Milestone: 2000 on Lichess Rapid

Yesterday was the last day of the Grand Chess Tour 2026 Super Rapid and Blitz tournament. Hans Moke Niemann, for whom I was rooting, won it all in dramatic fashion, just half a point ahead of second-place finisher Fabiano Caruana. I spent much of Friday and Saturday following the Blitz games, and it was the excitement of that event that led to this afternoon's game.

For today's game Lichess matched me against one 1915-rated huddle, who over the past six days has played a staggering 271 Rapid games on Lichess. He stumped me on move one with the Bird Opening, which promptly transposed into the Canard, and had the advantage at numerous points throughout the game. A blunder on move 30, however, sealed his fate, and thirty-three points were added to my 1990 rating, pushing me over the 2000 level.

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Position 1: Black to move

Assigned the Black pieces I replied to White's 1.f4 with 1...Nf6. White and I pushed our d-pawns with 2.d4 d5, and after 3.e3 I struck with 3...c5. After 4.c3 the computer wanted me to develop my light-square bish with 4...g4, but instead I frenchified it with 4...e6. White and I developed knights with 5.Nf3 Nc6, bishes with 6.Be2 Be7 and castled with 7.0-0 0-0. Then White invaded with 8.Ne5. Ignoring the invasion, I initiated an exchange with 8...cxd4 9.exd4 and doublt-attacked White's knight with 9...Nd7. White tucked his king in the corner with 10.Kh1, and I pushed 10...f5. White developed with 11.Nd2, and I chopped with 11...Ndxe5.

1. Why did I choose the move 11...Ndxe5?
White had a powerful knight in my territory, and I felt I couldn't allow it to stay there.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
While the engine doesn't disapprove of 11...Ndxe5, ChatGPT explains that it allowed White to establish a pawn on e5 with 12.fxe5 that I could never challenge with a pawn of my own. White enjoyed a space advantage and my position, especially my bishes, became cramped. I was better off with White's knight on e5 than with the pawn there.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
The engine's top move was 11...Nf6, controlling e4 and g4 and allowing my light-square bish to potentially reposition on e8, in turn freeing up the c8 square for my rook.

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Position 2: Black to move

White rechopped with 12.fxe5, and I began expanding on the queenside with 12...a6. White continued 13.Nf3, and I pushed 13...b5 en-route to b4. White developed his bish with 14.Bd2, and I advanced with 14...b4. Had White chopped with 15.cxb4 he'd have retained an advantage of +0.6; instead he pushed 15.a3 and the eval bar reset to 0.0. I chopped the wrong way with 15...bxc3, and after 16.Bxc3 I developed my queen with 16...Qb6. White slid his rook to the open file with 17.Rc1, and I advanced my knight with 17...Na5. White attacked my knight with 18.b4, and I withdrew with 18...Nc4. When White pushed 19.a4 the advantage swung in my favor to the tune of -0.6. I chopped with 19...Nxb4, and White tried to get fancy with 20.Rb1. My advantage was -1.5, but after 20...Qa5, the eval bar flipped to +2.4.

1. Why did I chose the move 20...Qa5?
White was double-attacking my knight on b4 and I was double-defending. The problem was he was about to mobilize a third attacker in the form of his queen, and I didn't like that my knight was pinned to my queen.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
My move didn't accomplish anything as instead of being pinned on the b-file it was pinned on the e1-a5 diag.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
The engine found 20...a5, defending my b4-knight with a pawn, and if need be my a8-rook could deploy to b8 and be a fourth defender.

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Position 3: Black to move

White's best continuation was 21.Ne1 en-route to d3 and increasing the pressure on my pinned knight, but instead 21.Qb3 gave me an advantage of -1.0. I correctly replied 21...Rb8. and White prepped a rook stack with 22.Rb2. I connected rooks and threatened to chop on a4 with 22...Bd7, and White stacked with 23.Rfb1. I still had an advantage of -1.2 at this stage, but it flipped to +2.3 upon playing 23...Bxa4.

1. Why did I choose the move 23...Bxa4?
The tension converging on b4 was overloading my circuits. All's I knew was White had four attackers on my b4-knight and I was only defending it thrice. I couldn't avoid losing material, but maybe by first attacking White's queen I could force her off the b-file.

2. Why is my move not ideal?
My counterattack allowed the queen to vacate the b-file and attack b4 as a fourth option, i.e. after White's bish and two rooks. I needed to understand that I was not in any danger of losing material, because of the position of White's queen in front of the rooks.

3. Why is the better move better than my chosen move?
The engine's top move was 23...Qc7: even though White had four attackers on my knight, his second attacker was the queen. If 24.Bxb4 then 24...Rxb4, and White's queen has to vacate the b-file without the c3-square being available.