Chess Game 13: sstimson vs. c-square

[c-square]

1. d2-d4 /   e7-e6
2. e2-e4 / Ng8-e7
3. Nb1-c3 / h7-h6
4. Ng1-f3 / g7-g5
5. h2-h4 /   f7-f6
6. h4xg5 /



As sstimson pointed out, those pawns are getting annoying.  Here, I can trade a pawn for pawn with no consequences, and it opens up my rook file.  

[c-square]

Sorry for the double post, but to be fair I realized I should give more reasoning for that last move than I did.  Sstimson, there are some spoilers here, so if you'd rather play without them, stop reading here.  (Of course, I don't mind if you keep reading either).

Yes, it breaks up black's pawns.  Yes, it opens up my rook.  Those reasons alone make the move worthwhile.  Even better, though, is the fact that, no matter how black responds, white comes out of this at least up a pawn.  If black doesn't take my pawn at g5, I'm free to take his pawn either at f6 or h6.  If he does take my pawn at g5, I can take his pawn with my knight without my knight being taken (as black's pawn at h6 is pinned by my rook).  There are even more potential good moves that come with the current setup, but I'll wait to mention those if they come up.

[sstimson]

1. d2-d4 /  e7-e6
2. e2-e4 / Ng8-e7
3. Nb1-c3 / h7-h6
4. Ng1-f3 / g7-g5
5. h2-h4 /  f7-f6
6. h4xg5 /




Possible Moves I am looking at
P-K4 - after all if the knight moves K4 becomes mine
P-Q3 - support for P-K4
P-Qb4 - Attacking the Queen pawn and breaking up white pawn formation
P-N3 - opening up the diagonal for the queen bishop and the long diagonal
QN-B3 - Attacking the Queen pawn
B-N2  - keeping a eye on both pawns
N-N1 - same  but also more protection for KR3 and letting the queen Watch the KB pawn
N-N3 -Support for P-k4, keeping the white night limited, and  letting the queen Watch the KB pawn

Notice by your move you weaken your king side rook file when your rook is gone

Looking through these moves will take a little while

Editted 4-27-11

Down to three d6 N-g8, N-g6

Possible Lines B-N2 PxBP BxP but more likey would be B-N2 PxRP and I can not Play BxP because of BxB losing my bishop for nothing

QN-B3, P-N3, P-Qb4, P-K4 then PxBP forcing a Knight move, PxRP in this case is weaker as no moves are forced

Your next move might be P-g6 but that is unlikely as it protects my king and is really a non threat

[c-square]

Your next move might be P-g6 but that is unlikely as it protects my king and is really a non threat

Yeah, that would be a waste of a perfectly good pawn.  The way it looks right now, either your pawn at f6 or h6 will be taken by the end of the next turn.

[sstimson]

Say Hi to the French. Time to stop fighting it and embrace it. The only question is now or wait a move?

Answer: NOW!!

The French is P-K4 P-K3, P-Q4 P-Q4. I was surprised to see this game is on the open list.

Look at this for why I am doing this

----------     Edited  4-28-2011   ----------

Annoying Editing Post Problem

----------     Edited  4-28-2011   ----------

      White  /     Black
                   
1.   d2 - d4 /   e7 - e6
2.   e2 - e4 / Ng8 - e7
3. Nb1 - c3 /   h7 - h6
4. Ng1 - f3 /   g7 - g5
5.   h2 - h4 /   f7 -  f6
6.   h4 x g5 /  d7 - d5




Possible Moves I am looking at:

 P-K4   - after all if the knight moves K4 becomes mine
 P-Q3   - support for P-K4
 P-QB4 - Attacking the Queen pawn and breaking up white pawn formation
 P-N3   - opening up the diagonal for the queen bishop and the long diagonal
QN-B3   - Attacking the Queen pawn
 B-N2    - keeping a eye on both pawns
 N-N1    - same  but also more protection for KR3 and letting the queen Watch the KB pawn
 N-N3    - Support for P-K4, keeping the white Knight limited, and  letting the queen Watch the KB pawn

----------     Edited  4-28-2011   -----------

P-Q4 - A move I should have made a long time ago - French Defense -

from French Defense

French Defence

By advancing the d pawn two squares black poses an immediate challenge to the powerful white center. The white player must now react by either advancing the pawn which will lead to the advance variation where he/she will get to put immediate pressure on the black king side, but black will have more than enough to put the pawn wedge under serious attack with moves like c5, Nc6, Qb6 and Nh6( followed obviously by Nf5). Another choice for white is to defend the pawn with either Nc3 or Nd2. Out of this two possible defenses the first is the most common, as it does not block the bishop on c1, it also puts some mild pressure on d5, problem is that black has many possible answers including the Winawer variation(3...Bb4) which leads to extremely complex positions( which are usually closed) and therefore the amount of theory behind Nc3 is too big and too complex for the move to be played lightly. Nd2 on the other hand is much safer but also less ambitious and harder to get an advantage with. Black will have the choice of either forcing e5( with 3...Nf6) and attacking the pawn wedge at both base and head with the breaks c5 and f6 or exchanging an isolated d pawn for active pieces with 3...c5.

At last and least white may try the exchange variation 3 exd5 which is unambitious and gives black equal chances for free but avoids the complications of the other variations.

----------     Edited  4-27-2011   ----------

Notice by your move you weaken your king side rook file when your rook is gone

Looking through these moves will take a little while

----------     Edited  4-27-2011   ----------

Down to three d6 N-g8, N-g6

Possible Lines B-N2 PxBP BxP but more likey would be B-N2 PxRP and I can not Play BxP because of BxB losing my bishop for nothing

QN-B3, P-N3, P-Qb4, P-K4 then PxBP forcing a Knight move, PxRP in this case is weaker as no moves are forced

Your next move might be P-g6 but that is unlikely as it protects my king and is really a non threat

Yeah, that would be a waste of a perfectly good pawn.  The way it looks right now, either your pawn at f6 or h6 will be taken by the end of the next turn.

----------     Edited  4-28-2011   ----------

More On why I choice this move.

Well I realized I can not really stop you. I could move either:

N-N1 but if  PxRP NxP, BxN BxB, RxB RxR and I am still down a knight and two pawns (or am I?)
                  PxBP NxP gives you no real advantage

or

N-N3 them You will play PxRP and anything else like BxP pins the bishop
                                     PxBP  QxP and you gain less

This move does the following:

1) Makes this opening what it should have been in the first place
2) Suggest you can force me to move my knight
3) Threaten PxP and that pawn gets close to your knight
4) Hits your center and gives me Q4

Hope this move was worth the wait  ;)

By the way Congrats on your first fork.

[c-square]

    White  /  Black
                   
1.  d2 - d4 /  e7 - e6
2.  e2 - e4 / Ng8 - e7
3. Nb1 - c3 /  h7 - h6
4. Ng1 - f3 /  g7 - g5
5.  h2 - h4 /  f7 -  f6
6.  h4 x g5 /  d7 - d5
7.  g5 x f6 /



A couple things I want to mention with this move.  Most players know the piece rating system: Queens are worth 9 points, Rooks are worth 5, Bishops and Knights 3 and Pawns 1.  Because pawns are worth so little, some players will decide not to take a free opponent's pawn because they feel it's not worth messing up their 'plan'.  I think, in most cases, this is a mistake.  Unless the 'plan' is absolutely guaranteed, it is more important to get a piece advantage.  A pawn may not be worth much now, but in the endgame, a pawn can make the difference between victory and defeat.  Here, as black can't do anything immediately threatening to me, I'm going to take the free pawn while I can.

Second thing I want to mention about this move is that it forces black to move his knight.  Forcing your opponent to move a piece is usually a good thing.  It limits your opponent's ability to set up an attack or a defense because they have to waste a move to protect whatever piece you're forcing.  Of course, your opponent could choose not to make the forced move (except if they're being checked), and instead try to threaten you to make it an even trade.  So, before forcing your opponent, first make sure you're not vulnerable to a counterattack.  In my chess book, defense takes priority over offense 99% of the time.

Now, I said "Forcing your opponent to move a piece is usually a good thing."  Forcing your opponent is not a good move if the response is one your opponent would want to make anyway.

Example:

Spoiler:

If I had moved Bf1-b5, it would have put black in check, forcing a move (this is a move many people make early in the game).  Black's response would be to either move his bishop or knight to protect the king.  Black would get to develop a piece, and now my bishop isn't a threat at all.  Black can then move his rook's pawn up one forcing me to retreat.  In other words, using my bishop to check the king is a waste of a move.

One could argue that my actual move above (g5xf6) just allows black to make a move he already would want to make.  Getting his knight out of there certainly helps him, as it gets it more in play, and it finally opens up the traffic jam that the knight was creating by blocking his bishop and queen.  In this case I have other reasons for wanting that knight gone, I wanted to capture a pawn and I still want to be able to pin the rook's pawn.

P-Q4 - A move I should have made a long time ago - French Defense -

I agree.  Allowing me those two pawns in the center gave me a big advantage.

By the way Congrats on your first fork.

Thanks!  It's an interesting one because one doesn't usually see pawn forks involving only pawns.

[sstimson]

    White  /  Black
                   
1.  d2 - d4 /  e7 - e6
2.  e2 - e4 / Ng8 - e7
3. Nb1 - c3 /  h7 - h6
4. Ng1 - f3 /  g7 - g5
5.  h2 - h4 /  f7 - f6
6.  h4 x g5 /  d7 - d5
7.  g5 x f6 / Ne7 - g6




It is funny. and I know you do not want to hear this, but I wanted you to do what you did. While you did not exactly fall into a trap, you did in a way. You taking the rook pawn would have made it harder to get that pawn back. I look at it as if you are up one and half pawns. Taking the rook pawns, you would have been up two. I did want to move my Knight to KN3, but I knew if I did then, you go the better way of PxRP. Think of the Knight as a carrot. By you doing that move. Your next move WILL BE KING FIVE, otherwise I get the pawn back right away by QxP
And one last thing. You now have a doubled pawn. A weakness for the end game.

That last move is an example of a kind of  Zwischenzugs

A Zwischenzug (pronounced "ts-WISS-chen-tsug",) or "in-between move," is one that is made unexpectedly in the midst of a sequence of moves. But not just any series of moves, one in which the player falling for the Zwischenzug feels the sequence is forced, while his opponent demonstrates to him that it certainly isn't! Most commonly these fall in between trades where a recapture seems to be the only proper means of play.

Such in-between moves often have a surprising and pleasing effect of increasing the potency of a combination beyond the opponent's expectations.

Main Page here

You Also must stop me taking the king pawn so again you will move pawn to king five. It is indeed funny that this time I am forcing you to make a certain move.

[c-square]

    White  /  Black
                   
1.  d2 - d4 /  e7 - e6
2.  e2 - e4 / Ng8 - e7
3. Nb1 - c3 /  h7 - h6
4. Ng1 - f3 /  g7 - g5
5.  h2 - h4 /  f7 - f6
6.  h4 x g5 /  d7 - d5
7.  g5 x f6 / Ne7 - g6
8.  e4 - e5 /

Think of the Knight as a carrot. By you doing that move. Your next move WILL BE KING FIVE, otherwise I get the pawn back right away by QxP
And one last thing. You now have a doubled pawn. A weakness for the end game.

You Also must stop me taking the king pawn so again you will move pawn to king five. It is indeed funny that this time I am forcing you to make a certain move.

It's true, e4 - e5 is the most sensible move here.  It creates a powerful diagonal line of pawns that can only be attacked from the rear.

And one last thing. You now have a doubled pawn. A weakness for the end game.

Perhaps it will be a weakness in the endgame, but it is a strength now.  By having two pawns on the f-rank, I can use one for attacking, and still have one to defend my king should I decide to do a king-side castle.

[Holmes]

At this moment I have a good move for white. *keeps silence*

And thanks both of you for explaining so much! I always like explanations of moves in chess

[sstimson]

    White  /  Black
                   
1.  d2 - d4 /  e7 - e6
2.  e2 - e4 / Ng8 - e7
3. Nb1 - c3 /  h7 - h6
4. Ng1 - f3 /  g7 - g5
5.  h2 - h4 /  f7 - f6
6.  h4 x g5 /  d7 - d5
7.  g5 x f6 / Ne7 - g6
8.  e4 - e5 / Qd8 - d7



A question of how to delvop
Q2, B-Q2, N-B3

For Now I take Q2.
B-Q2 for my purposes looks weaker
N-B3 might create a problem later
Order here is important. So I try Q2

[c-square]

    White  /  Black
                   
1.  d2 - d4 /  e7 - e6
2.  e2 - e4 / Ng8 - e7
3. Nb1 - c3 /  h7 - h6
4. Ng1 - f3 /  g7 - g5
5.  h2 - h4 /  f7 - f6
6.  h4 x g5 /  d7 - d5
7.  g5 x f6 / Ne7 - g6
8.  e4 - e5 / Qd8 - d7
9. Bf1 - d3 /



Time to threaten a knight that has nowhere to go.

A question of how to delvop
Q2, B-Q2, N-B3

For Now I take Q2.
B-Q2 for my purposes looks weaker
N-B3 might create a problem later
Order here is important. So I try Q2

Good choice!

[Callid]

Your next move WILL BE KING FIVE, otherwise I get the pawn back right away by QxP

There was also the possibility of the very daring Lc1-g5, with the threat f7+! and the loss of a queen. I think it might have been a better choice, but thats difficult to say.

[c-square]

Your next move WILL BE KING FIVE, otherwise I get the pawn back right away by QxP

There was also the possibility of the very daring Lc1-g5, with the threat f7+! and the loss of a queen. I think it might have been a better choice, but thats difficult to say.

You're talking about this move:

Spoiler:

Trust me, I had been eyeing that move for quite a while.  Unfortunately, it doesn't work in this case.  With black's knight at g6 protecting his rook, he's free to take my bishop with his pawn, h6xg5.

[Holmes]

Your next move WILL BE KING FIVE, otherwise I get the pawn back right away by QxP

There was also the possibility of the very daring Lc1-g5, with the threat f7+! and the loss of a queen. I think it might have been a better choice, but thats difficult to say.

You're talking about this move:

Spoiler:

Trust me, I had been eyeing that move for quite a while.  Unfortunately, it doesn't work in this case.  With black's knight at g6 protecting his rook, he's free to take my bishop with his pawn, h6xg5.

For me, instead of the Bishop I would move the Knight to that position andthen to check. That´s the move I was thinking.

[c-square]

For me, instead of the Bishop I would move the Knight to that position andthen to check. That´s the move I was thinking.

You mean this move?

Spoiler:

That would also be a good move if black didn't have his knight at g6.  Unfortunately, because his knight is protecting his rook, he can just take the knight at g5 with his pawn on h6.  That also makes it so that he's threatening my rook, forcing me to make the rook trade.  I lose a rook and a knight (or a rook and a bishop in Callid's move), and he just loses a rook.