00039.5.25 Analyzed by Candidate Master Daniel Waite

1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3.

Nc3 Bb4

[The French Winawer. In theory it is solid yet

aggressive. You choose an older inflexible way to

meet it (and more difficult to defend against).

Typically White will unleash a strong Kingside attack

with Qg4.]

4. e5 c5 5. a3 cxd4!?

[This move makes sense. Objectively it may be

questionable but it offers Black two pluses. First it

gives Black the half-open c - file. Second it breaks

up the White center pawns. One reason for questioning

this move is that it does not appear to be consistent

with the objectives of Black's choice of opening.

Always remember there is a plus in every negative on

the chessboard. Chess is an exchange of advantages

and disadvantages. For instance, if you drop a piece

you generally get two moves in exchange for it.

Sometimes the two moves are more critical than the

piece. It is the reason that sacrifices work. That

is why chess coaches warn younger players to not chase

pawns. It is not worth the moves that are given up.

In the games that I've seen, it appears that Black

wants a quick resolution to the game by choosing this

move.]

6. Qxd4 Bxc3

[Interesting try for Black, typically the play would

be either …Nc6 or …Ba5. Again the move makes sense,

but remember in chess that there is an absolute truth

at work. Wrong moves should be punished by accurate

play.]

7. Qxc3 Nc6 8. Bb5

[At this point the idea would be to play Qg3. The

forcing of the …g6 gives White a huge positional

advantage with the pawn at e5 and the absence of the

Black's dark square Bishop. If Black castles Kingside

he should not be able to defend himself.]

8…Bd7 9. Nf3 d4?

This move is too ambitious at this point. Now Black

will

be stuck with an over-extended pawn. In the French,

Black

must defend first, THEN attack. Development was

essential

on move 9.

[Again a move that makes sense. 9…d4 is not as bad as

you think. The move is not an "attack." Pawn moves

are seldom for purposes of "attack." As a general

rule, the idea of the pawn move is to gain or control

space. I do however agree that this move is ill timed

and too ambitious. In a sense the pawn is sacrificed

for open lines. The problem for Black is that these

open lines benefit White! BTW, in every defense the

idea is to "defend first, THEN attack." All attacks

must have positional justification. Black does have a

problem unraveling his development in the French

Defense - your opponent compounds this natural

problem. This is why I do not personal recommend the

French Defense you young players. If you are

interested in completely frustrating someone playing

the French Defense try the "Exchange Variation." It

takes all the fun out of it for Black.]

10. Qd3 Ne7 11. Bg5

Black's development is now becoming less effective

because

his pieces are being pinned and becoming useless.

[Black is cramped but at this point is fine. Do not

mistake a cramped position for a bad position. Some

defenses are specifically designed to make maxim use

of as little space as possible. These can be very

tough to crack and if the attacker relaxes or

mishandles the position, it could get real ugly real

fast. One characteristic of a cramped position is the

interlocking of pieces. This is called "over

protection." The idea is that for every attacker on a

piece there is at least one more defender. This makes

the various pieces more flexible - you can move any

defender and not give up material. About pins: You

place a high value on them for good reason. Pins

often decide the game! There are two types of pins.

There is the "absolute" pin. These are pins where the

first piece can not move because the King is behind

it. Then there is the "relative" pin where the

defender can choose to give up material. The

difference is that the second is flexible while the

first is not. The "magic" behind the pin is the

inflexibility of the pinned piece and generally its'

defender. With one piece you can tie up as many as

three defenders! That's like playing a virtual piece

or two ahead. Another thing to like about pins is

that they can quickly become a permanent positional

advantage. Once you get a pin, work on the front

piece - start piling up the attack on it.]

11. ...a6

[Missing …Qa5+ and …Nxe5. The stronger of the two

would be …Nxe5, completely dissolving the White center

and freeing Black's game. The draw back is that it

scrambles the Black pawns and leaves White with a 2 -

3 pawn island advantage. The question is if a free

game and an advantage in the center would be worth

it?]

12. Bxc6 Bxc6 13. 0-0-0 0-0

[Black should have tried 13…Qd5. This makes use of

the earlier …d4 move. 14. Qxd4 Qxd4 15.Nxd4 Bxg2 16.

Rhg1 Be4 and Black has placed his Bishop on a

dominating square can go just about anywhere

unhindered. This pivot point is critical. On 15.

Rxd4 then Bxf3 is strong for Black.]

14. Nh4 h6 15. Bf6!

A bolt from the blue for Black! My intuition kept

nagging

at me to play 15. Bf6, so I had to use almost half of

my

time to give the gut feeling a green light.

[You knew better, generally your first instincts are

correct. The old rule of thumb is "long analysis is

wrong analysis" at the board. This drops a piece.

Let's examine why the move is not good. First, it

gives away the Bishop for a pawn without time

advantage. Second, it does not force anything. When

you sacrifice it must be forcing. Black is not

obliged to capture.]

15. ...gxf6 16. Qg3+ Ng6

[Here Black, in essence, blunders the game away.

16…Kh7 17. exf6 Ng6 and Black is home free with extra

material.]

17. Nxg6 fxg6?

This was Black's last chance to defend himself by not

taking

back the Knight and moving his King over to the

h-file, giving

up the Exchange.

[You got that right!]

18. Qxg6+ Kh8 19. Qxh6+

If I couldn't find an absolute win, I knew I could at

least

give perpetual check.

[Attitude check. When you have your opponent in your

sights never, never, never consider the draw. In

fact, never consider a draw until you are absolutely

sure the position is completely lifeless - or you are

tricking your opponent out of half a point. Even in

completely lost positions there is value in playing

them out - you learn a lot by the hard spots in life.

Don't pass up your best learning opportunities.]

19. ...Kg8 20. Qg6+ Kh8 21. Re3 Bxg2

The only move that can prevent an immediate mate by

22. Rh3+

22. Rg1! Rg8?? 23. Qh6#

[Congratulations! You finished with a good score. In

this game you took advantage of your opponents

weakness/mistakes. You were also aggressive and

willing to take a risk. You must study the

"positional" aspects of the game. To attack you must

have positional justification. To sacrifice material

you should have concrete analysis all the way through

to checkmate. Also when you sacrifice focus on

forcing moves. You showed excellent insight into some

ideas in the game and you made sure your position was

solid. Once you get a grip on the positional essence

and learning how to read the board, you'll be a match

for just about anyone under the Master level.]