Chess.com 2024, 3rd round, E03 - Receiving presents
9th of June
I got a couple of timeouts with Hortik. 19 games left.
Artem lost another game, unsurprisingly. In both of my games with Hotrik we were still on move 5, so nothing to analyze there. By the way, he did not exit the tournament, making moves in the remaining games, so I was a bit lucky to get those timeouts.
The first game of the day is Artem black:
I didn’t look at this very move, but the idea is clear – fight for the e-file. It looks like rook exchange is unavoidable, which means that we’re playing for two results. Definitely not where I wanted to be with this game. I have decent ideas on how to navigate to a draw, it’s just that it’s not the problem I hoped to solve.
I also can’t think of any ways my opponent can go wrong – his play is quite simple, especially if he’s shooting for a draw.
Going to the andy white game:
His last move is an unexpected novelty. It seems logical, but previously most people here went Nc6 to challenge the knight. In my only predecessor game, black went Be7. I can’t see any particular issue with black’s choice, apart from the fact that I get a bit more options as compared to Nc6. The question is whether I:
- Allow him to exchange queens and play 0-0.
- Get aggressive with Qf3.
This is a game I’m playing for a win, so (b) has natural magnetism to it. If I castle, black can choose whether to go for an endgame with Bxe5, or return to the mainlines with Nc6. My guess is that if he wanted mainlines, he would’ve played Nc6 already, so he’s seeking the endgame too:
While white has some advantage here, I think a draw is far more likely. The pawn structure is almost symmetric. While the bishop pair and space advantage make for a small plus, it would require a Carlsen to navigate to a win.
According to the comp, returning to the mainline was the best option, which means that black’s novelty is sound.
After a long think, I converge on Nf3. The problem with Qf3 is that black will exchange on e5 anyway, and then play Nc6 creating all sorts of problems.
White could play 13. Nc3 in the line above, sacrificing pawn for initiative. Again, not something in my arsenal.
In this game, I’m taken into unfamiliar territory in the Semi-Slav, which I almost never played before:
There are two main moves here: b5 and Nbd7. Considering I’m in an unfamiliar territory, I’d rather take the less committal option with Nbd7.
That’s enough for this morning session – time for a little walk to the gym. After gym, recital and hipster coffee shop experience, I’m back for an afternoon session.
First stop is the Andy black game:
Thanks to white’s creativity with Ne5, I’ve got the superior light piece advantage, but no pawn structure impact. This one is much closer to a draw than a win, but it doesn’t mean I’m not going to explore my chances. White has no weaknesses to speak of, so I’ll need to generate something through a pawn minority attack on the queenside. White is going to install the knight on e5, although I might be able to arrange f6+e5 to both dislodge the beast and make a bit of use out of my 4 on 3 kingside advantage.
So, something like b6, Bb7, Qe7, f6?
White must have ways to make this plan difficult, but I can’t see them.
Nothing wrong with the lines above, but the eval never goes better than -0.2 for black. So, I was correct in expecting a draw here, even with the best play. The position is just too simple and has to little in the way of action to expect more.
On to the next game:
Quick eval: on the plus side, I’ve got the extra pawn and some space advantage. On the minus side, the extra pawn needs constant attention, black has a powerful battery on the a7-g1 diagonal, and my king is stuck in the centre. The e3 square is also a hole in the position, and black may scale the walls with d5-d4.
Exchanges should be in my favour, considering the king situation. I also have options with g2-g4 and b2-b4 to push back the marauding armies. Right now, I have a choice between Qd2 and Qb3, and from further away, I was planning Qd2, as it looks more solid. However, it leaves some options for black with the abovementioned Ne3 and d4.
d4 is a double-edged move. It gets black in attacking mode, but it also frees up c3 for my knight. Looks quite complicated, but overall, I’m not extremely worried about that move:
I should have been worried. While the line starts ok, it gets worse after move 13, where white has to either take on d4 or play Bd3, otherwise black develops a strong initiative. Overall, this position is very tricky to play as white, as the future developments will prove.
Ne3 is problematic due to b2-b4, but black may go Be3. These lines look complicated too, but I similarly don’t see a problem there:
This line is entirely correct, apart from the eval; it’s actually +1.7 for white rather than unclear. Black’s initiative almost entirely gone, while white has space and an extra pawn.
Qb3 removes some of these options from black (assuming he wants to avoid the queen exchange, but it invites him for a home visit with Bf2+. The lines also look very complicated:
In order not to procrastinate indefinitely, I’ll go with Qd2. Both moves lead to very complex lines, so I’ll go with intuition.
On one hand, my intuition was an ally, as I picked up the top computer move. On the other, Qb3 was a very close second and it would have led to an easier game. Principle: in a complex position, seek simplifications.
Next game is eyeblinks white, where he went Rc8 as expected:
Yesterday, I was planning b2-b3 to prevent Nc4, but that leaves him with Nb7-c5/d6 ideas. 0-0 makes those plans more difficult but allows him Nc4. I need to choose which of the two poison chalices is less deadly.
Wrong answer – b3 was the right choice. White was also very lucky that neither party saw 16…Nc4. White I was correct to be concerned about the Nb7 relocation, in my chosen line, black could play 17…Qc4 and 18…Nb7, and then still complete the same relocation – only with a better position as compared to the b3 lines. Again, a case of not seeing simple refutations for my opponent.
Last game for this session is the Artem black:
Yesterday, I was planning Ng6, and it still looks necessary. Following that, however, my Kf7 plans were flawed – that seems to lose due to the white’s h-pawn march. I found other ways to push for a draw after Rae8. Definitely not the result I was hoping for, considering my main competitors are winning their games against the same player:
Mavs lost the second game as well. This one was tighter, but the result is the same. The championship is likely not happening this year.
In the Artem black game, things continue sailing to a draw. I explore a few more options to create a disbalance, but they are more likely to lead to my loss than any positive outcome:
Nothing to complain about, as I saw the right moves and all the main ideas. The eval is +0.25.
10th of June
Artem lost another game sometime yesterday, while later in the morning, I’m getting another timeout. 18 games left. The engine doesn’t like my opponent’s novelty or my retreat with Nf3, though I still think it was the right practical decision. Since that game prematurely ended after 10 moves, I'm skipping the analysis.
First game to analyze today is Draqlek black:
We exchanged on d2 as planned, though interestingly enough, he did not take with his king. The h7 pawn is under attack, and the natural way to protect it is Kf7. Another option is h6, with the idea of taking the king to e7-d6.
I had a big miss a move ago, when I should have played 13…e5 rather than Nxd2. In hindsight that move is obvious, but I still have a strong bias for bishops over knights. White should have taken with the king, however; I was at least right about that.
The problem with Kf7 is that white can go after my d4 pawn after Nf3, Bb5:
I decide on h6 – it looks more flexible, and leaves me with options of 0-0, or Ke7 which the other move does not have.
Same comment as with the last moves – I should have sacrificed that pawn on h7 and played e5. The eval goes down from -0.7 to -0.2.
This game looks very interesting after black’s e6 (I was expecting Nc4):
That was a serious mistake by black, who had much better options with Qc4, Nc4 or Qb6 – pretty much every move that would diffuse the c-file standoff.
I immediately see two options: Nb5 and dxe6 followed by Nd5. Calculation time!
Nb5 doesn’t look promising, but after dxe6 I should be able to get my pawn back, perhaps with another one as a bonus:
I almost got the calculations right. Nb5 was actually the better move, but only because of 21. Qd3, which is a move that’s very hard to see. On the other hand, in the dxe6 lines, I missed much better queen retreats for black than 20…Qb8; for example, Qb7. I have few regrets on the first miss, as it requires GM-like calculation abilities, but I should have done a better job on the second one. Another miss of a natural reply for black.
For the first time, having a close look on of the top player’s games:
This position is entirely symmetric, and if I were a more cynical person, I’d assume he’s playing this for a draw. As I haven’t seen the results from the other games, it’s premature to decide whether a draw is a good deal here – even though he’s the top seed in the group with a 2100+ rating.
Nc3 is the popular and natural move to play here, though black may decide to hold on to the symmetry for a bit longer and play Qe6+.
Bg5 is an interesting, yet naïve threat, but I’m sure he’ll play Qe6+ as well, and I’ll just lose a tempo.
Bc4 is a way to break the symmetry, as it forces black to play Qxd4. However, it has a semi-forced line that leads to a dead drawn position:
Both predecessor games ended in a quick draw, which does not inspire me with confidence. I’ll go Nc3. If he plays Qe6+, I might pull out a better option than Be2.
With the benefit of hindsight, I should have gone for the draw in the second line. Mental note – be more intentional in playing for draws against higher-rated players.
On to the next one:
Black played Bd7 with the obvious idea of completing development. I expected something more active with Ne3 or Be3. That’s the downside of my Qd2 decision: the knight on b1 is somewhat stuck, and black has time to just go about his business.
My options are:
- Induce black to play Be3 or retreat with b2-b4. This will also allow developing the knight via a3. The downside here is that black will play later d5-d4 undermining the pawn.
- Bd3 with the idea of exchanging on f5.
Let’s start with calculating (1):
That was quick. b2-b4 is simply losing. Moving to Bd3:
The lines look very complicated, and I’m going to be slightly worse in all of them.
The lines get crazier and crazier, I’m getting more tired, so Bd3 it is.
There is a lot to unpack here, but needless to say, these highly charged positions are not my forte. My chosen move is not a bad option, though not sure why I didn’t explore Na3, as I ended up playing it later anyway and it was in my variations above too. My lines there are far from perfect, though not egregiously bad. The main gap is not considering exchange sacrifices in the name of development, which caused me to discard moves like 0-0-0.
Last game for this afternoon session:
White is clearly aiming for h5-h6. Qg4 seems like the only reasonable move; it is also what I was looking at a few moves ago. I calculate all kinds of interesting lines – all lead to an endgame where draw is the peak of my ambitions:
This was a mistake, as I simply didn’t see white’s next move, namely 25. c4. I should have first played Ne7. Either way, the march of the h-pawn is not as scary as it looks like, even if it goes all the way to h6.
White clearly wants to go c2-c4 here, and I have the obvious option of preventing him from doing that with Qc3, which also gives more meaning to moves like Ba6.
White surprisingly doesn’t have too many good moves. Ne5 gets Rd2, and Qe5 gets Rxd3. Qe1 also loses the pawn on c2.
Rfd1 seems the way to go, after which I can create an isolated pawn for him. Whether it’s enough for a win is a wholly different matter.
This was the best move and the right train of thought. This kind of position plays to my strengths. The eval is still just -0.32 however.
Continued here: https://www.chess.com/blog/RomanKleiner/chess-com-2024-3rd-round-e04-my-second-win