Nice game. Pawn structures, from the looks of it, really govern the direction of the game out of the opening. I'm gonna do some work on my pawn play, thanks.
Why You Don't "Memorize" Openings
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2 days ago
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Sensei-T wrote:
Nice game. Pawn structures, from the looks of it, really govern the direction of the game out of the opening. I'm gonna do some work on my pawn play, thanks.
Yep, and the reason I say similar to the Exchange Ruy and not exactly the same reversed is that White hadn't played a3 early on like Black plays 3...a6 in the Exchange Ruy, and then also the ending both sides had a pair of Bishops. In the normal Exchange Ruy, or Berlin for that matter, the side with the better pawns has a Knight for a Bishop, so if it were "exactly" the same with colors reversed, it would have been a BB vs BN ending. But yeah, the key was forcing them off into a pure K+P ending, which anyone that has studied the exchange Ruy knows a K+P ending is usually a disaster for the side with the 4-on-3 majority smacked within 3 files.
My second round this weekend is just more proof that you do not memorize openings. You need to UNDERSTAND them.
The following game is a prime example. The game itself is a Petroff. However, after 9 moves, we see a pawn structure that is extremely similar to the Exchange Ruy Lopez with the colors reversed. So while this game is a Petroff, Black spends the rest of the game playing this with the same strategy and mentality that he would in the Exchange Ruy Lopez. Grind the "clean" 4-on-3 majority, and try to eliminate all pieces, and only do enough on the queenside to block the White majority.