Hi Guys,

It is yaKKo911 back in the game analysis room.  I am goint to post a loss soon but for the moment I have a game that I think was played pretty well.  My opponent played an opening line I am not too familiar so I had to resort to the basics.  I am interested in any tactics I may have missed or a more decisive way to finish the game.  I look forward to hearing your insights.

This game has a lot of room for improvement so I am very excited to see the lines that you all analyze.  

1. I usually play 1...g6 but d5 or e5 are fine.

7. I would play Nb4 for I don`t like queens (7...Nb4 8. Qa4+ Qd7 9.Qxd7+) and exchange them if possible but Qd7 is fine although Be7 looks more natural to me - to be able to castle.

8. an interesting move. I would make Be7 and 0-0.

9. I understand your point. My choice would be either Nd4 (10. Nxd4 exd4 11. Ne4 d3 12. exd3 Qxd3 13. Qxd3 Rxd3) or Bg4

10. Since I tend to trade pieces off a lot I would play Nxe4 (11. Qxd4 f6 you would have got plenty of space and more active pieces).

11... e4! Your opponent would have had one move only - Ne1.  (12. Nh4 g5; 12. Ne5 Qd4 13. Qxd4 Nxd4 - a very good position for Black)

13 - 15. I think you exchanged them in the best way.

19. maybe Ne4 to bring your knight closer to the rooks and their king

22. Rc2! You played it on move 23 but only because your opponent failed to play Re2

26. I think Rc3 would have been better but I am not too sure for I like your idea a lot.

29. Kf5 to be able to protect your h pawn and to activate your King 29...Kd7 30. Rh8 Rxa3 31. Rxh6

33. I like axb4 more. You would have used your king and rook to push the pawn up the board. King c6 -> b5.

35. I agree you made a mistake here. 

38. I would have played b2 to get his king as far away from my pawns as possible although it was not necessary. It`s just me being lazy to count moves. 

Thanks for sharing such a nice game.

Boletus,

Thank you for your insight and analysis!  It is clear that you spent some time looking into this game for me and I appreciate that very much.  Since you paid me the respect of thoroughly looking through my game I will give you the same respect back. 

7...Qd7. I see where you are coming from with Be7. It is a much more natural move.  In this specific position though it is clear that white will king-side castle.  Qd7 serves multiple purposes as it adds pressure on h3... sets up 0-0-0 which adds more pressure on the d-file and makes a king-side pawn storm idea surface.  One thing that makes 0-0-0 a little iffy is the half open c-file.  

9...Nd4.  I see your point here.  This does look a bit stronger, central control is increased! I like it!

11...e4? fails to 12.NxQ.  right?

Thank you for your awesome post! I find the position after 16.Qc3 to be a sign that the opening was played well on my part.  Are there any tactical ideas my opponent or myself missed in here.  If you find anything interesting will you post it as a puzzle! Hope to hear from you soon.

-yaKKo911

Overall you played the game pretty well, I think. You got lucky that your opponent didn't know the most basic K+P endgames, though. White just needs to take opposition when you capture on f4 and the game is drawn.

yaKKo911 I am sorry I made a mistake (a typo) in my comment. I meant 12...e4 and not 11...e4.  I guess I shouldn`t have been lazy to post diagrams. Here it is in a form of two puzzles:

All of you are right, I need to improve my accuracy in timed endgames.  Boletus thanks for your post of the diagrams this time.  It is much easier for me to see what you were thinking.  By the way Boletus, good luck in the Tarrasch Defense tournament.  Is anyone else in that tournament that would be interested in posting some of their games with their analysis in a forum we can start.  Let me know what you think; it can be a great way to explore the different ideas that lie within the Tarrasch Defense.

Cheers yaKKo911. It is my 4th official tournament and I think I`ll be eliminated in the 1st round again. I have finished 4 games only (W3/L1/D0) but I could write a book How to Make a Blunder in the Tarrasch Defense. I won one the below games and I lost the other one. It is hard to believe what games can be played in a 1800-2000 tourney. 

Boletus that first game was ridiculous.  1800-2000 turn based sounds like a high rating, but it isn't.  Btw, I am also in this same class right now.  I am not sure how long it will stay there.  These matches have some tough opponents.  That second one is fascinating, isntead of h6 maybe Nh6.  I am doing okay, these positions can get really complicating. I will post a game soon.