Hey Jesse, would love for you take a look at this game played in the English Rat (1. d4 d6 2. c4 e5) in a 15+10 Rapid game. Felt like I got a good position out of the opening but struggled with the positional ideas throughout as I'm fairly knew to this structure & eventually blundered.
[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2020.11.20"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Harish30304"]
[Black "Chess_Gainz"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A41"]
[WhiteElo "1944"]
[BlackElo "2046"]
[TimeControl "900+10"]
[EndTime "21:39:35 PST"]
[Termination "Harish30304 won by resignation"]
{Highlighted this game bc it was my most recent attempt at playing the English
Rat, feel like I got a good position out of the opening but was unsure of how to
tackle the middlegame and eventually made a time pressure mistake that cost me
the game} 1. d4 d6 2. c4 e5 3. Nf3 {my opponent spent almost 1.5 mins on this
move, clearly unprepared for the English Rat!} 3... e4 {the move I've been
practicing with lately} 4. Ng5 f5 5. Nc3 Nf6 {Developing naturally, entering a
Dutch-like setup} (5... h6 {Was possible as well} 6. Nh3 g5 {Seemed a tad risky
to me, overextending the K-side before developing any pieces} 7. e3 Nf6 8. Be2
Bg7 {A setup that may just be worth exploring} 9. O-O (9. Bh5+ Nxh5 10. Qxh5+
Kf8) 9... O-O) 6. f3 {Making it clear early that he didn't appreciate my pawn
being shoved in his face} 6... h6 {Wasn't pleased with the knight controlling my
e6 square} 7. Nh3 {Now I wasn't so sure of what order to continue developing in}
7... c6 {Wanted to give myself the option of potentially playing d5 later to
sustain my control of the center & my clamp on his development} (7... exf3
{briefly considered just taking, but felt that would only give him a comfortable
time developing his own pieces} 8. exf3 Nc6 9. d5 Ne5 ⩲) 8. e3 {Didn't strike me
as a particularly good move for him} (8. Nf4 {Perhaps should've been played,
looking to exploit the light squares that I left unprotected} 8... Kf7 {was
beginning to consider this, as crazy as it seems}) 8... Be7?! {Continuing to
overlook the threat to my light squares} (8... Be6 {Should've been played sooner
rather than later} 9. Nf4 Bf7 ⩲) 9. Be2?! {Missing an opportunity to take
control} (9. fxe4 fxe4 10. Nf4 {the knight now finds a great outpost} 10... O-O
9... O-O 10. O-O Be6 {Putting pressure on his c4 pawn} 11. b3 (11. Nf4 Bf7 12.
fxe4 fxe4 13. d5 {looked pretty good for white as it starts to become unclear as
to how I will hold onto my pawn on e4} 13... Nbd7) 11... d5 {If he's not gonna
be the one to play d5, then why not me?} 12. Nf4 Bf7 13. fxe4 fxe4 {Seemed to
make sense to capture towards the center} 14. a4!? {Interesting move from my
opponent, looking to get some Q-side play going} (14. Bg4 {Was beginning to
wonder how I would meet this, once again eyeing my e6 square} 14... Nxg4 15.
Qxg4 {doesn't look pleasant for black} 15... Qd6?!) 14... Na6 {<10 min. Felt
this would be a flexible move as the knight could go to b4 or back to c7 to
support d5} 15. Ba3 Bxa3 16. Rxa3 Nb4 {Spent almost 3 mins on this one as I
debated what my plan should be going forward. Didn't see much of a future on the
K-side so decided to just fight back on the Q-side} 17. Na2 a5 18. Nxb4 axb4 19.
Ra2 b6 {Didn't want to allow him to play c5 & fix my pawn structure} 20. Qe1?!
{handing me an opportunity that I didn't realize at the time} 20... Qd6
{Defending the pawn on b4, but not thinking deeply enough} (20... g5 {Should've
jumped on the chance to boot the knight from f4 seeing as how it could no longer
come to h5} 21. Nh3 dxc4 22. Bxc4 Bxc4 23. bxc4 {granting me a passed b pawn}
23... Qe7 {& it seems that black is in control}) 21. Qg3 {Made my danger bulb
spark a bit} 21... Rfd8 {<5 min. Making sure the Queen would be defended in the
event of any knight trickery} 22. Rc2 c5 {Was debating this break for a few
moves & with my opponent down to 2 min & threatening to push c5 himself, felt it
was the right time to strike} 23. cxd5 Nxd5 24. Bc4 {Was not anticipating that}
24... Ra7?? {\"Never play Ra7\" -GM Kraai (probably). Wanted to defend my
bishop so that I wouldn't have to expose my King after an eventual Bxf7, but
miscalculated something at the end of the line} (24... Nxf4 25. Bxf7+ Kxf7 26.
Rxf4+ Kg8 27. Rxe4 {looked not so good for me}) (24... cxd4 25. exd4 Nf6 {Maybe
this would've been better, as at least I attack d4}) 25. Bxd5 Bxd5 26. dxc5 {And
at this moment it began to realize that I was in some trouble} 26... bxc5?
(26... Qc6 {Was my last chance to prolong the game but probably still losing}
Rd2 {And now it really hit me that I had miscalculated & was practically
finished} (27. Rd1 Qc6 28. Nxd5 Rxd5 29. Rxd5 Qxd5 30. Qb8+ Kh7 31. Qxa7 Qd1+
Qe5 28. Rxd5 Rxd5 29. Nxd5 Qxg3 {The lesser of two evils} (29... Qxd5 30. Qb8+
{Should've known that the clumsy, unprotected rook would prove a liability}
30... Kh7 31. Qxa7) 30. hxg3 {And the game is essentially over, the last 35
moves only go to show how tilted I was from having let this game spiral
completely out of control in just a matter of moves} 30... c4 31. bxc4 Rxa4 32.
Rb1 b3 33. Rxb3 Rxc4 34. Rb4 Rc5 35. Nf4 Re5 36. Kf2 Kf7 37. g4 Kf6 38. Nh5+ Kg5
Kxg4 Rh8 46. Rf5+ Kg7 47. Nh5+ Kg8 48. Kf4 Rh6 49. Kxe4 Rg6 50. Nf4 Rg3 51. Rf6
Kh7 52. Re6 Kg8 53. Kf5 Kh7 54. e4 Rg7 55. e5 Rf7+ 56. Rf6 Ra7 57. g4 Kg7 58. g5
Rb7 59. g6 Rb1 60. Rf7+ Kg8 61. e6 Rb5+ 62. Kf6 Rb4 63. Nd5 Rh4 64. Ne7+ Kh8 65.
g7+ 1-0
Hi
Here is my recent dojo ladder game 60+15 against Mitch Fabian
(edited)
Due to work and other commitments, I gave up OTB chess about 20 years ago and took up correspondence chess about a dozen years ago. Correspondence ratings are often several hundred points higher than OTB ratings (my peak USCF rating was around 2060). This particular correspondence site allows the use of opening books and game databases and prohibits the use of engines and tablebases, hence my comments about my database. My performance rating this year has been reasonably close to my rating, but I've been unhappy with the mediocre quality of my play. In this, my most recent game, I botched the ending. I'm taking some time off for study, trying to decide what I want to do after the holidays.
Time is 10 I 0 I am black.
In GM Kraai's monthly game review today, he told me he wants to see a game in which I crushed my opponent. I said in chat that I would post it in the Notes in the ChessDojo club, but decided it would be better placed here. This was a 30-minute game played on February 17, 2020. It shows how White can get destroyed if he isn't familiar with the Marshall Gambit. I am not asking GM Kraai to review this for the December game review, as I don't like the idea of submitting a vanity game, but since he has never seen one of my victories, I am posting it here. Next month, we will resume our usual programming. I already have a dismal loss lined up for the December game review.
Hmm
Hi i am new here,hope to meet new people send me a message
!!
heloo
Damn! I missed this event!
BURGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
😬
yyyyyyyyssssssss
hello