Chess.com 2024, 3rd round, E06 - Unfounded optimism
16th of June
Starting the day with this Giuoco Piano game:
This is more or less standard stuff, with the exception that black played a5 rather than a6 and didn’t bother to get the bishop to a7. I suspect black’s idea is to attack on the queenside with a4, b5, d4. I could prevent him from doing that with a4, but then he also has the other idea of playing b6, Ba6, and pinning the d3 pawn. One of the past games had white playing Ba4 in order to throw a wrench into both black’s ideas. If black goes Rb8, then Bb5 is a good option.
The previous move, 10. Qe2, was a serious mistake – as I allowed 10…a4. Fortunately, black did not take the opportunity (this time). 10. exd5 was practically mandated. It is especially frustrating, since I play this opening a lot, and should be familiar with such basic ideas. At least 11. Ba4 was the right continuation, though I got it via a predecessor game, not my own thinking.
Last game for this morning’s session:
Things are getting very complicated here. The tempting move for black is Nc5, but white’s d6 looks very alarming. Time for calculations.
Very superficial check shows that the inclusion of h3/h6 is in my favour. The critical line is 14. Nd2, where the inclusion of h3-h6 is more helpful for white, as it takes away Bg4. In short, I see all kinds of problems there, with white pushing for the d6 passer. Hence, leaning more toward Nb6 to keep the position closed, and hang on to my extra pawn for a bit longer.
The comp suggests other ideas, such Ne8, or cxd5 followed by e4. My move could be in that rank as well, if not for white’s upcoming response, 14. Be3 – which I saw, but underestimated.
Father’s Day included a hike around Mirror Lake in Yosemite, interaction with miniature horses, and a long (long) drive from Yosemite.
There are moves to be made though.
Nd4 is the intuitive move here, with the idea of f2-f4, or exchanging the bishop on h7, and landing this knight on f5. Another idea is Bd3 to exchange the bishop immediately and double the rooks on the d-file. While black should be ok here, with Rac8 being my leading candidate, it should offer him some reasons for contemplation.
So far, intuition still served me well, though I again did not look at a very natural response for black, 16…Ne5.
Moving on:
While my queen is under attack, I don’t think it was a great move by white. The bishop stands worse on e3 than it did on f4. When the knight inevitably lands on c4, it will also have a few questions to ask of the same bishop. So, I don’t see any reasons against Qc7. Moves like Bc5 will only take away my lone defender of the kingside and exchange it for said inferior bishop.
That was the right call, though I was a bit hard on Be3. The engine shows it as one of the top lines with the eval at -0.28.
I’m quite happy about where this game ended up. My position was between bad and atrocious a few moves back, but now it just looks worrisome. Qd4 is the natural move here, since queens’ exchange must be in my favour. The only other candidate move is Ke2, but it invites pins with Bb5, so I’ll go there only if I absolutely must.
I don’t see a reason for black not to take on d4, after which we get to an endgame where black has slightly better chances, but I can try limiting the bishop and do a pawn minority attack.
Mostly correct, with Qd4 being the right choice. The eval went all the way to +0.5, so I’ve started snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. I was just inaccurate with my assumption that black should take on d4. Another case of missing obvious opponent responses.
17th of June
A couple of new results since last night:
Chess_lover gets his first loss, and in unrelated news, I’m being shifted back to 2nd place.
First game of the day:
Black’s idea is clear – play Bb5 and exchange white-squared bishops. He might be following this predecessor game, where white played Nc3. It is the only way to prevent Bb5, but there’s many downsides to it – psychological, as the knight left that spot not that long ago, and strategic: since I was going to play moves like c3 and Nf2. I’ll calculate what happens if I just let black proceed with his Bb5 idea.
I think my idea is to cement Bd4 with c3, chase away Nc5 with b4 (paying the price of the hole on c4), and go after the kingside. Looking at the table, this is a key game for me to stand any chance of making through, so I cannot just sit there and play passively.
I see some murky ideas, but black of course can (and will) counteract my plan with moves like f5. Still, Nf2 looks like my best chance.
Nothing wrong yet, but I obviously didn’t have time to go deep here, since I didn’t calculate how well can the d4 outpost get cemented. (Spoiler alert: not entirely). The eval is +0.25.
On to the next game:
I was converging on Rfc8 here to start counterattacking on the c-file. White can either play actively with Rfe1, or passively with Rfc1 or Rb2. There are very intriguing lines here, where white’s counterattack on e6 can keep things interesting.
Everything is correct. Again, I’m doing well in endgames. The eval is dead equal, though I was more optimistic at the time.
Another important game:
I expected white's Be3, planning to respond with Ra6. Time to check for white’s options.
This looks extremely complicated. The rook on a6 is not well situated, but white also has to do something with that d5 pawn: exchange it or the knight on b6 – and in those cases, the rook can come alive. Feels like one of the more important moves of the tournament.
Mostly correct, though as always with complex positions there are holes deeper in the calculations. 16…Nbxd5 in the 15. Bf1 line is particularly bad.
14…Bc5 is also immediately losing to 15. d6.
Fortunately, none of that impacted my decision of the next move, Ra6, which was close to the top line.
Yesterday, I was sure black was going to exchange queens, but no – he retreated to c7. He likely agrees with me that exchanges are in white’s favour due to the weaker king position, but he pays the price of my queen being entrenched in the middle of the board. The intuitive move here is a2-a4 to keep the black bishop imprisoned. I need to be mindful of moves like h7-h6 or an attack on the c3 weakness.
Quick glance shows that h6 is problematic. Considering the bishop cannot go anywhere just yet, I can and should wait with a4. Rb3 is the next candidate – to overprotect c3 and allow Ra1 to get into the game. Another interesting move is Kd2, with the same idea of over-protection, though I’m not comfortable in having the king play such a major part, what with all the heavy pieces on board.
I suspect both moves will happen eventually, but Rb3 seems like the better place to start. By the way, my dream position would be with the knight routed to f6 via h2 and g4. Very unlikely to happen, but if I manage to exchange queens, it can become an option.
The engine is fine with my choice but likes h4 and Kf2 slightly better. Both are not moves that I understand. As they say – above my pay grade.
A bunch of interesting results in the afternoon:
Furiously fast gets a couple of timeouts against Dumblecore, which pushes me to the third place. He also loses against jaljr, blundering a queen. That’s a good sign – shows that these top seeds are not infallible. Dumblecore scores a timeout against chess_lover, which means that nobody is left with zero points anymore.
Black must be at least equal here. Be7 needs a better spot, with the a7-g1 diagonal beckoning. The queen should also get a move on. I was originally thinking Qb6, but if Bc5 will need to move back after Nb3, the queen will be in the way. So perhaps Qc7, to overprotect the bishop on b7 and press the c-file while white can’t put rooks there? The standoff between Rd1 and Qd8 also needs resolving, which is another reason to start with a queen move.
The eval is actually -1.98, which is a bit shocking. I would’ve rated it -0.5 at best – even now.
The main reason for that is 14…Nc5, which is a computer or a GM move. For a mere mortal, the d-file standoff looks too concerning, but the comp has no such fears and simply goes after the e4 pawn.
From a closer look though, I don’t like how white unwinds himself after N2b3. So, I’d like to look later today at Qb6:
A closer look shows promising events. I can pressure on the a7-g1 diagonal and seize the initiative.
My choice was the second line, keeping the eval at -1.4. So far so good…
True to his nickname, he responds immediately with N2b3, so I’ll re-calculate Nc5 while I’m at it. It’s an important juncture in the game, so I’ll try spelling it out gradually. The e4 pawn is under attack, and white has four options:
- Remove an attacker with Nxc5. This is the leading candidate.
- Run away with e5.
- Defend with Re1 or f3.
This is a mystery. In the lines just above, I saw the best white response – Be3, so why did I not consider it a minute later?
Re1 is tantamount to an admission of fault considering that white played Rd1. For psychological reasons alone, he’s not going to play that. f3 loses a knight after Nxb3, and e5. So, we’re left with two options.
e4-e5 is inviting Ng4 with a thorough attack on f2. I calculated juicy lines on the last move, but let’s retrace them:
This looks very promising for black. He might be able to muddy the waters with Bxb7, but all in all, I’m quite sure he won’t risk this. Nxc5 is the most likely response. Ok, let’s press on!
Last game for the late afternoon session:
It’s a bit weird, but I didn’t even consider Ne5 yesterday; not sure why this move was not in my field of vision, as it’s not that tricky. Be2 is the natural response here, since I don’t want to let the knight to d3. One benefit of having the knight on e5 is that f2-f4 is much more powerful now. It also sets a mini-trap in case black wants to prevent it with g5:
There is also an interesting trap if black goes Bc5:
Black has safer moves of course, such as Rad8 or Bb4, but one way or another, f2-f4 will happen. Plus, as this guy is fast, I’m half hopeful he’ll step into one of the traps spread around him. Time to tune into the 5th Finals game; likely the last NBA game I’ll see this season.
Be2 was the right choice, but some of the traps turned out to be false. The Bc5 line was especially interesting.
A couple of hours later – it’s confirmed: it was the last NBA game for the season. There was no intrigue: by the early 3rd quarter it was done and dusted. It was a good run though: I would’ve never guessed they would get as far as the Finals.
White just played Qd4, which invites me to play Nc4. I’m almost playing it automatically, when I see all kinds of options of kingside attack for white, starting with Bg5.
After a long while, I don’t see anything massively scary there, so I’ll stick with Nc4:
The right choice and mostly correct lines – though compared to the previous games, this was a walk in the park. -0.9 eval
There are a couple more timeouts from Dumblecore before the day is out:
VFK looks like the player to beat.
18th of June
Switched to premoves against Eyeblinks, where I’m up a knight in the endgame. So far, I’m quite happy about that game – already mentally recording another win in the table:
First analysis of the day:
He did play passively here, though it might be the only option to hold on to the pawn. His defensive setup is going to involve a pawn on c3 and knight on e2. I think d5-d4 break is going to be mandatory, hence I need to throw e5 in before he manages to play f2-f4.
Rc3 was also worth considering here.
We’re two weeks into round 3, and it’s one of the most difficult tournaments I’ve played in my time. Still fourteen games left, almost all of them out of the opening book. For comparison: in round one I was already done and dusted after ten days. In round two, I had five games left at this point.
I do have one game very close to being won and a slight advantage in a couple of others. Everything else is close to equal. At least I’m yet to make a serious mistake in any of the games (famous last words). I already lost half a point to a draw, though that happened in round two as well.
In terms of overall expectations, I rate 19 out of 22 and a second place a good result. Anything above that will be a cause for celebration.
A bunch of pre-moves brought us here:
My plan is:
- Secure the king position to remove any hints of first rank mate.
- Exchange the queenside pawns to remove threats to the b3 pawn.
- Try to exchange queens.
h2-h3 is a good way to embark on that plan.
On to the next game:
I don’t quite understand black’s last move. Considering I intend to cement Bd4 with moves like c3 and b4; how is he expecting the c-file to open up? On closer look, b2-b4 is leading to a drawish situation, after black plays f5:
In the end, I don’t see an alternative to b2-b4 apart from sitting passively.
This was a mistake. I overestimated my options here largely because I couldn’t think of a good plan. A far better option was to prepare f5 by playing Bg4, Qc2 and so on. b4 over-extended on the queenside, which planted the seeds of trouble.
I did not expect b6 here. Perhaps this is to free the queen up from protecting the pawn? There might be also a sneaky plan with activating the bishop via c8. I see two ideas for white:
- Kd2 (as planned), to overprotect c3 and remove Qc5+ zwischenzug if and when the white queen moves.
- h4 to build up counterplay and allow the knight to make its march to f6.
- Another interesting option is to use the fact that Ra1 has more scope and take it to f1 or c1 with similar reasons to option (1).
The more I stare at Rf1 the more I like it. It makes Kd2 a much better option, creates nice attacking options against f7, and enables h4.
This was another inaccuracy and over-optimism. The rook never gets a chance to operate here, since I did not consider black’s Rc8 and resulting activity on the queenside. h4 was by far the better move.
Time for the late evening session, starting with the top seed.
On one hand, he walked into my mini-trap with Ne6, on another – does he see something I don’t? Let’s evaluate both the case where I win the exchange and when I get the bishop pair.
Yes, he does see something I don’t. Black has a nice, combined evasion+attack with Bc2:
Good catch! I’m still a bit proud for seeing all of it, though with a bit of delay. However, my eval was too pessimistic – the engine considers this dead equal.
In that case, back to square one. f4 is still an option, but it does not promise a lot either:
White might have a very slight advantage here due to extra space, but it seems like a dead draw to me.
Next idea is to just pile up pressure and put Ne6 back on the agenda (in case he doesn’t see all the intricacies from my first line).
This looks way over my pay grade. I’m sure the lines above are full of holes, and it’s definitely not a direction I want to go to. On closer look, I think Rac1 might work:
I semi-accidentally stumbled upon the top computer line. I wouldn’t call it pure luck as I have spent quite some time at this move, but then it wasn’t also deep comprehensive calculation. However, while from pure chess perspective it was correct, it also led to a more complex game.
In the other game against the same player, I have a chance to grab a pawn – with another set of mind-boggling calculations. In blitz, I wouldn’t even give this pawn a second thought, but this is the time and the place to go for it. If I don’t go for such pawns, I stand no chance of winning. Time to apply my improved calculation skills.
This is mind-boggling stuff again, but I’ll just go for it:
Again, top line, also highly complex, and also got here half by accident. The eval is still in my favour: -1.3, but it’s much easier to say for the engine than for a human to prove.
Last game for today:
White played it safe with Bf4. There are a few tempting moves here, starting with Bc5. I don’t see however what I do after white retreats with Qd3. I think it’s better to keep that bishop where it is for now and go Bc5 when it carries more impact. The next tempting move is Rc8 which threatens winning a pawn. Let’s check if it’s really the case.
Doesn’t seem that way. Next candidate is b5 to continue the queenside activity. This also carries the mild threat of b4. White may counterattack on the kingside with g4 (he’s unlikely to play Bg5 considering he didn’t do it last move).
This was another mistake due to missing a tactical shot of Nxd5. A very common problem in my play.
The only development in the table is Dumblecore supplying another timeout. I’m still waiting for the day when he’ll do it in my accidental Grunfeld game. Thankfully, we’re still in the opening book there.
Continued here: https://www.chess.com/blog/RomanKleiner/chess-com-2024-3rd-round-e07-an-undeserved-win