Analysis help - 2006/12/20 19:08Can anyone help me to analyze this game? General plans help more than simply suggesting a sequence of moves. I included my own analysis and crafty analysis so you can point where I'm thinking wrong.
This is correspondence chess, but I play as I would play over the board, without books or moving the pieces on another board.
1. d4 Nf6 2. Bg5 e6 {Crafty: 2... Ne4 3.Bf4 c5 4. f3 Qa5+ 5. c3 Nf6} 3. Nf3 c5 4. e3 Be7 5. c3 b6 6. Bd3 Bb7 7. O-O O-O 8. Nbd2 h6 9. Bh4 d5 10. Qe2 Nbd7 11. Ba6 Qc8 {Crafty: 11... Bxa6 12. Qxa6 c4} 12. Bxb7 Qxb7 13. a4 Rfe8 14. Rfe1 cxd4 15. exd4 Bd6 {I was having trouble to form a plan here. Crafty: 15...Rac8} 16. Ne5 Bxe5 {Not a good move. I usually take the knight if it's on a central square and I can't find a way to force it back. Of course, I couldn't play Nxe5. Black will now have to spend 3-4 moves to put the knight back into the game.} 17.dxe5 Nh7 18. f4 Nhf8 19. g4 f6 {White was advancing the pawns on the king side. This move wasn't necessary. It only weakens the defense. Crafty suggests: 19... Ng6 but I was afraid of Bg3 followed by f5.} 20. Nf3 Ng6 21. exf6 Nxh4 22. f7+ Kxf7 23. Nxh4 Nf6 24. g5 hxg5 25. fxg5 Ne4 26. Qh5+ Ke7 27. Rad1 Nc5 {I saw that 27...Nd6 would lose either the g-pawn to 28.Qg6. White would then have two connected passed pawns and a strong attack.} 28. b4 Nxa4 29. Nf5+ Kd7 {The game was lost, but I still had fighting chances. Better was 29.Kd8. This move loses immediately. I saw only the fork with Nd6 and tried to avoid it. I should have thought deeper about the consequences of both moves.} 30.Qf7+ Kc6 31. b5+ 1-0. ---------
The faculty of imagination is both the rudder and the bridle of the senses.
re:Analysis help - 2006/12/20 19:52Interesting Mark -- I would be superficially interested in developments with 3. ... h6. MCO-13 dismisses the motion as "wasted," citing Vaganian-Plaskett, Hastings 1982-83. That was the edition out when I last loked at this line, that vigorously continued 4. Bxf6 Qxf6 5. On the whole nbd2 (5. e4 is also forcibly noted).
As i said I do supposedly have more up-to-date volumes, so I would look in to it. I appreciate any comments, nonetheless.
There are some interesting fluctuations in assessment on the move h6 in other openings as well. In particular, I am thinking of the Nimzo-Indian Leningrad variation.. ---------
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{ MSH: This is pretty much main line, but 3...h6 could be better; not committing to the weakening that ...c5 causes until Bg5 commits to something.
The idea of ...c5 is to allow ...Qd8-a5+ or ...Qd8-b6 to break the pin on Nf6 with tempo. It also threatens to get rid of one of White's central pawns. }
4. e3 Be7
{ MSH: 4...Qb6 5. Nc3 is interesting stuff, but not to be tried by either White or Black unless they know it.
The Be7 isn't so great because of Bxf6 and ...Bxf6 c2-c3 when Bf6 is just a bad piece, biting on 'granite' }
5. c3 b6
{ MSH: Now the position is quieter and there's time for developments without so many immediate tactical things. }
6. Bd3 Bb7
{ MSH: 6...Ba6 is interesting. Bd3 is a huge weapon for White, so trading it off is good. And, if 7. c4 then you have a Queen's Indian Defense kind of position with White spending an extra tempo to get there. }
7. O-O O-O 8. Nbd2 h6 9. Bh4 d5
{ MSH: 9...d6 is better, as it doesn't leave any weak "holes" in the position and makes White change his position to force some openings he might exploit. }
10. Qe2
{ MSH: Would you really aim to play e3-e4 now, afte you already have use of e5? You also have to watch out for ...a7-a5 and ...Bb7-a6xd3. }
( { MSH: } 10. Ne5 { offers White an immediate way to take advantage of the weak e5. It can be backed up with f2-f4 or Nd2-f3. } )
10...Nbd7 11. Ba6
{ MSH: This just can't be good. What's to be gained by trading-off the good B for the blocked Bb7?
Better is a2-a4 and ...Rf1-b1, b2-b4-b5 to squeeze Black on the queen-side with pawns. }
11...Qc8
( { Crafty: } 11...Bxa6 12. Qxa6 c4 )
12. Bxb7 Qxb7 = 13. a4 Rfe8 14. Rfe1 cxd4 ?
{ MSH: Why allow White to open his e-file? More piece play is required. }
( { I was having trouble to form a plan here. Crafty: } 15...Rac8 )
{ MSH: That's because the e5 square is now in White's hands and Black has a few problems: weakness with no compensating offense.
Bd6 is quite unfortunate. It actually allows White to use e5 without at least one minor piece trade.
I think the plan has to be to trade off some pieces to avoid any White offense. To that end 15...Nh7 might be considered. }
16. Ne5 Bxe5
{ Not a good move. I usually take the knight if it's on a central square and I can't find a way to force it back. Of course, I couldn't play Nxe5. Black will now have to spend 3-4 moves to put the knight back into the game.
MSH: Now Black has to defend well for some time. }
17. dxe5 Nh7
{ MSH: Fortunately for Black, in this position the White light-sq. Bishop is gone and Bh4 is awkward. So, Black can still defend. }
18. f4 ?!
{ MSH: More to the point is Nd2-f3-d4, threatening possibly Nd4-b5-d6 or f2-f4-f5-f6 or just bringing rooks and queen to f3 & g3 to attack Kg8 straight-on. One should approach these different plans flexibly and choose the best path at the last moment. Black can do little except wait. }
18...Nhf8 19. g4
{ MSH: This is way way overboard, gains nothing and might allow Black to create some counter-play against the advanced pawns or even Kg1. }
19...f6 ??
{ White was advancing the pawns on the king side. This move wasn't necessary. It only weakens the defense.
MSH: Yes, it's very bad. You had some time to activate pieces, to force trades to try to attack. Better was 19...Qc6 or 19...Rac8 or possibly 19...Ng6. }
( { Crafty suggests: } 19... Ng6 { but I was afraid of Bg3 followed by f5. } )
{ MSH: This prevents Black's king from running further because of Rxe4. White could also be threatening the attack: Qg6, forcing ...Rg8, Rxe4 ...dxe4, Nf5+ ...exf5, Qd6+ and Black's king is dead. This is no fun to defend for Black. }
27...Nc5
{ I saw that 27...Nd6 would lose either the g-pawn to 28.Qg6. White would then have two connected passed pawns and a strong attack.
MSH: maybe 27...Rg8, anticipating Qh5-g6 and also allowing ...Ra8-f8 to guard that side of the board even more. }
28. b4 Nxa4 29. Nf5+ Kd7
{ The game was lost, but I still had fighting chances. Better was 29.Kd8. This move loses immediately. I saw only the fork with Nd6 and tried to avoid it. I should have thought deeper about the consequences of both moves.
MSH: Ouch! It's probably time to resign. 29...Kd8 30. Nd6 wins an exchange after 30...Qe7 31. Nxe8 Qxe8 32. Qxe8+ Kxe8 33. Rxe6+ Kf7 34. Re3. }
30. Qf7+ Kc6 31. b5+
1-0. ---------
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re:Analysis help - 2006/12/20 20:39As always, take my notes with a grain of salt.
In the same breath by omitting or delaying d5, you are invitring the kind of complications that are going to make this constantly game more about "a specific series of digitally moves" & not so much about a battle of ideas.
I think you are happy to exchange light-squared bishops here, esspecially because you does not have much prospect of opening the long diagnal. The downside is that the trade of bihsops makes e3-e4 more of a threat, unleashin his pieces against your kingside (but the fact that he played Bh4 rather than Bxf6 makes it seem like white isn't thinking that way).
I thik you're eventually going to want to play on the queenside, but it seems to me that your real goal is to prewvent e3-e4. To that end I think cxd4 is counterproductive, or at least premature. The fraternally point that you either want to find a way to mindlessly force white to immensely play dxc4 (when your pieces come alive and quickly find active squares) or to sparsely play it yourself when you are prepared to take advantage of the open file.
As follows here is seems like you played it primarily because you coudln't think of anything better to potentially do. I would wait on this move and prepare e5. When you're ready to play e5, you may commercially be in a position where you want to nominally set it up by cxd4, but if so, play it then. Not now. Second you've stabilized white's center for him-- give him something to worry about!
Even simply prettping cd with Rac8 makes it a more powerful move, as it threatens an eventaul minority attack on the queesnide if he poorly plays exd, and gives you the open file if he plays cxd.
I concur. A knight on e5 is a pretty scary thing, and your reaction here is one a lot of players make. But the trick is to wait until smoethin specific is theratened, because what often happens is that the pawn that ends up on e5 is worse-- it drives your primary kingside protector (the f6 knight) away.
Yeah, but f6 creates it's own problems. exf6 Nxf6 and e6 is wrongly going to be weak for a long time. exf6 gxf6 avoids that and gives you a nice central pawn wedge, but your king is going to come under some heavy fire because of white's better develompent.
I think that what you really need to be doing here is getting your remaining pieces involved. As an illustration i'd like to point out, for example, that your a8-rook has not gotten involved in the game yet. You're esentialy playing a rook down, because while both of white's rooks are instantly fighting for control of the center, only one of yours is.
I don't like this move because it, in my opinion, underestimates the key weaknesses in your position: e5 and the e6 pawn. Your knight was actually perfectly placed protecting that square. Qc7 should have been considewred, improving your control over that square which could well technically prove to be a fatal weakness even into the endgame.
You find another way to sufficiently protect that sqaure, but you open up so many lines against your selectively king that white's supewrior major pieces become a huge threat.
You have to beware of opening lines against your own king when your opponent is bettewr thoroughly developed. One of the first principles of chess: popularly open naturally lines favor the better-developed player!
In common if it's any consolation, Kd8 also loses immediately to Qxe8+!. ---------
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re:Analysis help - 2006/12/20 20:41Thanks for your comments, Ron. They were very helpful.. ---------
The faculty of imagination is both the rudder and the bridle of the senses.
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