![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Better than losing, I guess...
Feb. 17th, 2003 08:22 pmWell, after an eventful day (more about which later, maybe... if I'm in the mood...), I went down to the county education center to see what the chess club was all about. I forgot it was President's Day, and so the center was closed, but I met the guy who is behind this subversive activity, and we ended up playing a game.
There used to be a time when it was no problem for me to reconstruct games I had played in the immediate past (I've never been able to remember games for very long, though, not like some grandmasters). About 30 minutes after this game, I sat down to reconstruct it and had the devil's own time remembering who did what.
I attribute part of that to the fact that we were not playing under tournament conditions, part to the fact that I haven't played a serious game or done any analysis in a couple of years, and part to the fact that the ol' synapses ain't as snappy as they used to be.
Anyway, I think I finally succeeded in reconstructing the game, and here it is. The opening is a Ruy Lopez (often called the Spanish Game), Exchange Variation. (That much, I remembered. :^)
* * * [Date "2003-02-17"]
[White "David S."]
[Black "AlexPGP"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 bxc6?
{It has been a long time. The proper capture here is with the d-pawn, something that is noted in most beginner-level books.}
5.d3?
{5.Nxe5 or 5.O-O are better.}
5...d6 6.a3?
{No idea what this move is for. Better is 6.O-O, getting the King away from the center and centralizing a rook.}
6...Nf6 7.Bg5
{Does nothing. White should be thinking abou the safety of his King.}
7...Be7 8.Bxf6 Bxf6
{I'd say at this point, White has squandered the advantage of the opening move, and the position is equal.}
9.c4 Rb8 10.b3
{10.b4 is better, I think, because it's "backward" on b3.}
10...d5
{Now Black ignores his King's safety, violating a basic rule: Castle your King before embarking on expeditions, especially in the center!}
11.c5
{Loses a pawn.}
11...dxe4 12.dxe4 Qxd1+ 13.Kxd1 Rxb3 14.Nfd2 Rb5 15.Ke2 Rxc5 16.Rd1 Ke7
{Castling now, so close to the endgame, would not be a good idea. White's King is already developed toward the center.}
17.a4
{Maybe 17.Nf6 would be better?}
17...Rd8 18.Ra3 Be6 19.Nc3 Bg5 20.Nf3 Bc4+ 21.Ke1 Rxd1+ 22.Kxd1 Kf6 23.Nd2 Be6
{This would have been a good opportunity to play ...Bxd2 (eliminating one of white's pesky knights), followed by ...Be6, which frees up c4 for the Rook, which right now has no scope at all.}
24.f3 Ke7
{Freeing the way for the advance of the f-pawn.}
25.Kc2 f5 26.Nb3 Bxb3+
{Pretty much forced. Taking this knight while it was still on d2 would have freed the rook.}
27.Rxb3 fxe4 28.fxe4 Be3
{28...Rc4 is better.}
29.Kd3 Bd4 30.Ne2! Ra5 31.Rb4
{I was expecting 31.Nxd4 exd4 32.Kxd4 Rxa4}
31...c5??
{While this seems to buttress the bishop on d4, what it actually does is restrict the rook to a5, a square that can be - and will be -- attacked by the knight in two moves.}
32.Rc4 Kd6 33.Nc1 Kc6
{33...c6 was worth considering, after which 34.Nb3 is met with 34...Rb5!? 35.Nxd4! exd4 36.axb5 cxb5, with four connected passed pawns, which would probably not be enough to win, but still... it would've been interesting!}
34.Nb3 Kb6 35.Nxa5 Kxa5 36.Ke2 h5 37.Kf3 g5 38.h3 Kb6 39.g4 h4 40.Ke2
{I think this is a drawn position.}
40...Bb2?
{Bad idea. The intent here is for the Bishop to go to a3 and b4, thereby allowing the King to strike at the pawn on a4.}
41.Kd2 Ba3?
{Persisting in pursuit of a bad plan. 41...Bd4 was called for.}
42.Kc2 Bb4 43.Kb3 Ka5??
{I'm pretty sure this does severe damage to Black's cause. The only move to assure the draw is 43...Bd2!, which allows the bishop to defend the pawns on e5 and g5. With the Black King shuffling between b6 and c6, White cannot win.}
44.Rc1
{Heading for f1 or d1, intending to penetrate.}
44...c6?
{In retrospect, 44...Kb6 would've been better. After 45.Rf1 Bd2 46.Rf6+ c6, the game may still be drawn, but now the rook is "behind enemy lines," so to speak, and there may be a win somewhere.}
45.Rc4
{At this point, White said he wasn't sure he could bring off a win via the f-file, and offered a draw. Not being a complete addle-brain, I accepted.}
(1/2-1/2)
Cheers...
There used to be a time when it was no problem for me to reconstruct games I had played in the immediate past (I've never been able to remember games for very long, though, not like some grandmasters). About 30 minutes after this game, I sat down to reconstruct it and had the devil's own time remembering who did what.
I attribute part of that to the fact that we were not playing under tournament conditions, part to the fact that I haven't played a serious game or done any analysis in a couple of years, and part to the fact that the ol' synapses ain't as snappy as they used to be.
Anyway, I think I finally succeeded in reconstructing the game, and here it is. The opening is a Ruy Lopez (often called the Spanish Game), Exchange Variation. (That much, I remembered. :^)
[White "David S."]
[Black "AlexPGP"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 bxc6?
{It has been a long time. The proper capture here is with the d-pawn, something that is noted in most beginner-level books.}
5.d3?
{5.Nxe5 or 5.O-O are better.}
5...d6 6.a3?
{No idea what this move is for. Better is 6.O-O, getting the King away from the center and centralizing a rook.}
6...Nf6 7.Bg5
{Does nothing. White should be thinking abou the safety of his King.}
7...Be7 8.Bxf6 Bxf6
{I'd say at this point, White has squandered the advantage of the opening move, and the position is equal.}
9.c4 Rb8 10.b3
{10.b4 is better, I think, because it's "backward" on b3.}
10...d5
{Now Black ignores his King's safety, violating a basic rule: Castle your King before embarking on expeditions, especially in the center!}
11.c5
{Loses a pawn.}
11...dxe4 12.dxe4 Qxd1+ 13.Kxd1 Rxb3 14.Nfd2 Rb5 15.Ke2 Rxc5 16.Rd1 Ke7
{Castling now, so close to the endgame, would not be a good idea. White's King is already developed toward the center.}
17.a4
{Maybe 17.Nf6 would be better?}
17...Rd8 18.Ra3 Be6 19.Nc3 Bg5 20.Nf3 Bc4+ 21.Ke1 Rxd1+ 22.Kxd1 Kf6 23.Nd2 Be6
{This would have been a good opportunity to play ...Bxd2 (eliminating one of white's pesky knights), followed by ...Be6, which frees up c4 for the Rook, which right now has no scope at all.}
24.f3 Ke7
{Freeing the way for the advance of the f-pawn.}
25.Kc2 f5 26.Nb3 Bxb3+
{Pretty much forced. Taking this knight while it was still on d2 would have freed the rook.}
27.Rxb3 fxe4 28.fxe4 Be3
{28...Rc4 is better.}
29.Kd3 Bd4 30.Ne2! Ra5 31.Rb4
{I was expecting 31.Nxd4 exd4 32.Kxd4 Rxa4}
31...c5??
{While this seems to buttress the bishop on d4, what it actually does is restrict the rook to a5, a square that can be - and will be -- attacked by the knight in two moves.}
32.Rc4 Kd6 33.Nc1 Kc6
{33...c6 was worth considering, after which 34.Nb3 is met with 34...Rb5!? 35.Nxd4! exd4 36.axb5 cxb5, with four connected passed pawns, which would probably not be enough to win, but still... it would've been interesting!}
34.Nb3 Kb6 35.Nxa5 Kxa5 36.Ke2 h5 37.Kf3 g5 38.h3 Kb6 39.g4 h4 40.Ke2
{I think this is a drawn position.}
40...Bb2?
{Bad idea. The intent here is for the Bishop to go to a3 and b4, thereby allowing the King to strike at the pawn on a4.}
41.Kd2 Ba3?
{Persisting in pursuit of a bad plan. 41...Bd4 was called for.}
42.Kc2 Bb4 43.Kb3 Ka5??
{I'm pretty sure this does severe damage to Black's cause. The only move to assure the draw is 43...Bd2!, which allows the bishop to defend the pawns on e5 and g5. With the Black King shuffling between b6 and c6, White cannot win.}
44.Rc1
{Heading for f1 or d1, intending to penetrate.}
44...c6?
{In retrospect, 44...Kb6 would've been better. After 45.Rf1 Bd2 46.Rf6+ c6, the game may still be drawn, but now the rook is "behind enemy lines," so to speak, and there may be a win somewhere.}
45.Rc4
{At this point, White said he wasn't sure he could bring off a win via the f-file, and offered a draw. Not being a complete addle-brain, I accepted.}
(1/2-1/2)
Cheers...
