News and a couple of games
Hi again,
some weeks after my last post I write again to tell you some news and comment some games.
A couple of games with tactically challenging
As I told you in a previous post, I use Scid to organize and store my own games. You can check it if you're interested in using such tools.
In one of my lasts games I found this position. I thought in this position there should be a tactic available opening the f file. Try to find it by yourself.
In the game I failed to find the continuation after 24. ... e4. I calculated by advance the whole line after Kh8, but in the Kh6 line I missed 25. Rf4!.
The mistake can be understood when calculating the line after 21th move: I thought in playing Rf4 just after Qf7+, but f4 square was defended by e5 pawn, so I discarded it. This is named persistence, and we all tend to think in this square as guarded even when, after e4, it is no longer controlled by black. I saw a simplification line after e4 that did get the piece back with good play, and tried Nf4!
But what is not acceptable is that I couldn't see Rf4 when tactic was developing and black had played e4. If just I had looked at the position once more time I had won that game.
First lesson today: don't rely on your preliminary analysis and think at least a few seconds again to check that you have missed nothing.
After that the game continued for completely different paths until I could get a draw. BTW, the tactic is flawed from the beginning, as black does not have to take the knight and can, instead, play Rf8 to deffend f6.
Here is a second position I reached in a live game, I was working to open f file on black king and I was rather sure there was an available tactic here. Don't look for espectacular sacrifizes nor mating nets. But white can win a couple of pawns and, even more important, cause havoc in black field.
I think it's easy to find, once you see the threat Qxh7+ once f file is open and Nf6 is pinned. However, I didn't see Qxh7+ threat (and is rather easy to see). I saw, instead, another tactic to win a central pawn and look no further. And I did that TWICE, as my opponent seems that wasn't aware, neither, and I could have done some moves later.
That what actually happened.
So, second lesson today: whenever you find a good move, continue looking for a better one!
The news
I tell it here because it is not enough for its own post, but I've just joining a Chess Club. It will be an experience playing people I can see, talk with them and have a beer before, after, or while playing the game, with pieces I can touch and a clock... a clock that is very strange. Last time I played on the board clocks were windup ones, and had a real flag that fell when time was gone.
I start with a 1700 ELO rating (so is in my country) and in two weeks I'll start my first real life tournament, where I hope not to meet a GregDoodles player (rather improbable, as life games must be finished in time).
Well, as I'm playing real games I will be posting them here.
Bye!
