Hernia chess (Studer method 02)

A day will come when the medical profession discovers a better way to deal with hernias than cutting a person open and sewing their tissues and skin back together. It has been a week since my laparoscopic surgery to repair a bilateral inguinal hernia, and although I can now shower, go for short walks and cook meals without the need for painkillers, I’m still slow getting out of bed, sitting and standing, and dressing myself.

Going to work is out of the question and there's little I can do outside the house besides sit on a bench in the sun. That means more time directed toward chess. Some of that time, naturally, is wasted on random YouTube videos and mindless Blitz games that contribute nothing to my improvement, but some of it is spent reading, solving puzzles, and analyzing games. Having completed one attempt at applying the Studer method to a game, and feeling satisfied with the process and the result, this report analyzes another casual Blitz game, played earlier today on Lichess against one aditya3434.

---

Position 1: Black to move

Like the last game, this was also an Exchange French, Guru Variation. After 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 Bd6 and 5.Nc3, I replied 5...Ne7; and after 6.Bd3 0-0 7.0-0 c6 8.Be3 Bf5, White's 9.Qe2 was my cue to initiate an exchange of light-square bishes with 9...Bxd3. White recaptured with 10.Qxd3, and after 10...Nd7 the game continued 11.Rae1 Ng6 12.a3 Nf4 13.Qd2 Ng6 14.b4 b5 15.Na2 Qc7 16.Qe2 Rae8 17.c3 Nf6 18.Qd2 Ne4 19.Qe3 Nf4 and 20.Bxf4 Bxf4. White's next move, 21.Ne5, pushed the eval bar to -2.9, but it was only -1.2 after my 21...Bxe5.

1. Why did I choose 21...Bxe5?
I was unhappy with White's knight finding a potential outpost on e5, and I recognized that exchanging my bish for it would win me a pawn.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
This might not be an appropriate move for the Studer method, since it wasn't so much a turning point as a missed opportunity. After all, my move still maintained a meaningful advantage. What is surprising is that the second-best move isn't mine either: it's 21...f6, kicking White's knight but without winning a pawn.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
21...Nd2 is a better move because from d2, where it is defended by my bish on f4, the knight attacks White's rook on f1 and the rook has nowhere to go.

---

Position 2: Black to move

After White's recapture with 22.dxe5, the eval bar showed -1.1. However, after my 22...Qxe5 it flipped to +2.1.

1. Why did I choose 22...Qxe5?
It seemed to me that centralizing my queen would make her a stronger piece.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
The general rule for batteries is that the stronger piece should support the weaker one. In other words, the rook should be ahead of the queen, not the other way around. By capturing with the queen and not the rook, my battery was effectively facing the wrong way.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
22...Rxe5 is a better move because with 22...Qxe5 White's rook on e1 pinned the knight on e4 to my queen.

---

Position 3: Black to move

After capitalizing on my blunder with 23.f3, I attacked White's queen with 23...Nc5 and White blundered back by allowing an exchange of queens with 24.Rxe5 Nxd3. Thereafter, the game continued 25.Rxe8 Rxe8 26.Nc1 Nxc1 27.Rxc1 Re3 28.Rc2 f5 29.Kf2 f4 30.g3 g5 31.h4 h6 32.h4 Kf7 33.g4 Kf6 34.Re2 Rxc3 35.Re8 Rxa3 36.Rc8 Ra2+ 37.Kf1 Rc2 38.Rc7 Rc4, and after 39.Rxa7 Rxb4 I had three connected passed pawns on the queenside to White's zero. After 40.Ra6 Rc4 41.Ke2 b4 42.Kd3 b3 43.Rb6 Ke6 44.Rxb3 Kd6 45.Rb7 Rc1 46.Rg7 Re1 47.Rg6+ Re6 48.Rg7 Re3+, White blundered mate in one with 49.Kd4, but I missed it and replied 49...Rxf3, which allowed 50.Rg6+ Kc7 51.Rxh6. Then I went after White's h-pawn with 51...Rh3, and after 52.Rg6 I gave away what was left of my advantage with 52...f3.

1. Why did I choose 52...f3?
I saw that White's king could team up with the rook and capture my pawn on c6 after 53.Kc5, or White could advance his h-pawn with 53.h6 protected by the rook on g6, so I made a run for it with the only pawn I could advance.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
52...f3 solves none of Black's problems and adds two more: it restricts the rooks scope on the third rank and it seals the fate of the g5 pawn at no cost to White.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
52...Re3 vacates the a-file where White has a passed pawn but indirectly defends Black's c6-pawn because any time White's king moves in for an attack with 53.Kc5 the rook can chase the king away with check. Furthermore, if White's rook captures with 53.Rxg5, Black replies 53...Kd6, renewing the threat of mate in one from move 49. If White checks with 54.Rg6+, Blacks rook challenges for the sixth rank with 54...Re6 and White can neither exchange rooks nor advance his h-pawn.