Chess University Sample Game Analyses
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Opponent vs. 1200 Student
Chess.com | 31 Dec 2017 | ECO: D21 | 0-1
1. d42 1... d52 2. e31 White starts out aiming for a Colle, but there is still a possibility to reach some Queen's Gambit positions2... e61 3. c42 3... dxc42 I don't really like this capture, because we are allowing the bishop on f1 to develop freely. Usually, you should just continue your normal development and wait until Bf1 moves to e2 or d3 and only then take on c4. This way the bishop had to take two tempi to reach c4. It seems like a small detail, but every tempo matters in the opening.(3... Nf6Black is going to have a very comfortable QGD here as White's bishop on c1 is stuck inside the pawn chain and can't help fight for the d5 square.)4. Bxc42 4... c51 This is a very principled continuation, trying to break down White's center. 5. Nf36 5... a618(5... Nf6Again, there is more than one reasonable way to continue, but I like simply getting closer to castling.)6. Qa4+11 This move just encourages Black to develop, and is thus a waste of time.6... Bd726 7. Qb32 7... b5!1 I like this. Now White should have nothing in terms of an advantage as Black gets to claim valuable queenside space, with gain of tempo 8. Be278... cxd419 9. Nxd416(9. exd4Accepting the IQP was probably White's better option (even though this is a reasonable version for Black). This way the bishop on c1 can join the game and White can hope to use the small lead in development to get the initiative. Some of White's pieces aren't ideally placed (White usually has Bd3 and Qd1 to reorganize a battery with Bb1 and Qd3) but we can say the same of Black's position (Black would usually want the d7 bishop on b7 to control the d5 square).)9... Nf66(9... Nc6 10. Bf3 Nxd4 11. exd4 Rc8Is also quite comfortable for Black, with control over the open file.)10. Bf3?!2 Moving the same piece repeatedly is usually not advisable. The rook is still ok on a7 as it can swing to the c-file later.10... Ra711 11. Bd2??7 This awkward developing move is actually a blunder, as Black can now win material due to the nearly trapped knight on d4 and misplaced queen on b3. Even without this tactical opportunity, White's last move makes very little sense (O-O was logical and good). 11... Be7 ∓1(11... e5! -+Black wins material in all variations. 12. Nc2(12. Ne2 e4The bishop is trapped.)12... Be6The queen only has one square (which is why it was awkward on b3). 13. Qc3Rc7And the skewer wins a piece.)12. Qc23 At least now e5 doesn't win a piece as the knight has b3 to fall back to. 12... O-O813. Be2?8 Another time-wasting move.13... Qc8?9 Even though your advantage persists even after the queen trade, I do not like this trade. When you are ahead in development usually you don't want to swap pieces (unless you have a specific goal in mind, like playing against a single chronically bad piece).(13... Rc7!Winning control of the c-file with tempo. This proves that the queen is not well-placed on c2. 14. Qd1 e5 undefinedBlack has more space and better pieces.)14. Bd37(14. Qxc8This was White's last chance to try and escape the opening without a lost position.14... Rxc8 15. O-OWhite's pieces are still worse than the black counterparts, but at least White is approaching the end of the opening.)14... Qxc22 15. Bxc22 15... Rc81 16. Bb3916... Nc610 This trade is obviously fine (and necessary). After the trade on c6 Black is close to winning already. 17. Nxc63 17... Bxc6 ∓118. O-O3 18... Bd527 19. Bxd5?!18 A good example of trading being a mistake. White should have gone with Bc3 and Nd2-f3 to coordinate better. Bxb3 looks scary for White because of the doubled b-pawns, but at least White gets the pieces to good squares and opens the a1-rook for pressure down the file.(19. Bc3 Bxb3 20. axb3 ⩱)19... Nxd52 20. a3?!10 Another wasted move. White is afraid of ghosts. 20... Rac7!8 Domination over the open file. Next I like the plan of improving the knight on d5 further to c4, via b6. 21. Nc34 21... Nxc3?3 Simply a bad trade. The knight on c3 was stuck because if it moved you could invade on c2. Your knight was more active and so trading helped the opponent. As noted, Nb6-c4 was better.(21... Nb6 22. Rac1 Nc4With Bf6 next move, Black is applying lots of pressure to the queenside.)22. Bxc32 22... Bf626 This trade is acceptable because you're breaking the blockade on the c-file. 23. Bxf63 23... gxf6124. h31 24... f51 25. b43 25... Rc310 Good play here. 26. a45 26... Rb3!16 27. axb5227... axb51 28. Rab17 28... Rcc3!18 Good job not releasing the tension. Now White is suffering 29. Rfd110 29... Rxb11030. Rxb13 30... Rc29 31. Kf117 31... Kg7632. Ke113 32... h55 33. g37 Nice technique up to this point. Black is better based on the active rook on the 2nd and the more active king. Here Kf6-e5-d5-c4 was a good plan, to use the king as an attacker to hit the weakness on b4. White is tied down. 33... Kg61 34. h4134... f610 35. f43 35... e56 36. fxe5?3 Undoubling your pawns was nice of the opponent. 36... fxe51 37. Rb36 37... Rc46 The text is fine as you are trying to tie the rook down to defense of b4(37... Rg2And now the weak pawns start falling.)38. Ke25 38... f4?6 When you are better (in this case based on piece activity) you generally keep higher winning chances by not trading all the pawns. The more pawns you trade the fewer that are left for your more active pieces to take for free. 39. exf47 39... exf4240. Kf33 40... fxg31 41. Kxg32 Now the position is very close to equal. 41... Kf5542. Rf3+4 42... Kg63 43. Rb34 43... Kf5244. Rf3+2 44... Kg60 45. Rb3345... Rg4+1 46. Kh34 46... Kf57 47. Rf3+4 This position should be a draw because Black has no meaningful way to attack b4 or h4 a second time. It's more fun to have Black because you still have more active pieces, but with such reduced material your winning chances decrease drastically unless you have a target to pile up on. 47... Rf41 48. Rxf4+??1 Transitioning to a lost king and pawn ending. Otherwise White was holding on.(48. Kg3! Rxf3+ 49. Kxf3 =This will end peacefully as White keeps opposition and Black cannot enter beyond the 5th rank.)48... Kxf4 -+1 49. Kg24 49... Kg4250. Kf21 50... Kxh40 51. Ke30 51... Kg4152. Kd41 52... h41 53. Kc50 53... h3054. Kxb50 54... h20 55. Ka50 55... h1=Q156. b50 56... Qa1+4 57. Kb62 57... Kf51058. Kc62 58... Qc3+4 59. Kb71 59... Ke61360. b62 60... Kd71 61. Ka82 61... Qa5+962. Kb76 62... Qb512 63. Ka7263... Qa5+20 64. Kb74 64... Kd8665. Kc65 65... Qa8+6 66. b71 66... Qb8167. Kb61 67... Kd72 68. Ka65 68... Kc7269. Kb51 69... Qxb7+1 70. Kc5070... Qc6+1 71. Kd42 71... Kd64 72. Ke3472... Qd50 73. Kf43 73... Qe5+2 74. Kf3274... Kd50 75. Kg43 75... Kd42 76. Kf3276... Qe4+2 77. Kf22 77... Kd31 78. Kg3278... Ke213 79. Kh36 79... Kf26 80. Kh2380... Qh7#Good conversion once the opponent blundered in the rook ending, but the biggest problem I noticed in this game is that both you and your opponent traded at nearly every opportunity. It's really important to try and improve your pieces instead of just swapping off your opponent's pieces without a clear plan. I do like your play in the double rook ending, as you did a good job targeting the queenside pawns. With the inclusion of your king in the fight over b4, I think you had much better winning chances, but instead trading two sets of pawns on the kingside was enough to dry out the position and lead to a draw. 0-1
Opponent vs. 1600 Student
Chess.com | 19 Aug 2017 | ECO: B30 | 1-0
1. e40 1... c51 2. Nf36 2... Nc65 3. Bc4?!93... g663 It's good to stick with your repertoire, but against this particular 3.Bc4 line, it's considered best to play immediately with ...e6 and to play for ...d5. The bishop on c4 is awkwardly placed.(3... e6 4. O-O(4. c3 d5Is better for Black already. 5. exd5exd5 6. Bb5 Bd6 7. d4 Nf6 8. O-O O-O9. dxc5 Bxc5Black has a very nice version of the IQP, with more active pieces and free development.)4... d5 5. exd5 exd5 6. Re1+ Be7 7. Bb3Nf6Black has a very comfortable position with more space. The bishop on b3 is not well-placed.)4. c36 4... d623 This lets White get exactly what they want.(4... Nf6At this point, this is the best way to meet White's idea of d4 (it's a typical reaction when White threatens to take the whole center to either add defense to d4 or to counterattack e4). You'll see this idea in the old mainlines of the c3 Italian. 5. e5 d5! 6. Bb5(6. exd6?! Qxd6White is going to have to accept an IQP, where Black is the one ahead in development. 7. d4 cxd4 8. cxd4 Bg7Black has a really good version of the IQP because the bishop on g7 is already attacking d4.)6... Nd7 7. d4(7. e6 fxe6Is no big deal for Black. Nf6 on the next move will defend the e6 pawn.)7... Bg7 8. O-O O-OBlack has a French-like structure and can continue putting pressure on the center.)5. d42 5... cxd42 6. cxd4 ⩲2 White has a big share of the center here and it's not easy for Black to break with the typical ...d5 thanks to the bishop on c4. White has a nice advantage already. 6... Bg738 7. Be3257... e660 8. Nc32 8... Nge720 9. O-O89... a633 At various points it's possible for White to change the structure with d510. Bb356(10. d5! exd5 11. exd5 Ne5 12. Nxe5 Bxe513. Re1 ±And White converts the two center pawns into an advanced pawn on d5, with a space advantage.)10... O-O7 11. Qe2?!19 An unclear move.11... d5!110 The best move. Now White can no longer play d5. 12. e510 This is a typical structure which White should have avoided. Now the play is all about Black undermining the d4-e5 chain with moves like Nf5 and f6. Black has enough counterplay to hold the balance. 12... b532 Gaining space on the queenside, but I like starting with the ...f6 break or ...Nf5 at once.(12... Nf5 13. Rad1 f6 undefined 14. exf6Qxf6With lots of pressure on d4)13. Rac111 13... b4?87 The thing I liked about b5 is that it stopped Na4-c5 maneuvers. Now the knight has been allowed in.14. Na47 14... Na573 15. Bc23015... Nc472 16. b317 Probably not the most precise, but it's hard for Black to deal with Nc5 and Nb6 ideas.(16. Bg5Was likely more annoying. The idea is Bf6 to trade off the defender of the kingside dark squares and to take the punch out of ...f6)(16. Nc5 Nxb2 17. Rb1 Nc4 18. Rxb4It helps White that the b-file is open and the rook is already on b4.)16... Nxe328 17. fxe33 17... Bd731 18. Nc5 ⩲4 The knight on c5 discourages the ...f6 break. 18... Bb541 19. Bd33 19... Bxd34620. Qxd33 I like that you got rid of your bad bishop. Now Black just needs to find a role for the bishop on g7 and the position will be quite pleasant. 20... a558(20... Nf5!This is a move that should be played at some point to put pressure on the e3 and d4 pawns. If ever White plays e4, they weaken d4. In static positions, try to find ways to improve your bad pieces (Ne7 wasn't doing a whole lot). Next we can look to improve the bishop (Bh6 maybe) and then the rooks to the c-file when all black pieces will have some role.21. e4(21. g4 Nh4 22. Nxh4 Qxh4Now that White has weakened the king, Black should have plenty of counterplay. There are ideas of a5-a4 in some cases and maybe Bh6 at some moment to activate the bishop and hit e3.)21... dxe4 22. Nxe4 h5To anchor the knight on f5. Black has a totally fine position with play against d4 and an outpost on d5)21. Ng517 21... Qe8?!279 I'm not sure what the idea is. It's possible you were afraid of ghosts with Nxe6, but your fear of Nxe6 has caused you to make a very uncomfortable move. Now Rf8 is stuck and you can't connect rooks. Plus the mobility of the queen is just poor on e8.(21... Nf5 22. Ncxe6 fxe6 23. Nxe6 Qe724. Nxf8 Rxf8But this should not be a problem for Black. You have two minors against a rook and two pawns, but the knight on f5 is really strong and you have Bh6 coming to put more pressure on e3. I think it's easier to play Black's side.)22. Rf321(22. g4!A strong prophylactic move. Since you haven't put your knight on f5 already, White takes a moment to stop this option forever. Now the position becomes very unpleasant for Black as many of your pieces are not on good squares (queen, knight, bishop, rook f8 are all passive).)22... h64(22... Nf5Again it was strong to activate the sleeping knight. If you get time to play h5 and anchor this steed you're going to have a reason to play for an advantage.)23. Nh327 23... Nc8?21 Based on misunderstanding. I have no idea where this knight is headed, but it had a perfect square on f5 (it puts pressure on the back of White's pawn chain and can only be dislodged by White accepting a weakened king's position.24. Rcf16 24... Nb69 Maybe you are playing for ...a5-a4 or maybe you are trying to trade with Nd7, but in either case the plan is slow and easy to react to. 25. Nb710 25... Qd7??56(25... Nc8 undefinedThis move is forced to prevent Nd6 invasion. But this position is already quite sad considering you had good counterplay with a knight on f5.)26. Nd6 +-13 Now Rxf7 is a winning threat which Black cannot prevent. This is what can happen when you have no active plan in a position. Your opponent got away with the slow build up against f7 because you didn't cause them to react to any threats of your own.26... f594 A mistake in a lost position. This move fatally exposes the king but there were no good moves to defend f7.(26... Nc8 27. Rxf7 Rxf7 28. Rxf7 Ne729. Qf1Was also hopeless.)27. exf613 27... Qxd641 28. fxg74(28. Qxg6!Ends all resistance based on the pin. Black is busted.)28... Kxg75 29. Nf4!10 29... Rf6?2230. Rg312(30. Nh5+Discovered attack wins the rook with a mating attack to follow.)30... e594 31. Nh5+You got a slightly unpleasant position out of the opening due to White's big center. Based on imprecise play from the opponent you were later able to equalize when you played the nice ...d5 break. The resulting middlegame structure is known to be fine for Black, but it's imperative that you make use of all your pieces. You basically lost because your opponent had a long term plan of attacking your backward pawn on f7 and you had no active plan of your own. You shuffled the queen and knight to poor squares and lost time. In the future, look at your opponent's weak pawns (in this structure that's the pawn on e3) and try to bring your pieces to positions where they apply pressure to those weaknesses. Playing without an active plan in many cases can be fatal. 1-0
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