00036.5.21 Analyzed by Candidate Master Daniel Waite

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 exd4

4.e5 Ne4 5.Qxd4 d5 6.exd6(e.p.) Nxd6

7.Bd3 Nc6 8.Qf4 g6 9.0-0 Bg7

10.Re1+ Be6 11.Ng5 0-0 12.Nxe6 fxe6

[So far you and your opponent have played "book"

moves. In other words these moves are already known.

It is impressive that you and your opponent have

picked through the maze this deep into the game. You

need to be wary of being lead to the slaughter. Never

take on an opponent in their territory. You can avoid

the Petroff/Russian Defense with 3. Nc3. This will

get you back into lines you probably know and

positions where you are comfortable. At the very

least, you take your opponent out of his specialty.]

13.Qg3

[At this point you vary from "book." The old thought

is that the first to stray from the lines of the past

either gets their head handed to them or they have a

brilliant idea. In this case, you get your head. You

have many problems -> the open d - file, the half open

f - file, the non-development of the Queenside pieces,

Black's control of the middle, weak King position.

(All tactics are based on positional elements.)

Somehow you must buy some time to develop your pieces.

Not to question theory, but you should go back and

understand how this line has led you to a miserable

position. BTW, this looks like one of those moves a

computer would make.]

13… Bd4

[Chess lesson #1: Black takes advantage of a "pivot

point." This is the square(s) that the Bishop uses to

attack the same side of the board that it sits on.

Often we see a Bishop cutting across a diagonal but

the real danger comes from these pivot points where

suddenly it is attacking back across the grain. This

move is brought to you courtesy of your lack of

development.]

14.Re2

[Now your Rook is not on the back row. There is

nothing to defend against the back row checkmate.

Whenever there is a weak King position, look for a

tactical shot.]

14…Ne5 15.c3

[Ouch, this is probably the only move that looses.

You should have tried Bg5, Bf4, Nc3, or Nd2. When

your opponent has this much development on you, you

can not afford the time to chase pieces. Besides, c3

does nothing to move the Bishop of the "dangerous

diagonal" (the diagonal that bears down on your f2/f7

square). You are completely lost at this point.

Chess lesson #2: Development is more important than

breathing! Chess in a sense is a war game where you

must mobilize your troops. If you do not, you insure

an easy game for your opponent. Again, this is

another computer like mistake. Play more live

opponents.]

15…Ne4

[Chess lesson #3: Pattern recognition. First, your

King is on the back row with no breathing room.

Second, you have to deal with the open files. The one

that is going to seal your fate is the d - file.

(Chess lesson #4: Always play in the center.) Your

opponent puts together two common patterns.]

16.Bxe4

[Pattern #1: The decoy. This decoy had the added bite

of actually creating extra possibilities on f2.]

16…Bxf2+

[Pattern #2: Clearing the file. Both of these are

simple to see if you know your patterns. Invest time

on learning these basic patterns.]

17.Qxf2 Rxf2 18.Rxf2 Ng4

[Chess lesson #5: Imbalances. An imbalance is any

difference in the position. At this point you are 2

Bishops & Rook verses Queen and Pawn. Not bad as far

as material is concerned. However, look at how the

Knight dominates both your Bishops and Rook. This is

called the "superior minor piece." In spite of your

material differences, you are playing a virtual Rook,

Knight, and Bishop down (pieces that have not been

developed). Black also has his pick of the d - file,

the f - file, and the a7 - g1 diagonal.]

19.Nd2 c6 20.h3 Nxf2 21.Kxf2 Qb6+ 22.Ke2 Qb5+ 23.Bd3

Qg5 24.Kf1 Rf8+ 25.Nf3 Qg3 26.Be2 e5 27.Bh6 Rf5 28.Rd1

Qf4 29.Be3

[This move is not possible - the Bishop can not move

though the Queen on f4. Thus I'm assuming the correct

move was 28…Qh4. Chess lesson #6: Pins. Somewhere I

read/heard that 80% of Master level games are decided

by a pin. In this case the pin is "absolute." In

other words you can not move the pinned piece. (A

"relative" pin is when you can move the pinned piece -

at the cost of what's behind it.) You must deal with

a pin immediately if not sooner! There are three ways

to do this: move the piece that is behind the pin,

attack the pinning piece, and impose another piece

in-between. For instance, look at the common

"relative" pin of a Black Bishop on g4, White Knight

on f3 and Queen on d1. You can move the Queen,

"question the Bishop" with h3 (which generally leads

to an exchange), or play Be2 (freeing the Knight and

the Queen).]

29…e4 30.Bc4+ Kf8 31.Bc5+ Ke8 32.Re1 Kd8 33.Rd1+ Kc7

34.Be6 exf3 resign 0-1

[Chess lesson #7: Never resign! You can not win if

you resign. You have a combination of interesting

ideas available to you. First, your opponent is

crushing you like a bug - you have him just where you

want him. Second, you have two Bishops on a very open

board and a Rook sitting on an open file. The

conditions are ripe for a major league swindle.

Possible over-confidence or carelessness can sometimes

be used to steal a point. Try 35. Rd7+, if Black

carelessly moves 35…Kc8 you force mate. If 35. Rd7+

Kb8 36. Bd6 again tempting …Kc8 forcing mate (37. Bc7+

Kd8 38. Rc8#). Develop a reputation for being

dangerous when you are cornered. If chess is a war,

it is not an honorable one. You must try every

filthy, disgusting, ugly, swindle opportunity the

board position gives you. Just be a gentleman and

don't gloat, laugh or put down your opponent. There

is a difference gritty chess and bad sportsmanship.]