1429-1411: Loss in Exchange French

Were this a normal year, I would not be sitting in my room playing chess online today; I would be exploring a foreign country and perhaps playing chess on my phone or in a club. It's day three of my school's two-week winter break, but it's also month three of the war in Gaza. The only flights in and out of Israel are with ElAl Airlines, and the situation is such that a regional escalation in the conflict could trigger a shutdown of the airport and an immediate cancellation of all flights.

I was rested and alert going into this afternoon's game. The dishes were washed, the internet was fast. Chess.com assigned me the Black pieces against one Ituraspe of Serbia, and when he opened with 1.e4 I was feeling confident. As I always do before starting a game, I entered Focus Mode to hide the opponent's rating and other distractions. Later I would learn that Ituraspe's rating was 1418 -- but as of composing this report it has shot up to 1472 on the back of a seven-game win streak, of which my game was the first. Foul play? The suspicion is there, but based on my game alone it isn't enough to warrant taking action.

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Ituraspe v. physics2112

1. e4 e6
2. Nf3 d5
3. exd5 exd5
4. d4 Bd6
5. Nc3 Ne7
6. Bg5 f6
7. Bh4 0-0
8. Bd3 c6
9. 0-0 Bf5
10. Bxf5 Nxf5

After 1.e4 e6 2.Nf6 d5 3.exd4 exd4, Ituraspe and I were in a common position in the Exchange Variation of the French Defense. White continued 4.d4 and I developed my dark-square bish with 4...Bd6. White developed and attacked my d-pawn with 5.Nc3, and I developed and defended a-la the Guru Variation with 5...Ne7. White developed his dark-square bish and pinned my knight with 6.Bg5, and I kicked the bish with 6...f6.

After 7.Bh4, I castled with 7...0-0, but note to self: Stockfish slightly prefers 7...Nc6 putting pressure on White's center. White developed his light-square bish with 8.Bd3, and I replied 8...c6 adding defense to d5 -- but again Stockfish preferred 8...Nc6. White castled with 9.0-0, and I played the thematic 9...Bc5 attacking White's light-square bish. White captured with 10.Bxc5, and I recaptured with 10...Nxc5, which also threatened White's bish on h4. Evaluation: -0.14.

11.Qd3 Qd7
12. Ne2 Na6
13. Ng3 Nxh4
14. Nxh4 Nb4
15. Qe2 Rae8
16. Qd2 Bxg3
17. fxg3 Na6
18. Nf5 Re4
19. Rae1 Rxe1
20. Qxe1 Re8
21. Qd1 Nc7
22. Qg4 Re4
23. Nh6+ Kh8

White continued 11.Qd3, and I replied 11...Qd7. The engine considers this my best move, although it took away a square from the knight. Next White began rerouting his knight with 12.Ne2, and I developed my knight with 12...Na6. The engine also considers this my best move. White proceeded 13.Ng3, and I captured White's bish with 13...Nxa4. White recaptured with 14.Nxa4, and I attacked White's queen with 14...Nb4. The engine says 14...Rfe8 controlling the open e-file would have been a better move. White got his queen out of danger with 15.Qe2, and now I attacked on the open file with 15...Rae8. The engine recommended the prophylactic 15...g6. White got his queen out of danger yet again, this time with 16.Qd2, and I replied 16...Bxg3. White recaptured with 17.fxg3, and I played the best move: 17...Na6.

After White's knight invaded with 18.Nf5, demonstrating why 15...g6 should have been played, I replied 18...Re4, applying pressure to d4 and threatening to double rooks on the e-file. White contested my control of the e-file with 19.Rae1, I captured with 19...Rxe1, White recaptured with 20.Qxe1, and I attacked the queen with 20...Re8. Here I reckon is where White conceived the idea of his kingside attack. 21.Qd1 should have suggested to me where the queen was going next, which is why the engine says 21...Re4 was my best move. I played 21...Nc7 intending to transfer my knight to e7, but my plan was too slow. It allowed 22.Qg4, and now 22...Re4 was a tempo too late. My best move was 22...Kh8 to avoid 23.Nh6+, which won my queen. I played 23...Ka8, but it was already game over. After 24.Qxd7 gxh6 25.Qxc7 Rxd4 26.Qxb7 Rd2 27.Qxc6 I resigned.