Just for Fun

Usually I like to tie a particular game to a larger theme, but this time the theme is no theme; I just want to indulge myself in my favorite hobby.

Well…maybe that is not entirely true. There is a theme, but it is largely ancillary to the following game. The theme is ‘learning to adapt to the style of your opponent’. You see, this game was third in a three game match. In the first game, my opponent came out swinging as Black with a very aggressive opening that threw me back on my heels. I quickly was forced on the defensive and struggled to regain my feet. I eventually did so by locking up the center with some pawn-on-pawn action (ewwww!), but I also stymied myself with a deadlocked position. Ultimately, I lost the game in an attempt to open a line of attack by sacrificing a pawn which, in retrospect, proved to be a self-imposed zugzwang that did little more than unhinge my entire defensive line. Chalk one up in the loss column.

I came prepared for the second game. Again my opponent came out swinging, this time as White, but I was not going to be intimidated. In fact, I intended to use his own aggression against him…doubly so since he led his attack with his Queen – which promptly became a big fat target for me. Charge! My pieces threw caution to the wind and went on a Queen hunt which we won with a wonderful trap. From that point on, it was White who was on the defensive. Put a win for me in the victory column.

The following game would determine who would win the three game match. Feeling confident that I had broken my opponent’s chess playing code (see the quote on my title banner), I intended to call the tune for this game.

How I love Chess…especially when I win two out of three.