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My Top 5 Favourite Daily Chess Wins of 2021!

My Top 5 Favourite Daily Chess Wins of 2021!

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At the end of 2020, I analyzed 12 daily chess games (correspondence chess) which I played in 2020. This year, I have decided to do a similar thing. Instead of analyzing 12 games, I have found my 5 favourite daily chess wins of 2021. Also, this year, I have included several puzzles that go over key points of the games.

Although I analyzed these games after I played them, doing a more in depth analysis now revealed more things to me than you wouldn't get from doing a quick 10-15 minute analysis after playing the game. With that said, here we go! 

5. 

My 5th favourite win was actually not a standard chess game, it was in the variant chess960 where the back rank of pieces is randomized (the other 4 games are standard chess). In this game, I misplayed the position quite poorly right from move 6 in the game and found myself in a losing position. Luckily, my opponent was not able to break through, but they had several chances to win the game. I will present 2 puzzles which you can play to try and win the game for white. Then, I will show some analysis:

Win the game for white #1
Win the game for white #2
Analysis up until 26. Bxf4
Find the best move for black (move 26) which I played in the game. It was at this point that the game started to tip in my favour
Analysis up until 37. Qc2
Win the game for black!
Analysis until the end of the game:
And with that nice finish, I was able to win the game! I got into some major trouble in the opening, but somehow found myself in a position to play for an attack. Even at the point, 26. g6 which I consider to be the turning point of the game, white was still slightly better, but I was able to generate a clear plan and push through! Then, the whole winning variation starting with 37. Bg5 and playing 40. Rf8 knowing I was winning the endgame because of the beautiful 42. g3! was just a really nice way to end off the game.

4.

For win #4, I was playing a game against a lower rated player and reached a position after the opening where it looked like a dry position and there was nothing left to play for. I was thinking of offering a draw, but then I decided to try out a creative idea. My opponent then played moves that weren't neccesarily mistakes according to the engine but gave me some chances. I then pushed forward, improving my position and took the chances I had to win the game!

Analysis until move 20:

Find the best idea for black which I was able to find in the game:

Analysis until end of the game:
The reason why I really liked this win was that it was a situation where I got something out of nothing and really was able to win the game due to my piece activity.

3. 

This game was different as in it didn't have as many things to analyze as the other games, but it was a nice Kings Indian win against a stronger player at a time where I had started to lose confidence in my Kings Indian.

For this game, I have put the puzzle before the full analysis of the whole game. So try and win the game for black, then enjoy the analysis!

Win the game for black! (white has just played g4)

Full game analysis:
This game was certainly a fun one to play and a nice clean win, which is not something that could be said for the 2 games left I have to show you!

2.

This game was a very instructive one. Early in the game, my opponent hung a central pawn, causing me to go up a pawn, but my king was not castled. I kept prioritizing other things over castling, not seeing anything that my opponent had to punish me. But then, to my surprise, my opponent sacrificed an entire rook for only a pawn, and my king was under fire. This game became all about calculation and certainly required a lot of effort to pull off!

Analysis up until 23. Qd5:

In this position, I was playing black, defending a tough position after my opponent sacrificed a rook a few moves prior. I was defending well until I played Qd5 which was a mistake. Luckily my opponent missed my mistake. Can you play for the advantage as white?

Another variation of the above puzzle: black plays 24. Re8 instead of 24. Qf7 play for the win!
Analysis until the end of the game
The reason for why I liked this win so much (even though my opponent for some reason did not take the perpetual check they had instead of playing 26. c4) was because I made a mistake (not castling), got punished for it (20. Rxf7 - after this move, evaluation was 0.00 but it was very difficult for me to defend), and then had to defend my opponent's relentless attack even though despite being up a rook I had bad development (in fact, neither of my rooks had moved) and my king was in the center. I was able to evaluate most of the variations correctly and only slipped up a little once (and that was only because I missed a very small detail). Then, as soon as I was given the chance I seized the opportunity and consolidated with my extra material to win the game. It might not have been pretty but I worked hard to defend that position and in the end, my efforts paid off.

1. 

My favourite daily chess win of 2021 interestingly enough was against the same opponent as my 2nd favourite win. And again, I made a mistake in the early middlegame. This time, I traded 2 pieces for a rook and a pawn thinking it was justified in this case because I had 2 connected passed pawns. I was slightly worse as a result, but played the early endgame very well to equalize. My opponent and I then went all out on opposite sides of the board and I was able to pull through with the win!

Analysis until move 43:

At this point in our game, I thought my promotion ideas were faster than my opponent and that I was winning. Well, I would have been correct if I had seen my opponent's drawing move, but both me and my opponent missed it. I played 43. Rdb3 and my opponent played Rxb3, missing the drawing move. I proceeded to win the game from here. Can you win too?

Now, find the drawing variation by black which we both missed black instead of Rxb3 which was played in the game:

Analyis until the end of the game:
Overall, I think I really enjoyed this game because I made a mistake in the game, was shown why it was a mistake, but then was able to make up for it by understanding the dynamics of the early endgame position. It then turned into a calculation battle where my attack was able to push through - but the game also showed good defense and again how small details can make a big difference - my opponent and I both missed 43. h4! which would have drawn the game, showing the power of in between moves and also demonstrating how my weak king and my opponent's threats were also very real problems in the game. I had actually seen h4 while playing the game but failed to realize that this move actually accomplished something, so it was nice to learn from this.
All in all, I really enjoyed my chess games this year. I hope you liked the analysis and puzzles and that you learned something new!