25... Bf4
Best I could tell, Martin is forced into 26. Bxf3, creating an imbalance that might favour Ry, but I have to admit the analysis was getting a bit much for a game I wasn't playing. Martin might be able to fend off that attack and emerge clearly ahead.
26. gxf4 is out of the question, as 26... Nxf4#
Black threatens Rd2+, bishop+rook for queen, surely an unacceptable exchange for white. Also, Bxe3 followed by Rg2+ is a potential threat. The black queen might also be able to spite check the white king through the witch. That black witch is in a dominant position, which is why I think white simply captures it to relieve the pressure.
What if martin played W/Bd5
e6
At the end of ry's line with 29.. Wf4+ 30. gxf4 Nxf4+ 31. Kf1 Rxg1+ 32. Rxg1 Qxf3, then I have 33.Rxe7 at the end with double threat against c7 and h7. I can respond 33...Rd1+ with 34.We1, so that is not an issue.
26. Bd5 might work since 26... e6 is met with 27. Rxe6, I missed that at first.
yes Nxf4#, obviously. Forgive my sloppy notion!
26. Bd5 still isn't a great move, it doesn't relieve pressure. It does deal with the checkmate threat though.
26... Bxe3 with Qg7 in mind keeps things interesting at least.
30...Ne5
31.Rxe5 Rxe5 32.f4
Now black needs to give back some material. 32...Re6 33.Gh4 Rh6 34.Qf5 wins the witch. I would be expecting black to play 32...Ra5 when I would just pick up a pawn with 33.Bxe7 and create theats both on blacks rook and a threat to win blacks witch with i4. It's possible to calculate a few moves more, but this should be enough to see that I have compensation for the exchange.
25...Bf4
26. gxf4 is out of the question, as 26... Nxf4#
Black threatens Rd2+, bishop+rook for queen, surely an unacceptable exchange for white. Also, Bxe3 followed by Rg2+ is a potential threat. The black queen might also be able to spite check the white king through the witch. That black witch is in a dominant position, which is why I think white simply captures it to relieve the pressure.
I am not 100% sure what I would play here, but after Bxe3, then Rg2+ is not legal since the knight is standing in the way. I would not want to play Bd5 since the whole point with having my queen and bishop on the long diagonal is to put pressure on blacks knight to prevent h5. I want to get rid of that witch on f3 soon, so I can't allow h5.
Maybe 26.Rd1 would work with the intention to respond Bxe3 with Rxd8. It also frees up the e1 square for my king. If black does not find an immediate continuation, then I will get to play hxg4 and chase the witch away.
And if 32... Rf8?
After 33.Rf1 blacks rook on f8 is also hanging and black can not deal with all the threats. Correct?
"I am not 100% sure what I would play here, but after Bxe3, then Rg2+ is not legal since the knight is standing in the way."
The knight can get out of the way with tempo, Nf4+, though if white gets bishop, knight and rook for queen then that's obviously not good for black. I mentioned that threat more as a point of awareness, that black does have plenty of counterplay here.
26. Rd1 is met with 26... Qg7, which comes with a tempo on g1 (threatens to capture the bishop after Rxd1 trade). Not only that, but it activates the queen and prepares spite checks through the witch. There's the potential to dump the bishop trying to avoid the draw...
26... Qg7 27. Gh2 Qe5+ 28 Kf1 Qf6+ 29 Bf5? Qxf5!
Queen cannot recapture...
30. Qxf5?? Rxd1+ 31. We1 We2#
In the position Ry was in (down a pawn vs the best player on the site) I think 25... Bf4 is his best option, but I'm still under the assumption that 26. Bxf3 is your best move. If you can better 26. Bxf3, then it's probably going to be a lot more comfortable.
I mean in Bulldog obviously. I have no idea who the best classic chess player is, nor do I care. I have no chance of ever beating a grandmaster in classic chess, not unless he's drunk. Maybe I could beat Martin if I'm really sharp, I mean I honestly do not think he saw the threat of 25... Bf4 . Ok it might not be winning here, but it shows he can miss creative attacks, which is a weakness. I can find creative attacks. Usually they don't work, but sometimes they do. Martin is beatable.
Holy crap, 3327. That's a sick rating.
I saw Bf4, but I dismissed it in that position, since I did not see what threat it created (I did not see that it created the Rd2+ threat), although I'm sure I would see it if the move was played. My awareness of the move made me to not play f4 when it could be responded by Bxf4.
You at least saw the bishop was immortal due to the checkmate threat, fair enough. But it definitely gives me some hope, which is more than I had after our last game. I just need to open strongly and hope for the best!
Dubious though it may look, I took a bit of time to look at 25... Bxi1 during the game, getting me some material back while giving up an attacking piece
This would be a decent move if you could force the queens off. I think the guard is worth more than the bishop in a queenless middlegame, and certainly in an endgame without rooks. You saw how strong my guard was against auk, it was better than a rook.
gg
I was expecting 30...Ne5 instead of Re5 when I would have sacrificed an exchange with 31.Rxe5.