Loss by checkmate: 1239-1230
Last night was Game 1 of the NBA Finals, and I retired early with an alarm set for 4 AM to watch it live. A mosquito, however, kept me from falling a sleep, and in my frustration I turned on the computer and played a game on Chess.com. My opponent, one "stdfx," was a 1206-rated player from Armenia. He opened with e4, and the first five moves were book a-la the Advance Variation of the French Defense.
Where I picked up my French was a 10-page PDF file randomly found online, apparently authored by Richard James of chessKIDS academy. I mostly credit that document and a similar one on the Queen's Gambit with elevating my Chess.com rating from the 1050s to where it is today. The page on the Advance Variation goes five moves deep, ending with three ideas for White and a warning to Black against blundering his queen on d4.
From move 6 on, in other words, I was on my own. White developed his light-squared bishop to d3, possibly with the idea of luring my queen to d4; and I, familiar with that line, looked for an alternative to cxd4. The PDF advises: "Play f7-f6 as soon as your King is safe BUT NOT BEFORE: White may have tactics based on Bd3 and Qh5." I knew f6 was dangerous but figured I'd have enough time to clear pieces out of my back rank and castle before White could get an attack going. When, on move 7, White captured my pawn on f6, I construed it as favoring my position since he gave up a center pawn and I developed a knight toward the center.
I now understand that 6. ... cxd4 or 6. ... Bd7 would have been more sensible moves. The game proceeded with 8. Ne5 Nxe5, and when White's d4 pawn recaptured on e5 I started to see the problem. Yes, moving my remaining knight to d7 came with an attack on his now-hanging e5 pawn, but the preceding sequence of moves both opened up the d1-h5 diagonal for White's queen and invited her to invade on h5 with check. When 10. Qh5+ happened and I had to slide my king to d8 lest my rook on h8 fall, it was the beginning of the end. A series of exchanges on b3 and then d6 led to my being up a pawn, but White's king was safely castled while mine was running out of safe squares. On move 23 White's knight executed a royal fork, and I was helpless to stop mate on move 36.
Andrey Ostrovskiy of Chessfactor.com explains in a video on the Advance Variation that 6. Bd3 cxd4 is a sound continuation of the Advance Variation for Black. After 7. cxd4 Bd7, White's d4 pawn is en-prise; and if White fails to protect it, his e5 pawn becomes vulnerable.
It's one of the reasons I started this blog: to analyze key moments when flaws in my game lead to losing positions, understand the reasons this or that move is wrong in a given situation, and channel the insights gained toward better decision-making in future games. The blog format forces me not only to acknowledge my mistakes but to learn from them. Since teaching has been demonstrated to be an effective method of learning, the detailed explanations will facilitate better internalization and improved application.
Where I picked up my French was a 10-page PDF file randomly found online, apparently authored by Richard James of chessKIDS academy. I mostly credit that document and a similar one on the Queen's Gambit with elevating my Chess.com rating from the 1050s to where it is today. The page on the Advance Variation goes five moves deep, ending with three ideas for White and a warning to Black against blundering his queen on d4.
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| Move 5 |
From move 6 on, in other words, I was on my own. White developed his light-squared bishop to d3, possibly with the idea of luring my queen to d4; and I, familiar with that line, looked for an alternative to cxd4. The PDF advises: "Play f7-f6 as soon as your King is safe BUT NOT BEFORE: White may have tactics based on Bd3 and Qh5." I knew f6 was dangerous but figured I'd have enough time to clear pieces out of my back rank and castle before White could get an attack going. When, on move 7, White captured my pawn on f6, I construed it as favoring my position since he gave up a center pawn and I developed a knight toward the center.
I now understand that 6. ... cxd4 or 6. ... Bd7 would have been more sensible moves. The game proceeded with 8. Ne5 Nxe5, and when White's d4 pawn recaptured on e5 I started to see the problem. Yes, moving my remaining knight to d7 came with an attack on his now-hanging e5 pawn, but the preceding sequence of moves both opened up the d1-h5 diagonal for White's queen and invited her to invade on h5 with check. When 10. Qh5+ happened and I had to slide my king to d8 lest my rook on h8 fall, it was the beginning of the end. A series of exchanges on b3 and then d6 led to my being up a pawn, but White's king was safely castled while mine was running out of safe squares. On move 23 White's knight executed a royal fork, and I was helpless to stop mate on move 36.
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| Andrey Ostrovskiy (YouTube) |
Andrey Ostrovskiy of Chessfactor.com explains in a video on the Advance Variation that 6. Bd3 cxd4 is a sound continuation of the Advance Variation for Black. After 7. cxd4 Bd7, White's d4 pawn is en-prise; and if White fails to protect it, his e5 pawn becomes vulnerable.
It's one of the reasons I started this blog: to analyze key moments when flaws in my game lead to losing positions, understand the reasons this or that move is wrong in a given situation, and channel the insights gained toward better decision-making in future games. The blog format forces me not only to acknowledge my mistakes but to learn from them. Since teaching has been demonstrated to be an effective method of learning, the detailed explanations will facilitate better internalization and improved application.
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