Tuesday, November 22, 2016

Resignation in 17

In a game of speed chess, my opponent resigned after 17 moves. He was Rapidmates of the USA, who played white. Here are the moves of the game with my commentary:

1. e3 d5

White chooses an unusual opening.

2. Nf3 Nc6
3. c4 e6
4. cxd exd
5. Nc3 Nf6
6. Bd3 Be6
7. a3 Bd6

White  chooses to push a pawn rather than castle.

8. h4 Qd7
9. b4 Bg4
10. Qb3 Bxf3

I decide to give white doubled pawns.

11. gxf Be7

I retreat with my bishop to protect my d-pawn.

12. b5 Ne5

White plays aggressively but the white king isn't safe.

13. Bb1 Nxf3+

White blunders. Be2 is better.

14. Ke2 Ne5
15. Bb2 Qg4+
16. Ke1 Nf3+

Kf1 is better.

17. Kf1 Nxd2+

I fork the king and queen.  Because he is already down two pawns and about to lose his queen, black resigns.

The keys to victory in this game are my ability to develop my pieces and attack the exposed king. Though my king doesn't castle, it isn't a problem because my attack is stronger than white's. On the other hand, black's failure to castle directly contributes to his downfall.

No comments:

Featured Post

Finding the Proto-Form

Related languages have a number of words which are similar to one another. In the branch of linguistics known as historical linguistics, the...