Milestone: 1800 on Lichess Rapid

When I went to sleep last night, it was to reports in the world's major news outlets that Israel had bombed a hospital in Gaza and killed 500 people. By morning it was clear the story was a lie: a Palestinian rocket aimed at Israel had fallen in a parking lot adjacent to a hospital, and the number of casualties was anyone's guess. That didn't stop the school where I work from joining a strike and announcing there would be no classes today.

A day off is a day off, and I used the free time I suddenly had on my hands to study and play chess. In particular, I examined middlegame themes in the Queen's Gambit and the Nimzo-Indian, deepened my theoretical proficiency in the Guimard Variation as a weapon against the Tarrasch French, and played a lot of anonymous Rapid games on Lichess. Then I played a rated Rapid game on Lichess, and none of the day's study was of any use because my opponent opened with 1.c4 -- the English.

1. c4 Nf6
2. g3 e6
3. Bg2 Bc5

The English, for me, is up there with the London as the most annoying opening to play against as Black. But unlike the London, where Black at least has some targets to attack in the center, in the English White mobilizes his forces on the flanks and Black cannot develop his pieces naturally because the center is like an exposed ridge with enemy snipers all around.

My problems started already on move 3. PROMETHEUSMS, rated 1775, opened with 1.c4 and I, not knowing how to reply but hoping we might transpose into the Queen's Gambit, answered 1...Nf6. White then continued 2.g3, and I replied 2...e6. My thinking was if 3.Nc3 I could pin with 3...Bb4 in Nimzo-Indian spirit. Instead, White fianchettoed with 3.Bg2, and now 3...Bb4 was pointless because 4.a3 and my bish would start getting kicked around. Still wanting to get my bish out and already thinking for too long, I played 3...Bc5, which the engine says was an inaccuracy. The piece I ought to have developed was my other knight, with 3...Nc6. Eval: +0.9 for White.

4. Nc3 0-0
5. Nf3 Nc6
6. 0-0 b6

I would think a good move for White here would have been 4.d4, kicking my bish and putting a pawn in the center. Prometheus, however, stuck to his opening theory and played 4.Nc3. Castling kingside felt safe, so that was what I did: 4...0-0. White brought out his other knight with 5.Nf3, and I brought out mine with 5...Nc6. White castled, 6.0-0, and then came my second inaccuracy: 6...b6. Eval: +1.4 for White.

My idea was 7...Ba6 and start putting pressure on White's pawn on c4 after 8...Na5 and 9...Ne8 followed by 10...Nd6. It was silly since White could easily defend with his b- and d-pawns, but it was a plan and the best I could come up with. What the engine wanted was 6...Nd4, inviting an exchange of knights. After 7.Nxd4 Bxd4, my bish would be attacking White's remaining knight, so he would play 8.Nb5 attacking back. My bish would retreat with 8...Bb6 and the position would be a slight improvement for me (+0.8 for White).

7. a3 Bb7
8. b4 Be7
9. d3 Re8
10. Nd4 Nxd4

After 7.a3 I got the sense White was starting to get active on the queenside, and this deterred me from proceeding with my aforementioned plan. For lack of any other ideas, I fianchettoed by bish with 7...Bb7. White continued his queenside advance with 8.b4, which also attacked my dark-squared bish, and I had no choice but to retreat the bish with 8...Be7. After 9.d3, my position was cramped and I was out of ideas. I played 9...Re8 thinking the e-file might open up in the near future.

All this time, the board's four central squares had remained vacant. I don't know that I've ever played a game where nine moves were played and neither player advanced a pawn or developed a piece to those squares. Finally, on move 10, Prometheus made a move in the center: 10.Nd4. The engine considers it an inaccuracy and evaluates White's advantage at only +0.3 here, but I failed to capitalize on the opportunity to equalize. What the engine wanted me to play was 10...d5, but offering an exchange of pawns where I lose my d-pawn for White's c-pawn feels at my level like a trade that necessarily favors White. After 10...Nxd4, which the engine labels a mistake, White's advantage grew to +1.4.

11. Bxb7 Rb8
12. Bg2 e5
13. Be3 Nf5
14. Bg5 h6
15. Bd2 a5
16. e4 axb4
17. exf5 bxc3
18. Bxc3 Bd6

White continued 11.Bxb7, capturing my finachettoed bish and basically forcing 11...Rb8. Prometheus then retreated his bish with 12.Bg2, and I played 12...e5 so as to have a pawn in the center. White's next move, developing his bish with 13.Be3, was an inaccuracy, and I attacked the bish with 13...Nf5. White counterattacked my other knight with 14.Bg5, and I counterattacked the bish with 14...h6. After all that, White retreated his bish with 15.Bd2, and I found nothing better than 15...a5.

White's 16.e4 was an inaccuracy, presumably since it weakened the d3 pawn but also because it gave my knight an outpost on d4. 16...Nd4 was what I should have played, but I liked the idea of 16...axb4 attacking the knight on c3. White captured my knight with 17.exf5, but this was a mistake because it left him with doubled f-pawns and no pawn in the center. After 17...bxc3, we were roughly even; and after White recaptured my pawn with 18.Bxc3 and I sought to make my e-rook more active with 18...Bd6, the eval bar was at +0.1.

19. Re1 c5
20. Rb1 Qc7
21. Rb5 Qa7
22. Qb3 Re7
23. Rb1 Bc7
24. a4 d6

Since the e-file was semiopen for White, 19.Re1 was a logical positional move. What I had hoped to accomplish with 19...c5 is unclear. The b-file was also semiopen for White, and again 20.Rb1 made positional sense. Perhaps fearing White was preparing to pile up on my e-pawn, I played 20...Qc7, triple-defending e5; but this was a mistake (+1.6), and I think the reason Stockfish wanted 20...Bc7 was to add a defender to the pawn on b6. As if to demonstrate why I needed to prioritize b6, White continued 21.Rb5. Whether to make c7 available for my bish or to attack White's pawn on a3, I replied 21...Qa7.

White continued 22.Qb3, and now Prometheus' intentions were clear: to invade my queenside on the b-file. It's therefore all the more puzzling that my next move was 22...Re7, disconnecting my rooks and blocking the e-rook's access to the b-file. Was I preparing 23...Rbe8 and 24...e4? Ignoring my e-file ideas, Prometheus summoned his other rook to the b-file with 23.Rb1, and he now had a formidable battery aimed at b6. Naturally, I summoned the only additional defense immediately available and replied 23...Bc7. White advanced his a-pawn with 24.a4; and instead of 24...Ree8 reconnecting my rooks in anticipation of 25.a5, I played 24...d6. White's advantage swelled to +3.3.

25. a5 Ree8
26. axb6 Bxb6
27. Rxb6 Rxb6
28. Qxb6 Qa3
29. Qb3 Qa7
30. Ra1 Qd7
31. Qb5 Qxf5
32. Be4 Nxe4

My situation went from bad to worse after White made good on his threat of 25.a5. The invasion of my queenside was underway, and I was helpless to stop it. 25...bxa5 would accomplish nothing, since after 26.Rxb8+ Bxb8 27.Qxb8+ Qxb8 28.Rxb8+ I would be down a piece. 25...Nd7, the engine's top move, would add a defender to b3, but only momentarily since it would be met with 26.Bc6. I played 25...Ree8, and White's advantage increased to +4.4.

Prometheus continued 26.axb6, forking my queen and bish, and I recaptured with 26...Bxb6. He then proceeded to capture my bish with 27.Rxb6 and, after 27...Rxb6, to capture my rook and attack my queen with 28.Qxb6. I knew better than to trade queens when down material, and for the time being my king was safely protected by my rook and knight, so I attacked Prometheus' bishop with 28...Qa3. My opponent decided to annoy me by interposing his queen with 29.Qb3, so I annoyed him back by returning and threatening to repeat moves with 29...Qa7. After 30.Ra1, attacking my queen, I attacked the undefended f5-pawn with 30...Qd7. Rather than defend the pawn, White attacked my queen again with 31.Qb5, so I captured with 31...Qxf5, threatening to take another undefended pawn with 32...Qxd3. White attacked my queen yet again, this time with 32.Be4, and after 32...Nxe4 we arrived at the position shown above. White had an advantage of +7.6.

33. dxe4 Qe6
34. Qc6 f6
35. Ra6 Qxc4
36. Qxe8+ Kh7
37. Rxd6 Qxc3
38. Rd5 Qe1+
39. Kg2 Qxe4+

White had a choice of 33.Qxe8+ and 33.dxe4. Intent on continuing to harass my queen, he went with the latter -- which gave me an opportunity to defend my rook with 33...Qe6. Intending 35.Ra6 to attack my backwards pawn on d6, White continued 34.Qc6. What prompted me to reply 34...f6 I don't know, but after 35.Ra6 I abandoned my rook and captured another pawn with 35...Qxc4.

White naturally captured my rook and checked my king with 36.Qxe8+, and that left me with only one legal move: 36...Kh7. Rather than safety his bish, White captured my backwards pawn with 37.Rxd6, so I captured White's bish with 37...Qxc3. White didn't have a clear path to my king, but in the meantime my queen had crossed into White's side of the board and was threatening check on the next move. Here was where Prometheus either misclicked or made a fateful blunder. The move he should have played was 38.Qh5. Instead he played 38.Rd5, and suddenly I had a winning advantage of -3.8. I checked with 38...Qe1+, forcing 39.Kg2; and after 39...Qxe4+, forking White's king and rook, Prometheus resigned.

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Conclusion

Whereas the climb from 1600 to 1700 on Lichass Rapid took thirteen months and 119 games, the climb from 1700 to 1800 took four months and five games. Ostensibly, that means I have made major strides as a player relative to the progress that led me to 1700. On the other hand, my game against PROMETHEUSMS was deeply flawed, to the point of being resignable; I only won it because my opponent misclicked or suffered a lapse of concentration.

Whatever the case may be, even if I am underrated, it's clear that in order to get to 1900 my current level will not suffice. I need to elevate my tactical acumen by continuing to solve puzzles daily, develop better attacking plans in the Queen's Gambit by studying annotated games, become more proficient in French Defense variations like the Tarrasch that currently give me fits, and get serious about mastering the Nimzo-Indian Defense as a new and improved weapon against 1.d4.