Jerusalem Day: Loss (1589-1565)

This morning got off to an encouraging start. I beat my Lichess nemesis on the toilet at Blitz, and on the way to work I scared off a crow just as it was about to thump the back of my head. When I got to school, though, the place was deserted. I asked the cleaning lady where all the kids were and she said, "They're not here. No one's here." Somehow I'd missed the memo that school had been canceled on account of Jerusalem Day.

Playing a game would be risky. The cleaners could abruptly shut off the electricity or the vice principal might start talking to me, but I took the chance. Chess.com matched me against one Pradipbelbase13, rated 1607 out of Nepal. My move six was classified as brilliant by Game Review, and already on move nine I had an advantage of +3.8. Poor play on my part flipped the eval in opponent's favor in the middlegame, but on move 20 he blundered his queen to a bish fork and I looked to be cruising to a win. On move 43 the vice principal came to say hi, I blundered my queen, and shortly thereafter opponent checkmated me.

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Position 1: White to move

Assigned the White pieces I opened 1.d4, and after 1...d5 2.c4 dxc4 we were in a Queen's Gambit Accepted. I continued 3.e4, and Black's 3...g6 allowed 4.Bxc4. Black fianchettoed with 4...Bg7, I developed with 5.Nf3, and Black pinned with 5...Bg4. I knew I had a tactic with 6.Bxf7+, as after 6...Kxf7 I disco-attacked Black's bish with 7.Ng5+. Black's king retreated with 7...Ke8, and I chopped with 8.Qxg4. Black couldn't castle, he had holes on the f- and d-files, and he had zero pieces developed to my two. I wasn't winning yet, but I knew the game was in my hands.

Black needed to chop with 8...Bxd4 as 8...Nf6 allowed 9.Qd1. After 9...Qd7 the engine wanted 10.Qb3 exploiting Black's hole on f7 with a fork on b7, but I attacked with 10.e5. Black outposted with 10...Nd5, and I immediately challenged with 11.Nc3. We exchanged with 11...Nxc3 12.bxc3, and Black correctly kicked my knight with 12...h3. I tried to get fancy with 13.e6, but that was where things started to go wrong. Black replied 13...Qd5, attacking both my knight and my e6-pawn, and I again tried to get fancy with 14.Qa4+. Black could have parried with 14...b5, but 14...c6 led to the same result, namely the loss of my knight. My advantage of +1.9 flipped to -1.1 when I played 15.Nf7.

1. Why did I choose the move 15.Nf7?
It's not clear what I was thinking here. My knight forked Black's rook and h-pawn, but 15...Rh7 would keep everything defended.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
As happened in the game, Black chopped on e6 with a check-fork and from a position of being down one pawn went up two.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
The engine's top move was 15.Qc2. Now Black didn't have a check, and if 15...hxg5 then 16.Qxg6+. Black would have won my knight, but I'd have won his bish because if 16...Kf8 then 17.Qf7#.

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Position 2: White to move

Black correctly chopped with 15...Qxe6+, and after 16.Ne5 and an exchange of minors with 16...Bxe5 17.dxe5 Black forked again with 17...Qxe5+. I blocked with 18.Be3, Black chopped with 18...Qxc3+, and after 19.Ke2 Black blundered his queen with 19...Nd7 20.Bd4. Opponent kamikazed on my rook with 20...Qxa1 21.Rxa1 and developed a rook with 21...Rf8. I attacked the rook with 22.Bg7 and Black countered with 22...Nb6. I attacked g6 with 23.Qg4, and 23...h5 invited 24.Qxg6+. Black blocked with 24...Rf7, and I retreated my bish with 25.Bh6. Black threatened a royal fork with 25...Nd5, which allowed 26.Qxh5 -- but I missed a crushing move in 26.Qg8+.

Black developed his a-rook with 26...Rd8, and I developed mine with 27.Rc1. Black attacked my queen with 27...Nf6, and I attacked a7 with 28.Qa5. Black pushed 28...a6, and I attacked b7 with 29.Qb6. Black defended with 29...Rd7, and I offered a rook trade with 30.Rd1. Black correctly declined the trade and with 30...Nd5 attacked my queen and threatened a fork from c3. Credit to Black as he was finding ways to apply pressure: my king was sandwiched between his rooks, and the activity of his knight made me apprehensive. I defended c3 with 31.Qa5, Black attacked my bish with 31...Rf6, and I counterattacked Black's rook with 32.Bg5. After 32...Re6+ I had an advantage of +4.5, but that dropped to +3.0 with 33.Kf1.

1. Why did I choose the move 33.Kf1?
I felt my king would be safer on the back rank behind my pawns, less exposed and vulnerable to checks.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
My moved invited exactly the tactic I was seeking to avoid -- a knight fork. In fact, Black had an even nastier tactic than 33...Ne3+: 33...Re5 threatening 34...Ne3 and winning my queen.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
The engine's top moves were 33.Be3 and 33.Kf3. The first got the bish off the queen's rank and defended the king, the second got the king to a square where the knight couldn't check him.

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Position 3: White to move

Black found 33...Ne3+, such that 34.Bxe3 allowed 34...Rxd1. I still commanded a +4.6 advantage, but materially I was only +2. I attacked Black's rook with 35.Ke2, and Black retreated with 35...Rd7. I didn't have a plan after 36.Qh5+ Kd8 37.Qh8+ Kc7, but 38.Kf3 at least freed up my bish.

Black probably also didn't have a plan after 38...Rf6+ 39.Kg3, but 39...Rd8 attacked my queen and I parried with 40.Bf4+. Black replied 40...Kd7, I should have pressured e7 with 41.Qg7 but continued 41.Qh3+, and after 41...Ke8 42.Bc7 the vice principal entered the teachers room to say hi. Black meanwhile skewered with 42...Rd3+, and I remember trying to play 43.Qh5+ and not understanding why the computer wouldn't allow it. Then I saw I was in check, and the eval bar went from +4.3 to -4.3 when I played 43.Kg4.

1. Why did I choose the move 43.Kg4?
It was the first move that came to mind when I recognized I was in check.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
It allowed 43...Rxh3.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
43.f3 was the only move that avoided a lost position.