4.

I don't have my set with me, so I can't really comment on your 9...PxP suggestion right now.

CHESS TRIVIA CORNER: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand former world champion Alexander Alekhine, once while playing a simultaneous exhibition, showed up drunk and instead of making his move, just peed on one of his opponents' boards. Oh well...I guess he must have REALLY disliked the guy's move.

-- Eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), May 08, 2001.

Hi Eve,

I hadn't heard the Alekhine story, but let's hope he showed the central squares some respect.

-- David L (bumpkin@dnet.net), May 08, 2001.

Eve and Dave,

Greetings to you both.

I felt compelled to get out my opening books. Here’s what I found. First off, perhaps 2) P-K3 is premature. Since the QN will almost certainly go to QB3, that move comes first. This agrees with Dave’s comment about pawn moves being irrevocable.

In Euwe’s book, Theorie der Schach-Eroffnungen (Euwe was world champion for a couple of years in the middle of Alekhine’s reign), P-K3 only occurs after all 4 knights have gone to their respective B3’s. Then after 4) P-K3 B-QN5 white plays 5) Q-B2 which was a reasonable fourth move for your game.

In Rolf Schwarz’s Handbuch der Schach-Eroffnungen, the game position arises by transposition after 2) N-QB3 N-KB3 3) P-K3 but Dave’s move is not given. However imitating a similar line gives 3) ... B-QN5 4) P-Q3 BxN+ 5) PxB with the threat of 6) P-K4. Preventing it with 5) ... P-K5 6) PxP looks wild.

My books are from the 1960’s. Perhaps there are more modern lines. Back then, when I was still a kid, there was an old man who lived at the YMCA where the chess club was. This guy had run away from home as a teenager to Havana, the chess capital of the world in the days of Capablanca. He kept telling us not to do what he did. I once saw Euwe give some sort of a short speech. I was near the back of a rather large crowd and I was not bold enough to try to get one of his opening books autographed. Now those days seem as long ago as the age of Capablanca once did.

Regarding the possibility of 9) P-KB3.

Eve: after 9) ... N-B4 white might try 10) N-N3. Dave: after 9) ... PxP white might sacrifice a pawn with 10) P-K4 to try to get some play.

However, I don’t think white can equalize against either of your moves.

The same holds for my 6) P-KB3. After 6) ... P-K5 7) P-B4 P-B4 white can plan on B-Q2, Q-B2 and O-O-O, hoping that black does not find any way to increase the pressure. Then white can look for a way to develop the kingside.

Dave, I am looking forward to your eventual post about white’s problems after 5) NPxB. Are these problems big enough that white should not only refrain from wasting time with 4) P-QR3, but should also take measures to avoid having doubled pawns?

dandelion

-- dandelion (golden@pleurisy.plant), May 09, 2001.

Hi dandelion,

Eve's and my game virtually transposed to a Rossolimo Variation of the Sicilian, only with colors reversed: 1) P-K4 P-QB4 2) N-KB3 N-QB3 3) B-N5 (Rossolimo's move) P-K3 4) BxN. The only difference in our game is White's queen's rook pawn being at QR3.

My Encyclopedia of Chess Openings that covers the Sicilian is around twenty years old, but since the Rossolimo isn't a "hot" line, the theory on it would probably not change much in twenty or even forty years. Anyway, in the Rossolimo line, ECO quotes a number of games that continue 4) ...NPxB 5) O-O, none to White's advantage. I feel that 5) O-O is premature (I'll explain why in a subsequent post), hence in the analogous position of our game, I chose 5) ...P-Q3.

After 9) P-B3 [instead of our game's 9) P-QN4] PxP 10) P-K4, returning the pawn with 10) ...P-B7+ adds an exposed king to White's positional difficulties.

After 6) P-B3 [instead of our game's 6) N-B3] P-K5 7) P-B4 P-B4 8) B-Q2, a possible continuation is 8) ...N-B3 9) Q-B2 B-K3 10) O-O-O N-QR4, and Black threatens 11) ...NxP [12) BxN BxB 13) Q-R4+ P-N4; 12) Q-R4+ Q-Q2]. 11) P-QN3 loses to P-QN4 12) PxP BxP, so White may have to try 11) Q-R4+ B-Q2 12) Q-B2, but ...P-QN4 13) PxP [13) P-QN3 PxP 14) PxP R-QN1 with ...N-N6+] ...P-B5 (preventing P-B4) begins opening attacking lines for Black.

-- David L (bumpkin@dnet.net), May 09, 2001.

Dave and Eve,

Conclusions so far:

1. On move 4 Eve would have done better with KN-K2 or Q-B2 to be able to recapture on QB3 with a piece. Perhaps N-Q5 is okay. The game move 4) P-QR3 BxN should definitely be followed by 5) NPxB and then the position is still reasonable according to the books. However, ... (your turn, Dave).

2. Eve was quite right to reject 9) P-KB3.

Regarding the hypothetical 6) P-KB3. First off, maybe white can save a tempo with 6) Q-B2 P-K5 7) P-KB4. Second, in this line white’s pawns seem to belong on QN3 and QR4. White should move them there in time to avoid immediate trouble. Third, after the suggested line 6) P-KB3 P-K5 7) P-KB4 P-B4 8) B-Q2 N-B3 9) Q-B2 B-K3 10) O-O-O N-QR4 11) P- QN3 P-QN4 there is the possibility of 12) P-B5 PxP 13) PxB NxP+ 14) K-N2 P-Q4 and the attack looks worth the piece. Finally, with the pawn on K5 the situation is a lot like in the actual game---white is cramped and the rooks are destined to be out of place when black’s attack comes.

Eve, you are not the first person to manage to get a lost game in only 5 moves. I’ve been there too (more than once). It always seems to involve completely losing control of some central square. In your game it was your K4. I got into similar trouble over my Q3 once. So back to those training films. Speaking of training exercises, I read about one where you put a knight in a corner and move it to every square on the board in order (R1, N1, B1. Q1, etc.) as fast as you can. You were supposed to do this every day for a few weeks. Then you can move up to your knight versus his king and all the ways you can put him in check.

dandelion

-- dandelion (golden@pleurisy.plant), May 12, 2001.

Good evening dandelion and Eve,

After 6) P-KB3 [instead of our game's 6) N-B3] P-K5 7) P-KB4 P-B4 8) B-Q2 N-B3 9) Q-B2 B-K3 10) O-O-O N-QR4 11) P- QN3 P-QN4 12) P-B5 PxP 13) PxB NxP+ 14) K-N2 P-Q4, I'm not sure how Black pursues the attack once White's king reaches QR2. However, Black's control (or should I say "ownership") of the center seems fair compensation for the piece. Another, perhaps safer line for Black is 12) ...BxP 13) PxP P-B5, which I think leaves Black with a good position after each of the following continuations:

A. 14) P-QN4 N-N6+ 15) K-N2 P-Q4.
B. 14) BxP NxB 15) PxN N-N5 16) N-R3 N-K4 threatens 17) ...BxN [which would leave White with the vastly inferior minor piece] or 17) ...NxP.
C. 14) PxP N-N5 15) N-R3 R-QB1.

Well, I guess it's time to carry out my threat to explain why I perceive White to have difficulty.after 5) NPxB. It's taken some time to try to present this coherently.

White's problem is to liberate her dark square bishop without getting an unfavorable pawn structure in return. By analogy, consider the following opening line: 1) P-Q4 N-KB3 2) P-QB4 P-K3 3) N-QB3 B-N5 (the Nimzo-Indian Defense) 4) P-QR3 (the Saemisch Variation) BxN+ 5) PxB.O-O 6) P-K3 P-Q3 7) B-Q3 P-K4. This line is considered equal, since the weakness of White's pawn at QB4 is offset by her strong pawn center.

However, in our game, Black's pawn landed on K4 in one move instead of two. Hence for White to have aimed for a Saemisch type of structure would have entailed loss of a tempo over normal lines. Not necessarily a disaster for White, but certainly not appealing.

White must also take care not to allow the exchange of her QP for Black's KP in such a way that leaves her with a pair of doubled, isolated QBPs. So it appears that the pawn structure of choice would involve center pawns at Q3 and K4, as this permits the dark square bishop considerable freedom while firmly protecting the pawn at QB4. It's true that White's light square bishop would have limited mobility, but the pawns that hamper it also constrain Black's opposing light square bishop.

To strive for an advantage, Black needs to position his pieces so that they stand well even if White alters the pawn structure. Example, in the Saemisch, Black's queen knight usually goes to QB3 which gives it access to QR4 where it can pressure White's weak QBP pawn. However, since Black's first priority in our game is support of the K5 square, his queen knight should go to his QB4 square, where it may end up misplaced should White eventually play P-Q4. In chess, you usually can't have everything.

Here's one possible line (not claimed to be definitive) after 5) NPxB [instead of our game's 5) QPxB]: ...P-Q3 6) N-K2 [intending N-N3 to support the K4 square] QN-Q2 7) N-N3 P-K5 [7) ...N-B4 may permit an advantageous 8) P-Q4, per above comment about misplacing Black's queen knight] 8) Q-B2 N-B4 9) P-B3 Q-K2 10) PxP N(3)xP 11) NxN NxN (threatening ...Q-R5+) 12) P-N3 O-O 13) B-KN2 P-KB4, and the problem of White's dark square bishop has not yet been solved.

-- David L (bumpkin@dnet.net), May 13, 2001.

dandelion's right: getting outplayed early in a game can happen to anyone. I can readily think of several instances in my own tournament games where I made a natural move in the opening without really thinking about it, only to discover from the game's continuation that my move was a serious positional error.

I recall reading about a knight exercise similar to what dandelion mentions. A White knight is put at a8 (it's easier to describe in Algebraic Notation) and Black pawns are put at c3, c6, f3 and f6. The knight is then maneuvered (without capturing any of the pawns or being en pris to them) to b8, c8, ...h8, h7, g7, etc. The article describing the exercise said that completing the task in under five minutes suggests grandmaster potential.

-- David L (bumpkin@dnet.net), May 14, 2001.

Mornin' Dave and dandelion,

Sorry I'm not keeping up with your analyses. But thanks for the advice on the knight exercise. Actually, I'm a little afraid to find out how I'll do. Oh, I know -- how's about if I just try it with my king? Yeah -- that's right. And -- and to make it tougher, I'll even let you guys pick the method: should I go up and down the files or across the ranks? (I'll try the diagonals after I've mastered the other steps).

CHESS TRIVIA CORNER:

Didn't a famous player once, just after he'd lost, pick his opponent up by the lapels and "defenestrate" him? (God, I love to use that word whenever I can -- for the word lovers out there, it means, I believe, to throw someone out a window.) Somehow I'm left with the impression that this happened in the 1800's somewheres, and that they were both dressed quite formally.

-- Eve (eve_rebekah@yahoo.com), May 14, 2001.

Dave, A delayed response.

In the long line with 6) P-KB3, your variation B, white can improve somewhat with 16) N-K2 instead of N-R3 since the threat to fork the rooks by N-B7 can be answered with KR-B1. Then perhaps 16) ... N-K4 17) KR-B1 B-N3 18)N-B4. White may hope to return the pawn with P-B5, PxP, P-B4 sometime to free up the queenside. White will trade knights on his Q3 if black checks there.

Regarding 5) NPxB, your comparison with the Saemisch is apt. I looked at a number of possible lines, but the only line where white is not engaged in contortions is 6) P-Q4. The Saemisch already gives up a tempo compared to less pushy lines, so to yield a second tempo seems to value the bishop pair too highly. In your possible line, did you think about throwing in 7) ... P-KR4 before P-K5 to loosen the kingside and discourage white’s freeing move P-KB3?

I’m going to have let this game go now, as I am in a busy time.

Eve, I looked for defenestration on the web and found a new meaning---to remove the Windows operating system and replace it with Linux! I remember the word from history class---the Defenestration of Prague. I don’t know about it happening in a chess game. I do remember a California player who was disbarred from USCF tournaments for a while because he avoided a loss of the game on time by grabbing his opponent’s score sheet and running off and flushing it down the toilet. To claim a win on time a player is required to have a score of the game to show that the requisite number of moves did not get made before the time control. If I remember correctly, this guy also liked to lick enormous lollypops while playing to distract his opponents.

dandelion

-- dandelion (golden@pleurisy.plant), May 26, 2001.

dandelion,

In constructing variation B, I had rejected 16) N-K2 due to 16)...N-B7 17) KR-B1 N-Q6+ 18) K-N1 B-N5, forcing 19) B-B1 or 19) B-K1. [19) QR-K1, hoping for 19)...NxR 20) QxP+, would be met simply by 19)...O-O and only then taking the rook.] Then 19)...R-QB1 regains the pawn [20) Q-R2 BxN 21) QxB RxP] while retaining Black's positional advantage. The exchange sac 20) RxN PxR 21) QxP offers inadequate compensation after 21)...BxN 22) QxB O-O.

In the line 5) NPxB P-Q3 6) N-K2 QN-Q2 7) N-N3, I analyzed 7)...P-KR4 for a long time before finally finding what seemed to be a good answer for White. Unfortunately, I didn't record these lines, but I plan to take another look at it in the next few days.

-- David L (bumpkin@dnet.net), May 30, 2001.

dandelion,
In taking another look at 7)...P-KR4 [after 5) NPxB P-Q3 6) N-K2 QN-Q2 7) N-N3], I'm finding it stronger for Black than I'd initially thought.

It seemed White could get an equal game by 8) B-K2, to meet 8)...P-R5 by 9) N-R5 [to exchange her knight before it becomes difficult to post effectively. 9) N-B5 loses to 9)...P-KN3]. But Black seems to get a strong initiative by 9)...NxN 10) BxN Q-N4 11) B-B3 N-B4 12) P-Q3 [12) P-Q4 P-K5 13) PxN PxB and White will be stuck with a doubled isolated pawn pair, as 14) PxQP QxNP looks winning for Black] 12)...P-K5! [I had missed this shot] 13) PxP [13) BxP NxB 14) PxN QxNP and 15)...QxKP] 13)...B-K3 and Black will very shortly regain his pawn with the better game.

White could halt the KRP's progress by playing 8) P-KR4, but that's quite weakening as you noted. Not only is the pawn vulnerable there if White should subsequently castle, but a later P-KB3 [to enable P-K4] would leave a hole at KN3.

Thanks for prodding me to take another look at 7)...P-KR4.

Eve, it looks like our game has resulted in theoretically valuable analysis on this opening.

-- David L (bumpkin@dnet.net), June 05, 2001.