Narz's Weekly Annotated Games Series

[Narz]

Hi CivFanatics. I'm back in civilization now and hitting the weekly chess tournament in my area. Despite the speedy time control (25 minute games) I resolved to write down the moves of each game for my own chess self improvement and hopefully for the edification and entertainment of other chess fans.

I also wanted to look for patterns in my own games. Again, both for my own improvement and out of curiosity.

For example, the popular maxim, "chess is 99% tactics", I wanted to see if I could verify in practice. From my first three games, I'd say chess is 50% tactics, 30% not blundering and 20% endgame knowledge (especially tactics so I guess this could fall into both under tactics and endgames).

I'll be uploading all games for full viewing (you can go over the moves on an animated board) to my chess page here (click on the game you want to view). The PGNtoJS (Chess Notation to JavaScript) program I used isn't perfect so sometimes it'll skip a move, if you click on the moves on the right (rather than the "move forward" button) you can avoid this problem.

Feel free to comment &/or ask questions.

P.S. : I might add some games from the upcoming (waiting for col to return to start) CFC chess tourny (my own & other people's) with comments (mine, the player's, whoever) & maybe computer analysis in another thread. If you have interest in this or want your game analyzed (after it's completed of course, it's against the rules to use a chess computer while playing) please PM me.

[Narz]

Game 1. My first game back in this town in about six months. My first opponent was a new fellow I hadn't seen before. It was his first game in awhile in fact. He was an older gentleman, average height, bespeckled, with an offhand manner that suggested he might not be too serious a competitor. Nevertheless, I hadn't played in a tournament in a long time either.

Watch the game here : game one..

Here is a transcrpit of it with my comments and Fritz analysis.

Spoiler:

[Event "Santa Cruz Weekly Borders Tourny August 2nd"]
[Site "Borders Book Store on Pacific"]
[Date "2007.8.2"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Narz"]
[Black "Paul"]
[TimeControl "Game 25"]
[Result "1-0"]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 {Italian Game} 4.c3 d6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 Bb6 7.Nc3 Bg4 {maybe Nc3 was a small mistake, allowing him to pin the f knight} 8.h3 {if he takes the d pawn is safe for the moment because taking it with knight or bishop would allow Qxf7 mate, still, I was not happy with my position} Bh5 9.Be3 Nf6 10.d5 Bxe3 {Frtiz calls this an error, prefering Bxf3, either way material is even} 11.fxe3 Ne5 12.Be2 {I consider Qa5+ but it didn't seem to accomplish anything} Nxf3+ 13.Bxf3 Bxf3 14.Qxf3 {all these trades are to my advantage I think} Qe7 {attacking my backward pawn*} 15.Rc1 h5 {doesn't accomplish anything} 16.O-O g5 {the blunder that pretty much ends the game} 17.Qxf6 Qxf6 18.Rxf6 O-O-O 19.Nb5 Rd7 20.Nxd6+ Kb8 21.Nxf7 Rf8 22.Rcf1 {Ne5 right away would've been quickly*} h4 23.Ne5 Rxf6 24.Nxd7+ 1-0

Overall, I got somewhat lucky with his blunder. Before that I was somewhat at a disadvantage, after it, it was pretty much all over. Not my most inspired play ever but can't complain about a victory.

[Narz]

Game 2. Second game was against a heavyset Eastern European looking/sounding fellow named Peter. He has lost his first game (in our quad - four person round-robin) with a flawed combination (my 1st game finished quickly so I watched the end of his). I wasn't overconfident but I wasn't too worried either. It turned out perhaps I should've been more careful.

Watch the game here : game two.

Here it is again below (in PGN format with comments & analysis).

Spoiler:

[Event "Santa Cruz Weekly Borders Tourny August 2nd"]
[Site "Borders Book Store on Pacific"]
[Date "2007.8.2"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Peter"]
[Black "Narz"]
[TimeControl "Game 25"]
[Result "1-0"]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6 6.g4 {had never seen or heard of this move before, I thought about it for a minute and then decided to continue normally} Bg7 7.Nxc6 dxc6 {I decided to take with the d pawn so as to not have to move my knight back next move, the queen trade seems harmless} 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.g5 Ng4 10.Bd2 Be6 11.Ke2 {an odd move, Fritz prefers h3} Bd4 12.Be3 {again Fritz prefers h3, taking on f7 isn't a real threat as the knight gets trapped} Nxe3 13.fxe3 Bxc3 {I debated as to take the knight but it really does screw up his pawns something terrible} 14.bxc3 Kc7 15.h4 h5 {Fritz prefers h6} 16.Bh3 Bc4+ {didn't want to trade yet} 17.Kf3 Rad8 18.Bf1 Bxf1 {now trading seems ok, I have a won game, or so I think} 19.Rhxf1 Rd2 {I considered the more cautious Rd7, perhaps it would have been the better move} 20.Rac1 e5 21.Kg3 Rd7 22.Rf6 {at this point I think I lose my advantage, psychologically I also lost my edge here} Rf8 23.Rcf1 {threatening Rxg6 which I didn't notice until he played in a few moves later} Kb6 24.R1f2 Kc5 {going to eat up the pawns} 25.Kg2 Kc4 26.Kf1 Kxc3 27.Ke1 c5 28.Rxg6 Rfd8 {my some reason I thought I had a mate coming, I was under significant time pressure here, 7 minutes or so left} 29.Rgf6 Rd1+ 30.Ke2 R8d2+ 31.Kf3 Rxc2 {Frtiz recommends 31. ... Rxf2 Kxf2 Rd7 and I think I'm winning} 32.Rxf7 Rh1 {don't want him getting behind my pawn & taking it first} 33.Rxc2+ Kxc2 34.Kg3 {g6 right away is winning*} c4 35.Rf2+ Kd3 36.g6 c3 37.g7 c2 38.g8=Q Rg1+ 39.Rg2 c1=Q {the losing move according to Fritz, now I lose my rook in a few moves} 40.Qb3+ Kxe4 41.Qb4+ {a mistake, allowing a draw, Qxb7+ is a forced win*} Kxe3 42.Qb3+ Ke4 {two ??'s from Fritz, Kd4 holds the draw 42 ... Kd4 43. Qb4 Ke3 44. Qb3+ Kd4 Qb4+ Ke3} 43.Qf3+ Kd4 44.Qf2+ {winning the game} Qe3+ 45.Qxe3+ Kxe3 46.Rxg1 {in the actual game I played on for a few more moves, but the position was hopless} 1-0

Overall, I got off to a good start. And then proceeded to blow it by allowing his rooks to penetrate and turn my "superior position" into a not so superior one where I was on the defensive. I had a few chances to equalize (pointed out mostly by the computer program Fritz post mortem) but missed them under time pressure and also with the pressure of people watching (our game was one of the last to finish in round two). This was a very instructive game for me.

[Narz]

Game 3. Third game was against a friendly guy who reminded me a little bit of our moderator Whomp. He has beaten my last opponent (who then beat me) so I was expected a tough time. I was white the first, then black so drew for color in the third game, got black.

Watch the game here : game three.

Here is it's transcrpit of it with my comments and Fritz analysis.

Spoiler:

[Event "Santa Cruz Weekly Borders Tourny August 2nd"]
[Site "Borders Book Store on Pacific"]
[Date "2007.8.2"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Todd"]
[Black "Narz"]
[TimeControl "Game 25"]
[Result "0-1"]

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 dxc3 4.Nxc3 {I don't have a whole lot of respect for this type of opening and I am always happy to play against it} Nc6 5.Nf3 d6 6.Bc4 g6 7.O-O Bg7 8.Qe2 Bg4 {I saw the psuedo-sacrifice but judged it as not sound and went for the pin anyway} 9.Bxf7+ Kf8 10.Bxg8 Kxg8 {I spent a few minutes here but decided taking with the rook wasted too much time, I think it might have been better though} 11.Qc4+ Kf8 12.Ng5 Ne5 13.Qb3 Qd7 {big mistake, 14. f3 wins the bishop*, fortunately he missed it} 14.h3 h6 15.hxg4 {15. f4 would be much, much better*} hxg5 {I felt relieved to bit rid of the pressure, Fritz calls the game equal here} 16.f3 Nd3 17.Bxg5? {the losing move, now I win both rooks} Bd4+ 18.Rf2 Nxf2 19.Kf1 Rh1+ 20.Ke2 Rxa1 21.Nb5 {21. Bh6 would've won a knight after I block w/ my bishop & he trades*} Bb6?? {leading to mate in two for white 22. Bh6+ Ke1 23. Qh8#} 22.Qc3?? {now I have a forced mate in 5 which I didn't see, but my advantage is overwheliming nonetheless} Qxb5+ 23.Kd2 Rd1+ 24.Kc2 Bd4 {better is the forced mate 24. ... Qa4+ 25. b3 Qa2+ 26. Qb2 Rc8# *} 0-1

I felt pretty good afterwards. After analysis, not quite as proud, considering I allowed a mate in two that fortunatly my opponent (probably still mad at himself for allowing me to turn things around) completely overlooked, instead blundering himself and allowing a mate in five.

My opening was risky. Just goes to show, that while gambits don't necessarily pay they certainly do when you play overly risky against them.

Those are my first three games of the summer. I plan on attending this tournament almost every Thursday (except maybe the last Thrusday of the month) so I'll be adding games to this thread (three or four at a time), most likely the following day (Fri).

[Narz]

I had a 3-0 night tonight!

I will analyze and upload my games tomorrow.

[Narz]

Next three games are available for viewing.

First game

Spoiler:

My first game was against Peter, the fellow who beat me last week. And he certainly got off to a good start, winning my rook for a knight by move 16. From here though he couldn't finish me off. He made a series of blunders, allowing me to win three pawns and eventually win the exchange back. The endgame would have been a toughie (especially with four minutes left on my clock) but, under time pressure, he blundered a rook & the game was mine.

PGN :

[Event "Santa Cruz Weekly Tourny"]
[Site "Borders Book Store"]
[Date "2007.8.9"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Peter"]
[Black "Narz"]
[TimeControl "Game 25"]
[Result "0-1"]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 g6 5.Nc3 Bg7 6.Be3 Nf6 7.a3 a6 8.Bc4
d6 9.h3 Qc7 10.O-O Bd7 11.f4 Nh5 {gets a ? from Fritz, loses the exchange as my opponent caught on to, simply castling was better} 12.Nd5 Qd8 13.Nxc6 bxc6 14.Bb6 {good move} Qb8 15.Nc7+ Kf8 16.Nxa8 Qxa8 17.Bd4 d5 {bad, he can win two pawns for one, simply by taking with the pawn and on recapture with the bishop, I can't take back due to discovered check, c5 wasn't a very powerful move but it was better} 18.Kh2 {he missed it} Nf6 {why did I leave in the first place!} 19.e5 Ne4 20.Bd3 f5 21.Qe1 {I though exf6 was better and was pleased he didn't play this} c5 22.Bxe4 cxd4 23.Bd3 Kf7 24.Qe2 Rb8 25.e6+ {the first of a series of moves where my opponent forfiets his advantage} Bxe6 26.Rfe1 Rb6 27.c4 {blunder} dxc3 28.Rab1 {taking instead wouldn't be as bad as it looks since when the bishop takes white's rook can come to b1, attacking black's rook} cxb2 29.h4 Bf6 {protecting the e-pawn so I can move out my other bishop} 30.h5 Qb8 31.hxg6+ hxg6 32.Qf2? {now I really get an advantage!} Qh8+ 33.Kg1 Bd4 34.Re3 Bxe3 35.Qxe3 d4 36.Qe2 Ba2 37.Re1 Re6 38.Bc4 Bxc4 39.Qxc4 Qf6 40.Rb1 d3 41.Rxb2 {here my opponent blundered under time pressure} Qxb2 {the game went on a few more moves but no time to write them down, I was lucky to have escaped with a win after my terrible opening} 0-1

Second game

Spoiler:

Again, I was white against Paul, the easiest opponent I faced last week. This week was even easier. He misplayed the two knights defense (when played right one of the strongest openings for black, IMO, and one of the most annoying to face) and was basically lost by move 8. I probably won't be playing him again since I'm on my way up (out of the division and he'll probably drop and eventually settle around 1300; when new players join the tourny they estimate their own rating and get knocked up or down from there). Heck of a nice guy though. We talked for about twenty minutes about work, different parts of the US and boating while we waited for Chris & Peter to finish their match (Chris won and was 2-0 against me).

PGN :

[Event "Santa Cruz Weekly Tourny"]
[Site "Borders Book Store"]
[Date "2007.8.9"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Narz"]
[Black "Paul"]
[TimeControl "Game 25"]
[Result "1-0"]

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Qf3 Qxg5 7.Bxd5 Be6? {the beginning of the end already, Qg6 or Nd8 would have held it together, at least temporarily} 8.Bxc6+ Bd7 9.Bxd7+ Kxd7 10.Qxf7+ Be7 11.O-O Rhf8 12.Qd5+ Bd6 13.d4 Rad8?? {somehow missing the discovered attack} 14.Bxg5 1-0

Third game

Spoiler:

I'd played Chris before in the coffeeshop down the street, blitz. I beat him twice and was confident I'd beat him again. Chris is a black fellow, average height, shaved head, good body (torso anyway), he was hoping to win his 3rd game of the night and after an easy to miss opening blunder his game completely unhinged. I won my 3rd of the night and next week I will most likely play in the 2nd quad as opposed to the 3rd.

[Event "Santa Cruz Weekly Tourny"]
[Site "Borders Book Store"]
[Date "2007.8.9"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Chris"]
[Black "Narz"]
[TimeControl "Game 25"]
[Result "0-1"]

1.e4 c5 2.f4 Nc6 3.Bc4 g6 4.Nc3 Bg7 5.d3 e6 6.Be3 d6 7.Nf3 Nge7 8.Qd2? {a blunder, now I win a piece for a pawn (or at most two pawns)} d5 9.exd5 exd5 10.Bb5 {10. Bxd5 Nxd5 11. Bxc4 was probably better *} d4 {fork} 11.Ne5 dxe3 12.Qxe3 Qd4 13.Qf3 Bxe5 14.fxe5 Qxe5+ 15.Kd1 O-O 16.Re1 Qd4 17.Re4 Qg1+ 18.Re1 Qxh2 {I suppose I could have just taken h2 right away} 19.Kd2 Nd4 20.Qf6? Qxg2+ {Fritz prefers Nd5 21. Nxd5 Qxg2+ 22. Ke3 Nf5+ & then the queen must sacrifice herself or else 23. Kf4 Qg3 24. Ke4 Nd6+ 25. Qxd6 f5# but I didn't see all that fancy stuff} 21.Re2 Nxe2 22.Nxe2 Bg4? {a big blunder, giving up the knight but he misses it} 23.Bc4? Qxe2+ 24.Kc3 b5 {Fritz gives me a ! for that one, if takes knight fork wins queen} 25.Rh1 bxc4 26.Qg5 h5 {completely unnecessary but under time pressure I didn't have time to analyze and wanted to make sure counterplay was impossible} 27.Qh4 Nf5 {Nd5 instead leads to mate in six, 28. Kxc4 Qxc2 29. Kxd5 Qxd3 30. Kxc5 R(f)c8+ 31. Kb4 Rab8+ 32. Ka4 Qa6# *} 28.Qf6 Ne3 29.Qa6 {amazing how people's games fall apart after an opening blunder, this is one of my advantages, I do my darnest not to fall into a downward spiral} Qxc2# 0-1

[Narz]

2-1 night. I will be away for the weekend so I'll post the games when I get back.

[Narz]

1-2 night last night.

Haven't been keeping up with the thread and haven't had time to annotate all the games but I did upload them all available here (and if you forget just type Narz + chess into google and it's the top link. )

My game vs. Sheldon (#12) was pretty interesting. I traded a queen for a pawn and two rooks with a good engame but lost it in time pressure (and didn't get it all on paper). I had a nice 2nd game (#11), was under a good amount of pressure in the opening but managed to liquidate some of the attackers and dominate the endgame.