Hmmm... this sounds familiar - I'm sure I saw it someplace... Please refer me to the article :-)
P.s. I'm not sure that this is really what he wanted - as he didn't play f4 at any point...
Do you think that he would go f4 in case I refrained from ...cxd4? Who knows...
Of course it's impossible to say for sure, but in my experience the early Ne5 intends f4, yeah.
Try this link:
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/kibitzing?kid=P44815&reply=128922
Loving your tournament writeup!
Thanks! It may prove to be a valuable resource.
Littledragons you're right :-) Somebody really ought to take some pictures as the setting is marvelous.
Wonderful explanation, Shams!
Any games you can show me where this "Kryptonite" antidote was played? It may well prove useful! :-)
Hmm, I can't really find any. It's hard to find master games with the stonewall variation anymore! I'll keep an eye out though. I can't remember the name of the master whose videos gave me this plan, but he was an obscure American player.
Another good game. I really enjoy reading such detailed annotation from a better player. Round 4: a long showcase of endgame technique.
22. Ra3 doesn't look like it solves white's problems (not much seems to.) Maybe as black after that, instead try 22...Be6!? piling up on b3: 22...Be6 23. Rfa1 f5! 24. Bc2 Re2 with activity (24. Bd3 Rxb3; 24. Bc6 Rb6 25. Ba4 look dubious; 24. Bb1 Rbb5 threatening ...Bxb3 next.) To me it looks like 22...Ba6 chases the rook to where it wants to go, while 22...Be6 puts a finger on white's weakness.
36...e4 looks more direct. The b4-pawn isn't running away, why not wait to take? The idea here is also Rg3 now is met by ...g5, and now the forward-moving idea is swinging the king to the kingside and advancing carefully there. 36...e4 37. Kc2 (37. Ke2 Rxb4 38. Rg3 h4 is now available) Ke5 38. Rc3 Rxb4. If the rook leaves h3, ...g5 is usually available; if not Rxb4 is good in other cases too. This is versus the idea of white's h4 fixing the pawns, which was really good in the game.
I also think maybe 39...Ke5 then Kf4 was a better plan. The position is already very diluted, so keeping pawns on as long as possible is good. Depending on white's treatment, he'd need to allow either ...g5, ...Rxb3 or ...e3 at some point perhaps. Looks quite drawish, although hard to hold or convert.
A very technical game. It's hard to definitively point out anything wrong on either side, really, and white's play was very good after the simplification to R+P. After 42...Rxb3 43. Rg5 I suspect a 7-piece tablebase would call it drawn (?) and really, the winning chances were mostly earlier.
Still, good game! Looking forward to seeing the rest, and good luck!
<Shams> don't be so modest :-) your own games will do amply for now :-)
By the way - I noticed <SFR>'s setup (from the chessgames.com page you sent me to), whereby he played an idea of d6 and Nc6 to just push e5 (after he fianchettoed and castled) and explode everything in sight.
Your idea comes into play when black has already committed to ...d5, of course. I liked it!
<Littledragons> you're right. What exactly do you want me to photograph? Let me know what scenes/picture you would like to see, and I'll do my very utmost to oblige you :-)
<Remellion> deserves a separate comment to deal with her detailed remarks
Such a big tournament but its marketing/coverage is horrible to say the least. When they can spend so much money for the tournament why cant they spend little more for promotion!!!!!!
I cant see any games or results being covered in any site apart from their own poorly updated wordpress site!
Now to you, Remellion :-)
So - before going into details, I'll just say that after posting the game (as I do in every case), I go over it with Houdini.
This is especially the case in a rook ending, where Houdini can tell you at a glance whether it's a draw or a win.
Houdini was, by and large, pleased with both players - except where I had a chance to put in ...e3, which was a resounding winning move - and where I was concerned (you will see that in my commentary) that if I advance the pawn there, it would rob my king of an entry square.
This was applying the right idea in the wrong place!
In many R-endings, the pawn has to stay on the 5th rank to preserve winning chances and allow the king to go in front of it.
However, in the position under discussion, on my 39th move, his pieces are rather disorganized. It's true that after ...e3 my king would be blocked in entering his game - but actually the only thing blocking him would be his king, who would leave upon receiving just one check from my rook!
The resulting position would be utterly crushing.
Now I will go to your own input, which is very well thought out. I like the idea of learning through discussion - which is very valuable, and doesn't always happen online.
Your first suggestion is interesting, although on ...f5 in that line (22. Ra3 Be6 23. Rfa1 f5), the bishop will probably stand better on d3 than on c2.
Black will feast upon one of the b-pawns (24. Bd3 Rxb3) and will keep a bind on black. I'm not sure if this position is more promising than what I got in the game. In this variation I still keep a Q-side pawn, but I don't get a passer in the center so easily. The line could continue, for example, 25. Rxb3 Bxb3 26. f4!, putting his pawns on black squares and crippling my majority. He will probably manage to liquidate more K-side pawns and has excellent drawing chances eventually.
Your second idea - well, it's tough to see everything... I didn't think about his fixing the pawns, and even when he did, I didn't think that it was an issue... turned out that it was!
I got in both ...Rxb4 and ...e4 in moves 36 and 37. While ...e4 a move earlier does establish a connection between the rook and the g5 square, I didn't see the plan of swinging my king over to the K-side.
These R-endings are so confusing! It seems that lots of experience and knowledge are necessary in each individual position, just to know which piece needs to stand where. With the computer analysis in front of you it all looks so simple and logical - but go and find your way in the labyrinth during an actual game - especially where these pieces are so flexible and change their roles and functions so frequenetly!
About your third comment - do yourself a favor, check out 39...e3 with your favorite engine - you will not believe what you will learn from this about winning structures and ideas. I know, because I did this yesterday night.
It's true, that once I missed 39...e3!, whatever I do should result in a draw - which it did!
<ChezzAnna> Thank you for your comment :-) This thread is about the experiences of one specific player in the tournament.
The purposes of the thread are:
1) to help me improve my game, through writing out my thoughts about the game;
2) to keep in touch with fellow chess lovers the world over
3) to exchange information and ideas about the games, the openings, the endings, the structures, tactics and strategy and everything that can help people learn, advance and enjoy the game.
Have a nice day! :-)
Hi Solskytz, I absolutely like your thread and we are getting to see such nice game of yours(and comments). I am very sad that we are not getting to know other games of the tournament because of zero coverage. There could be
1. All games published on their site
2. They could put more info on each players like their tournament elo performance so far etc...
3. Video coverage of the tournament with top table 4-5 table of each category game being analysed etc...
Great thread, thank you Solskytz, specially for the detailed comments about the moves in each game. I'm an absolute beginner but I still enjoyed and appreciated your games
Dear ChezzAnna,
thanks for your appreciation of my gamees and annotations :-)
From this page: http://echecs.asso.fr/FicheTournoi.aspx?Ref=28464 - you have all of the information on the B tournament. Specifically, performances are here: http://echecs.asso.fr/ResultatNew.aspx?URL=Tournois/Id/28464/28464&Action=Ga (see last column).
I'm in 16th place. Still within striking distance of reaching the top. Let's hit'em!!!
And thank you, Siddh5. Your enjoyment is my highest goal :-)
Thanks for the links
<Littledragons> I actually wasn't. Tell me what you want to see, and if possible, you'll get a couple of photos of it within a day or two.
Is "disaster" too big a word when speaking about a board game? It sure is. Everything that happens on the sixty-four-square board should be taken in the right proportions. Chess is a pastime. It's a sport. It's supposed to be fun.
But sometimes you have a really crushing position against a stronger player, the kind of position that you've earnestly worked for - positional buildup, sacrifices, tactics, some prophylaxis... and you know - dropping the queen there without any apparent reason, how can I say it - well, it doesn't fit in the picture.
So, without further ado - here's today effort. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have.
Looks to me like White wanted a Stonewall-- you should have followed the anti-stonewall scheme I wrote about on chessgames! Qc7, Nbd7, Bg7, 0-0, e6, Ne8!, Ndf6, Nd6, b6, Bb7 and life is great for Black. :)