24^th of March

Latest table:

The table is getting very lopsided. Also, only two players apart from myself have not lost points.

First game of the day is this one:

I’m a pawn up, but it doesn’t matter much at this point. The position is open, and white has two bishops, so there’s a long and treacherous road from here to a point. White just played Bb2, which looks less dangerous than Bf4. Be2-d3 is also likely to go on the board soon.

Here are the ideas:

• Rc8 to open up options with d5 or b5.
• Immediate d5 to get rid of the d6 weakness. The downside is further opening of the position against an opponent with bishop pair. Also, c4 is also a weakness for white.
• Qe7 followed by Qb7 to create pressure on the long diagonal.
• Nc5 to dissuade white from Bd3, and create options with Na4 or Ba4. I don’t like pulling the knight from e4 though – it does a good job there.

Taking those one by one:

• I don’t like Nf3-g5 after Nc5. At best it would force me to go for repetition.
• Variations after Rc8 and d5 are going to be mind-boggling and dangerous.

Since I’m not seeing anything too promising, I’ll play it safe and go for h6. Maybe the strategy should be limiting white’s action and freeing up time for other games.

First correction - Bb2 was actually a wise choice on white's part: in fact, it's the top line. Bf4 would've created more pressure on d6, but that pawn is defensible, while bishop on b2 has a much better vantage point.
Comp puts Rc8 as the top line, and Nc5 as the second one, so I had the right candidate moves. However, it also shows that my thought process was correct - Rc8 has complex lines behind it, and Nc5 is only better by -0.05 compared to the waiting option I picked up. Practical choices matter much more than tenth of a point.

Next game is this one:

Last move from black was Be3, which is really tempting me to play Nf5. Castling looks unappealing because of Rc1-c7. However, Nf5 has its own problem, so Nc6 is likely the way to go.

Black just played a5 in this game, which I, unfortunately, did not calculate. Moves that come to mind are Bb6, Nxf6 and Bc4 (in that order).

Bb6 seems to work, and it’s the more forcing option.

Bc4 of course makes no sense, but the first two move candidates (in that order) also match two top lines for the engine, so intuition was my friend this time. 

Quite happy about the development of the game below:

White’s forces are tied up. Ke2 defends f2, Ne3 -> c2, and Ra1 -> a2. All of this can get uncoiled through a2->a4, and Ra1->a3.

However, I just noticed the option of Ke6 with f5, which can create white some problems.

25^th of March

The table continues filling up. I see the first draw in any of my groups. I also had my first blunder of the tournament last night (Friday evening to blame):

In this long-suffering game, white just played Nd1 which I simply didn’t see. Now there will be an R vs. B ending, which means I start battling for a draw yet again.

Back from Presidio Park, so have time to dive into a few games this Saturday. Starting with the slowest game thus far:

I arrived to something very similar in one of my other games. There, I went Bxe6 in the futile hope to grab a pawn after Qb3, but black played Qc8, and the hopes were dashed.

Here, it equally does not work:

So, I’m better off playing Bc2, and then doing the usual plan with Re1, Nf1-g3, and d4.

The table has moved a bit since this morning:

Let’s do a quick inventory of the games, back to front:

• Bhavsadh, who “helpfully” timed out against my competition. I’m standing to win a piece in the black game, and a pawn in the white game. Solid advantage in both.
• saveliy2005. I’m a piece up in the black game, after white optimistically sacrificed on h7, while the white game is still in the opening (see above)
• nemer-123. Also a piece up in the black game, while the white game is equal (this is where I incorrectly exchanged on e6 in the Italian)
• cbl72. A piece up in the white game, and an exchange + pawn in the black game. The latter requires a bit of work to convert.
• IfanRJ. This is the one I’ve almost lost once and may still lose. R vs. B ending, and I’m the one with the bishop.
• Pruet88. I’m saving the games with the main opposition for the end. I actually have a reasonable advantage in the white game (bishop pair in an open and simple position), while the black game is in slow development.

So, there’s 3-4 games where I’m a piece up, couple more games where I have an exchange and/or pawn. Four more games are in the opening, or equal, and the ifan game is the one I’m likely to lose points. If Pruet does not lose at least a point, my situation will be very iffy.

All this brings to the centerpiece game:

The bishops are doing well here, while the rest of the position is symmetric. As I’m in a must-win situation, I have to mix things up and create more imbalances.

Long castling is the move that’s begging to be played. It leaves me the option of Bxf6 (which I passed on in the last move) and creates an imbalance with opposite sides castling.

However, I need to calculate Bg4 and Ng4 as well.

The conclusion is that h3 is the way to go, and that neither of these moves will equalize for black.

Moving to my main game:

White’s threat is to march with the king to a6, take on a7 and promote the a pawn. My g and h pawns are also a bit loose. I need to get counterplay by creating a passer.

After a bit of calculation, my plan is as follows: exchange on e4, and attack the e4 pawn with the king, if the white king goes too far towards a6.

White has a few options to make life difficult: cut off the king on the f file, perhaps play h4 at some point to block king’s path.

Right at the end of the day, I finally get a point – from a timeout with Bhavsadh. The position was completely won though, so he hasn’t done that much of a favour (unlike for some others). Quick pass with the engine shows yet another basic oversight from my part, but otherwise I’m rated at 95.

No surprises here, especially with an 11 move game.

10 games left.

Continued here: https://www.chess.com/blog/romank66/chess-com-2023-2nd-round-s01e06-important-choices