Ok… Ry made the move… we can all go back on vacation for a bit as the ball is in Martin's court.
The good news is that we are now all very familiar with the difficulties of this particular game, and I personally think Qd2 was the crux move of the entire game, and that now decisions will be much easier, win or lose.
Enjoy your weekends.
If Qd2 is bad then so be it. We did need to move, and we didn't have a clear consensus.
9... b5 might force us to play e5, I'm not sure, I'm now going to wait for Martin to move before studying the position again.
I don't mind you assuming my vote if I don't actually make votes. Obviously once we're in 3+ day territory we need to do something, and at the time I was in favour of Qd2, though I'm not going to pretend it was based on my analysis.
I'm going to analyze e5 out of spite. It must have been good for us.
It's still in the position. If he goes b5 we might have to play e5, but I'm not going to waste my time on analysis now until he moves. Maybe he plays h5.
I feel bad for voting for 9. Qd2. At the moment 9. Qd2 is the move I like the most in that position, but that's not because I have some very good reason for that or because I've put a ton of analysis into that move. I've actually looked very little at 9. Qd2. I definitely haven't considered all of black's candidate moves after 9. Qd2 (I didn't even consider 9...b5). I've mostly been looking at our alternatives to 9. Qd2, but not all of them (e.g. I didn't look at 9. Qc2 and I barely looked at 9. Nf3, but many people on the team seem to not like 9. Nf3), and many of the alternatives to 9. Qd2 seemed bad.
I voted for 9. Qd2 in case we needed to make a move soon (and I wasn't there to vote) because it was the move I liked the most at the time. I'm stupid and didn't realize we might make a move early because I voted early just in case.
I will not vote early again until I'm ready to vote and feel confident in the move I'm voting for. But I will say which move I like the most at the time.
Yeah I don't think you should worry about it chess_pro, there comes a point where we just have to make what we think at the time is the best move.
I didn't get round to having a proper look at either Qd2 or Qc2, though I wanted to. I'd spent so much time on e5 that I kind of run out of steam.
I have no issues with Qd2, and I looked at all the candidate moves. e5 was too sharp… we'd have blood on our hands like Lady MacBeth, forever trying to wash its invisibility off, as though it were present day Covid.
Knew he'd be worried about our "stretched arrow."
Had looked at it his reply when considering Qd2, but only briefly.
Wonder what we'll do next?
Having looked at the position, on and off, all day long...
Two candidate moves seem to have more interest than all others.
10. e5 does not work: … Ng4; Bg3 Nxe5; f4 Ned7 and we're down a pawn.
If the Knight comes back for more of Ng4, it doesn't seem to end well for Black, so Martin will take the pawn, reassess. We may have attacking lines from the pawn down position, but they would have to be explored in detail.
Why not h4?
JARP, thanks… I like that one too, now that you mention it.
I'll start looking that one over, too.
No rush. I'm behind in my games and this will have to wait, but I'm off tomorrow so hopefully I'll have something to add at some point tomorrow.
That diagram I posted in #307 was the first time I had ever posted one anywhere. In the interest of getting better at it, I'm going to post some continuations. Unfortunately, with Event moves, teleporting Bishops, they're "illegal" in standard chess, and so to keep things going, another diagram is needed. Sort of tricky to do this posting and be coherent, but here goes.
1) Black likes his current castle defense. It is very effective, and unless Black makes horrendous moves it can hold off any attack.
2) Black is underdeveloped, and a priority is to get pieces off the back rank.
General Analysis of 10. Bd3
You might find musketeer a more suitable tool for analysis in event chess...
https://musketeerchess.net/tools/boardpainter/
It's easier than making a new board, but you won't be able to post your analysis notes in such a nice way, so perhaps you won't prefer it.
Ok so if 9. Qd2 b5, then I think we have to play e5.
Or Bd3, but then our knight has to move back after b4.