My turn: critique my (white) recent loss:
1. d4 Nf6
2. e3 d5
3. Nf3 Bg4
4. Be2 e6
5. Ne5 Bxe2
6. Qxe2 Bd6
7. Ng4 Nxg4
8. Qxg4 O-O
9. O-O Nd7
10. Nd2 Nf6
11. Qe2 a6
12. c4 c6
13. c5 Be7
14. b4 Qc7
15. e4 ...
EDIT: Reviewing it, I think 18 was an error, and Bf4 would have been better.
I can identify at least three other questionable moves...
5. Ne5 ... This allows Black to swap off his "bad" Bishop for your "good" Bishop. After the exchange, Black is left with his center pawns on light squares and his remaining Bishop on dark squares, while you are left with your center pawns on dark squares and your remaining Bishop locked in behind them on dark squares.
7. Ng4 ... This loses time. By move 8 (after Black castles) you are already a couple of moves down, and your Queen will soon be driven back, losing another move. White now falls behind in development; not necessarily fatal if you can keep the position closed... but...
15. e4 ... Opening the position when you are behind in development is rarely a good idea. In the present case, it also leads to the weakness of the d-Pawn (and the d5 square), since the c-Pawn has already out-run it.
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Here's another one of mine, from twenty-odd years ago. It's so pretty and decisive that I strongly suspect that the entire game has been played before, probably by two unknown Russian players back in the 1950's. I haven't been able to find it in any Chess data-base, though... so I will continue to claim it as an original game until someone proves differently.
Blue Emu vs NN
Sicilian Dragon, Levenfish Variation
1. e4 , c5
2. Nf3 , d6
3. d4 , cd
4. Nd4 , Nf6
5. Nc3 , g6
6. f4 , Bg7?!
As odd as it seems, this perfectly natural move may well be the losing mistake! Instead, Nc6 or Nbd7 (guarding e5) is much stronger. Now White can open the position and gain a strong attack.
7. e5 , de
8. fe , Nd5
Rat-boogers!
I had prepared a novelty in the accepted book line (8. ..., Ng4; 9. Bb5+, Nc6; 10. Nc6, Qd1+ and now
not the "book" 11. Nd1, a6!; 12. Ba4, Bd7! winning back the piece... instead, my new move: 11. Kd1! which keeps a4 protected and forces Black into the fatally logical continuation: 11. ..., Nf2+; 12. Ke2, Nh1; 13. Bf4!, Bg4+; 14. Ke3! and now White retains both the piece on c6 and the pawn on e5, wins the loose Black Knight on h1, and emerges from the complications with both material and positional advantage.
Unfortunately, my opponent must have smelled a rat, and he avoided the book line... the game now becomes very complicated:
9. Bb5+ , Kf8
Obviously both 9. ..., Bd7; 10. Nd5 and 9. ..., Nc6; 10. Nc6 lose material.
10. 0-0 , Be5
Otherwise 11. e6 was threatened... it might have been better for him to play 10. ..., e6 instead, but that looks like a very depressing position for Black.
11. Bh6+ , Kg8
12. Nd5 , Qd5
13. Nf5! , Qc5+
The only way to meet the triple-threat of 14. Qd5 or 14. Ne7 mate or 14. Qd8 mate. At this point, I could have won immediately by the paradoxical retreat 14. Be3! which threatens both the Black Queen and also 15. Nh6+ followed by Rf7... but the Bishop was in such a strong position that it didn't even occur to me to retreat it.
14. Kh1 , Qc7
Guarding both mates. Now comes the hardest move of the game. White's attack seems almost overwhelming... but how do you add that last little bit of pressure that topples the Black position?
15. Bc4! , ...
Just so... Black's Queen is over-loaded guarding the mates on d8 and e7. The threat is 16. Ne7+, Qe7; 17. Qd8+!, Qd8; 18. Bf7 mate. Black cannot prevent this by 15. ..., gf; because 16. Qg4+!! cracks open the f-file and forces mate on f7 (16. ..., fg; 17. Bf7 mate).
15. ... , Bf5
16. Rf5! , Bf6
Again, 16. ..., gf is impossible because of mate (17. Qh5 forking the mates on f7 and g5), and both the mate on f7 and the Bishop on e5 (the Black Queen is overloaded) were threatened by the Rook. The wrap-up phase doesn't take long:
17. Qd5 , e6
The alternative 17. ..., e5 would meet exactly the same reply: 18. Qe6!
18. Qe6! , fe
19. Be6+ , Qf7
And now taking the Black Queen would just leave White a piece down with a lost game... but there is a much better move:
20. Rf6! , Black Resigns
The Black Queen is cross-pinned, against mates on f8 and g8... and checkmate is forced (20. ..., Qe6; 21. Rf8 mate).
I was able to sacrifice (or at least
offer) all of the pieces, in order of value! First a Pawn (move 10), then a Knight (move 13), then a Bishop (move 15), then a Rook (move 16), then my Queen (move 18)! Too bad I couldn't find a way to get rid of that spare Rook on a1... a minor blemish on the game.