Missed Chances

Avatar of noah2515
| 0

This was a quarterfinal match between Micah and Grumpah. Micah would ultimately win on time, but failed to exploit a major opportunity that allowed Grumpah to take an advantage later on. Grumpah has just played kxh7. I can see why he thought this was a practical move in the short term. Its covered by his queen on the diagonal so he gains a pawn. There is an issue though. What happens if he moves the knight? What if his queen is forced to move off the diagonal abandoning the knight? Micah didn't force either of these outcomes. Instead Micah establishes his black bishop onto g7. Grumpah makes another mistake moving his queen to G3 to apply pressure to the black bishop. At this point micah should trade queens and take one of his free knights to gain material. Instead, he protects his bishop allowing grumpah to force a far less favorable trade. 

Answer:  Grumpahs knight is pinned in the worst kind of way. If he moves it Micah has mate in one on h2. In order to fully understand why that pawn Micah is about to lose on f6 is so important requires some long term thinking about pawn chains. Consider what it could mean for the endgame that grumpah has three unchallenged pawns on that side of the board. If you don't see it I would encourage you to watch the rest of their endgame. 

More News

ExcessiveForce

ExcessiveForce

Full Game Analysis

Full Game Analysis