Forum

Hi all! Our first match is almost starting!! I think it's a good idea to analyze all our games here after the matches, so that everyone gets help from everyone :-)I want to suggest that you keep track of your thoughts on the notepads next to the game, and post them here after your games have finished. Love, Simone

Hi all! I thought it might be a good idea to post some of our own artistic creations in a topic. Could be anything - a poem, a song, a drawing - doesn't matter. Like poetry: It warms the heart like chocolate drinks inhaledIt takes the soul where love since long prevailedAn art contrived to one of word and soundIts harmony hides treasures to be found Let me know what you think! Love, Simone

Hi all! First of all: a very warm welcome to our group Amicizie Senzafine (Endless Friendships)! I think it's a good idea to have everyone briefly introduce him/herself here. I'll start here: My name is Simone.I'm born on July 7th, 1992, so I'm 20 years old.I'm from a very small village in the Netherlands, near the border with Germany. I speak Dutch, German, and English. I study musicology, and outside my college, I love to play chess, I play guitar, piano; I love to read, write, make fun, hang out on the streets with friends until far past midnight. I only play chess online; don't like to commit myself to something I love to do, because I'm mortally afraid that I will stop liking it. This is about it; if you have any further questions, feel free to ask :-) Love, Simone

Hi all!! Let's make a calendar of our birthdays. Put your birthday in the comments and I'll put it up :) Love, Simone January 12345678910 vonderLieth111213 monkeypof141516171819202122232425262728293031 February 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 March 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 April 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 May 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Afterglow666 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 xxhawkeyexx 29 30 31 June 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 July 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Simone070792 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Spettrov 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 August 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 September 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 October 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 November 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 December 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Hi all! Today, I finished a game for the team match against FIVE for FIGHTING in a semi-sadistic style:Simone070792 - _Jesse_James1. e2-e4Best by test1. ... e7-e5Time to try something different from my normal repertoire (the Scotch Gambit).2. Ng1-f3 d7-d6 The good old Philidor defence. I'm okay with that, though I had intended to give the Ruy Lopez a try after 2. ... Nc6.3. d2-d4Most common, and good.3. ... e5xd4A fine move, but it also grants White the a good game the most easy way.4. Nf3xd4 g7-g65. Nb1-c3 Bf8-g7My plan in this position is to make use of the target on the kingside by means of Be3, Qd2, 0-0-0, and a pawn avalanche.6. Bc1-e3 Ng8-f67. Qd1-d2We're still on track.7. ... a7-a6The move is of course aimed at preventing me from castling queenside and also desiring to answer 8. Bc4 with 8. ... b5. Nevertheless, the move seems abit slow to me, and among my chess friends, I'm known for fearlessness. So I'll just castle queenside anyway.8. 0-0-0 Nb8-d7Black seems to be playing two plans - a consequence of the move 7. ... a6.The funny (or tragic, if you will) about this setup is that I can now play 9. Bc4 still, since 9. ... b5?? is answered by 10. Nc6, trapping the queen. But I won't waste time on trying to lure my opponent into making a very poor mistake if it's positionally not justified. Black has a decent response with the move sequence 9. ... Ne5, followed by 10. ... Nfg4.So I'd better stick to my plan: exchanging dark-square bishops. This is very unpleasant for Black. Should his bishop come to life, then it may be killing for me. So I prefer to kill it off before it's commenced anything.The drawbacks of 7. ... a6 are to become very apparent - at least, I predict and hope so ^^9. Be3-h6 Bg7xh6Luckily, saner thoughts prevail.10. Qd2xh6 Nd7-e5An expected move.I'd love to play f2-f4 here, but that has a serious drawback: Neg4, followed by Ne3. I don't want that to happen.So, what DO I have?I have the move 11. Qg7, in order to deprive Black from castling kingside. Likely, Black will reply 11. ... Rg8 12. Qh6 g5, with the idea of trapping my queen. My only move then is 13. Nd5. Still, I think this variation is highly peculiar, so I don't want to go for it.What else?I can prepare the idea of f4 with 11. h3.And I can play poorly and develop my bishop to e2.As you notice, I have already decided what my move would be:11. h2-h3 Bc8-d7Black plays rather passive in this stage of the game - then again, what other choice does he have? I have a quite forcing variation here:12. f4 Nc6 (forced, as on 12. ... Neg4??, the refutation comes in the form of 13. hxg4 Nxg4 14. Qg7!, while the insertion of the moves 12. ... c5 13. Nb3 and 13. ... c4 14. Nd4 don't change the position in Black's favour)13. Nxc6 Bxc6 (after 13. ... bxc6, Black's king barely has any safe place to go to, while White's initiative against this king comes remarkably fast with 14. e5!, winning at least one pawn)14. e5! Ne4(or 14. ... Nd7 15. exd6, again winning a pawn while keeping Black's king dangerously in the centre)15. Nxe4 Bxe4 16. exd6 cxd6 17. Bc4, and I think White has a decisive positional advantage here. Black doesn't have enough time on his hands to castle.Since this variation is enough for me to maintain an edge in all variations, I needn't calculate or consider any more candidate moves.12. f2-f4 Ne5-c613. Nd4xc6 Bd7xc614. e4-e5! Nf6-h5Naturally, I missed this move. Shame on me, naturally. But still my position remains awfully good.15. Bf1-c4It's Black's king I'm after. I care not the slightest for my pawn on g2...15. ... Qd8-e7At first sight, this move looks like a blunder. And, since I can ravage in the queenside despite the intermezzo check on e3, it looks like a blunder at second sight too.16. Rh1-e1This prevents Black's check on e3, and removes the rook from the pin on the long diagonal.Now, Black has to get out of the centre. After 16. ... 0-0-0, I have 17. exd6, and now, Black has to confide himself with the poor exchange of queens, as 17. ... Qh4? is answered by 18. g4!, exploiting the pin on the knight.In addition, the knight is very poorly placed on h5, and may well fall prey to lots of trapping combinational devices.16. ... 0-0-0As anticipated.I didn't know yet, but I may even start here with 17. g4. I even think this is my best move: after the immediate 17. exd6?, Black has 17. Qf6, annoyingly attacking my pawn on f4. If I kick another attacker into booby trap land, then after Qf6, I have Ne4.17. g2-g4Pawn avalanche!!! =D17. ... Nh5-g3The knight walks into a deserted realm there.18. e5xd6 Qe7-f619. d6xc7 Rd8xd1+Slight inaccuracies are always welcome. As I learned from a youtube video:To take is a mistake!That is, by exchanging, you're likely to exchange a well-standing piece. A recapture often makes a useful tempo gain.Same here.20. Re1xd1Now, I have an activated rook, while Black hasn't.20. ... Rh8-e8?The move in itself looks like a blunder. Even if it weren't.21. Kc1-b1This move keeps the tension in the position and defends against stupid captures on f4 with check.Now, on 21. ... Bf3, the pawn on c7 is going to play a key role: 22. Rd8+! Rcd8 23. cxd8+, followed by Qxh7, and Black's position is in ruins.21. ... Kc8xc722. Qh6xh7Now, I have a potential passed h-pawn and a material advantage of two pawns. Still, my queen is rather awkwardly placed, and I must be careful with trapping combinations. But I don't see any.22. ... Re8-e7??That move loses on the spot.23. Qh7-g8 Re7-d7Allows White a giant liquidation.24. Rd1xd7+ Kc7xd725. Qg8xf7+Since the ending has same-colour bishops, and since Black's g-pawn will leave the stage too, White's position is 100% winning.25. ... Qf6xf7?!Again missing the most stubborn move: 25. Qe7, in order to try to keep the g-pawn on the board.26. Bc4xf7 Ng3-e4Exchanging the knights is highly favourable to me. Leaves Black without any serious counterplay.27. Nc3xe4 Bc6xe4 The smoke has cleared. White is up three pawns, and the remaining bishop ending shouldn't be a problem to win. 28. Kb1-c1The king needs play an active role in the endgame.28. ... Kd7-e729. Bf7-c4The bishop aims for the diagonal b1/h7, in order to either exchange the bishop, or put pressure on the f5-square. That'd enable me to put all kingside pawns on dark squares while in the mean time preventing Black's king from becoming active.29. ... Ke7-f6Enables me to implement my ideal setup.30. Bc4-d3 Be4-g231. h3-h4 Bg2-f332. g4-g5+I'll follow up with the exchange of pawn f4 for pawn g6. Then I can walk on with my king towards the kingside.32. ... Kf6-f7I needn't immediately force the aforementioned exchange of pawns: I can get some time with activating my king first. Being blocked on a light square and being under attack, the pawn on g6 serves as a pair of shackles. So I'll have at least one extra tempo:33. Kc1-d2 Bf3-c634. Kd2-e3 Bc6-e8Now is the time to exchange the pawns: Black's king is aiming for the e6-square. He's never going to get there.35. f4-f5! g6xf5Not too fast here! I have another option, which is more accurate: activation of the king!36. Ke3-f4! b7-b537. h4-h5Run, Forrest! Run!37. ... a6-a538. Bd3xf5 Be8-c639. Kf4-e5Note how I slowly maneuver along the dark squares. Also note that this move prevents both Bd5 and after h6 and g6, that Black's king can enter the f6 square (just in case, and I'm in no hurry).39. ... Bc6-e8Makes it even easier for me.40. Bf5-g6+I'm expecting a resignation here.40. ... Kf7-f841. Bg6xe8 Kf8xe842. Ke5-f6 b5-b443. Kf6-g7Just to close off Black's king and have my h-pawn run.I only make a move on the queenside if I really have to, if at all.43. ... a5-a444. h5-h6 b4-b3C'mon!45. c2xb3Note that I needn't even do this. But I want my opponent to resign as quickly as possible.45. ... a4xb346. a2xb3THERE you go!46. ... Ke8-d7Yes, I'll keep on writing down the moves. What pieces shall I get myself? Knight and bishop? Two bishops?47. h6-h7 Kd7-d648. h7-h8=B^^48. ... Kd6-c549. Kg7-f7 Kc5-b450. Bh8-c3+First, I'm going to put my king and bishop in order.50. ... Kb4xb451. Kf7-e6 Kb3-c452. Ke6-e5I'm trying to force Black's king into the a8 corner or the h1 one, to show off the bishop + knight endgame technique.52. ... Kc4-b353. Ke5-d5I need to be careful here: 53. ... Ka4 54. Kc4?? stalemates. So I need to play 54. Kc5 Kb3 55. Kb5, and then drive the king back to a fine corner.53. ... Kb3-a4Yip, he's trying to go for the stalemate. Dream on, pal!54. Kd5-c5The moment I step on the c4-square, I can push to knight any pawn I wish. Black's king is already in the right mating corner for me :-)54. ... Ka4-b355. g5-g6 Kb3-a256. Kc5-c4 Ka2-b157. b2-b4Just to make sure the pawn doesn't get in the way of my mating ambitions.57. ... Kb1-c258. g6-g7 Kc2-d159. Kc4-d3I only intervene if I really have to, if at all.59. ... Kd1-c160. g7-g8=NAnd now: on for the checkmate!60. ... Kc1-b161. Ng8-f6 Kb1-c1When playing 61. Nf6, I thought that it was a good move. Now I realize that I could better have played 61. Ne7, or 61. Nh6. My ideal setup is with the bishop on b4 and the knight on d4. That creates an impenetrable fortress.62. Nf6-e4 Kc1-b163. Ne4-c5I'm going for a slightly different mating concept. Since I have the pawn on b4, I have infinite time on my hands. But I don't care about that very much. I'd love to give it away and show off that I can still manage to get my opponent mated.The bishop and knight provide a bunker on the queenside.63. ... Kb1-a2Thank you very much!64. Kd3-c2 Ka2-a365. b4-b5Fetching myself a rook to give away on a3.Then a tempo move of the bishop will bring home the point.The checkmate will befall Black on move 75 (I pre-moved the entire variation from here on):65. ... Ka3-a266. b5-b6 Ka2-a367. b6-b7 Ka3-a268. b7-b8=R Ka2-a369. Rb8-b3+ Ka3-a270. Rb3-a3+ Ka2xa371. Bc3-d2The tempo move71. ... Ka3-a272. Bd2-b4 Ka2-a173. Nc5-b3+ Ka1-a274. Nb3-c1+ Ka2-a175. Bd4-c3# 1-0 I'm so mean! ^^ Hope you enjoyed the game as much as I did! Love, Simone

I hope you find the article interesting and sorry for the English, I do not know. After the mouve 1)e4,e5 2)Nf3,Nc6 3)Bb5,a6 4)Ba4,Nf6 5)00,Be7 6)Re1,b5 7)Bb3,00 8)c3,d5 you reach this position. MPion - Monkeypof 9) exd5, Nxd5 10) Nxe5, Nxe5 11) Rxe5, c6 12) d4, Bd6 13) Re1, Qh4 14) g3, Qh3 This is the main variant of the Marshall Gambit. Now there are 2 possible developments: Re4 (as in the game) and Be3. After 15)Be3,Bg4 16)Qd3,Rae8 17) Nd2, and now black has 2 possibilities : 17)...,Re6 and 17)...,Qh5 . 17)...,Re6 18)a4,Qh5 19)axb5,axb5 20) Qf1 now black can choose among two moves : 20)...,Rfe8 and 20)...,Bh3 in either case with complications of 17)...,Qh5 18)Bc2,f5 19)f3,Bxf3 20)Nxf3,Qxf3 21)Bd2,Qxd3 22)Bxd3,f4 23)Rxe8,Rxe8 24)Kf2,fxg3+ 25)hxg3 with a slight advantage of the white 15) Re4, g5 16) Qf1, Qh5?! The theory recommends this move, I think it's doubtful. Instead of 16) ... Qxf1! 17) Kxf1, Bf5 17) Nd2, Rad8 or h6 and the position is about equal. This I consider the main variant of the variant 15) Re4 17) Nd2, Bf5 18) f3, Bxe4? better was 18)...,Nf6 19)Qg2,Qg6 20)Re3,Rae8 21)Ne4,Nxe4 22)g4,Bxg4 23)fxe4,Bd7 whit a slight advantage of the white 19) fxe4, Nb6!? 20) e5,Be7 21) Ne4, Qg6 now after 22)Bc2,f5 23)exf6,Bxf6 24)Nxf6+,Qxf6 25)Qxf6,Rxf6 26)Bxg5 and the two bishops dominate the game. 22) Qe2?!, Nd5 23) Bc2, Qg7 24) Qh5,h6 25) h4?!, dubious move, you had to finish the development with Bd2 and Rf1 25) ..., f5! now the match is open again 26) exf6, Nxf6 27) Nxf6+, Bxf6 28) Kh1, Rae8 29) Bd2,Kh8 now , the game would be equal after the moves:30)Bg6,Re6 31)Bf5,Re7 32)Rf1 .....instead 30) hxg5?, Bxg5 31)Bf4?? by now that rifles of bishops are empty of ammunition, he decided to to change one. But it is a mistake 31) ..., Bxf4 32) gxf4, Rg8! 33) Qh2,( if 33)Qh3,Re2! )Qf6 34) Rg1 ,Rxg1+ perhaps 34) Qh5 resisted a little bit more 35) Kxg1, Re1+ 36) Kf2, Qe6 0-1 after 37)Kg3,Re2....

Notes from my notepad:Simone070792 vs. arunjyotidas1. e2-e4 e7-e52. Ng1-f3 Nb8-c6Time for an addition to my opening repertoire:3. Bf1-b5 a7-a64. Bb5-a4 Bf8-c5An active setup.White's plan in this position is simple: castle kingside, and seek to grab the centre with c3 and d4.5. 0-0 Ng8-f66. c2-c3 0-07. d2-d4 Bc5-d6??Not just a rather passive move, but a straightforward blunder. More accurate is to bunker the bishop with 7. ... Ba7!.An advice on the house: Always analyze the most forcing moves first, at all stages of the game! There is a tactical win here already by means of eliminating the defender of the e5-pawn:8. Ba4xc6And Black resigned due to 8. ... dxc6 9. dxe5, forking two pieces.1-0