I'm an 1100 playing White v 1700 bot. I lost this game but thought I should have won? I don't need specific moves. But I would value your assessment of my situation on the board and what my strategy should have been at this time. Thank you!
What is the Big Picture for White?
I'm an 1100 playing White v 1700 bot. I lost this game but thought I should have won? I don't need specific moves. But I would value your assessment of my situation on the board and what my strategy should have been at this time. Thank you!
For me, I'd immediately develope the f1 Knight ( after securing the hanging B) then launch a queenside pawn storm and open black's king up. No need for subtlety here.
@1
You have RPP vs. BN, which is a material advantage. You have a protected passed pawn on f5. You have a candidate passed pawn on g2. You should trade pieces and convert your pawns in the endgame.
Material: You are up material the equivalent of 4 pawns. You have a rook for a bishop and a couple extra pawns.
King Safety: Your king is much more secured, and is decently protected. Black's king while somewhat protected is definitely more exposed. If the pawns in front of black's king are traded off then black would be forced to trade off material to keep the king safe.
Pawn Structure: Both white and black have decent pawn structures, but white has that advantage with all there pawns being connected, and having a protected passed pawn on f5 (an advantage to hold on to, and convert later with less pieces on the board).
Space: White has a space advantage on the king side, and black has a space advantage on the queenside.
Piece Coordination: White can coordinate most of their pieces easier, but the rook on f7 is exposed, and isolated. If given the opportunity to trade it for black's rook or to bring it back to where it can be supported then that opportunity should be taken. Right now the rook is safe, but that may change soon. Black's pieces are a little bit more disjointed, but are also decently coordinated.
My plan for what white should do would be two fold. First I would take any and every opportunity to make even trades (even using tactics to force even trades) to increase my material advantage. Second would be to expose the blacks king. This should result in either trading off material (increasing first part of my plan), or black giving up more material to avoid checkmate. I would probably play b4 immediately. Black doesn't want to take the bishop on e3, and I need to keep black responding to my threats instead of figuring out how to win my exposed rook. B4 does that and will open up the a file for my rook.
Don't ignore Black's plans. After a trade on e3, c5-c4 pins the knight on e3 and opens up the c5 square for the Bishop to pile up on the pin. It also hits the pawn supporting e4 and moving the c6 knight uncovers an attack on that pawn.
After an e3 trade you will want your queen on d2 and rook on e1 (or if you move the king to f2 then you need to play g3 after Black plays Rg8). Those defensive moves slow down a queen-side attack, but making then may leave their e5 or h5 pawns vulnerable. Remember than after c5-c4 and Qd2 then opening the d file makes d7 your target.
If Black breaks open the center then be prepared to exploit it.