User Profile: dzechiel

dzechiel
Member since Mar-30-04 · Last seen May-24-13

David Zechiel, USCF member since 1969. Correspondence master 1995. OTB ~1900. Avatar self portrait taken ~1979. Visit http://www.zechiel.com for more.
My favorite chess authors are Irving Chernev, Andrew Soltis and Mikhail Tal.
Favorite players? Not as easy to answer, but I would have to select Mikhail Tal and David Bronstein, both were able to conjure up combinations that take your breath away. For instance, the ending of Bronstein vs Korchnoi, 1962 is just startling. And J Szukszta vs Tal, 1956 was a blitz game!
As white I try to steer the game into a Blackmar-Diemer Gambit whenever possible. As black I enjoy the Four Knights Sicilian and Budapest Defence.
I have posted several games from my correspondence days below. Please feel free to comment or post questions about them, I'm happy to reply.
Here's a picture taken of me at my chessboard: http://www.zechiel.com/images/david...
For anyone wondering how I go about composing my initial posts, I open Windows Notepad next to the diagram and put down all my thoughts. Frequently I will rearrange some of my ideas, occasionally deleting whole paragraphs if I discover that a line I'm pursuing is fatally flawed. I will spend anywhere from five minutes to the better part of an hour depending upon the day of week, then I usually add "time to check", click on the diagram and post my analysis without looking at the game or anyone else's contributions. I say "usually" because sometimes I do look before posting, and in those cases I might add some additional text below "time to check" (but I don't change my original text).
I can't speak for everyone, but I do recommend giving this technique a try. Be honest with yourself and you might find that it will improve you analytical skills.
I like to play chess online at http://freechess.org/ using the handle dzechiel. My preferred time control is "2 12 u".

I own too many chess sets, most of them very nice.

   dzechiel has kibitzed 3531 times to chessgames [more...]

   May-10-13 dzechiel chessforum

dzechiel: While this shows as game #53, it was actually game #50, but it was so inconsequential that it simply slipped through the cracks. White gets a good game, the black just blunders and resigns. [Event "Internet Correspondence"] [Site "www.chesspresso.net"] [Date "2013.04.02"] ...

   Jan-12-13 I Rajlich vs K Szczepkowska-Horowska, 2012

dzechiel: Pretty straight forward for a Saturday.

   Nov-01-12 Averbakh vs O Moiseev, 1950

dzechiel: I looked at 22 Rd7 Qb8 23 Rf7 Bc6 24 Rxf8 Rxf8 25 Nf7+ Rxf7 26 Qxb8. Don't know how forced it is.

   Oct-10-12 D Zagorskis vs J Michenka, 1994

dzechiel: White to move (29?). White has a bishop for a pawn. "Medium/Easy." It sure looks like white is going to have to give the piece back, so why not up the ante and make it a queen? 29 Bd4 Qxe2 30 Rxg7+ Kh8 I found all of this pretty quickly, but at this point I kept looking for a way ...

   Oct-09-12 N Vlassov vs A Terekhin, 1994

dzechiel: Black to move (21...?). White is up a pawn. "Easy." It looks like a forced mate-in-four, starting with... 21...Qxh2+ 22 Kxh2 Rh5+ 23 Kg2 Bh3+ 25 Kh2 White could try 25 Kh1, but it's no different. 25...Bxf1# A pretty combination. If you didn't see it quickly, spend a little more ...

   Oct-08-12 Z Czajka vs A Zakaria, 1994

dzechiel: <captainandrewwiggins: something that confuses me: why didn't black play it earlier: 27...Qg3+> I had the same question. The answer must be that he overlooked the mate at that time.

   Oct-05-12 Saidy vs C Brasket, 1972

dzechiel: White to move (35?). White is up a pawn. "Difficult." I think the first move is... 35 Rxd7 This is a nice forcing capture, which also protects the white bishop on d8 from capture. Black has only one reasonable reply. 35...Rxd7 Now is when it gets "difficult". White has several ...

   Oct-04-12 R Liiva vs U Haavisto, 1993

dzechiel: White to move (16?). Material even. "Medium." There are a few candidates for the key move, but the only one that looks interesting is... 16 Qxf7+ Rxf7 Black has little choice. The only other legal move, 16...Kh8 allows 17 Bxg7# mate. 17 Rxf7 With the threat of 18 Rxe7+ Kf8 (or ...

   Oct-03-12 Waitzkin vs B Kreiman, 1993

dzechiel: Black to move (22...?). Material even. "Medium/easy". I looked to see if you could trap the white queen, and that isn't going to happen. Then I looked at ways to go after the white king, starting with 22...Rxb3+, and that peters out quickly. The move 22...Bxb3 works if white ...

   Oct-02-12 W Peckford vs Z Vranesic, 1993

dzechiel: White to move (40?). White is up an exchange. "Easy." The white queen is under attack. I suspect that there are lots of winning moves, but the one I saw first is... 40 Qh7+ Kxh7 On 40...Kf8 41 hxg7+ is a killer. On 40...Kf7 41 Qxg7+ will pick up the black rook. 41 hxg7+ Kg8 Black

indicates a reply to the comment.

Czechmate

< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 17 OF 17 · Later Kibitzing>
Sep-30-12		morfishine: <Dzechiel> FWIW: When I was laid off in 2001, I sought work with a temp agency (looking for financial service positions). While I waited for some future contracts, they had me working college football games seating people. I only made about $80 per game but I got to watch for free! This led to a 2-month contract in the County Property appraisers office followed by a 3-month contract in the Homestead Exemption office, which in turn led to a temporary position with a local bank. "Temporary" is misleading since it lasted 19-months with 12-hours of OT since they couldn't fill the second position. This led to me being taken on full-time with the bank which lasted 9-years until this month when my job was "consolidated" out-of-area and I can't move to that city. It was a nice run, and I too am looking for gainful employment, but I get a nice sevarance and valuable experience. If this helps, that would be great Morf

Sep-30-12		johnlspouge: Hi, Dave. The POTD just wasn't the same without you leading the charge. Your return there comes almost as a relief, but nonetheless I wish you speedy success on your job search.

Oct-24-12		dzechiel: This is the 34th game between me and my Russian opponent in 2012. Game #35 is underway as I annotate this game. This was a good game, except for two things. The first was on move 38, when my opponent made a mistake. The next was a move later when my opponent resigned, thinking his mistake was a blunder. Black certainly got the better game, but I would have played it out. OK, here we go: [Event "Personal"] [Site "www.chesspresso.net"] [Date "2012.09.15"] [Round "0"] [White "futbol9992012"] [Black "Zechiel, David"] [Result "0-1"] 1 e4 e6 2 Nf3 d5 3 e5 c5 4 d4 Nc6 click for larger view I had been playing the Sicilian religiously in our previous games, and decided to mix it up a little. 5 c3 Qb6 6 Be2 cxd4 7 cxd4 Nge7 8 Nc3 Nf5 9 Bb5 Be7 10 O-O O-O 11 Bxc6 bxc6 12 a3 Ba6 13 Re1 c5 14 Na4 Qc6 15 dxc5 Bb5 click for larger view This last move, 15...Bb5, doesn't preserve the bishop pair, but it does insure that we don't end up with opposite colored bishops in the end game. 16 Nc3 Bxc5 17 Nxb5 Qxb5 18 b4 Bb6 19 Bb2 a5 20 bxa5 Bxa5 21 Re2 Rfc8 22 Nd4 Nxd4 23 Bxd4 Rc4 24 Rb2 Qc6 25 Rab1 Rc8 26 Rb8 Qa6 27 Rxc8+ Qxc8 28 g3 h6 29 Kg2 Bc7 30 Rb4 Ba5 31 Rb5 Bc3 32 Bxc3 Rxc3 33 Qb1 click for larger view I suspect my opponent thought the game was over after this last move. 33...Rc1 34 Rb8 Rxb1 35 Rxc8+ Kh7 36 Rc3 Kg6 37 Rd3 click for larger view I'm not sure I understand the purpose of this last move. It allows me to get behind his passed pawn. 37...Ra1 38 Kf3 Kf5 0-1 click for larger view Final position. OK, 38 Kf3 was a lemon, but he's not losing the e-pawn. White could play 39 Re3 d4 40 g4+ Kg5. For this reason I was going to meet 39 Re3 with 39...h5. I think there's a lot more play left.

Oct-28-12		dzechiel: Here's the 35th game between me and my Russian opponent. This game started out OK, but my opponent seemed to lose his way and started to drift. [Event "Personal"] [Site "www.chesspresso.net"] [Date "2012.10.09"] [Round "35"] [White "Zechiel, David"] [Black "futbol9992012"] [Result "1-0"] 1 d4 d5 2 e4 e6 3 Nc3 c6 4 Nf3 Nd7 5 Bd3 dxe4 6 Nxe4 Ndf6 click for larger view I think much more common here is 6 Ngf6. White already enjoys a lead in development, and moving this knight for a second time can't be justified. 7 Ng3 Ne7 8 O-O Ng6 9 c3 Bd6 10 Bg5 Be7 click for larger view Now both of black's knights and his dark squared bishop have moved twice. 11 Qc2 Nd5 12 Bd2 Bd7 13 Ne5 Bd6 14 f4 f5 click for larger view While this move does stop white from playing 15 f5, it leaves the e-pawn backward on an open file. A new weakness to be exploited. 15 Rae1 O-O 16 Qd1 Bc8 17 c4 Nf6 18 Bc3 Qc7 19 Bc2 b6 20 b4 Be7 21 Qf3 click for larger view Putting pressure on c6. 21...Nxe5 22 Rxe5 Capturing with either pawn eliminates the pressure on black's backward e-pawn. 22...Ng4 23 Re2 g6 24 Rfe1 Nh6 25 Bb3 Bf6 26 c5 click for larger view Black has no good way to defend the e-pawn. 26...Kg7 27 Bxe6 Bxe6 28 Rxe6 Rac8 29 d5 click for larger view Black is pretty dead at this point. 29...cxd5 30 Bxf6+ Rxf6 31 Re7+ 1-0 click for larger view Final position of game 35. Game #36 is underway.

Oct-29-12		morfishine: <dzechiel> On your comment <Black is pretty dead at this point> I think you can condense those 7 words down to one word: CRUNCH

Dec-02-12		dzechiel: Here's the 36th game between me and my Russian opponent. I played dismally in this game, and was bounced off of the board. [Event "Personal"] [Site "www.chesspresso.net"] [Date "2012.10.27"] [Round "36"] [White "futbol9992012"] [Black "Zechiel, David"] [Result "1-0"] 1 e4 d6 2 Bc4 Nf6 3 Nc3 g6 4 Nf3 Bg7 5 O-O O-O 6 d4 Bg4 7 h3 Bxf3 8 Qxf3 Nc6 9 Be3 e5 10 d5 Nd4 click for larger view This last move was a mistake. 11 Qd1 c5 12 Bd3 a6 13 a4 Rb8 14 a5 Qd7 15 f3 Rfc8 16 b3 Rf8 17 Ne2 Nh5 18 Kh2 f5 19 c3 fxe4 20 fxe4 Rxf1 21 Qxf1 Rf8 22 Qd1 Nxe2 23 Bxe2 Nf6 click for larger view When I find myself thinking, "Boy, I would sure like to play white.", in a game where I'm black, I know I have problems. 24 Bf3 Kh8 25 Qe2 Qc7 26 c4 Ng8 27 Qd2 Qd8 28 b4 cxb4 29 Qxb4 Rf7 30 c5 dxc5 31 Bxc5 Bh6 32 Rf1 Qh4 33 Bf2 Qd8 34 Bg3 Bf4 35 Bxf4 1-0 click for larger view Final position. If black captures on f4 with the rook, then the b-pawn falls. If the capture is with the e-pawn, then the connected, passed center pawns just start marching down the board. Yuck. A very poor performance on my part. My heart really wasn't in this game.

Dec-02-12		dzechiel: And here's our 37th game (the 38th is underway). My opponent returned the favor from our last game and provided a rather lackluster performance. His position sucked when he resigned, but I think it still has some play left. [Event "Personal"] [Site "www.chesspresso.net"] [Date "2012.11.16"] [Round "37"] [White "Zechiel, David"] [Black "futbol9992012"] [Result "1-0"] 1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 c6 4 Nf3 Nf6 5 e3 Nbd7 6 Bd3 Be7 7.O-O O-O 8.b3 Re8 9.Bb2 Bf8 10.Qc2 g6 click for larger view All book up to this point, but the fianchetto of the black bishop seems to both wasting time and weakening on the dark squares. 11 Rad1 Bg7 12 e4 dxe4 13 Nxe4 Nxe4 14 Bxe4 Nf6 15 Bd3 b6 16 Be2 Bb7 17 Ne5 Qc7 18 Bf3 Rab8 19 Rd2 Nd7 20 Rfd1 Red8 21 Ng4 Nf6 22 Ne3 Rd7 23 Bc3 Rbd8 24 Qb2 Ne8 click for larger view A lot of maneuvering has brought us to this. Of course I wanted to push the d-pawn, but black can exchange bishops on c3 and then white can no longer capture on d5 with the c-pawn as it will leave the queen en prise. I spent a lot of time here and came up with... 25 Ng4 a6 26 d5 Bxc3 27 Qxc3 cxd5 click for larger view I think black overlooked the following combination. 28 Nh6+ Kf8 29 Qh8+ Ke7 30 Qxh7 Kd6 31 cxd5 exd5 1-0 click for larger view Final position. So, I'm contemplating the position. Should I capture on d5 with the bishop, or possibly play the knight to g4? While I'm thinking, the resignation arrived. Guess he didn't like any of it.

Jan-17-13		dzechiel: This is game #38 between me and my Russian opponent. It's only interesting in the way he bounces me off of the board. This is probably his best played game so far. [Event "Personal"] [Site "www.chesspresso.net"] [Date "2012.12.01"] [Round "38"] [White "futbol9992012"] [Black "Zechiel, David"] [Result "1-0"] 1 e4 d6 2 d4 Nf6 3 Nc3 g6 4 f4 Bg7 5 h3 b6 6 Nf3 Bb7 7 Bd3 O-O 8 Be3 Nbd7 9 Qe2 e5 10 fxe5 dxe5 11 d5 Nh5 12 Qf2 f5 13 Bg5 Bf6 14 h4 f4 15 Ne2 Kg7 16 g4 fxg3 17 Nxg3 Nxg3 18 Qxg3 h6 19 Be3 Qe7 20 O-O-O click for larger view It was somewhere around here I looked at my position and thought, "Boy, this really sucks". 20...Rg8 21 h5 g5 22 Nh4 Kf8 23 Ng6+ 1-0 click for larger view Final position from game 23. Ugh.

Jan-17-13		dzechiel: [Event "Personal"] [Site "www.chesspresso.net"] [Date "2012.12.05"] [Round "39"] [White "Zechiel, David"] [Black "futbol9992012"] [Result "1-0"] Here's game #39. This one isn't too interesting. White gets some pressure out of the opening, but that's all it seems to be. Black overlooks a queen exchange for two rooks and then gives up to easily. 1 d4 e6 2 e4 d5 3 Nc3 c6 4 Nf3 dxe4 5 Nxe4 Nf6 6 Nxf6+ Qxf6 7 Bg5 Qg6 8 Bd3 f5 9 O-O click for larger view White is looking good. 9...Bd6 10 Qd2 h6 11 Bf4 Bxf4 12 Qxf4 Nd7 13 Qd6 Qf7 14 Rae1 Nb6 15 Ne5 Qf8 16 Qc7 Nd5 17 Qa5 Qf6 18 c4 Ne7 19 Qc7 O-O 20 f4 Ng6 21 Bc2 Nxe5 22 dxe5 Qf7 23 Qd6 click for larger view White still looks good, and will own the d-file. 23...Bd7 24 c5 Rad8 25 Rd1 Bc8 26 Qxd8 1-0 click for larger view Final position of game #39. Black gives up too easily. I think he should have tried 26...Rxd8 27 Rxd8+ Kh7 and now I probably would have played 28 Rfd1 Qc7 29 Bb3 followed by 30 R1d6.

Jan-17-13		dzechiel: Here's game #40. Black comes out of the opening OK, then a few second best moves from white allows black to achieve initiative. Before long white is on the ropes. [Event "Personal"] [Site "www.chesspresso.net"] [Date "2012.12.09"] [Round "40"] [White "futbol9992012"] [Black "Zechiel, David"] [Result "0-1"] 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nxc6 bxc6 6 Bd3 e6 7 O-O Be7 8 c4 O-O 9 Nc3 Qc7 10 Qc2 Bb7 11 f4 e5 click for larger view I remember I liked this move (11...e5) at the time. 12 fxe5 Ng4 13 b3 Qxe5 14 Bf4 Qd4+ 15 Kh1 Ne3 16 Bxe3 Qxe3 click for larger view Black emerges with the bishop pair and white has an isolated e-pawn. 17 Rae1 Qb6 18 Re2 d6 19 e5 g6 20 e6 fxe6 21 Rxf8+ Rxf8 22 Rxe6 Rf2 click for larger view After this move and the next, black's position seems fine to me. 23 Qb1 Kf7 24 Re2 Rxe2 25 Nxe2 Qe3 click for larger view Black's centralized queen and bishop pair are looking pretty good. 26 Qd1 Bf6 27 Ng3 c5 28 Nf1 click for larger view This may look good, but it drops a pawn. 28...Qh3 29 Qe2 Bxg2+ 30 Qxg2 Qxd3 31 Qd5+ Qxd5+ 32 cxd5 0-1 click for larger view Final position from game 40. White is dead. There's no good way for white to defend the d-pawn.

Jan-18-13		dzechiel: Game #41. A game I won, but I shouldn't have. Black gets the better game out of the opening, with two bishops vs two knights, but manages to fritter away his advantage, and finally allow white to achive a winning position. Strange play. [Event "Personal"] [Site "www.chesspresso.net"] [Date "2012.12.19"] [Round "41"] [White "Zechiel, David"] [Black "futbol9992012"] [Result "1-0"] 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 e6 3 d4 d5 4 exd5 Qxd5 5 Nc3 Qd6 6 Be3 cxd4 7 Bxd4 a6 8 Bd3 Nc6 9 O-O Nxd4 10 Nxd4 click for larger view I liked white's lead in development here. Of course the knight on d4 is safe from capture as after 10...Qxd4 11 Bb5+ would put the black queen en prise. 10...Bd7 11 Nf3 Be7 12 Qe2 Nf6 13 Rfd1 Qc7 14 Ne5 Bc8 15 f4 b5 16 Rac1 Bb7 17 Ne4 Qb6+ 18 Kh1 Nd5 19 Rf1 Nb4 20 a3 Nxd3 21 cxd3 click for larger view Black seems to have caught up and is doing well, with the bishop pair and a better pawn structure. 21...g6 22 Rc2 f6 23 Nf3 Kf7 24 Rfc1 Rac8 25 b4 Rxc2 26 Rxc2 Rc8 27 Rxc8 Bxc8 28 Qc2 Bb7 29 d4 a5 30 Nc5 Bd5 click for larger view I had really expected 30...Bxf3 here and was surprised by the positioning on d5. 31 Ne1 axb4 32 axb4 Bd6 33 Qd2 Kg7 34 Kg1 Qc6 35 Qe3 Bc7 36 g3 h6 37 Ned3 Qd6 38 Kf2 g5 39 h3 Kf7 40 Qe2 Bc6 41 Ke3 Qd5 42 Qf2 Qh1 click for larger view Black has managed to make some inroads, but white's position is just barely holding together. 43 fxg5 hxg5 44 Ne5+ click for larger view Black has to give up one of the bishops. 44...Bxe5 45 dxe5 f5 46 h4 gxh4 47 gxh4 Qh3+ 48 Kd2 Qg4 49 Nd3 click for larger view After this, white seems to be holding it together (but you still have to like black). 49...Bd5 50 Qf4 Bc4 click for larger view The losing move! From this point on white will win a pawn, and use that to win the game. 51 Qxg4 fxg4 52 Nf4 g3 53 Ke3 Kg7 54 Kf3 Kh6 55 Kxg3 1-0 click for larger view Final position of game 41. Black is busted.

Jan-18-13		dzechiel: Game 42. I decide to play the Najdorf Sicilian, which I haven't played since the early '70's. My opponent sees a ghost, and resigns in an equal position. [Event "Personal"] [Site "www.chesspresso.net"] [Date "2013.01.05"] [Round "42"] [White "futbol9992012"] [Black "Zechiel, David"] [Result "0-1"] 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 Bd3 Nc6 7 Nxc6 bxc6 8 O-O e5 9 b3 Be7 10 Ne2 d5 11 Ng3 O-O 12 c4 Be6 13 exd5 cxd5 14 cxd5 Bxd5 15 Qe2 Bb7 16 Ne4 Qd5 17 f3 0-1 click for larger view Final position. My opponent saw 17...Qd4+ 18 Kh1 Qxa1 without noticing that 18 Be3 would hold everything together.

Jan-24-13		dzechiel: Here's game #43 between me and my Russian opponent. This game is one of my better ones, with a nice combination started on move 27 that I calculated out to the end of the game (but he did resign a little quicker than I expected). It starts as a perfectly normal Queen's Gambit Declined... [Event "Personal"] [Site "www.chesspresso.net"] [Date "2013.01.13"] [Round "43"] [White "Zechiel, David"] [Black "futbol9992012"] [Result "1-0"] 1 d4 e6 2 c4 Nf6 3 Nc3 d5 4 Bg5 Be7 5 e3 c6 6 Nf3 h6 7 Bh4 Ne4 8 Bxe7 Qxe7 9 Qc2 Nxc3 click for larger view I was a little surprised by this capture. I expected something else, perhaps 9...f5, rather than allowing white to grab the center. 10 bxc3 Nd7 11 Be2 O-O 12 O-O b6 13 Qa4 Bb7 14 Rfc1 click for larger view If black doesn't do something to stop me, I'm looking at playing 15 cxd5, 16 c4 and 17 cxd5 again to open the c-file for my rook. 14...dxc4 15 Qxc4 e5 16 Qb3 c5 17 d5 click for larger view I spent a lot of time on 17 d5, mostly because I wanted to assure myself that I would be able to protect the advanced d-pawn with either my c-pawn or my e-pawn. 17...e4 18 Nd2 Kh8 19 c4 f5 20 Re1 Qd6 21 f4 click for larger view If black doesn't captuer en passant on f3, then white will have succeeded in establishing a protected, passed pawn on d5 and black will have nothing to show for it. 21...exf3 22 Bxf3 Ne5 23 e4 Nxf3+ 24 Nxf3 fxe4 25 Rxe4 Rf6 26 Rae1 Raf8 click for larger view I had seen this position as a possibility when I played 20 Re1. Now that we have arrived, I'm able to play a combination that wins the game. 27 Re7 R6f7 28 Rxf7 Rxf7 29 Ne5 Rf6 click for larger view I thought black would play 29...Rf5 instead. White would still continue with the same line. 30 Qg3 Kh7 31 Ng4 Rg6 32 Qd3 Kg8 33 Qf5 click for larger view Black is losing here. There's no good way to both protect the rook and prevent 34 Re8+. Black plays one more move, but realizes white can play 34 Re8+ which now leads to mate. 33...Rxg4 1-0

Feb-07-13		dzechiel: Just when I think I'm playing well again, I find myself on the losing end of a game like this one. My Russian opponent plays for keeps here, and takes me downtown. [Event "Personal"] [Site "www.chesspresso.net"] [Date "2013.01.27"] [Round "44"] [White "futbol9992012"] [Black "Zechiel, David"] [Result "1-0"] 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 d6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nf6 5 Nc3 a6 6 Bd3 Nc6 7 Nxc6 bxc6 8 O-O e5 9 b3 d5 10 f3 click for larger view I was happy with this position for black. Yeah, I'm lagging in development, but I have a nice grip on the center. I'm not sure where I went wrong... 10...Bb4 11 Bb2 O-O 12 Qe2 Re8 13 Kh1 Qc7 14 a3 Bd6 15 Nd1 Bb7 click for larger view This last move did not work out well for me. That bishop never really enters the game. 16 Nf2 a5 17 c3 Qb6 18 b4 c5 19 exd5 cxb4? 20 c4! click for larger view Now I remember! This is the move I overlooked. 20 c4 gives white a clear advantage, and he rides it to the end of the game. 20...Nd7 21 Ne4 Nc5 22 Nxc5 Qxc5 23 axb4 axb4 24 Rxa8 Bxa8 25 f4 click for larger view Another good move by white. This is getting worse by the moment. My reply is a mistake. 25...e4? 26 f5! e3 27 Qg4 Bf8 28 Bxg7! click for larger view Ugh. Black's busted. If 28...Bxg7 29 f6 Qf8 30 Qf5 and there's no stopping mate on h7. I play a few more moves, but I should have resigned here. 28...f6 29 Bxf6+ Kf7 30 Bh4 1-0

Feb-15-13		dzechiel: I think this may be the best game we have played so far. One of the things that made it interesting is that I won an exchange, but he got enough play for it that I had to give it back. Then I got good play, and he chose to give up the exchange again. It finally boiled down to good, old-fashioned, zugzwang to end the game. [Event "Personal"] [Site "www.chesspresso.net"] [Date "2013.02.07"] [Round "45"] [White "Zechiel, David"] [Black "futbol9992012"] [Result "1-0"] 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 cxd4 4 Nxd4 Nxd4 5 Qxd4 Qc7 click for larger view We are already out of my book. 6 Nc3 a6 7 f4 e6 8 Be3 Nf6 9 Be2 Be7 10 e5 Ng8 11 Bf3 Rb8 click for larger view White is already looking good. And this last move by black gives me an idea. 12 Qa7 Bd8 13 Bb6 Qxb6 14 Qxb8 Qxb2 15 Kd2 Ne7 16 Rhb1 Qa3 17 Qd6 click for larger view This was a hard move to play, but I couldn't find anything better. After 17 Bxb7 Ba5 18 Rb3 Bxc3+ 19 Rxc3 Qb4 and my bishop is pinned and should fall. Other moves were also unappetizing, as the black queen can start delivering checks on the dark squares. 17...Qxd6+ 18 exd6 Nc6 19 Ne4 Nd4 20 Bd1 f5 21 Nf2 Nb5 click for larger view Black has staged a comeback here. Now it's white with his pieces in full retreat, and black is threatening 22...Bf6. It's time to give back the exchange. 22 Rxb5 axb5 23 Rb1 Ba5+ 24 c3 b6 25 Be2 Bb7 26 Bxb5 g6 click for larger view Not 26...Bxg2 27 Rg1 Bd5 28 Rxg7 and the black d-pawn is very weak. 27 g3 Bc6 28 a4 Rg8 29 Re1 Kf7 30 Bxc6 dxc6 31 Nd3 Rd8 32 Ne5+ Ke8 33 d7+ click for larger view I thought black would play 33...Kf8 here, and then advance the b-pawn to free his trapped bishop. But no, I go back up the exchange. 33...Rxd7+ 34 Nxd7 Kxd7 35 Ra1 Kd6 36 Kd3 e5 37 fxe5+ Kxe5 38 Re1+ Kf6 39 Re8 Kg5 40 Re7 click for larger view This move starts a series of attacks by the rook that force black to advance his pawns and slowly run out of moves. 40...h6 41 h3 Kf6 42 Rc7 c5 43 Rc6+ Kg5 44 Re6 h5 45 h4+ Kh6 46 Re7 1-0 click for larger view Black is in zugzwang. Any move will lose at least one pawn, eg: 46...g5 47 Re6+ Kg7 48 hxg5. An interesting game all the way along.

Feb-16-13		OhioChessFan: I am going to start telling people when I read their posts so that they don't think they're talking to the wind. I read all of the posts you make, at a minimum look at the diagrams and consider the next few moves, some games I play them over all the way through.

Feb-16-13		dzechiel: <OhioChessFan>, I appreciate your note. I probably annotate these games more for myself than anyone else, but I'm pleased that you (and perhaps, others) take the time to check them out. We are about 10 moves into game 46 at this point, another French Defence.

Feb-23-13		dzechiel: Here's game 46 in our seemingly endless collection of correspondence games (which we started on January 1, 2012). This is one of my better efforts. My Russian opponent made one mistake, but by that time it may not have mattered. This game was a French Defence. [Event "Correspondence"] [Site "www.chesspresso.net"] [Date "2013.02.15"] [Round "46"] [White "futbol9992012"] [Black "Zechiel, David"] [Result "0-1"] 1 e4 e6 2 Nf3 d5 3 e5 c5 4 c3 Nc6 5 d4 Qb6 6 Be2 cxd4 7 cxd4 Nge7 8 Na3 Nf5 9 Nc2 Bb4+ click for larger view I had never encountered this line before, where white plays 8 Na3 and 9 Nc2. I suppose it can work, but white has to be prepared to either forfeit castling, or give up the b-pawn after the bishop check on b4. 10 Kf1 h5 11 a3 Be7 12 b4 Bd7 13 Bb2 Rc8 14 Ne3 a6 15 Nxf5 exf5 16 Ne1 click for larger view This last move by white doesn't look right. I was expecting something along the lines of 16 g3 and 17 Kg2. 16...g6 17 Rb1 Nd8 18 Rc1 Rxc1 19 Qxc1 Ne6 20 Qd2 click for larger view This seems to be a mistake. He probably should have played 20 Qd1 to stay off the dark squares. 20...Bg5 21 Qd1 Bb5 22 Nf3 Bxe2+ 23 Kxe2 Nf4+ 24 Kd2 click for larger view This move came as a surprise to me, but it probably shouldn't have. The discovered check isn't that potent when the bishop can be captured. 24...Bh6 25 g3 Nh3+ 26 Ke1 O-O 27 Qd3 Rc8 28 Ke2 Qc6 29 Ne1 Qa4 click for larger view I confess this was setting a little pitfall for Gennadiy, and he fell right into it! 30 f4 Bxf4 31 Rf1 Bh6 32 Kf3 Ng5+ 33 Kg2 Ne4 click for larger view Black is up a pawn, but it's the placement of his pieces that makes the difference. Control of the h6-c1 diagonal, control of the c-file, and a knight posted on e4 that's like a rusty nail in his knee. 34 Rf3 Bd2 0-1 The threat is 35...Bxe1. The knight has no where to go. Defending with the queen allows 35...Bxe1 36 Qxe1 Rc2+ and white drops the bishop. Defending with the rook is only slightly better, eg: 35...Bxe1 36 Rxe1 Qc2+ 37 Qe2 Qb3 and the threat of 38...Rc2 is a killer. Perhaps white could have tried defending the knight with the king. We have not started game 47 at this point. He may be discouraged.

Feb-28-13		dzechiel: This game (#47 between me and my Russian opponent) is interesting as it's our first King's Gambit. It's not so interesting because it ends suddenly when my opponent makes a blunder and resigns. [Event "Correspondence"] [Site "www.chesspresso.net"] [Date "2013.02.23"] [Round "47"] [White "Zechiel, David"] [Black "futbol9992012"] [Result "1-0"] 1 e4 e5 2 f4 Nc6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 fxe5 Nxe5 5 d4 Ng6 6 e5 Ng8 7 Nf3 d5 8 Bd3 c5 click for larger view You got to already like white's position. Three pieces developed, and black thinks he going to undermine the center, but in fact is losing at least a pawn. 9 dxc5 Bxc5 10 Bb5+ Bd7 11 Qxd5 Bxb5 12 Qxc5 Bc6 13 O-O N8e7 14 Bg5 O-O 15 Rad1 Qc7 16 Nb5 click for larger view I spent a long time on this move, mostly because I saw that he could play 16...Qa5 (which he did), and then my knight would be pinned and attacked twice. But I thought other moves would give black too much leeway and might allow him to equalize. 16...Qa5 17 Bxe7 Nxe7 18 c4 Ng6 19 b4 Qxa2 20 Rd2 Qa6 1-0 click for larger view Final position. Gennadiy notices that his last move allows 21 Nc7 picking up an exchange, and resigns before I can even look at his move. Game #48 is underway, another King's Gambit (I think he gave me white a second time to see if he could improve, and his play is much more aggressive this time).

Mar-07-13		dzechiel: Game #48 between me and my opponent is in the can. This was once again a King's Gambit, but this time Gennadiy plays much more agressively. Then I make a reckless piece sacrifice, and consider resigning the game. He overlooks, what I think is, a good move, then I find myself in a position where I don't know how to make progress. I offer a draw, and he accepts. Check it out. [Event "Personal Correspondence"] [Site "www.chesspresso.net"] [Date "2013.02.27"] [Round "48"] [White "Zechiel, David"] [Black "futbol9992012"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] 1 e4 e5 2 f4 exf4 3 Nf3 g5 4 Bc4 Bg7 5 d4 d6 6 c3 Nc6 7 O-O h6 8 Qe1 click for larger view This move of mine leaves any books I have. 8...Qe7 9 g3 g4 10 Bxf4 click for larger view This knight sacrifice is just reckless. I should not have gotten away with it. 10...gxf3 11 Nd2 Bg4 12 Bb5 Bd7 13 Nxf3 O-O-O 14 Qf2? click for larger view Leaving the e-pawn undefended? What was I thinking? But he is spooked by the prospect of Bxc6, d5 and Qxa7. I think he should have just taken the pawn. I probably would have thrown in the towel. 14...Kb8 15 Rae1 Qf8 16 Qc2 Nce7 17 Bc4 Nc8 18 e5 dxe5 19 Nxe5 click for larger view Because of passive play by black, white has activity for his pieces. I don't this he has full compensation, but at least I have given up thoughts of resigning. 19...Bxe5 20 Bxe5 f6 21 Bxg8 click for larger view Black doesn't have a good way to recapture here. In the text he takes with the queen, and then drops an exchange. But if he had taken with the rook instead (21...Rxg8), then 22 Rxf6 really embarrasses the queen. Play would go something like 22...Qg7 23 Rc6 Qg5 24 Bxc7+ Ka1 25 Bxd8 Qxd8 and black gets an exchange AND a another pawn. 21...Qxg8 22 Bxf6 Rf8 23 Bxh8 Rxf1+ 24 Rxf1 Qxh8 25 Rf4 click for larger view This last move was probably hasty. Black is able to take good control of the white squares, and I think the rook really belongs on the e-file. 25...h5 26 Qf2 Qe8 27 c4 Bg4 28 b3 1/2-1/2 click for larger view Final position. Draw agreed. I don't see a way to make progress for white. Game #49 is underway. I'm black in a French Defence.

Apr-04-13		dzechiel: Here's game #49 between me and my Russian opponent. I think this is my best effort so far. Neither side makes a glaring error, but black does manage a passed pawn, and with some effort is able to cash it in for the full point. This is another French Defense. While I don't play the French over the board, I have had very good luck with it in correspondence games. Nimzovich used the French in many examples in his book "My System", and I think he was on to something. Here's the game: [Event "Personal"] [Site "www.chesspresso.net"] [Date "2013.03.07"] [Round "49"] [White "futbol9992012"] [Black "Zechiel, David"] [Result "0-1"] 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5 3 exd5 exd5 4 Nf3 Bg4 5 Be2 Bd6 6 Be3 Nf6 7 c3 c6 8 O-O O-O 9 Nfd2 Bf5 click for larger view I already like black's game. White's last move only seems to hinder his development. He's gonna have to move that knight a third time just to bring his other knight into the game. 10 Bg5 Nbd7 11 Nf3 Qc7 12 Bh4 Ne4 13 Nbd2 Ndf6 14 Nxe4 Nxe4 15 Bg3 Nxg3 16 fxg3 Rae8 click for larger view Black has a slight edge, with the better pawn structure, and the bishop pair. But it's not enough to win at this point. 17 Bd3 Be4 18 Qd2 f5 19 Bxe4 fxe4 click for larger view White waited one move too long to capture on e4. Now black recaptures with the f-pawn, and it becomes a protected, passed pawn. Black has a distinct advantage. 20 Ng5 Qe7 21 Rxf8+ Rxf8 22 Nh3 Qf6 23 b4 b6 click for larger view Both sides realize that black will eventually have to advance the c-pawn in order to weaken the white pawn on d4. 24 Rd1 h6 25 Qe2 g5 26 Rf1 Qe6 27 Rxf8+ Bxf8 28 Nf2 c5 click for larger view It's now or never for black. 29 dxc5 bxc5 30 a3 cxb4 31 axb4 Bg7 32 Nd1 Qc6 33 Qe3 Qb6 click for larger view This is a position I had been jockeying for. Now the queens will leave the board one way for another. 34 Qxb6 axb6 35 Kf1 Kf7 36 Ke2 Ke6 37 Kd2 b5 38 Ne3 d4 39 cxd4 Bxd4 40 Nc2 Bb2 click for larger view It's necessary to keep the white knight off of a3. Now white starts to find himself short of moves. 41 Ne3 h5 42 g4 h4 43 Nf1 Kd5 44 g3 h3 45 Kc2 Bd4 46 Nd2 Bg1 47 Nf1 Kd4 0-1 click for larger view Final position. The white knight can't move without dropping the h-pawn. If 48 Kd2 e3+ 49 Ke2 Ke4 50 Ke1 Kd3 51 Kd1 e2+.

Apr-20-13		dzechiel: We have reached the 50 game mark in my competition with Russian friend, Gennadiy Ivanov. The next three games were all played quickly, and Gennadiy seemed to resign earlier than I would normally expect. Let's get underway. [Event "Personal Internet Game"] [Site "www.chesspresso.net"] [Date "2013.04.09"] [Round "50"] [White "futbol9992012"] [Black "dzechiel"] [Result "0-1"] 1 c4 Nf6 2 Nc3 e5 3 e4 Bc5 4 Be2 Nc6 5 Nf3 d6 6 d3 h6 7 a3 a5 8 b3 O-O 9 O-O Nd4 10 Nxd4 Bxd4 11 Bd2 c6 12 Rb1 Be6 13 b4 axb4 14 axb4 Ra3 click for larger view I'm not sure how this has happened, but black's pieces just seem to be better posted than white's pieces. 15 Rb3 Qa8 16 Qc2 Qa7 17 h3 Ra8 18 Rxa3 Qxa3 19 Rb1 d5 click for larger view I confess that in making this move, I overlooked his ability to play 21 Nb5. Fortunately it wasn't a killing move, but it did come as a surprise, which is never good when it happens to you on the chessboard. 20 exd5 cxd5 21 Nb5 Qa2 22 Nxd4 exd4 23 Rb2 Qa1+ 24 Kh2 dxc4 25 dxc4 Bf5 click for larger view I think Gennadiy must have overlooked this move when he started the combination. Now he has real problems. 26 Qc1 Ne4 27 f3 Nc3 0-1 click for larger view Final position of game 50. White resigns, and it's probably justified. Maybe he could try 28 Qxa1 Rxa1 29 Bf4. OK, on to game 51.

Apr-20-13		dzechiel: Game 51 between me and my Russian opponent. I think this is the first time I have ever played the Scotch Game. [Event "Personal Internet Game"] [Site "www.chesspresso.net"] [Date "2013.04.14"] [Round "51"] [White "Zechiel, David"] [Black "futbol9992012"] [Result "1-0"] 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 d4 exd4 4 Nxd4 Nxd4 5 Qxd4 d6 6 Bc4 Qf6 7 Qd3 Be6 8 Nc3 c6 9 Be3 Bxc4 10 Qxc4 Qe6 click for larger view Gennaidy seems very interested in trading off the queens. 11 Qb4 Qc8 12 Qb3 Nf6 13 O-O-O Qc7 14 Rhe1 Nd7 15 f4 f6 16 Qe6+ Be7 click for larger view You gotta like white's position here. While it looks like black will have his choice on which way to castle, he's put the decision off too long, and the king becomes stuck in the middle. 17 Bd4 a6 18 e5 Nf8 19 Qg4 Ng6 20 exf6 gxf6 21 Bxf6 click for larger view Black cannot be enjoying this. Down a pawn with a ugly position. 21...Rf8 22 Ne4 d5 23 Bxe7 Nxe7 24 Qh5+ Kd8 25 g3 Qd7 26 Nc5 1-0 click for larger view Final position. I think he's losing at least an exchange here. He might have tried 26...Qf5, I think it puts up a little resistance.

Apr-20-13		dzechiel: Here's our 52nd game. We seem to be picking up the pace recently. This time I tried a Caro-Kann, an opening I have played in correspondence, but not over the board. [Event "Personal Internet Game"] [Site "www.chesspresso.net"] [Date "2013.04.17"] [Round "52"] [White "futbol9992012"] [Black "Zechiel, David"] [Result "0-1"] 1 e4 c6 2 Nf3 d5 3 e5 Bf5 4 d4 e6 5 c3 Qb6 6 Bd3 Bxd3 7 Qxd3 Qa6 8 Qxa6 Nxa6 9 O-O c5 10 Be3 cxd4 11 Bxd4 Ne7 12 Nbd2 Nf5 13 Nb3 Be7 14 Ne1 Kd7 click for larger view With the queens off of the board, I don't see a real reason to castle, and think that the king will be more useful in an offensive capacity. 15 f4 Rhc8 16 Bf2 Bc5 17 Nxc5+ Nxc5 18 g4 Ne7 19 Bxc5 Rxc5 20 f5 click for larger view I'm not sure why white is playing so aggressivly, I don't think his position justifies it. The only thing I can think of is that he must really want the full point. 20...Rc4 21 h3 h5 click for larger view Now black gets to open lines against the white king. It goes rapdily down hill for Gennaidy after this. 22 f6 gxf6 23 Rxf6 hxg4 24 Rxf7 Rh8 25 hxg4 Rxg4+ 26 Kf2 Rh2+ 27 Kf3 Re4 28 Kg3 0-1 click for larger view Final position. Once again I'm not completely certain why he resigned. Yeah black can play 28...Rh1 29 Kf2 Rxe5 and white's position sucks, but there still seems to be a little more play.

May-10-13		dzechiel: While this shows as game #53, it was actually game #50, but it was so inconsequential that it simply slipped through the cracks. White gets a good game, the black just blunders and resigns. [Event "Internet Correspondence"] [Site "www.chesspresso.net"] [Date "2013.04.02"] [Round "53"] [White "Zechiel, David"] [Black "futbol9992012"] [Result "1-0"] 1 d4 e6 2 e4 d5 3 Nc3 c6 4 e5 a6 5 Nce2 c5 6 c3 c4 7 f4 g6 8 Nf3 Ne7 9 b3 b5 10 Ba3 Nbc6 11 Bc5 Nf5 12 Bxf8 Kxf8 13 Qd2 h6 14 Ng3 Nce7 15 Nxf5 Nxf5 16 Qf2 Qc7 17 bxc4 bxc4 18 g4 Ng7 19 Bg2 Rb8 20 O-O h5 21 h3 Qe7 22 Rab1 Rb7 23 Rb2 Ne8 24 Rfb1 Rxb2 25 Qxb2 hxg4 26 hxg4 Kg7 27 Qb4 Qd7 28 Qa5 Nc7 29 Rb6 Qd8 30 Rd6 Qe8 1-0 click for larger view Final position. The black knight is en prise.

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