Olympic Summer

It was around this time last year that I was fortunate to get a series of competitive games on Chesscube almost every night, which put me through good form for the British Championships that summer. I'll say now that the fortnight there was the best of my life, but I won't be able to publish many games from that tournament yet for reasons that become obvious if I also tell you I will likely be attending this year. Nevertheless, this golden month of games also preceded our Golden Summer of the Olympics, so it's fitting that I show off a little and publish one of the most powerful games I played at the time. Chesscube's ratings can be a little inflated, especially if you consider that many players there are blitz or Warzone specialists (we'll see some batshit warzone games from yours truly later in the week in fact - quite whether they're sound is happily irrelevant), but I think today's game is demonstrative of an opponent seeking to complicate based on looking at his opposite number's rating, and mentally scoffing like Zippy. Prepare to taste the rainbow...

Daniel O'Dowd (1669) vs igorot63 (2140) - Chesscube game, 19.06.2012

60 minutes each for all moves.

1. e4 d6 2. d4 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. Bb5 Bd7 5. Nc3 Nf6 6. O-O a6?

The opening requires some explanation. I believed a Pirc would be an excellent opportunity to test myself against a strong player - deep strategical play is often called for there. By move 3 it looks like we're going into a Philidor, which would also have made me happy, since it would clearly show me some of my shortcomings. When we got to the Spanish Steinitz this was equivalent to home advantage in football, since the opening is so common. So for Black now to play a known error was like God loading the dice for me!

Black could have sustained a normal game with 6...Be7 7. Re1 exd4 since just castling falls into the Tarrasch Trap:

7. Bxc6 Bxc6 8. dxe5 Nxe4 9. Nxe4 Bxe4

I took a little while here but this was mostly to analyse the consequences of my next move, which was an error. I would now think a bit here before moving since there's clearly some stuff to work out.

10. exd6?! Bxd6

I realised I had made a mistake here and had to act precisely to get my equality back!

Black did well to avoid  10...cxd6:

a) 11. Re1 d5 12. Nd2 Be7 13. Nxe4 dxe4 14. Qg4 ±

b) 11. c4 Be7 12. Re1 Bxf3 13. Qxf3 O-O is slightly more forgiving.

10...Qxd6 is no better: 11. Qe2 f5 12. Ng5 O-O-O 13. Nxe4 fxe4 14. Qxe4 O-O-O and although hardy souls may see practical compensation for Black, it isn't enough. 

Back to the game. 

11. Qd4 looks like an odd move, but is actually an admission of guilt. Black is being forced to give up one of his Bishops - he clearly can't afford to eat c2. 

So it may come as a surprise when you see that Black responded with 11...Qe7?

 
 

You can't do that?!

Black has looked at the rating beside my name, and is trying to open a big can of whoopass! But does he have the tin openers for it? 

Instead, clearly better was 11...Bxf3 12. Qe3+ (the point of my last move) ...Qe7 13. Qxf3 O-O-O when Black is slightly ahead.

 











To be fair to Black, this case of practical chess isn't all that bad - it's going to take some very strong cough medicine to blast open the Black position. What would you do here?

I managed to see just about everything here, and soon showed Black what it's like to eat the purple berries.



12. Re1 f5 13. Bg5 Qe6

If ...Qf7 14. Nd2 O-O 15. Nxe4 fxe4 16. Rxe4 and Black has chances to keep that pretty head of his.

 









14. Qxg7 (since now 14. Nd2 fails to Be5! when everything is defended) ...Rg8 15. Qxh7! 

Have I got Margaret Thatcher on the board? Talk about an Iron Lady.

Had White tried to simplify with 15. Qf6? Qxf6 16. Bxf6 Kf7! 17. Rxe4 fxe4 18. Ng5+ Kxf6 19. Nxe4+ Kf5 is a nasty shock that leaves him crippled.

Morphine please.

 











With a Queen perilously placed on h7, things are right on the knife-edge but it's White who's holding the sharp end at his opponent's throat.

15...Qg6

I had a shock in store if he tried to exchange: 15...Qf7? 16. Rxe4+! fxe4 17. Qxe4+ Kd7 18. h4 with a strong attack for the exchange.

 










16. Qxg6 Rxg6 17. h4!

The pin remains absolute, and although Black has the two Bishops it's White's pieces who are swarming about like bees.

17...Kd7 18. Rad1 Rh8??

If Black had played 18...Re8 I intended 19. c4?

Black to move and put the fear of God up White...

 












whereupon Black could strike back, Republic style, with 19...Bxf3 20. gxf3 Rxe1+ 21. Rxe1 Bf4! 22. Kf1 Bxg5 23. hxg5 Rxg5 which would lead to a very difficult Rook ending. There will be a lot of Rook endings featured on this blog very soon, but for now the Rookometer stays at 0.

  
19. Ne5+ Kc8 20. Nxg6 Rg8 21. h5 Kb8

Missing 21. Rxd6 despite the earlier heroics, but I forgave myself this one easily. White now finishes Black off as if he was playing Mortal Kombat.

22. Rd2 Bb4 23. c3 Bc5 24. Rd8+ Rxd8 25. Bxd8 Bd6 26. Be7 Bc2 27. Bxd6 cxd6 

FINISH HIM!

28. f4 Kc7 29. h6 Be4 30. h7 d5 31. h8Q Kb6 32. Qd4+ Kc7 33. c4 dxc4 34. Qxc4 Kb6 35. Ne7 a5 36. Nc8#

It's fitting that the hard-working solid Rook on e1 is still there, harassing the Bishop who has fittingly returned to the scene of his defrocking.

So despite trying to mix it, Black went wrong very simply by disobeying a fundamental law of chess - King Safety. Yes, he put his Queen in the way as well, but had he castled when had the chance, none of this would have happened. That said, I was delighted to so comprehensively outplay someone from such a tense position! Certainly a game I'll always remember.

In the next post you will see a game from the British Championships, but in a twist, it'll be from the 2011 edition in Sheffield. Features will include the début of the Rookometer, a series of eleven consecutive Knight moves, and more ups and downs than a gold-medal winning trampolinist at the Olympics.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bouncy bouncy!