23^rd of March

Another result last night, which does not change much:

The two priba games are on auto-pilot, so now I have 11 games to deal with. Still quite a bit, so I’m prioritizing the nemer and cbl games next.

Correction: the two priba games have been closed this morning (one resignation, one mate). To be analyzed later this evening. Latest table:

Latest total: 6 timeout wins, 5 real wins, 11 games left. I checked the leader’s games, and the situation is grim – I don’t see where he’s likely to drop points. My hopes for a balanced field are unlikely to materialize.

The game below reached a good reflection point:

On the plus side, I’m up a pawn, and have a good outpost for the knight on c5. On the minus, he has the bishop pair, while my lonely bishop is still looking for a good base. White also has a good lookout on the a1-h8 diagonal, and a d4 outpost for knights. There’s also some space advantage for white. All in all, I’d evaluate it at -0.50 or thereabouts.

So, how to convert? Ideally, I’d like to get rid of his bishop pair, so I could play Nc5 to limit the white knight. There’s also the option to gain space with a5-a4. Qd7 is another solid move to get the queen into action. I might also explore options with c6 to undermine the d5 outpost.

What can white do? Bishop on b2, knight on d4->f5, and dislodge the knight on e4 (if I don’t move it from there myself).

Out of all the ideas, I like c6 the most, as it keeps the initiative. The downside is weakening of pawn on d6, but I feel like it’s a good price to pay for Bb7 coming to life. Let’s calculate it.

The position becomes too open for my liking, but I just don’t see a great alternative to make progress.

Now, that I have the benefit of engine looking over my shoulder, I can proudly say that all of the above points still stand true. The eval is -0.40 (close to my eval of -0.5), and c6 is the first line. I should do more of this kind of measured thinking in the future.

In this game, I’ve got another Ng4 in the Italian:

This is a weird coincidence. I’ve been playing Italian for years, and never ever did it occur to anyone to play Ng4. Now I get two of those in a single tournament group.

The player that timed out against my competition, and not against me, is making life difficult.

The last move was h2-h4, and the clear intent is to continue to h5. If I play h5, he’ll likely go g4. Candidate moves are:

• h6 – with the idea to counter h5 with g5.
• Nd5 – to start generating counterplay on the long diagonal. (with or without interim cxd4)
• cxd4, followed by d6 – ignore the h5 threat

The Nd5 approach doesn’t seem to hold, as white can just regroup, dislodge Nd5 and continue. h6 seems safer, though White can continue going all guns blazing with g4:

Black’s last move was a6. I expected Be6 with the idea of Nbd5. Now I have a few options to consider:

• a3 to push the knight away, and not deal with any tactics that involve queen distraction from c2.
• g4, with the idea of 16...Qxf3 17. Be2 Qc6 18. a3.

A lot of calculation here. Bottom-line: I should get an exchange out of all of this, with some degree of risk.

Another interesting option is Ne4. After yet more calculation, I’m really happy about what it can do to black:

Short resume: g4+a3 are way better than Ne4. I stood a real chance of losing my advantage in the second line. Complex calculations is something I struggled with throughout the tournament.

My main adversary continues racking up points.

In his remaining games (well, apart from mine) he is also doing well. This is worrying, as I’m not sure I can win all the other games. In at least one of them I’m already fighting for a draw.

This is another interesting game where I have work to do. I’m a pawn up. However:

• Black is behind in development.
• White’s bishop can become a beast on the a3-f8 diagonal

First order of the day is to complete development, and I can’t see how I can postpone Ne7 much longer. On that note, considering it’s not losing on the spot, and the amount of time I spent and will spend on other games, I’ll just play Ne7, and then do a full assessment another day.

Last game for today is this one:

We zoomed through the line I calculated the other day, and even skidded a bit past it. The good news is that I’m not losing on the spot anymore. On another, there’s still plenty of work to do, and I’m fighting for a draw in a situation where I have to win every game.

Nd5 will certainly dominate the bishop where he is. White’s inferior pawn structure is the only consolation. I’m so concerned about the bishop situation that I’m seriously considering sacrificing a pawn with d5. Other option is trying to swing the bishop via g5 or d8 and bothering the f2 pawn. So: Kd7, Rb8, Bd8/g5 are the moves I’m thinking of. 

A few sample lines give me some optimism.

My eval was waaaay off. The engine shows -0.35, so I'm not the one fighting for a draw here. The knight cast too big a shadow on my assessment.

Looks like both of us played this exactly to our ratings.

Not much to say here - white kept on gifting, and black kept on accepting. Everyone played their part. 

Looks like both of us played this exactly to our ratings - yet again. Remarkable consistency.

Also a game that did not require a lot of effort. Black neglected his development, and white just played naturally: all the way until mate which could have come two moves sooner. The miss of mate in 1 is a rare case in daily chess, so I've got some unfavourable, yet memorable, event out of all of this.

Continued here: https://www.chess.com/blog/romank66/chess-com-2023-2nd-round-s01e05-knights-can-jump-back