Can you explain to me the importance of the move c6 as black in the third move of Reti?
I mean it doesn't control the center and it defends a pawn that already being defended by another piece.

[Event "Tournament Game"]
[White "N, N"]
[Black "Nukleuz"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "C55"]
[WhiteElo "1800"]
[BlackElo "1800"]
[PlyCount "80"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. c3 Nxe4 5. O-O d5 6. Bb5 Bg4 7. Re1 Bc5 8. d4
exd4 9. cxd4 Be7 10. Qc2 Bd7 11. Bd3 Nb4 12. Qb3 Nxd3 13. Qxd3 c6 14. Nc3 Nxc3
15. bxc3 O-O 16. Ne5 Bf6 17. Bf4 Qc8 18. Nxd7 Qxd7 19. Re3 Rae8 20. Rh3 g6 21.
Bh6 Bg7 22. Bxg7 Kxg7 23. Qd2 f6 24. Re1 Rxe1+ 25. Qxe1 Re8 26. Re3 Kf7 27. Kf1
Rxe3 28. Qxe3 Qf5 29. Qc1 Qd3+ 30. Kg1 b6 31. h3 Kg7 32. Qa3 Kh6 33. Qxa7 Qxc3
34. Qxb6 Qe1+ 35. Kh2 Qxf2 36. a4 Qf4+ 37. Kg1 Qe3+ 38. Kh2 Qf4+ 39. Kg1 Qe3+
40. Kh2 Qf4+ 1/2-1/2


This was a very frustrating game for me. My opponent sacrificed a pawn and gained basically nothing, although of course both sides didn't play the opening perfectly. But the reason I'm posting this game is what happened then: I though I was on a good way, exchanging some pieces, preventing any active play from him. After 24. Re1 I had missed this idea to exchange rooks, and this might be a very good move by white indeed. Fritz likes black a lot but practically the queen ending was too difficult for me, neither on the board nor at home could I find a convincing winning plan. So two questions:
1) What do you think about the queen ending? Of course 31...Kg7 blunders to a draw, but can black win this?
2) What about the situation before that? I don't mean where to improve on individual moves, because I feel in this game the problem was more a wrong concept / evaluation / long term goal than playing some suboptimal move. So what should I aim for, after say move 13, and how are the exchanges to be evaluated? I'm not really sure where I went wrong, besides not being 100% accurate, and I was really disappointed that I failed to convert a simple extra pawn in such a situation.

[Event "Club Championship"]
[Site "L.A. California"]
[Date "2010.02.04"]
[White "katar (2011)"]
[Black "Fred G. (2050)"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.Nc3 a6 4.g3 Nc6 5.Bg2 d6 6.O-O Nf6 7.d3 Be7 8.Ng5 h6 9.
Nh3 Qc7 10.f4 Bd7 11.f5 e5 12.Nd5?! Nxd5 13.exd5 Nd4 14.g4? O-O-O?? 15.c3 Nb5
16.a4 Na7 17.b4 Kb8 18.Be3 Nc8 19.Qb3 Rdf8 20.c4 Bd8 21.Nf2 cxb4 22.a5 g6
23.f6 Bxf6 24.Ne4 Bg5 25.Bxg5 hxg5 26.Qxb4 Bxg4 27.Rf6 Bf5 28.Nxd6 Nxd6
29.Rxd6 Ka7 30.Rb6 Rb8 31.d6 Qc8 32.Rb1 e4 33.dxe4 Bxe4 34.Bxe4 Qg4+ 35.
Bg2 Qd4+ 36.Kf1 Qd3+ 37.Kg1 Qe3+ 38.Kf1
1/2-1/2

This was G/90, sudden death.

Despite the opening mistakes (14...h5 would have given Black a clear advantage), this was a fairly tense and exciting game. 33.dxe4? threw away the win (33.c5). I had expected only 33...Bh3, e.g., 34.Bxh3 Rxh3 35.d7 (1-0), so i almost fell out of my chair after 33...Bxe4. We were both a bit short of time at that stage.

Hi, Dennis!!!!!

Had recently one very complicated game playing Black.


1.d4 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3.Nc3 d5 4. Bg5 e6 5.Nf3 h6 6. Bh4 dxc4 7. e4 g5 8. Bg3 b5 9.Be5 Nbd7 10. Be2 Bb7 11.Qc2 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Ng8 13.Rd1 Qb6 14. 0-0 Bc5 15. a4 a6 16. h3 Ne7 17. Nh2 Ng6 18. Ng4 Be7 19.Kh1 h5 20.Nf6 Bxf6 21.exf6 e5 22.Rd6 Rd8 23. Rxd8 Qxd8 24. Rd1 Qxf6 25. Qd2 Qe7 26.axb5 axb5 27. Qe3 Nf4 28. Kg1 0-0 29. Bf3 Rd8 30. Rxd8 Qxd8 31. Kh2....

from this move on white had only 30 seconds left on the clock, so I started doing some stupid things to keep him thinking until he blundered his queen before resigning. All in all, nothing to write home about probably. But I have 3 specific questions.

1. Was the oppening stage ok for Black, or I missed some tactical blow?

2. Was Black winning at some point towards the end of the game?

3. What would be the plan for Black after 24.. Qxf6?


Thanks in advance!

Hi all! How's it going? This is my first post here. My name's Josh I never post here at the forums but I'm a regular follower of the vids.

I wondered whether a recent game of mine would be interesting at all. It was a blitz game in which I get a strong attacking position and pretty much ignore material loss to maintain the pressure. My question is, am I justified in giving up all the material that I do in this kind of position, or am I actually just being reckless?

Here's the game...please ignore the wierd things in between the moves - if you paste it into Chessbase it will show up normally.

[Event "rated blitz match"]
[Site "Free Internet Chess Server"]
[Date "2010.04.13"]
[Round "?"]
[White "FlintEastwood"]
[Black "ElMagoVago"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1215"]
[BlackElo "1247"]
[ECO "C60"]
[TimeControl "300"]

1. e4 {[%clkms 300000]} e5 {[%clkms 300000]} 2. Nf3 {[%clkms 298778]} Nc6
{[%clkms 299437]} 3. Bb5 {[%clkms 297722]} Nge7 {[%clkms 297437]} 4. O-O
{[%clkms 294261]} a6 {[%clkms 296218]} 5. Ba4 {[%clkms 292814]} b5 {[%clkms
295109]} 6. Bb3 {[%clkms 291737]} Ng6 {[%clkms 287969]} 7. c3 {[%clkms
275503]} Bc5 {[%clkms 282687]} 8. d4 {[%clkms 263287]} exd4 {[%clkms 280406]}
9. cxd4 {[%clkms 261815]} Bb6 {[%clkms 277671]} 10. Ng5 {[%clkms 240670]} O-O
{[%clkms 267906]} 11. Qh5 {[%clkms 238080]} h6 {[%clkms 246812]} 12. Qxg6
{[%clkms 237059]} hxg5 {[%clkms 237484]} 13. Bxg5 {[%clkms 223937]} Qe8
{[%clkms 235437]} 14. Bh6 {[%clkms 215194]} Bxd4 {[%clkms 233093]} 15. Rd1
{[%clkms 178899]} Bxb2 {[%clkms 223812]} 16. f4 {[%clkms 169094]} Ne7
{[%clkms 213093]} 17. Qg3 {[%clkms 158951]} Kh7 {[%clkms 181546]} 18. Bg5
{[%clkms 146509]} Ng6 {[%clkms 175874]} 19. Qh3+ {[%clkms 124316]} Kg8
{[%clkms 171030]} 20. Qh5 {[%clkms 106772]} Nh8 {[%clkms 150765]} 21. e5
{[%clkms 96355]} Bxa1 {[%clkms 143171]} 22. Qg4 {[%clkms 62119]} d6 {[%clkms
137999]} 23. Qg3 {[%clkms 53442]} dxe5 {[%clkms 133093]} 24. Bf6 {[%clkms
45370]} Ng6 {[%clkms 118312]} 25. Qxg6 {[%clkms 39153]} e4 {[%clkms 96202]}
26. Qxg7# {[%clkms 37118]} {ElMagoVago checkmated} 1-0

I've been playing now for two years. I go down the club occasionally but have never played in any tournaments. So I have no idea of my true ELO or anything like that, but I tend to hover around 1250 (Blitz) and 1600 (Rapid) on FICS.

Anyway, this game may or may not be interesting to you (or something in between!)...but if you do have thoughts on it I'd be very pleased to hear them. But no offense taken if not

One point I would make is that it MIGHT be a good illustration of why the old Nge7 version of the Ruy Lopez is so horrible. I find the Spanish very vollatile - it can go either way generally - but I don't think I've lost yet to this particular variation. Of course, I'm sure there's a lot more to it than first meets the eye, but in general I'm always pretty happy if I see somebody playing this.

Anyway, I look forward to hearing any thoughts! cheers

Dennis:

Here's another game that I like a lot. My questions are mostly "offstage" in the game itself, so here's the .pgn, with my brief notes, then I'll ask questions:

[Event "PCO"]
[Site "Cridl@nd Family"]
[Date "2008.07.24"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Cridl@nd, Gr@h@m"]
[Black "Freedl@nd, Joshu@"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B18"]
[WhiteElo "1794"]
[BlackElo "1884"]
[Annotator "M@tthew,Gr@h@m"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[TimeControl "240+2"]

{319MB, Fritz10.ctg, SUZANNE} 1. e4 c6 (1... e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6
5. O-O) 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Bf5 5. Ng3 Bg6 6. Nh3 Nd7 (6... Nf6 7. Nf4
e5 8. Nxg6 hxg6 9. dxe5 Qa5+ 10. Bd2 Qxe5+ 11. Qe2 Qxe2+ = {
Radjabov-Anand, Linares 2008}) 7. Nf4 Ngf6 (7... e5 8. Nxg6 hxg6 9. dxe5 (9. Qe2 $5) 9... Qa5+ 10. Bd2 Qxe5+ 11. Qe2 = {Pfretzschner-Reusch, 1993 (1/2-1/2 in 23).}) 8. Bc4 {This move is intended to
provoke ...e6, which is indeed the game continuation and which is Fritz's
preference. It is also completely wrong. There is no reason for Black to
delay ...e5, equalizing.} e6 (8... e5 9. Nxg6 hxg6 10. Qe2 Qe7 11. Be3 exd4 12.
Bxd4 Qxe2+ {And Black's solid position makes the Bishops essentially academic.}
) (8... Nb6 9. Bb3 c5 (9... e6 10. h4 Bd6 11. h5 Be4 12. Nxe4 Nxe4 13. Qd3 Nf6
14. Be3 {(Muniz Pardino-Rey Cid, Ferrel 2002)}) 10. Qe2 Qxd4 11. O-O =) 9. h4
Nb6 10. Bb3 Bd6 11. h5 Be4 12. Nxe4 Nxe4 13. Qd3 Nf6 14. Bd2N (according to my database, which is a few years outdated - need to go to TWIC) {The position before 14. Bd2 arose from a slightly different move order (9. ...Bd6 and 10. ..
.Nb6) in (Muniz Pardino-Rey Cid, Ferrel 2002). Muniz Pardino chose 14. Be3...}
(14. Be3 Nbd5 15. Nxd5 cxd5 16. O-O-O Qc7 {(1-0 in 34 moves).}) {I wanted to castle Queenside, but without blocking the e-file. Also, I thought an eventual Bd2-c3 and Nf4-d3-e5 would be a useful option. With c2-c3 available
and the rook coming to d1, the d pawn is adequately defended. I think Black needs to
do three things to obtain equality; get castled on the Queenside, play h7-h6,
and exchange central pawns. In the game, he leaves out the second step and
White gains the advantage.} 14... Qc7 15. g3 (15. Qf3 $1 h6 (15... Qe7 16. h6
$1) 16. O-O-O O-O-O 17. Kb1 Kb8 (A bit better for white, for instance:) 18. Bxe6 fxe6 19. Nxe6 Qf7 20. Nxd8 Rxd8)
15... O-O-O 16. O-O-O (16. h6!) 16... e5? {This is refuted tactically. Black's minor pieces are loose.} (16... Nbd5 17.
Ne2 h6 18. c4 {Is maybe a little better for White, but nothing like the game.
After Qf3 and Kb1, Black is still solid, if cramped.}) (16... Nfd5 17. Ne2 h6
18. c4 c5 19. Kb1 Nf6 20. Nc3 cxd4 21. Nb5 with a comfortable position) 17. dxe5! {The right move
order. I considered the immediate Qf5+, but this runs into a better defense.}
(17. Qf5+ Qd7 18. Qxd7+ Nfxd7 19. dxe5 Nxe5 20. h6 g6 21. Bc3 {
With an edge but not a won game.}) 17... Bxe5 18. Qf5+ Kb8 19. Nd3 Bd6 (19...
Rxd3 20. Qxd3 c5 21. Rh4 Rd8 22. Qf1!) 20. h6! {20. c4 and 20. Bc3 are both better for White, but this move essentially wins on the spot.}
Qd7 (20... Ne8) 21. Qxd7 (21. Qf3 {may be even stronger:} Rhg8 22. hxg7 Nfd5
23. c4 Nxc4 24. Bxc4 Rxg7 25. Bxd5 cxd5 26. Bc3) 21... Rxd7 22. hxg7 Rg8
23. Bc3 Nfd5 24. Rxh7 (24. Bd4 is even stronger) 24... Nxc3 25. bxc3 Ba3+ 26. Kd2 Kc7 27.
Ke2 Nd5 28. Bxd5 {Not only the best move, but rules out opposite colored
bishops in any simplified ending.} cxd5 29. Nf4 Kc6 30. Nh5 f5 31. Rh8 Rdd8 32.
Rh7 Rd6 33. Rh8 Rdd8 34. Rxg8 Rxg8 35. Kd3 Bc5 36. f3 Be7 37. Re1 Kd6 38. Kd4
Bg5 39. Rb1 b6 40. Rb5 Bh6 41. Rxd5+ Kc6 42. Rxf5 Bxg7+ 43. Nxg7 Rxg7 44. g4
Rd7+ 45. Kc4 Rd2 46. Kb3 a5 47. a4 Rd1 48. g5 1-0



I have used this Caro-Kann sideline for a number of years, because many nonmasters don't think of the equalizing lines (which almost all involve e7-e5). There are two problems. First, is there a way to keep the game going after black plays e7-e5 as in Radjabov-Anand? A few ideas about how to think about these open positions would help; they come up in other openings too but without pawns in the center, I often run out of things to do. Second, how should a player in the 1800-2200 Elo range think about unclear sacrifices? How do you go about evaluating positions where there is a material/initiative offset? This opening leads to a lot of opportunities to chop on e6.

To Josh:

I don't know the specifics without going back but 26 Kd2 has to be played to avoid the king getting stuck on b1 forever; the king isn't in the line of fire because all of black's pieces are needed to defend against the g7 pawn. The back rank issues are a much bigger problem than any counterplay against the king Black might get.

I wonder why white played 26. Kd2 there - that seems strange to me, running straight into the line of fire, and means (as far as I can I tell by my untutored eye ) that he misses a winning tactic later on in the game. 31Nf6 would be lethal, but it's useless in this line because the rooks escapes with tempo. White wins anyway, but it seems like he could have won faster,

I'd love an analysis of the following game, it's a Classical Caro Kann and I'm curious how I played the midgame. I made a horrible blunder on the last move (time trouble), but nevertheless, I'm interested to see how I played =)

Hey Dennis!

I played the following game in a team tournament. I discussed the game with my teammates, yet the aftermath of 11... Nf4 is unclear to me. Here's the game:

White: Derek S.
Black: Daniel D.
Time Control: 45/90 + G/60 (all w/ 5 sec. delay)
1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 g6
3. Nc3 Bg7
4. e4 d6
5. f4 O-O
6. Nf3 Nh5? (Obviously, I got my openings mixed up. Against the Four Pawns Attack, playing for f5/e5 here is an untested idea.)
7. Bd3? Nc6?!
8. Be3 e5
9. fxe5 dxe5
10. d5 Nd4
11. Qd2 Nf4 (I considered the moves Nf4, Bg4, c6, and a few others here. I thought White trading his dark-squared bishop would be near-fatal here, but I still don't see a concrete variation. I see that 12. Bxf4 exf4 13. Nxd4 Bxd4 14. e5? Bxe5 is OK for Black...)
12. Bxf4!? exf4
13. Qxf4 f5
14. O-O-O fxe4
15. Qxe4 Nxf3
16. gxf3 Qf6
17. Nhf1 Bd7
18. Qe2 a6 (W: 65 min, B: 31 min - The idea of a6, b5, etc. takes time but contesting the center doesn't accomplish much.)
19. Ne4 Qd4
20. Bb1 Bh6+ (W: 43, B: 25)
21. Kc2 Qe5
22. Kb3!? b5
23. c5 c6
24. Nc3 Rae8 (W: 20, B: 14 - When I get the time, I'll analyze the positions which result from Qxe2, Qf4, Rae8, Rf8, and other moves...)
25. Qxe5 Rxe5
26. Be4 Bf5 (preparing to exchange my bad bishop, once/if White's knight moves away)
27. Ka3 Be3
28. b4 a5
29. Rd3 cxd5
30. Bxd5 Kg7
31. Ne4 Rxd5!? (W: 13, B: 3 - Rxd5 is a shot in a difficult position, trying to create a useful imbalance in the position)
32. Rxd5? axb4+
33. Kxb4 Bxe4
34. Rd7+ Kh6
35. fxe4?? Rxf1 (2R+4P versus R+2B+3P is a murky endgame, but now the rest is simple)
36. Kxb5 Rb1+
37. Kc6 Rc1
38. Rd5 Ra1
39. Rd3 Bg1
40. Kd7 Rxa2
41. c6 Bxh2
42. Rh3+ Kg7
43. Rxh2 Rxh2
44. e5 Kf8
45. c7 Rd2+ (making the time control with a minute to spare)
46. Kc6 and resigns, 0-1

Dear Dennis,

I played this short game on the internet, a couple of weeks
ago. It was a tournement where the players had 6 days for 2 moves. Such a game
gives you the possibility to analyze the game by playing the moves on the board.
Is this also good way of improving your chess or do you prefer the "people behind
the board" method?

At the moment I am looking at the "Isolated Queen's Pawn" positions and this
was actually my first real game. I won this game, but this was more due to the difference
in rating (in real live my rating is about 1840) I know a lot can be improved,
especially for Black. So it would be nice if you could tell us some (your) ideas
on the IQP.

To improve in chess is to analyze your own games. But how you do this? You
can use a computer program and he will spot every tactical moves when available.
But such a program does not tell you where you took the wrong plan. So perhaps
you can give some pointers on how to analyze the own games.

[White "Badenhop, Wim"]
[Black "Puente, Alejandro Liñares"]

1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Nf3 Bd6 {
The most common moves:} (6... Be7) (6... Bb4) 7. Bd3 (7. c5 {The most played move
in my database. White has a pawn majority on the queen side.
Black's counterplay may exist in ...e5. However will he play this move soon after he
played 5... e7-e6.}) (7. Bg5 {is also a possibility. If Black takes on c4,
we get the same position, however with an extra tempo for White.}) 7... dxc4 8. Bxc4 {my first IQP!} O-O 9. O-O Nbd7
10. Bg5 b6 (10... h6) 11. Re1 (11. d5 {Is this already possible?} e5 (11... exd5 12. Bxd5 Rb8
13. Bxf7+) (11... Ne5 12. Bb3 h6 13. Bh4 Ba6 14. Re1 $14) 12. Ne4 Qc7 (12...
Be7 $2 13. d6) 13. Nxf6+ Nxf6 14. Bxf6 gxf6 15. Rc1 $14) 11... Bb7 12. Qe2 Re8
13. Ne5 Rc8 14. Bb3 a6 15. Rad1 Qc7 16. Bc2 (16. Qd3 Nxe5) (16. h4 $11) 16...
b5 {after 17. a3 Black can still play ...b4} (16... Nd5 17. Bxh7+) 17. Bb1 Nd5 $2 18.
Bxh7+ Kf8 19. Bb1 (19. Ne4) (19. Nxd5) (19. Qh5) (19. Nxd7+ {
gets the queen from the c-file}) 19... Bxe5 20. dxe5 Kg8 21. Qh5 Nf8 (21... g6 22.
Bxg6 fxg6 23. Qxg6+) 22. Rd3 Ne7 {Analyzing "out of my head" gave the following
2 variations: 1) 23. Bxe7, Rxe7 (Dxe7) 24. Rh3 f6 (after Ng6 follows mate) 2)
23. Rh3, Nfg6 24. Bxg6, fxg6 (after Nxg6 again mate). After moving the pieces, I found
:} 23. Rh3 Neg6 (23... Nfg6 24. Bxe7 Rxe7
) 24. Bxg6 Nxg6 (24... fxg6 25. Qh8+ Kf7 26. Bf6) 25. Qh7+ Kf8 26. Qh8+ Nxh8
27. Rxh8# {mate} 1-0

Hi, Dennis!

Here is another game I played as Black. It is not to complicated.

1. d4 c6 2.c4 d5 3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Nc3 a6 5. g3 Nc6 6.Bg2 Nf6 7. Nf3 Bf5 8.0-0 e6 9.a3 Be7 10.b4 b5 11.Bb2 0-0 12. Rc1 Rc8 13.Ne5 Nxe5 14. dxe5 Nd7 15.f4 Rc4 16.e3 Nb6 17.Ne2 Rxc1 18.Qxc1 Nc4 19. Nd4 Bg6 20. Re1 Qa8 21. Bf1 Rc8 22. Bxc4 Rxc4 23.Qd2 Bd8 24. Rc1 Bb6 25. Rxc4 dxc4 26. Qg2 Be4 27.Qd2 Qd5 28. Qc3 Bh1 29.Qd2 Be4 30. Qc3 Bd3 31. Qd2 Qe4? ( 31.. Bxd4 32. Bxd4 Qf3 33. Qc1 Be4 34. Qf1 Qh1+ 35. Kf2 Dh2+) 32. Bc3 h6 33. Kf2? Dh1 34. Nf3?? Qf1#

I wonder what would be the best defence for White in this endgame?

Thanks in advance!

Hi, Dennis, Thanks for analyzing that Queen pawn ending for me, i just finished a game that with Old Indian Defense, i didn't see serious blunders, but i ended with a fork trick with mating threat. I just want to ask if you see any tactic tricks or serious blunders, thanks.
[Event "7th Chess.com Thematic Tournament - Old Indian Defense (1401-1600) - Round 1"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2010.05.01"]
[White "BBQ"]
[Black "wuzhe"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1435"]
[BlackElo "1521"]
[TimeControl "1 in 3 days"]
[Termination "wuzhe won by checkmate"]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7 5.e4 {Thematic Game - This is the starting position.}
exd4 6.Qxd4 c5 7.Qd2 Be7 8.Qf4 O-O 9.g4 Ne8 10.h4 Nc7
11.Ng5 Bxg5 12.hxg5 Ne6 13.Qf5 g6 14.Qd5 Nb6 15.Qd3 Nxg5 16.Nb5 a6 17.Nxd6 Bxg4 18.Nxb7 Qxd3 19.Bxd3 Nf3+ 20.Kf1 Ne5
21.Nxc5 Rac8 22.b4 Nxd3 23.Nxd3 Nxc4 24.a4 Rfd8 25.Nf4 Bf3 26.Rh3 Rd1# 0-1

Hi! Dennis
i've got another interesting game here, we drew by agreement, could you help me analyze this game? espiecially the endgame, can white/black win that game?

[Event "NCR vs JulesCesar's Fan - Board 10"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2010.05.13"]
[White "wuzhe"]
[Black "v4v4s"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[WhiteElo "1564"]
[BlackElo "1782"]
[TimeControl "1 in 3 days"]
[Termination "Game drawn by agreement"]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nc3 dxc4 4.e4 b5 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.e5 Nd5 7.Qc2 e6 8.Bg5 Be7 9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.b3 Qb4
11.Kd2 cxb3 12.Qxb3 Qa5 13.a4 Na6 14.Bd3 Nxc3 15.Qxc3 Qxc3+ 16.Kxc3 bxa4 17.Rxa4 Nc7 18.Rc1 Nd5+ 19.Kd2 Bd7 20.Ra3 O-O
21.Bc4 Rfb8 22.Bxd5 exd5 23.Rca1 Rb7 24.Ke3 h6 25.Ra5 g5 26.h3 Rb3+ 27.Ke2 Rb7 28.Ne1 h5 29.Nd3 Bf5 30.Nc5 Rb2+
31.Kf1 Rd2 32.R1a4 Rb8 33.Ke1 Rc2 34.Ra1 Rc4 35.R5a4 Rxa4 36.Rxa4 Kg7 37.Rxa7 Rb1+ 38.Ke2 Rb2+ 39.Ke3 Rb6 40.f3 Rb2
41.g4 hxg4 42.hxg4 Bc2 43.Rb7 Ra2 44.Rb6 Bd1 45.Rxc6 Ra3+ 46.Kd2 Bxf3 47.Rd6 Bxg4 48.Rxd5 Be6 49.Nxe6+ fxe6 50.Rd6 Kf7
51.Rd7+ Kg6 52.Ke2 g4 53.Kf2 Rf3+ 54.Kg2 Kf5 55.d5 Kxe5 56.dxe6 Kxe6 57.Rd4 Kf5 58.Ra4 Kg5 59.Ra8 Rb3 60.Rg8+ Kh4
61.Rh8+ Kg5 62.Rg8+ Kh4 1/2-1/2

Hey Dennis!

Thanks for the analysis of the last game. If don't know how regularly we're allowed to submit games to you, but if you have time to analyse this one it'd be much appreciated!

It's a much less reckless game than the previous one (which, in retrospect, was a pretty embarassing game to submit to you for analysis...). I FEEL like I played this game - a 5 0 blitz - strongly, so my question to you is, did I play as well as I think, or does black have decent chances that I overlooked? Or, if my attack really is strong, what was black's last chances for equality?

I feel like 20. f4 is strong, with the idea of Qf3 to follow if he takes, threatening to win a pawn and break into black's castle position. Since he doesn't take, shutting out his white bishop seems a good move - after this I feel like the attack is really on it's way. 24...Bg5 seems to help somewhat, but I think black is still in pretty bad shape here, so perhaps his last chances was shortly before this? He ran out of time at move 33, but I think my last move should be winning - I give a couple of possible continuations which aren't the only possibilities by any means, but are just to show the attacking idea I had in mind.

Anyway, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the game, and - no doubt - to hear that I didn't play it half as well as I thought I did

Thanks!

[Event "rated blitz match"]
[Site "Free Internet Chess Server"]
[Date "2010.05.27"]
[Round "?"]
[White "FlintEastwood"]
[Black "catcheck"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1260"]
[BlackElo "1271"]
[ECO "C84"]
[TimeControl "300"]

1. e4 {[%clkms 300000]} e5 {[%clkms 300000]} 2. Nf3 {[%clkms 298628]} Nc6
{[%clkms 299095]} 3. Bb5 {[%clkms 297551]} a6 {[%clkms 297927]} 4. Ba4
{[%clkms 296768]} Nf6 {[%clkms 296626]} 5. O-O {[%clkms 295880]} Be7 {[%clkms
295629]} 6. c3 {[%clkms 289083]} b5 {[%clkms 291910]} 7. Bb3 {[%clkms
278419]} d6 {[%clkms 290410]} 8. h3 {[%clkms 275468]} O-O {[%clkms 287034]}
9. Re1 {[%clkms 274332]} Na5 {[%clkms 284079]} 10. Bc2 {[%clkms 272639]} c5
{[%clkms 283205]} 11. d3 {[%clkms 268752]} h6 {[%clkms 281608]} 12. Nbd2
{[%clkms 264510]} Qc7 {[%clkms 280479]} 13. Nf1 {[%clkms 260501]} Bd7
{[%clkms 279131]} 14. Ng3 {[%clkms 258740]} Rfe8 {[%clkms 277805]} 15. d4
{[%clkms 251468]} Bf8 {[%clkms 272594]} 16. d5 {[%clkms 244202]} Nb7 {[%clkms
269692]} 17. Qd3 {[%clkms 198538]} c4 {[%clkms 248111]} 18. Qe2 {[%clkms
183390]} a5 {[%clkms 243908]} 19. Nh2 {[%clkms 174355]} Nc5 {[%clkms 195059]}
20. f4 {[%clkms 158590]} Rac8 {[%clkms 160551]} (20. ... exf4 21. Bxf4 Re7
22. Qf3 Ne8 23. Rf1 b4 24. Rae1 b3 25. axb3 cxb3 26. Bb1 Qb6 27. Kh1 Bb5 28.
Rf2 Nc7 29. Nh5 g6 (29. ... Ree8 30. Bxh6 gxh6 31. Qxf7+ Kh8 32. Nf6 Bg7 33.
Nxe8 Nxe8 ) 30. Qg3 g5 31. Bxg5 hxg5 32. Qxg5+ Kh8 33. Qf6+ Kh7 34. e5+ Bd3
35. Rf4 Bxb1 (35. ... Ne8 36. Qh4 Ng7 37. Nf6+ Kg6 38. Qh7+ Kg5 39. Rg4# )
36. Rh4 Nd3 37. Nf4+ Kg8 38. Qh8# ) 21. f5 {[%clkms 150990]} Kh7 {[%clkms
147004]} 22. Nh5 {[%clkms 143693]} Be7 {[%clkms 104150]} 23. Nxf6+ {[%clkms
127078]} Bxf6 {[%clkms 102610]} 24. Ng4 {[%clkms 117804]} Qd8 {[%clkms
100456]} 25. Nxf6+ {[%clkms 91898]} Qxf6 {[%clkms 98398]} 26. Qh5 {[%clkms
84912]} Rh8 {[%clkms 86401]} 27. Re3 {[%clkms 72044]} Kg8 {[%clkms 84242]}
28. Rg3 {[%clkms 69056]} Be8 {[%clkms 77146]} 29. Bd2 {[%clkms 49755]} a4
{[%clkms 68691]} 30. a3 {[%clkms 45636]} Kf8 {[%clkms 51936]} 31. Rf1
{[%clkms 39360]} Rc7 {[%clkms 37209]} 32. Rg6 {[%clkms 37120]} fxg6 {[%clkms
1168]} (32. ... Qd8 33. Rxh6 gxh6 34. Bxh6+ Ke7 35. Bg5+ Kf8 36. Qxh8# ) (32.
... Qe7 33. Rxh6 gxh6 34. Bxh6+ Kg8 35. Qg4+ Kh7 36. Qg7# ) 33. fxg6 {[%clkms
33917]catcheck forfeits on time} Qxf1+ (33. ... Bxg6 34. Qxg6 ) 34. Kxf1 Bd7
(34. ... Ke7 35. Bg5+ Kd7 36. Qg4+ Ne6 37. Qxe6# ) 35. Bg5 Rc8 36. Qf3+ Ke8
37. Qf7# 1-0

hey, Dennis, this is a very interesting game i played, i sacrificed rook+knight in the end and gave a instant checkmate, could you help me analyze this game? thanks.
[Event "Unrated. New/Bizarre Openings Encouraged - Round 1"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2010.05.11"]
[White "wuzhe"]
[Black "javad29"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1580"]
[BlackElo "1517"]
[TimeControl "1 in 5 days"]
[Termination "wuzhe won by resignation"]

1.f4 f5 2.e4 fxe4 3.d3 d5 4.dxe4 c6 5.f5 Qa5+ 6.c3 dxe4 7.Qh5+ Kd8 8.Nd2 Bxf5 9.Nxe4 g6 10.Qf3 Qe5
11.Bd3 Nf6 12.Bf4 Qe6 13.O-O-O Ke8 14.Nxf6+ exf6 15.Nh3 Qc8 16.Rhe1+ Kf7 17.Bc4+ Kg7 18.Bd6 Bg4 19.Bxf8+ Rxf8 20.Re7+ Kh8
21.Qd3 Bxd1 22.Ng5 1-0

the last move Ng5 is with the idea of Rxh7#, if fxg5 Qd4+ follow by mate.