How deep the rabbit hole goes
We create our own world, with our thoughts and actions. Chess is no different. At critical moments we project a utopia that we seek ... only if we can see it. I came to such a moment on the Black side of an Exchange King's Indian. I didn't realise it at the time, but I had a choice to either take to blue pill rather than the red pill.
Critical Moment: What structure does Black seek
Black is faced with a critical choice: 14. ... Bxd7 or 14. ... Bxc3. I didn't appreciate it then, but one choice leads me to eternal damnation.
Consider 14. ... Bxd7. Almost by force this leads to
In this version of the world, White's Knight is a monster that is going to terrorise me from f6. This was the choice I made, and I didn't realise that by keeping the mare alive it would become and octopus!
Consider 14. ... Bxc3. Again by force this would lead to
In this version of the world, it is my Knight that is master of the minor pieces, whilst White's Bishop remains bad behind his blockaded Queenside. My Knight always as a wonderful c5 square if needed, and I'm not tortured by an Octopus.
Rush, Rush (Paula Abdul)
Anyone that went through the early 90's may, from time to time, get Paula Abdul's song "Rush, Rush" stuck in their head.
A bad time to think like this is in the endgame when you have your opponent completely tied up.
Despite being a pawn down, White has a completely crushing position. Black is completely tied up thanks to the monster Knight on f6 and the terrorising Rook on the 8th rank.
White should be in absolutely no rush to exchange anything, but rather improve all his pawns to the maximum.
33. a4! drives the nail into the coffin. Simply there is nothing constructive Black can do. Instead my opponent let me off the hook with 33. Rxe8 entering into a pawn endgame where we both queened mutually.
Pawn Game Madness
This pawn ending is still very interesting, with White ideas of either holding on to the d-pawn or going after the a-pawn.
I believe I show in my annotations and analysis that Black can hold in all variations.
This is the benefits of correspondence chess, being able to analyse endings in detail.
My Game Annotations and Analysis
