Cramped, defensive position - Chess Forums

yoshtodd

Jun 18, 2008

0

#1

This whole game I just felt like I had no chance... I'm playing as black. Can anyone show me how I got myself into such a dismal position?

x-5058622868

Jun 18, 2008

0

#2

I don't think i can pinpoint exactly where you went wrong, but maybe someone better can?

I agree with your comments about certain moves being better. Bb7 doesn't look so hot since it's not doing much there unless you plan to trade it for a pawn. You ended up wasting a couple moves later in the game just trying to get it on a better square. There was a wasted move when you played 15. ... Bf6 then 16. ... Bg5 which was where you should've moved in the first place. 18. ... h5 weakened your defense around the king. 19. ... a5 doesn't seem necessary and as you said, it weakens your b pawn.

yoshtodd

Jun 18, 2008

0

#3

Bah I guess I was just psychologically beaten down after losing a bunch of games. Thanks for the comments though guys, sorry for posting such a featureless game.

thepitbull

Jun 19, 2008

0

#4

After 15. Nh2 I keep looking at 2 possibilities, namely, ...Bh4 and ...Qf8. I think of ...Bh4 as a move to "coerce" your opponent to weaken the squares around his king. I think of Qf8 as just a maneuvre to put pressure on the f-file. Perhaps black should play for more pressure on the f-file and try to muscle up that file. But once white controlled that file, it was all over for black.