2020 Chess.com Daily Chess Championship, Part 2: 11 Round 2 Games
This is part 2 of my blog on the 2020 chess.com Daily Chess Championship. When we left off I had made it to round 2. The competition was fierce and I had my work cut out for me.
In the mean time, I won a prize for my game against FM lifeissofun from round 1! I feel honored and very lucky to have received one of the prizes. Thank you to Sam Copeland and chess.com for organizing such a fun tournament.
Since there are 22 games, I've decided to split my analysis up into two parts to keep the post size manageable. At the time of writing all of my round 2 games have concluded, but I will refrain from reporting the results until part 3. Below is my analysis of the first 11 of my games to finish in round 2.
The first few games were quick time outs. As I noted in the last part, I'm still going to include these game fragments for my own notes.
Part 2: 11 Round 2 Games
Black vs. FM hornsounder (2304), Neo-Catalan
This game never left the opening phase, as my opponent unfortunately timed out early. It was still interesting to explore how my repertoire interacts with these double fianchetto systems.
Black vs. mt_b (1260), French: Advance, 6. a3 c4
This was another quick time-out. The game was a variation of the advance French where Black further closes down the position with c4.
White vs. mt_b (1260), Sicilian: Alapin, 2...Nc6
In this game White dominated the center from early on, but I wasn't able to effectively take advantage of it. White still had a pleasant position when Black timed out.
White vs. daktera (1871), Sicilian: Alapin, 2...Nc6
In this game White established a nice center while Black tried to put it under pressure. After the game Stockfish pointed out that the correct plan for White was to sacrifice a pawn and go for a kingside attack. Instead I allowed Black to put the my position under pressure. My opponent inexplicably offered a draw in an advantageous position, so naturally I accepted.
Black vs. isnogud (1974), London: 3...e6
The game was a London system where Black refrained from playing c5. I've been trying this out to get a nice position and avoid the ever-growing theory of the London. In the game White had attacking chances with a rook on the open h-file. However White decided to castle kingside and offer a draw.
White vs. saxpanos (1784), Sicilian: Alapin, 2...e5
This game wound up in a closed position reminiscent of the closed Spanish. I was able to open up the queenside and eventually dominate the b-file. Black's pieces were hardly able to get in to the game.
White vs. Kingfighter02 (1716), Sicilian: Alapin, 2...d5
The game entered a queenless middle game where White had easy development for the pieces. Black had issues developing and then blundered a rook.
White vs. isnogud (1974), Two Knights: 4. Ng5
This game followed the theory of the two knights defense for quite a while. Black was able to cramp White's position as compensation for the pawn, though White was starting to unravel. My opponent timed out after that.
White vs. fernandomasdeu (1791), Sicilian: Alapin, 2...d5
This game transposed to a common IQP position out of the opening. I played a common position mistake by playing b4, loosening my knight on c3. I was also too casual about following the usual plans and got caught by a tactic. Even without the tactic, Black had a nice position against the IQP.
White vs. satanic_saint (1711), Two Knights: 4. Ng5
This game followed the main line of the two knight defense until after 8. Bd3 my opponent played 8...h6. This is the normal move against 8. Be2, but it is supposed to be good for White here. However I wasn't able to consolidate and Black was able to attack on the kingside. My opponent played the excellent 24...Nh3+! and soon enough I was completely lost.
Black vs. satanic_saint (1711), French: Advance, 6. a4
The game featured the strange 6. a4 in the French advance. Despite appearances, Black is not able to win the a-pawn and eventually I got my rook trapped. I was down the exchange for two pawns with a passive bishop, but a solid position. Eventually we agreed to a draw, though White still had resources in the final position that we both missed.
Conclusions
So far a lot of time outs and a slow start in round 2. In general I feel I had good positions out of the opening (excepting the game against fernandomasdeu.) However I tend to flounder a bit after that. At this point halfway through the round I still have a chance to win in my group, especially since the favorite, FM hornsounder, had several time losses.
At the time of writing the results of round 2 for my group is known, so stay tuned for part 3.
Part 2: 11 Round 2 Games
