Game One: A really good game until I crack under time pressure. Neither one of us make any glaring mistakes. This was one of my funnest games ever. I gotta learn to control the clock a little better AND even if in time trouble I need to look for the best move. In my blunder I knew it wasn't right but I played hope chess. Here is the game:
Game Two: Another good game. My opponent slowly gained an edge and I made a few mistakes that compounded upon each other. However it was tense over the board. A fun and instructive game for me! (and I really gotta learn when to make pawn pushes!!)
Here is the game:
Game Three: The win! A couple of you mentioned that I should not feel that this win was tainted because my opponent was late and was down 30 minutes on the clock. It was his fault. However I think the quality of chess was a little less than the first two games. BUT I am happy with the win. Oddly enough I am okay with my speculative piece sacrifice in this game which caused my opponent to resign! I DID NOT see the better move (unlike in the first game where I saw the better move but did not play it) ALSO I played this sacrifice more out of psychological factors as I could tell my opponent was not wanting to fight for the game. So this was an unsound sacrifice of my knight but it worked!
Here is the game:
I HOPE I can get to a few more OTB tournaments this year. This was the first OTB tourney where I felt I could actually play and hang and be a part of good games. I want that to continue! Have a great week.
Congrats on the results!
ReplyDeleteThat said, I'm thoroughly confused...
In the last game, why in the world did he resign? Did he just not see that he could take the knight? Black has absolutely nothing for it at all. Not sure why you think d4 is any good for White after the check - I would just move Kh2 (protecting the loose knight) and Black has nothing. Just down a piece.
Haven't looked at the others in depth yet, but one quick note on the first game: When he forks your N & R (Bb5), you save the Exchange instead of the piece, which is a horrible (and very common) misunderstanding of chess values. You need to play 28 ... Nb6 there. A piece is worth twice as much as an Exchange. Back to the Heisman chesscafe columns for you! ;)
(Yes, it was lost already either way, but this is an easy error to correct and needs to be pointed out.)
Hey Jabari
ReplyDeletethanks!
Yeah...I was shocked when my opponent resigned in the last game as well! But that is the vagaries of chess I guess.
In the first game I knew I was already losing after my BAD bishop sacrifice so I sort of stopped thinking. (not a good thing!)
I want to read Heisman's articles more but they are written in a way that doesn't connect with me. I know all of his principles are sound and great but they don't often flow to me (the articles that is) Part of that is my problem in that I often have trouble focusing when reading something ONLINE! I can read a book for days (even an ebook) but there is something about online that throws me off! (SO THE SOLUTION is to print Heisman's articles out and create my own Heisman book!)
TommyG,
ReplyDeleteGame 1, I like ..Rb8 instead of ..Qb6, you are too eager to trade queens as Black.
Game 2, You still don't have that feel for the Open Sicilian yet. Instead of Bf3, I like Bd3, and b4 and then trading bishop for knight is another sign of the non-feel because against the Open Sicilian, you really have to clobber White's king and not back down and play seemingly safer queenside mumbo-jumbo. No reason to play f5 right away either, but you can play Qe1, Rad1, and Qh4, that sort of thing, keep building up the kingside attack.
Game 3, after Kh1 White is winning. White played really well in this game defensively, I guess his veil finally cracked, but this is why I like White's game and what White was doing. White should have cherished his play, not admonished it. Still, you finally pick up some big rating points (nothing to lose, really)!
All games were very nice in regards to clock management, great battles. You _should_ be playing these players and not other E and F level players. ;-)
Hey LinuxGuy,
ReplyDeleteyeah I don't like the open sicilian as White at all for some reason. I MAY have to alter my openings as White. Or I could study the Sicilian as WHite like crazy but that seems counter productive as I still need to focus on tactics and endgames. I do like the Nimzo-Larsen Attack as White. I might give that a go. BUT I really like the RUy which is why I like to play 1.e4 but then the Sicilian rears it's ugly head.
I hate to recommend it, but you could always try playing the closed Sicilian. Pick Spassky for model games. That way you don't have to give up on 1.e4.
ReplyDeleteI personnally think your opponent in the last game didn't see Rxc2 at the end, he thought he was losing a rook for knight.
ReplyDeleteOtherwise I cant explain why he resigned, he just has the better position. Your threat with Qb6+ is a one move threat (if one may call it a threat at all) and that is it, after Kh2 you do not have a decent follow up, with other words Nc2 just throws away the piece.
In game one you play 14. ... c4 because, personnally opinion, you are to busy with trading queens that you cannot think of something else like for example just develop your pieces like for example Rfe8.
That you have a plan is good but after each move the position has changed somewhat so take a quick inventory of what has changed and then see if you have to adjust your plan accordingly instead of just follow up on your already made up plan. Also this c4 gives up your OKAY Center like you said at move 12.
Sometimes I have the feeling that you on your search for a plan play moves that you have seen in books in somewhat similar positions without really knowing the plan behind them. I can be mistaken, wouldn't be the first time.
Part of the problem with Heisman's stuff is that it's hard to find a good order to read it. The month-to-month topics jump around so much... It's still good stuff, though, and worth the effort - I'd highly recommend printing it out - that's what I do.
ReplyDeleteAs far as White against the Sicilian: I recommend buckling down and keep playing the Open - it's the most common for a reason. From what I've seen, you tend to push f4 too early/too often - complete development and see where the targets are first.
Also, ask LinuxGuy when to make that push and when not too, as I play d4 as White and don't have any idea what I'm talking about from that side of it! *laugh*
Hey E!
ReplyDeleteI am going to try to figure out the open Sicilian! I am not gonna run.. :)
Hey Chesstiger:
Yeah, I don't know why he resigned to be honest with you.
And I must be honest and say I haven't been playing with much of a plan lately. I have been studying a lot of defensive tactics so I am trying to defend well. I think I need to start planning a bit.
Hey Jabari:
I have downloaded some of the Heisman stuff and am going to go through it bit by bit. (I might even buy the best of book which might make it more readable for me!)
And I am taking your advice and I am going to let my weakness become my strength and I am going conquer the open Sicilian with the White pieces! :)
Hi Tommy G,
ReplyDeleteGood games. Hope you had fun OTB.
One thing that might help your game is to keep an eye out for hanging pieces. Like in game 1 you noted rightly that the B on B7 was going to be trouble. On principle it's usually good to take the time to always make sure your pieces are covered as an attack on them usually costs a tempo at a bad time.
You can also give your opponents headaches by noting their hanging pieces and look for a plan to take advantage. On a quick look I noted after 17. Nd4 the N was a good target but the one on c3 might have been better. A rook on the c file probably causes White to make some tough adjustments.
Related to game 2 and the Sicilian, with decent but complicated play White usually has a good advantage. In my experience there are basically three standard ways to play the White side.
The White Be2 f3, which is more quiet. Karpov played this a lot in the 70's and his games are pretty interesting.
The White Bg5 f4, which is pretty aggressive and most complicated. There should be plenty of games around on this line.
The Fischer Bc4 Bb3, which I've found to be pretty sound and his games pretty instructive.
If you want to get good at the White side of the Sicilian, you might want to play it on the Black side too in skittles for experience.
Nice job with the annotations, looks like you got a lot out of the process, which is the point of the whole thing.
ReplyDeleteI'll contribute a couple observations on Game 1, since I have some familiarity with that type of game (I don't play the Sicilian as either side).
You had a good hanging pawns structure with the c and d pawns, they were well backed up by your pieces. That particular structure takes some getting used to in terms of how to play it; I don't think your opponent was particularly effective against your play, even if you didn't take full advantage of things on some moves. The isolated queen pawn (IQP) structure you then end up with demands piece activity, in those types of positions a move like 16..Ne4 (that you mentioned in the note) is standard, using the pawn as an advanced post to support a knight. Also, in Queen's Indian-type positions, the Bb7 also needs a lot of care, as you noted, because it's unprotected and on the same diagonal as the protected Bg2. That's why you see Qc7 or Rb8 often played.
I think you should try and find some model games in the open Sicilian to figure out how to use your pieces together and launch attacks. At the moment, it seems you're a bit lost on how to handle this part of you repertoire.
ReplyDeleteFor example, look in the database for 2-3 games (no more) won by famous players starting at the position after 7...Be7 - (look at games with f4). It's even better if you can find annotated games. But if you don't it doesn't matter, just try to understand what white is trying to do, and why he puts his pieces where they are.
Hey ChessClues:
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips! I started out looking at some Judit Polgar games in the Sicilian but want to check out as many as I can. I will check out some Fischer and Karpov games (I might like the Karpov games!) And you are VERY correct about the hanging pieces, both mine and my opponents.
ChessAdmin:
I try to learn as much as I can from each game. Wins and losses! I like the Queen's Indian a lot but I do often let the Bb7 get in trouble. Little moves like ...Rb8 etc. are moves that I often ignore and then wish I had played at an earlier time.
Laurent S:
I am going to go with the model games suggestion. I already started annotating and studying a game by Judit Polgar and am going to look at a Fischer game or two and maybe a Karpov game. It has already proved helpful! Some of the moves that Polgar made have been educational as to WHY she made them. (preventing problems that I often find myself in during a game!)
I believe i read somewhere you're not into opening books anymore but as far as the Sicilian goes... I do recommend Everyman's Starting Out: The Sicilian (2nd Edition) and probably also Starting out: 1 e4, which offers you a good Open Sicilian repertoire...
ReplyDeleteHey E!
ReplyDeleteYeah I have kind of had it with opening books. I don't want a repertoire I want explanations! And I am spoiled by the ones I find in Mednis' books! He gives great verbal descriptions. But he didn't write a whole lot about openings.
A lot of people recommend the Starting Out Sicilian book but I have been burned by Emms crappy books in the past so I can't see spending any more money on his books.
It IS a shame that Mednis didn't write before about the openings....