Very interesting game where strong play by both sides made counterplay difficult for both sides.
However ultra-accurate moves decided the game (by my analysis) especially in the midgame...
Except for a few slipups I would say that this game was destined to be drawn from a very early stage
Hey, I was playing a Fog of Setup 31 position compliments to @Green_Sleeves and I was wondering if anyone with Fog of War or Setup chess experience had some tips on how my opponent and I played. I'll walk you through my thought process for some of my moves.
I'll link the game here too: https://www.chess.com/variants/custom/game/30202903/2098/3
(You may want to scroll to the beginning of the game)
My opponent was white and played 1.r @Ba3: a pretty overused opening but hard to refute, so I tried to put my opponent in an uncomfortable situation and go out of book by responding with 1.y @Bd6!?. This line definitely is considered rogue but I believe it has some untapped potential, and in its unexplored state, makes for a very sharp and interesting game.
This got my opponent thinking for a while, but he did manage to fine the best continuation, 2.r @Bh3, applying pressure to the d7 pawn.
Our next couple of moves were normal, and then I decided to surprise my opponent with 3.y D, which is a hard line to win, but my plan was to take advantage of the psychological element that this move had to offer. However, my opponent showed resilience to my tricks and played 4.r D: The draw countergambit. I was slightly caught off guard, but I was not going to let my opponent do what I wanted to do to him.
We tried this move a couple times within the duration of this match, but my opponent must have been worried about repeating too many times, so he switched it up with 1006.r @Be3.
We made a couple more normal developing moves, and then my opponent made (what I consider is) the first blunder. 1014.r P is frankly an awful move that lets me finish development before he can start an attacking idea. Nevertheless, I wasn't able to capitalize on it well and the position equalized quickly.
A few exchanges later my opponent slips up again and plays the inaccuracy 1023.r Bxe6+?!: a rather hasty move that breaks the symmetry of the position and could have been saved for later when I was not in check. This time, I found the correct reply to this move, 1023.y fxe6, 1024.r Be5, 1024.y Bxe3+!!, 1025.r fxe3, 1025.y Be4, regaining symmetry and putting my opponent in zugzwang.
A few symmetrical moves later, we finally reached a draw from insufficient material after 1049.y Kxc7.
I'm eager to hear opinions, and always looking for move suggestions!, Do you see a point in this game where I could have converted better? Let me know.