Chess.com 2024, 3rd round, E10 - Under pressure
25th of June
Starting with Dumblecore who continues making his moves:
There must be some killing blow here. The forkable rooks, the knight on a5 and rook on d8 that invites a bishop fork, the bishop on g4 – all of that just begs for some swift resolution. I’m thinking moves like Bf4 or Ba4. After a bit of thinking, I conclude Ba4 is the move. There’s no outright loss for black, but he has many options to go wrong. Plus, this follows the principle of improving a badly placed piece; the bishop on c2 has been on a long smoking break, which should come to an end.
In the Draqlek white game, I get a tiny present:
I was much more concerned about Ra4. Black’s move gives me time to play Rb1 and Rb3. I’m not sure then how black can make it through the wall. Either he’ll have to sacrifice a pawn on b4, or drag his king to the queenside, which I should be able to prevent with Kd3.
I still didn’t see the plan with the king’s dash to the kingside, but otherwise it’s all correct. The engine’s eval shows zeros all around.
In the black game, he went Ng3 as expected:
I was originally planning g6, but now I see a much better option with Bb5.
Feel quite optimistic about this one.
Indeed, Bb5 was the better option, but not by much. My optimism was misplaced, as white can hold the defense here without too much hassle.
Side point – I resigned both games in the knockout tournament. I played both badly, as I simply can’t handle both the main tournament and the extra load there. A bit of a waste, since I made it all the way into semi-final there from a field of several thousands of people, up to stage 15. No big regrets, as I still believe I got my priorities right, just had to deal with unfortunate timing.
The tempting move is Bd6. Since white didn’t play Bg5, there’s no sense for my bishop to cool his heels on e7; d6 seems like a much more aggressive spot. My goal is to gradually get my pawn center moving and the bishop can help with that from e5. Another interesting idea is Bf5 to enable d5-d4 and the abovementioned centre move.
For white, I see the following ideas:
- Bd1, to exchange the rooks.
- Get the black-squared bishop into the game with Be3 or Bc3.
- Activate the rook with Ra4.
- Activate the queen with Qg5.
- Try to exchange bishops with Bf4
The first option looks harmless – I’ll just play Be5 and continue executing on my plan.
Qg5 prevents Be5, but bumps into Rh8 and Rh5, so I’ll discard that option as well.
Ra4 also gets Be5, so I’ll assume he won’t play that. Now we get to the more interesting stuff: bishop moves.
For Bf4, I should avoid exchanges and try Be7. This gives a decent chance of removing his black-squared bishop and the very least gets me a tempo as compared to the usual lines where white plays Bg5 straight away.
Be3 and Bc3 are the more interesting moves leading to all kinds of interesting complications should I venture d4. Learning from the previous rounds and games, I’m not going to overanalyze this for now.
This was a good decision and I listed most of white’s options, though underestimated some of them, especially Bd1.
Finally, I see a move in the main game:
I was planning Re8 here. Just need to re-check the lines, especially around white’s Qb6 resource, which I did not zoom in on before. It still feels thin, especially due to white’s ability to hide his king on h2. If he exchanges rooks, I feel like I should be able to combine threats to pawns and perpetual, but it’s not 100% ironclad. However, I just don’t see an alternative to Rd8; otherwise he just doubles on the 8th rank.
White continues playing top line. I made the right choice, but the eval has crept up to +0.9.
Taking a look at the VFK game:
As I suspected yesterday, he played the stronger option – this way, he’ll have a knight on c4 when the point is taken. I planned Qxa4 here, but this requires a ton of calculations (again).
Extremely complicated, but I tend towards taking on a4 with the queen, so that at least we take the queens off the board and keep my knight on b6 watching over c4 in some lines (depending on whether white exchanges on a4 first).
The right choice again, really happy about some of my calculation improvements compared to round two.
In the VFK white game, he decided to park the bus:
This is a bit surprising; I was sure he’ll try to fight for the a-file, as black can decide when and how to open it. This now opens a new line of thought; should I try to attack on the kingside?
For example: Qf2-e3, g4-g5, Bg2, Re1 and grab the pawn on e4. Black of course has many ways to counteract this plan. Black can try to exchange my stronghold on d4 with Bd8-b6, which is fine – I’ll just put the queen there. The main interesting point will be if and when I play g4, as black can retort with f7-f5. Maybe I should have a rook on the g-file then. Black can also choose to play f5 regardless at any time, which will present me with an interesting dilemma of whether to open things up and take en passant, or essentially agree to a draw. If he’s in a particularly fighting mood, he can even go f6.
All this means I’m better off starting with Re1. The rook is going to be much more useful on the 3rd rank.
So far so good, but I again was overly optimistic; this is a position I should play for a draw, not a win.
Moving to the white jaljr game:
Originally, I was planning fxe3 here and an attack on the kingside, but now I see it’s too optimistic. Black can go after the e4 pawn with Ne6-g5 and Qc6. I might hold on to the pawn, but the kingside attack is not happening either way:
I’ll play it safe with Nxe3.
Again, the right choice – fxe3 would have swung the balance the other way. The eval is +0.23.
England’s match today with Slovenia was as boring as it gets. 0-0 with very few flashes of action. That’s why I like football less recently; teams can make games monotonous. A bit like VFK did it with me in the game above.
I underestimated white’s last move, Rc5. Otherwise, I would’ve considered Ra7 on the previous move. White continues playing this endgame perfectly.
I have to give him credit – he’s squeezing every single chance out of this position. The main point here is that the rook ending will be very hard to hold, probably impossible:
However, what about Qd4? I think the main problem is that white can just play Qd5 and still force me to exchange queens. So, the rook endgame is unavoidable. Also, on closer glance, white can play some other nasty options after Qd4 with Qb5, Rc7+ etc. Into the rook endgame we go. This guy is taking me through fire and brimstone…
Ke6 is the natural move here, which should finally get me a pawn. However, white can play f4, which makes the game very double-edged. Hence, Kf6 might be a safe way forward. But then white can counterattack with Rbd2 and I don’t see a great way to make progress from there. This brings me back to Ke6 and white’s f4. Let’s analyze it a bit deeper:
Black has interesting options with Rf7 and Rc4. The latter is especially intriguing. I’ll go Ke6 – that’s my only way to press for a win. Enough chess for today.
26th of June
Dumblecore is still playing:
I already calculated a nice line below which should lead me to a win.
Maybe it’s better to have the satisfaction of getting a point through a win rather than a timeout like everyone else, though it does come at the cost of extra effort. (Not a lot of it though).
I’m also doing well in both of my games against Trustcarefully (his nick is a direct counterpoint to the furiously fast chap):
Sure, I’ll take that pawn on b7.
23…Kf7 was such a weird move from black. Why not play Rf7 or, if that’s too subtle, Rb8?
Now, to one of the more interesting games:
His last move, Rc5, seems timid. I expected him to try and press on, rather than defend on b5. I can obviously play for a draw with Nb3 – and this is the result I wanted ten moves ago during all the chaos in the middlegame. Before I do that though, I want to convince myself that there’s no win hiding in here.
If there is a win, I don’t see it. To move my attention to the kingside, I need to block the queenside while freeing up the rook, and that is impossible. As soon as the rook leaves the b-file, black will go b4 and crash through.
Perhaps my only chance is now, while the black rook is on c5? Calculations show that right now doesn’t work, but if black just intends to shuffle his rook to c5-c4, I could gradually improve my position by pushing the kingside pawns, going Kd3 and then jumping with the rook to the kingside while he’s on c5. Worth a shot:
That was the right choice for the right reason. Black essentially granted me a tempo and the eval goes from all zeros to +0.4
It’s been almost a week since my last result; things are moving slowly. Most players are doing one move a day, so even though I’m ready to speed things up here and there, my opponents don’t let me.
I penciled in Be7 yesterday. If white continues the bishop dance with Bg5, I’ll just get a tempo – this confirms he should have played that move instead of Bd2 in the first place.
Again, the right choice, as black should retain his bishop pair at all costs. The comp also suggests another exchange sacrifice with Rh8. This is a Kasparov-style move which I wouldn’t have made even had it occurred to me.
Finally, a new result in the group (I know, it’s been a slow day). Artem supplies another draw; so far, he’s been the sole supplier of those in the group. I also “benefitted” from one. He almost caught up with me, the only “slight” difference is that he needed 17 games to get there versus 9 of mine.
The key question here is whether I play on the queenside or the kingside? If on the kingside, I’m better off retreating, but then white will likely play N1d2 and proceed with opening the b-file.
Assuming I don’t retreat, the only question is whether I play Nb3 or Qc6. I think Nb3 is the right choice, since the knight needs to go there anyway as I’m playing on the kingside. If white plays N1d2 and exchanges on b3, I’ll have options with sacrifices on b2 or c3 to break white’s pawn chain. Sample line below:
Still the right move, but since white was making the top line each and every time, I’m already at +0.9 eval. I should have been thinking of hunkering down on both fronts.
Staying with the same player:
Black’s last move, a4, is very good. This is what I would have played here myself; the move clamps on the queenside by preventing b4. Black is at least equalized here, if not more than that.
I have the f5 outpost for my knights, but black has both c5 and f4. I should move into damage control mode here, starting with preventing the black knight getting to c5, as that would clearly put black in the driving seat. Is it bad enough so that I’ll play Rfb1 and agree to creating a weakness on a3?
Long story short, I check all kinds of options: Rfb1, b3, Qc2, but all of them end up with black securing a knight on c5 and doing all kinds of damage to my queenside.
I have to create counterplay on the kingside, hence Nf5 and g4+g5 are my next choice to explore.
A mirror image of the previous game; top moves from black, including the last one. The eval is -0.98 after my move, which is not the engine’s top choice, but comes quite close. It agrees that I should go for Nf5+g4 ideas sooner or later.
The mechanical response here is Rad1; one of those moves that the hand plays without engaging the brain. Rfd1 seems a tad more precise. However, since the rooks will get exchanged, it’s likely a moot point. And I again find myself with an empty move queue. This is not a sign of me playing faster, more of everyone else slowing down as we’re all bogged down in the middlegame. Even furiously fast doesn’t justify his nickname; I resorted to pre-moves against him.
VFK made a couple of moves and neither are surprising.
He is clearly shooting for a dark-squared bishop exchange. I was planning the obvious Qf2 here. Black might have to watch out for his b5 pawn and an f5 break. Given the chance, I’d also like to play Re3 and move the rook to the kingside. A few sample lines:
The idea of moving the rook to the kingside was flawed, born out of a sense of over-optimism. Also, I should have looked more closely at black’s ideas of moving the rook to the 6th rank and creating pressure on c- or d-files.
27th of June
Last night, the rook endgame with furiously fast continued; I see a very narrow path to a draw. Will post my notes as and when he makes his next move.
White continues to defend well. His weakness on c3 is counterbalanced by mine on a6, which the white rook is politely pointing out. However, I see the very interesting option of d4 to crash in the middle and continue using the bishop over knight advantage. One way or another, it should generate a passer, at the cost of opening things up.
This was my only option to continue pressing on, so well done. On the other hand, I did not calculate 35. Re1 which is the more sensible option for white. -0.21
We get a couple of results at the very bottom of the table. Dumblecore annoyingly continues his only game against me while timing out another and getting a timeout himself. I’m completely winning there, but it still wastes my very limited resources.
I’m a pawn up with a better bishop and rook placement. The immediate reaction here is to play Rd1 and double rooks on the 7th rank. Black has few counterplay options. He can go Rc8-c2, though I always have Rd2. Also, this will cost him a pawn on a7. He can play a5, but that gives me a passer on the b-file. I think Nc6 is his best option to untangle. Let’s check.
Yep, I think I’m good to go. Rd1 should do the trick.
Again, for reasons unknown, I did not look at black’s most natural option: Nxd5 followed by Rf7. I’m still winning of course, but such moves should be looked at. +1.71.
Last game for this session:
This is one of the more complicated games. The pawn on c4 has finally fallen to the enemy; not after valiantly holding its ground and diverting enemy forces for much longer than was reasonably expected. The hero of c4 shall always remain in our hearts…
On a more prosaic note, I was planning Raa8 here for a while, which leads to the usual forest of variations. Time to re-check them.
Quite happy about navigating this forest of calculations correctly. The right choice and the right set of lines. The only fly in the ointment is the eval: -0.07 rather than the -0.5 I had in mind.
Still seems to check out. Let’s recap my tournament situation:
- Winning (+2 and up): Dumblecore
- Strong advantage (+1 to +2): Trustcarefully (both), Draqlek (black)
- Small advantage (+0.5 to +1): VFK (black), jaljr (white), Draqlek (white)
- Equal (~0.0): VFK (white), chess_lover (both), jaljr (black). furiously-fast (black) – assuming my narrow path to a draw stands.
- Disadvantage (-1.0): furiously-fast (white)
I should get about 8-9 points out of all of this, if my assessments are in the ballpark. So, 16-18 points for the tournament. Not enough to progress of course, but enough for a decent showing. Let’s see what the future holds.
White the predictions for individual games did not pan out exactly, I was correct on the points range and the overall tournament result.
As expected, he’s planning Bb6. I was considering an interesting trap with Rac1. If he plays Bb6, I end up a pawn up after Bxb5. However, if he just avoids the trap with say h6, I don’t see a good way to make progress.
I missed out on Qe2, which is an interesting way to limit black’s options. I’d certainly have played it if it occurred to me. Most likely the unnatural f1-e2 bishop-queen battery coupled with black’s Bc4 (which loses a pawn) dissuaded me from this move – which means I had a very superficial look at it.
Time to capture my study of the rook endgame with furiously-fast which was occupying a lot of my thoughts:
Let’s hit the pause button before letting the me from late June speak. This is all immensely frustrating. I defended well the last twenty or so moves and made one blunder – which is 49…Kg8 right above. The problem is that black does not have time to grab the f2 pawn and create counterplay, so my first idea in the list below was off and that derailed the entire game. Black’s only chance to survive was to play 49…Kf6, f4 and exchange the kingside pawns while there was still time. Then, white would have a drawn a-pawn rook endgame.
It's not easy to figure out what lessons to get from this case apart from having a more thorough look for my opponent’s plans – especially when they play a perfect endgame.
White’s winning plan goes like this:
- Don’t play a7, as then black can just do a perpetual check on the king. Leave a safe space for the king at a7.
- Walk the king to b1 and then straight over the b-file.
My ideas are:
- Move with the king on h8-g8 or h7-g7 depending on where the rook is. Never go to the f-file as that gives white an option to play a7, and then win the rook with the standard trick of Rh8, Rh7+.
- Keep the rook on a3 if the white king is on the 2nd rank and on a2 if on the 1st.
- As soon as the king moves to d1, grab the pawn on f2.
The question is whether that is enough. My rook needs to get back to the a-file quickly after grabbing white’s pawns and it might be impossible if white king gets far enough.
The short answer is ‘no’, but the longer answer is that I see a very nice idea with 54…f4 in the line above, which may lead into a Q vs. R+passer pawn endgame. If so, our fun boxing match will go on for a long time.
A deep sigh of double frustration, since I even saw the right idea. I just did not translate it back to the original lines and kept it in my pocket.
Again, no surprises here. Originally, I was planning Qb6, with interesting sacrifices on a3, b2 or c3 depending on where the queen retreats:
However, what if he does not take on b3 immediately, but rather mitigates such sacrifices first? For example, Rh3. I see a few interesting ideas with other types of sacrifices:
If he gives me enough time, I could go Qb5, a5, Nb6, a4 and cement the queenside.
Unfortunately, I was hyper-focused on Qb6 and did not check other options. I also didn’t realize that the pawn on f7 is going to be a target, though admittedly it was difficult to see from here. Qb6 still does not lose the game, but I should have heavily considered Nxd2 and going into full defense mode. By the way, white again played top line.
I like Black’s last move, Ra6. It’s multi-purpose, as it adds firepower on the 6th rank in case I attack on the kingside while allowing the rook to press on the b-file from b6. The one downside is that black no longer has the b6-Nb7 route to get the knight to c5; it was bothering me quite a lot in the previous move’s considerations. He can still do something like Qe6-Nd7 to get the same result.
The main question is whether I should still charge ahead with g2-g4 or try thwarting black’s plans on the queenside instead. The challenge with g4 is that it opens a gaping hole on f4. Black cannot easily get there immediately without sacrificing the pawn on e5, but it’s not going to stay like that forever. On another hand, g4-g5 is a distinct threat, which black should do something about. Nh7 seems like the most promising defense.
I think black has ways of blockading the kingside and eventually turning his unwanted attention on the other side of the board. However, I just don’t see an alternative. Sitting still is not an option; he might even attack on the kingside himself with Nh5, or just play Qe6, Nd7-c5, Rb6-b3 with the original queenside attack worry.
Sitting tight was an option, though with my opponent consistently playing top moves, it might have led to a similar state. Needless to say, the engine likes black’s Ra6 a lot too. I was correct in assuming that black can blockade the kingside.
Finally, a game I’ve been deferring for a while, as it’s by far the most worrisome in my current portfolio:
Immediate thought – it’s in my direct interest to exchange as many pieces as possible, considering the poor king situation. So, Rxd8 is the intuitive move. Let’s see if this path conceals landmines.
There is a landmine and it looks like Nd5+ followed by Bf6. The next candidate is Nc3 which looks fine on all accounts, apart from the fact that it allows Bc5+.
Black develops a mother of an initiative here. It might be holdable, but I’d rather not go here unless I absolutely have to. Perhaps I should combine both options, as black’s initiative after Nc3 might be more tolerable if there’s a couple of rooks removed from the board?
However, I now see even a worse option for black with 30…Nd3 which takes Nc3 in whichever of its variations off the table:
Maybe I can just play a3? That leads to a very difficult situation after Nd5+:
The conclusion is that I shouldn’t hold on to the a-pawn and rather look for a way to generate some semblance of activity and counterplay, otherwise I’m doomed. After a while, I see the idea of Rc4 which works only because I have a zwischenzug with Rg4+:
Very happy about how I arrived at this idea via gradual iteration and combining multiple variations. This is the best option. I’ve been putting up quite a resistance, despite my opponent playing the top line throughout. -0.52
Continued here: https://www.chess.com/blog/RomanKleiner/chess-com-2024-3rd-round-e11-going-down