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< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 36 OF 36 ·
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: Black turn 18
click for larger view Here I impatiently continue my plan, 18...gxf3.
Toga once again sees the "hanging" knights and I still have not recognized it. It suggests 18...b6 to take advantage of the situation at which point it is (.42) Other suggestions for 18 were Nh4 which was in my plans and Rf7 which, needless to say, was not on my radar screen. Both are at a 3/4 pawn white advantage. |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: Turn 19-white
Here comes my first real shock of the game. White plays 19.gxf. I was stupified. I fully expected the quenn or rook take (nearly a pawn white advantage) and then I would get a tempo with Nh4. But as it turns out Toga sees 19.gxf as OK, and white still has a half pawn advantage and even that assumes I play my best move which I do not. |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: Black to move Turn 19
click for larger viewHere I panic.
My thoughts at the time:
<Well I really regret this now. I think I need to protect the d pawn. 19…Ne8. It is a waste of two tempos. I should have just left it there in the first place.> The reality is that I am in worse threat than I was. I still have the hanging knights and I still don't notice. So I play 19...Ne8 gumming up my works. Toga now sees a nearly full pawn white advantage. |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: White 20.
White plays the best move, 20.Kh1. |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: Black 20
I also play the best move or something close to it 20...Kh7. White has a pawn advantage. |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: My thought process: (just in case you are wondering, the variations are from the boards at chessgames which cooly save your moves): <I have been away while I made my moves. I feel like a frittered away something possibly. On the other hand, I still feel like I have a good attack and I don’t see any worries on the other side of the board.The move I have been thinking about for days is 20…Rf6. It does a couple things for me. It overprotects the d pawn. It clears the way for the bishop to also attack the d pawn. It puts the rook in position to cover the open file. I just wonder if it clogs up things and the problem is after 21.Rg1 I can’t move the rook. So now I am thinking it is wrong. Perhaps I can achieve some of the same objectives by 20…Kh7 with the idea of 21…Rg8. Another possible move is 20…h4 Then maybe 21.Rg1 Kf7 22. (something) 22..h3 (or if the something is 22.Qf1 then Rh8 with the idea of h3). It seems to lead to nothing. Another idea is 20…Nh4 21. Rg1
I think I am figuring that there is no line that does not move the King, both to get it off the open file and to protect g6. 20...Kf7 is a weird move but I am thinking about it. I would rather not be trapped in the other corner. The problem is that Nxd6 is check and that concerns me. 20…dxc5 is also possible. No it is not; I lose the a pawn or the exchange on fh8. Just looked at dxc5 again (2 hours later) What I didn’t see before is that I could intercede with the knight. So 20…dxc5 21. Bxc5 Nd5. He can’t take the a pawn because I take his knight. If he takes my knight I have the same problem. But if he doesn’t take I need to keep a piece on d6. hmm (20...dxc5 21.Bxc5 Rf6
(21...b6)
22.Na5 b6 23.Nb7 Qd7 24.Rg1 Nd6 25.Nxd6 cxd6 26.Bb4 Qh3 27.a5
(27.Rf1 Nh4)
27...Nh4)
(20...h4 21.Rg1 Kh7 22.a5 Bf6)
(20...Bf6 21.Rg1 Kh7 22.a5
(22.Na5 b6 23.cxb6 axb6 24.Nb7 Qe7 25.a5 Bh4 26.axb6
(26.a6 Bg3 27.Rxg3 fxg3)
26...cxb6))
(20...Kf7 21.Rg1 Nh4)
(20...Nh4 21.Rg1 Kh7 22.a5 Rf6)
(20...Rf6 21.Rg1 Kh7)
(20...Qe7 21.cxd6 cxd6 22.Nxd6 Nxd6 23.Bxd6 Qxd6)
(20...Qf6)
(20...Rf7 21.Rg1 Kh7)
(20...Bf6 21.Rg1 Kh7 22.Rxg6 Kxg6 23.Qg1+ Kh6 24.Qg2 Qe7 25.Rg1 Qg7 26.Qf2 Bh4 27.Rxg7 Bxf2
28.cxd6 cxd6 29.Nxd6 Nxd6 30.Bxd6 Rf6 31.Bxe5 Rxc3 32.Bxf6)
(20...dxc5 21.Bxc5
(21.Bxc5 Nd6 22.Nxd6
(22.Qe2 b6 23.Nxd6 cxd6 24.Bb4)
(22.Qd3 b6)
22...cxd6)
21...Nd6 22.Nxd6 cxd6 23.Bb4
(23.Bxd6 Qxd6))
21.Rg1 Bg5
(21...Kh7 22.a5 Bh4 23.a6 Rg8 24.Qd2 dxc5 25.Bxc5)) The more I think about it, the more I think Kh7 is probably the best. It comes up in every line because Rg1 is so obvious and strong. I could also go Kh8 which allows my knight to move to a better square but I can/t see it moving off e8 anytime soon anyway. Kh7 it is.> |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: hite to move 21:
click for larger view 21. Rg1 is obvious and is a fine move. White plays it. Toga also sees Qe2, protecting the knight and the f pawn, as best. It also likes 20.Na5 and 20.a5. |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: Black to move 21
click for larger view I finally realize that his knights are "hanging". My ah-hah! moment made too late. Not that it is winning or anything, it just takes pressure off the d6 square. So, 21...dxc5 it is. Still slightly less than a pawn white advantage. My thoughts at the time:
<As expected he moved 21.Rg1. I now sort of feel crappy about my position. I should have rearranged my pieces before I opened the file so that I would get my rook on the file first.Rg8 is my first choice. The problem is that he might try to double on the g file and then, given the fact that my rooks are unconnected, I might have a problem. So I wonder if I should prevent that with Nh4 first. My only issue is that I was thinking I might want to put my Queen on h4. Nh4 has the added benfit of threatening the f3 pawn. I still don’t think I have a move on the other side. d
xc5 doesn’t seem to work : although 21…dxc5 22.Bxc5 Nd6 is good for me :
21.Rg1 dxc5
(21...dxc5 22.Bxc5 Nd6 23.Nxd6
(23.Nxd6 cxd6 24.Bb4)
23...cxd6)
22.Bxc5)
Also 21.Rg1 dxc5
(21...dxc5 22.Bxc5 Nd6 23.Nxd6
(23.Nxd6 cxd6 24.Bb4)
(23.Na5 b6 24.Nb7 Qd7 25.Nxd6 cxd6 26.Bb4)
23...cxd6)
22.Bxc5)
Now I am looking hard at dxc5. It might take advantage of all of the hanging pieces he has on the c file. The big downside is the long term problem of having to keep a piece on d6. But after 22.Bxc5 Nd6 he either has to move the queen to protect, when it starts to look overloaded defending the knight and f pawn-
Another benefit is that my pieces seem better organized. This line looks possible and looks good for me:
21.Rg1 dxc5 22.Bxc5 Nd6 23.Nxd6 cxd6 24.Bb4 Nh4 25.a5 a6 26.a5
And then:
(25...a6 26.a5 Bf6 27.Nb1 Qd7 28.Be1 Qh3 29.Bxh4 Bxh4) I think I am digging it.
But where it looks less clear is if moves the knight away after 22...Nd6. Like 23 Nd2 I am leaning more and more to dxc5.
I choose dxc5. It has the potential for a long term problem, but it assists me in reorganizing my pieces I think. I had never thought of his pieces as hanging on the c file but I think they are and I can use the threats there to my advantage.> |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: 22.Bxc5 Nd6
23:
click for larger viewHere Toga wants white to protect the knight Qe2, Qd3 or Qb3 in that order, all of which maintain the good white advantage. Instead white plays 23. Nxd6 cxd6 which gives it all away. White is no in slightly negative numbers and the wreong move could seal the deal. 24. Bb4 is correctly played. |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: 24 -black to play. Lets take stock:
click for larger viewTo me most of the fun has gone out of the white position. He has one advatage, that being the backward d pawn which has to be guarded by at least a piece. On the other hand his king is in jail, he has a backward f pawn and black controls the c file. My comments at the time:
<First I look at his threats.
The dumb one: Rxg6 Kxg6 Qg1+ Kh6 Qxa7.
His real threat is the build up of attackers on the base of the pawn chain. What that means is that if my first goal is to defend that pawn I need to bring the B or N into play better. The obvious thing to do is to move the rook on f8 and then move the Bishop there. I could also go Nh8 and then Nf7. But I like the N better where it is because it is one hop away from threatening his most critical pawn. The other way to do it is to try and deny an attacking spot for his knight. Right now b5 is his only spot and it is occupied by a pawn. I am going to spend some time now trying to decide if there is any realistic way for him to get his knight to a spot to attack my pawn. If not I can think about my own attacking chances. It looks very difficult for him. If he tries to sac the b pawn (b6) then I just push the a pawn (a6). Now, having said that the advantage of getting a minor piece defender for d6 is that I can put the Queen to better use. That is a good thing in general and given that his Queen is stuck on the defence of f3, that is a very good thing. Another idea is to try to double rooks on the c file. This is not so easy. I can’t put a rook on c7 because that forces a take after his b6 and opens up the b5 square for the knight. So the only other square to achieve the double is to move the rook to c4! I have spent a lot of time looking at this. The advantage is that it threatens the Bishop and the knight, so the Bishop must be defended. There are 3 ways to defend it. Na2 puts the knight in the wilderness. But isn’t so bad. Rook b1 is ok
Qb3 is interesting, but leaves the f pawn without a defender. I have been looking at this for a while. I am now thinking that his plan will be a5, Na4, b6 Because of this I think Qd7 is bad here.
After further review I think I was wrong. Qd7 looks like the best move. I think he cannot get the knight to a useful position very easily. Qd7 connects the rooks and takes the Q off the dark squares. There is the underlying threat of Qh3 and Nh4. I am worried about a knight sac on b6. Must keep an eye on that.> I play 24...Qd7 which was fine (Toga's third choice). Bf6 and Nh4 are also suggestions. |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: White turn 25.
click for larger viewAt the time I thought this was one of the most interesting points in the game. I felt that I had some threats, but then his next move which I thought was totally brilliant changed my assessment. He played 25.Qf1!. He told me at the time that it was basically an intuitive move. To me it came out of nowhere and parried all of my threats. I had really wanted to play Rc4 and that ended that. But what does Toga think? It sees 25.b6 and 25.Nb1! as slightly better or the same. So what do I know; I still think it was a really good find. The game is basically even. |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: Black turn 25:
I played 25...Nh4. The threat is alwys there. It transposes to Rg8 or Bf6, Toga's other picks. |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: White to move 26:
click for larger viewHe plays 26. Rc1 one of Toga's choices, with Nb1 and Ne2 to maintain equality. Black to move. I play 26...Rg8. Contest the file. |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: 27 white to play:
click for larger viewHere white played Qf2 very quickly. I thought it was a mistake. Toga likes Ne2 Na2 Ba3
Here are my comments at the time:
<I don’t get this move. He made it very quickly and it seems to take the Queen off its best square. I could now win his f pawn with Qh3, but he would win my d pawn. My obvious play is to protect the knight with Bf6.I could also play Rc4, but that loses.
After Bf6 his most obvious move is Ne2.
I feel like I am going to lose. Maybe the innocuous 26.Rg8 was a mistake. It was a cottage move. Other options are Qe7, which appears to lose the d pawn after Bxd. OK Bf6 it is. I don’t really see any other choice.> |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: Black 27. Toga now gives black more than a pawn advantage. As suggested I play 27...Bf6 (-1.27). I think he played too quickly sadly. |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: White 28:
click for larger viewWhite's best move is, according to Toga, Rxg8 (-1.28). Ne2 and Na2 are about the same (-1.59). White plays 28.Ne2. |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: Black 28.
I have a choice. Here were my thoughts:
<28…Rxg1
At first glance this could get me a draw and is very close to winning. 29. Kxg1 is forced (taking with the knight loses the other rook. Taking with the Queen loses the f pawn, although there may be white counterplay with Qxa7. 28….Rxc1 is also interesting>
Obviously I wasn't appreciating the possibilities of the position very well. Rxg1 and Rxc1 are rated about the same.
I chose...28.Be7 fitering away my advantage. I was too concerned about tactics. The position is even again. |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: White 29
click for larger view29.Rxg8 is played. Toga says that Rxc8 is slightly more accurate. 29...Rxc1 30. Nxc1 KxRg8
We are even. |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: White 31:
click for larger view31.Nd3 is preferred by Toga and was played. I played Kf7 and offered a draw but <just a kid> preferred to fight on. |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: White 32
click for larger view32.Ne1 is played. Not the best move but ok (-.24)
Black responds with 32...Qc7, occupying the c file. It seems to me that black has chances. |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: White 33
click for larger viewI think that white must be careful. Toga suggests piece shuffling Nd3, Qe2 Qf1. All of these are at -.4 to -.5 or so. He plays Kg1 which was not accurate. This is because (I think) that Nxf3 was check. Toga says white is a pawn to the worse. |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: Black turn 33:
click for larger viewI play 33...Qc1. Toga says Qc4 was quite a bit better. I agree. I should have seen it. Bloack is less than a pawn to the worse. |
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Nov-17-09
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| benjinathan: White turn 34:
click for larger viewToga says that Bd2, Qe1, Qf1 are all about (-.1). Could I have converted from here? I am not sure. It felt good. Sadly white blundered:
34 Qd2. Toga shows mate in 9.
34...Nxf3+ resign.
This was a very even game, helped by the fact that we both played somewhat conservatively. We both gave away advantages. I regret the ending; I think my opponent was concentrating on other things. But he still played very well to that point. Thanks for the game <just a kid>! |
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Nov-17-09
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| just a kid: Thanks!If only I had realized some of those moves!I could give you a rematch if you want. |
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Nov-20-09
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| just a kid: I could do a simul against you and your kids.I need a rematch against you and Benji.I promise I'll pay more attention this time.=) |
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< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 36 OF 36 ·
Later Kibitzing > |
