The search for improvement #3
This endgame study showed me the one problem with using this book as an engame trainer, sometimes it is impossible to win.
Here is the position, white to play
In this position Rb5+ tests black the most but if he advances his king than he will be able to draw as long as he finds the correct moves. One tip, think about keeping the white king at bay.
The tactics started with a deadly attack that demanded a lot of thought onhow to execute it perfectly. I ended up playinng it move by move without seeing the full picture until the last move.
The next problem contained a simple but discreet fork.
In the third puzzle a queen sacrifice was very tempting but didn't do the job. The solution was a classic tactic with a spin on it
I failed on the second of four moves in this tactic (I went for b4 instead of the correct move because I couldn't see the follow on).
The middlegame analysis was about three pawns for a piece. The cases given were of not very far advanced pawns. The points are as follows : a bishop is better with no other factors, with the three pawns you should try to advance them without creating weaknesses. And finally piece activity is equal then you should swap off pieces if you have the extra piece until the position is open enough.
The chess game that I'm analysing was a frustrating defeat. I played for a win on time and paid the price for it.
I think that the opening went well, I did lack a bit of space but as soon as I played e5 I was fine. By move 15 I had a very slight edge because of the kingside pawns. Especially If I could swap off the isolated d pawn. The e4 square also looked very good. He blockaded my pawn but after the exchanges the position was quite equal. My isolated d pawn wasn't very useful and his pawn structure was hard to target so by move 26 he was better. The knight exchange was to my benefit but I needed to get d5 as soon as I could. He created an outside passed pawn but the position was still equal I think the position was better for him but in no way winning. On move 41 I should have gone for the draw with Bc6 but he was in big time trouble and so I wanted to win it that way. Kb8 was losing on the spot but I think the position was quite possibly lost anyway. I played the move knowing it was bad because he had 8 seconds on the clock but I didn't see that it was lost on the spot.
The computer analysis of the game liked most of our moves (3 mistakes+1 imprecision out of 108 moves). The position was equal with an edge for white in the game until I played 36 axb4 where I was lost. My move Kb8 was terrible but the game should have been lost anyway.