Chess.com 2023, 2nd round, S01E07 - collecting gifts
27th of March (contnd.)
Next game is:
Black just played Qf5. The two candidate moves are Qxb7 and Ng3.
Ng3 is much more appealing; it keeps my attacking options open, and can end the game much sooner than Qxb7, which takes the queen away from the action and opens counterattacking options for black.
Ng3 might be more appealing, but it's the inferior option. Qxb7 was winning a couple of pawns. I was very risky averse, since based on the play so far I thought the game would be won one way or another.
In the meantime, I gather another point – this one ran all the way to a mate:
Looks like I played to my rating, but the opening needs extra attention.
7 games left, but on the flip side, I no longer have games with a simple win to convert.
- In 3 games, I have a solid advantage, but work to do. (nemer, bhavsadh, and black against saveliy)
- 1 game has a small advantage (white against Pruett)
- 2 games are equal, or still in the opening (black against Pruett, white against saveliy)
- Fighting for a draw with IfanRJ
BTW, we have the first set of decided 2nd stage groups. My prediction – my group will still be open in a couple of weeks. I intend to take my time over the main 3-4 games.
Spoiler alert: the prediction was incorrect.
White just played h4 here:
I expected a less committal move, but this one is not a big surprise either. My plan was to play h5, with the idea of playing g5 at an opportune moment to create a passer. The question is whether white will allow me to have such an opportunity.
I calculated a lot and found a few ideas to make conversion for white complicated. Either way, I have to play h5, as white can force me to do that at any point with Rh7, and because this gives me some immediate options – before the white king joins the party.
This was a serious mistake, because I missed a golden opportunity - 34...g5. My concern at the time was 35.h5, which supposedly fixes the black pawn at h6, but black can just continue running with the pawn: g4, g3 etc. - and then take on h5. This is simply a case of chess blindness: not for the first or the last time in this game.
White just played Ke2:
The main question is whether I can play g5 now. If I don’t, white can play Rb8-a8, a4-a5-a6, and then march with the king to b7. I won’t be able to counter that plan with g5 (even if the white king is far away), since white has Rf8+.
After calculating for a bit, I feel like the question of “can I hold on to the h-pawn” is beyond me. There’s some zugzwangs that white can inflict on black, also c3 is a future move that can rob the bishop from d4, which in turn prevents d5 in some variations with the rook on f5. Either way, g5 has more practical chances than letting white slowly do the plan above.
This was the right decision for a change - exactly for the reasons mentioned. However, the eval is still +1.00 in white's favour.
Oh, and I got my second timeout (finally) against bhavsadh. 6 games left now.
The game didn't go very far, so the rating is not that crucial.
The remaining game against nemer is also moving nicely (two pawns up), so now I should be able to focus on the games that matter.
Key points here are:
- Exchanges are in my favour. If we remove rooks and bishops from the board, the pawn ending should be won for white.
- Black’s h-pawn is also a weakness.
- Exchanging rooks can help getting the king active on the dark squares.
So, how to develop an advantage here? I should get the kingside pawns moving: f4-g5-h6 setup would be ideal: especially if black meets g4 with f5.
The key moves are then Rd4 and g4, perhaps also Be4.
Tomorrow I expect a day with little time for chess, so will analyze the next game and make the move tomorrow to buy time:
White’s last move is Kh1, which looks very deep. My guess is that white wants to go d3, which beforehand was a problem due to Qb6 with a double attack on e3 and f4 pawns. Overall, my strategy in this game is not to lose, so preventing white’s plans rather than being creative is the main idea.
Attacking the e3 pawn directly does not quite work. The move I like the most is Bc5, as the bishop should be more useful on the a7-g1 diagonal. b5 is another worthwhile option to get some space. I’m just not sure I want to allow d3 to happen. Unless white plays a4, I should get an option to play b5 later on.
Another downside of Bc5 is that Ne5 is now possible. Not sure if it’s such a massive problem, but it needs to be analyzed before I pull the trigger.
It doesn’t look too scary, so I’ll probably go with Bc5 tomorrow.
This was an inaccurate decision. d3-e4 is not that scary, since white also needs to defend f4. Also, if white _really_ wants to play d3, he can do it after Ne1. On the other hand, Bc5 moved the bishop to an inferior position, as the game will quickly show.
Continued here: https://www.chess.com/blog/romank66/chess-com-2023-2nd-round-s01e08-diving-deep