Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Match With Chris

My buddy Chris accepted a challenge for a 4-game match with me. We haven't worked out the details yet, I proposed 2 games here, 2 where he lives.

here are the ratings based on the score
































































Match
Chris Craig
1515 4-0 1484
1492 3½-½ 1496
1468 3-1 1509
1445 2½-1½ 1521
1421 2-2 1533
1398 1½-2½ 1545
1374 1-3 1557
1351 ½-3½ 1571
1327 0-4 1586


so basically i have to score 3/4 in order to keep my rating which is approximately where we stand if you were to ask me how strong we were. should be interesting...i've got a couple of opening ideas i want to try out :)

Monday, March 12, 2007

game 4 on the bike


C - K
Sadler_C - Sadler_K
G20 On The Bike Owen Sound (4), 12.03.2007
D35 - Queen's Gambit Declined : Exchange Variation

1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.Nc3 c6 5.Bg5
Unlike last game I had decided I was going to give a crack at the Botvinnik 5...Nbd7 [5...dxc4] 6.cxd5 exd5 7.e3 Bb4 [The opening books say that the text is too loose and 7...Be7 is better here] 8.Qc2 [I was going to try 8.a3 here and see if I could get a bad Nimzo (he has played ...c6) but decided against it 8...Bxc3+ 9.bxc3] 8...Qa5 This probably transposes into what he wanted (Cambridge Springs) 9.Bd3 0-0 10.0-0 c5? [10...Re8 has been played here;
I don't see a good move for him to free his light squared bishop 10...h6 but i can just play 11.Bh4 Re8 12.a3 etc.] 11.Nxd5 i'm just happy i saw this...normally i don't see anything 11...Nxd5 12.Bxh7+ Kh8 13.a3 g6 14.axb4 Qxb4 15.Bxg6 [My original idea was to play somethign like 15.Be7 and then 16.Ng5 but of course with the knight on d5 that is no good] 15...fxg6 16.Qxg6 N5f6 17.Ne5 Qxb2 [17...Ng8 stopping mate is best] 18.Nf7+ [18.Bh6! was best forcing immeditate resignation. I should have been sharper] 18...Rxf7 19.Qxf7 cxd4 [19...Ng8 was a little better, but it's still all white] 20.Bxf6+ Nxf6 21.Qxf6+ Kg8 22.exd4 [I could've tried 22.Ra5 but the text was good enough] 22...Bg4 1-0

Friday, March 09, 2007

game 3

K - C
G20 On The Bike Owen Sound, 09.03.2007
B40 - Sicilian Defense

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Bg5?
wins a pawn [I had the pin variation in mind 5.Nc3 Bb4] 5...Qa5+ 6.Bd2 Qe5 [6...Qb6 7.Nb3 Nxe4] 0-1

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

"I don't love endgames"

C - K

C - K
G20 On The Bike Owen Sound (2), 06.03.2007
D36 - Queen's Gambit Declined : Exchange Variation


Game two 1.d4 e6 2.c4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 c6 [4...c6 Last night when I was thinking about this game I was pretty sure I would get this variation. He doesn't play the Botwinnik any more so really there were only a couple of choices 5.Bg5 (5.e3 Bd6 6.Qc2 Nbd7 7.g4 Shabalov-Shirov) 5...Nbd7 6.Qc2 Qa5 Cambridge Springs, and a third option.] 5.cxd5 For a while I've been looking at some minority attack games. This should transpose into the main line of the QGD Exchange. If he plays ...cxd5 it's a horrid Slav Exchange (...e6 without freeing the bishop) 5...exd5 6.Bg5 Be7 7.Qc2 0-0 [The "main line" is 7...g6 After 8.e3 Bf5 9.Bd3 Bxd3 10.Qxd3 Nbd7 11.0-0 0-0 I was looking at this yesterday and apparently Black wins more according to chessgames, but this looks like a "Grandmaster opening" to me, e.g. I have no idea what's going on and how the dark squares aren't weak around the king. I assume he will move his rook to e8 and reroute his bishop on the long diagonal] 8.e3 Be6 [Theory is 8...Nbd7 but Kirk had a plan in mind. He wanted to advance his c-pawn.] 9.Bd3 Nbd7 10.0-0 Rc8 11.Rab1?! Probably not the most accurate move, but again I wanted to do the minority attack 11...c5?! Giving himself the isolated pawn. Sure it opens up my queen for attack, but ends up hurting himself long term with the isolated pawn. 12.dxc5 Nxc5 13.Bf5? [Better was giving up the bishop pair with 13.Bxf6 Bxf6 14.Bxh7+ Kh8 15.Bf5 I had looked at something like that on the bike, but I was worried about ideas like 15...Bxf5 16.Qxf5 Bxc3 17.bxc3 and now I have an easily attackable isolated pawn as well. Not necessarily in this position, maybe later, but I didn't necesssarily want to have the isolated c-pawn. I guess the difference is that the king wasn't exposed because I never grabbed the h-pawn] 13...Nfe4 [13...Nce4 may have been better, now I'm pinned] 14.Bxe7 Qxe7 15.Nd4? [I totally missed a chance to sharpen it up 15.Nxd5! Bxd5 16.Bxc8 Bxa2 (16...Rxc8 17.b4 Ng5 18.Nxg5 Qxg5 19.f4 Qe7 20.bxc5 Be4) ] 15...Nxc3 16.Qxc3 [Again not wanting the isolated c-pawn 16.bxc3 ] 16...Qf6 17.Bxe6 [Again 17.Nxe6 Qxc3 but I didn't look hard enough 18.Bxh7+ Kh8 (18...Kxh7 19.Nxf8+ Rxf8 20.bxc3) 19.bxc3 fxe6 20.Bc2 and I have a pawn] 17...Nxe6 18.Qd3 [18.Qd2 was probably better although my move allowed him to tempo me] 18...Nc5 [18...Nxd4 19.exd4 Rc4 looked good] 19.Qe2 [Should've went for the queen trade 19.Qf5 ] 19...Ne6 20.Rfd1 Rfe8 21.Qf3 Nxd4 22.Rxd4 [I thought this was forced but of course 22.Qxf6 Ne2+ 23.Kf1 and I'm good 23...gxf6 24.Kxe2 Rc2+ 25.Rd2] 22...Qxf3 23.gxf3 Red8 [I thought 23...Rcd8 24.Rbd1 Re5 25.f4 Rf5 was better] 24.Rbd1 f6? [24...Rc2 was better] 25.Rxd5 Rxd5 26.Rxd5 Rc7 27.b4 Kf7 At this point we were both down to around 7 minutes and played with almost blitz speed 28.b5 b6 29.a4 Ke6 30.Rd4 g5 31.Kg2 h5 32.h4 Ke5 33.Kg3 Kf5 34.hxg5 fxg5 35.e4+ Ke5 36.Rd5+ Kf6 37.f4 gxf4+ 38.Kxf4 Rc4 39.Rxh5 Rxa4 40.Rh6+ Kg7 41.Rc6 Ra2 42.f3 Rb2 43.Rc7+ Kf6 44.Rxa7 Rxb5= He offered a draw around here somewhere but I have connected passed pawns and my rook behind his passer 45.Rb7 Ke6 46.Kg4 Kf6 47.f4 Ke6 48.e5 [48.f5+ Kf6 49.Kf4 Rb4 50.Rc7] 48...Rb4 49.Kg5 Rb5 50.Kg6 Rb1 [50...Rb4 51.f5+ Kxe5 52.f6 Rg4+ 53.Kf7] 51.f5+ Kxe5 52.f6 Rg1+ 53.Kf7 Rb1 54.Ke7 Rh1 55.f7 Rh7 56.Rxb6 Rxf7+ 57.Kxf7 1-0

After the game Kirk said he wasn't ready for tournament chess becuase he didn't "love endgames". I don't particularly ever but since that's the brunt of my study i should probably aim for them periodically ;) we'll see what happens tomorrow

Monday, March 05, 2007

20 minutes on the bike

K - C
G20 On The Bike Owen Sound (1), 05.03.2007
D85 - Grünfeld

I'm getting married :)

So as a training program me and Kirk decided to ride the bike for a G/20 in the morning. We used the Chessmaster program from Playstation. The problem I'm going to have is that it's always from White's POV. I could use that as an excuse but really I didn't look very hard this game at all. 1.d4 First surprise. 1...Nf6 2.Nf3 Second surprise. I go for a Grünfeld, but I'm not sure what I'm going to do in the future if he keeps this up 2...g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 c5 8.Bc4?! Spassky line isn't as strong with Nf3 as I can play Bg4 and put pressure on the d-pawn [8.Rb1] 8...Nc6 [8...0-0] 9.Be3 Bg4!? [9...0-0] 10.e5? [10.Bxf7+! Kxf7 11.Ng5+] 10...cxd4 [Maybe something like 10...Qc7 would have been better] 11.cxd4 0-0 12.0-0 Bxf3 13.Qxf3 Nxd4 14.Qxb7 Bxe5 15.Rfd1 Qb6?? [15...Qd6 16.f4 Bg7 17.Rac1 Rfd8 18.Rd2 Qa3 and I'm okay] 16.Qxe7? [16.Qxb6 axb6 17.Bxd4 just grabs a piece] 16...Bf6 17.Qe4 Rfe8 18.Qf4 Qc6?? [18...Rad8 was much better] 19.Bxd4 Not particularly well played by either. Better chess to come (I promise) 1-0