Find the Winning Move

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Today I want to share a position where you are challenged to find the winning move. This is from a casual (I take these very seriously!) game I played recently and my failure in this position highlights two of my weaknesses. Also, I later went on to decline a draw and then lose, so I shouldn't forget that either.

 

Here is the position with black to move. Black has a very clear advantage after the winning idea is played.

The correct move in the above position was one of my first candidates, but I did not have a good enough vision to see what to do after white's response. I found it fairly easily when moving the pieces around, but not during the game when I had to visualize it. This is one of my weaknesses, I have a hard time finding a second move by a piece unless I am particularly thinking of moving a piece twice in a certain line.

 

Another weakness was highlighted by the move I actually chose. I had the idea that trading knights would be good for me because then I could easily gang up on the isolated pawn. So I played 1. ... Nh3+ 2. Kh1 Ng5 with the idea that I can trade knights on the next move and that if he moves the knight "anywhere" the d4 pawn loses a defender and I can take it. I have this tendency to think in this way -- "if he moves the knight anywhere" -- instead of thinking of what's the best place he can move it. Of course, I was disappointed when I saw 3. Ne5 cutting off the queen from d4 and now threatening Nc6 when the knight again defends the pawn, now attacks the h7 pawn and is on a monstrous outpost. Meanwhile, I have maneuvered my knight to g5 for no apparent reason.

 

If no one gives in the comments black's correct line of play, I'll post it here in a few days. (Don't just give black's first move! Say what black will do against white's reasonable responses.)

Welcome to my blog! In the USCF I am rated 1921.

 

The content posted here is from my real chess experience, either games I've played or observed. I'll try to put an instructive twist on it. So if you're looking for a glimpse into how a B player thinks about the game, check in and see what I've got. Well, recently my rating has gone over 1800, so perhaps I should list myself as class A instead of class B, but it's not a huge difference.

Loomis
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