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[Blue Emu]

Not sure if anyone is still following this thread, but I've recently played what might be the best game of my life (at 62 years old!).

I was playing top board (Board #1) for our club team in a national match... Team Canada vs Team Malaysia. I was Black in the following game, playing at postal time controls (three days per move) and the win brought me up to 2351 online rating!

Jovial Dick (Malaysia) vs Blue Emu (Canada), Board #1 Rated Match Game.

1. e4 c5
2. Nf3 d6
3. d4 cxd4
4. Nxd4 Nf6
5. Nc3 a6

The Najdorf variation, one of my favorites with either color. My opponent chose to play Bobby Fischer's favorite line against it.

6. Bc4 e6
7. Bb3 ....

Avoiding any nonsense like 7. .... Nxe4 followed by 8. .... d5 forking e4 and c4, and recovering the piece.

7. .... b5
8. 0-0 Be7
9. f4 Bb7

Attacking the e4 Pawn. So far, the game has developed fairly normally... but White now chooses a move that turns the rest of the game into one long tactical combination! From this point on to the end, the game is reminiscent of a sword fight with rapiers at the brink of a cliff!

10. e5!? dxe5
11. fxe5 Bc5!

Instead of moving his attacked Knight, Black immediately counter-attacks!

12. Be3 Nc6!

And now, lacking a reasonable way to reinforce the d4-Knight, White decides to take on f6.

13. exf6 Bxd4
14. fxg7!? ....

Offering a piece in order to destroy the Black King's cover. After much thought, I decided to take it.

14. .... Bxe3+!

Challenge accepted!

15. Kh1 Rg8
16. Bxe6! ....

I saw this coming, of course. Black cannot accept the second piece, because of the Queen check on h5. That Bishop is going to have to take a number and sit down, because I have some Pawn issues that I'm still dealing with.

16. .... Rxg7!

Guarding f7 and menacing the White King along the file as well as the masked pressure on the a8-h1 diagonal.

17. Bxf7+! ....

The White Bishop won't take "No" for an answer!

17. .... Rxf7
18. Qh5! ....

... and now it looks like Black has miscalculated, since mate is threatened on f7 and there seems to be no good way to prevent it. Any move by Black's Queen to guard f7 (eg: Qe7) is met by Nd5 and White wins.

18. .... Ne5!!

A tremendous defensive shot... guarding the threatened mate on f7 and simultaneously unblocking the long diagonal, so that Black's b7-Bishop can keep the White Knight out of d5 and can also menace White's King on h1!

19. Qxe5+ ....

Of course, the Knight move has its deficiencies as well... ... but White had sacrificed TWO pieces to reach this position. If I can rescue my King by returning ONE piece, that leaves me in pretty good shape.

19. .... Qe7
20. Qh5 Rd8

After the game, one of the International Masters who had been drawn by the carnage pointed out that I could have saved a tempo by playing my 21st move (21. .... Kf8) immediately, on move 20 instead, and followed it with 21. .... Re8. No doubt he is correct, but in the heat of the action I was mainly concerned with completing my development and massing my pieces near my King.

21. Rae1 ....

Threatening to simply take the e3-Bishop, since my f7-Rook is pinned against my King, and my Queen is tied down to protect the mate on f7.

21. .... Kf8!

Unpinning the f7-Rook, so that I can reply to 22. Rxe3 with 22. .... Rxf1 mate! But by stepping out of the diagonal pin, I've stepped into a pin on the file...

22. Qxh7! ....

Threatening mate on h8, and again it looks like Black has overlooked something. How do I wiggle out of this?

22. .... Bd4!!

Guarding h8 and preventing the mate, and meanwhile White's e1-Rook is tied down to guarding his brother at f1.

23. h3 ....

Finally White is really threatening my Queen... it was immune to capture before, because of the mate on f1.

23. .... Rd7!

So go ahead and take it! Black would end up with two Rooks and a Bishop as compensation for his lost Queen. But the Rook move to d7 does more than that... it also guards f7 and therefore threatens 24. .... Qxe1! diverting the f1-Rook, so White must for the first time in the game move backwards instead of forwards!

24. Qg6 ....

A psychological victory for Black... this move is the first overt sign that White's attack is being repulsed, and Black is still clinging to his extra piece! Now... does the Black Queen stay close to the King to assist in the defense?... or is it time to counter-attack?

24. .... Qh4!

Counter-attack! With the a8-h1 diagonal open, Black threatens Qxh3+. So White stakes everything on his last attacking chance:

25. Re8+! Kxe8
26. Qg8+ ....

Obviously I can't block that check, so my King heads for the open board, shedding pieces as he goes!

26. .... Ke7

Abandoning the f7-Rook.

27. Rxf7+ Kd6

The King now threatens to duck into c7 (and later into a7) where he will be shielded from checks, so White no longer has any choice... he must prevent the Black King from reaching safety on the Q-side.

28. Qb8+ Kc5!

Abandoning the other Rook as well! But White has no time to take it, in view of Black's threat of 29. .... Qxh3+ 30. Qh2 Bxg2 mate. Black also threatens mate in three with 29. .... Qe1+, and White's f7-Rook is also en prise. There are just too many threats... White is busted. He tries to save what he can...

29. Rf5+ Kb6
30. Kh2 ....

The only way to both guard h3 and also avoid the mate-in-three with Qe1+. But the entry of Black's Queen on e1 is so powerful that it hardly matters whether or not the move is played with check.

30. .... Qe1

Now the threat of Bg1+ is fatal. White tries a distraction...

31. Nd5+ Rxd5!

... But I just give up my last Rook to break that up.

32. Rxd5 Bg1+

And facing mate in three, White finally resigned.

 

[Kaitzilla]

Not sure if anyone is still following this thread, but I've recently played what might be the best game of my life (at 62 years old!).

I was playing top board (Board #1) for our club team in a national match... Team Canada vs Team Malaysia. I was Black in the following game, playing at postal time controls (three days per move) and the win brought me up to 2351 online rating!

Jovial Dick (Malaysia) vs Blue Emu (Canada), Board #1 Rated Match Game.

1. e4 c5
2. Nf3 d6
3. d4 cxd4
4. Nxd4 Nf6
5. Nc3 a6

The Najdorf variation, one of my favorites with either color. My opponent chose to play Bobby Fischer's favorite line against it.

6. Bc4 e6
7. Bb3 ....

Avoiding any nonsense like 7. .... Nxe4 followed by 8. .... d5 forking e4 and c4, and recovering the piece.

7. .... b5
8. 0-0 Be7
9. f4 Bb7

Attacking the e4 Pawn. So far, the game has developed fairly normally... but White now chooses a move that turns the rest of the game into one long tactical combination! From this point on to the end, the game is reminiscent of a sword fight with rapiers at the brink of a cliff!

10. e5!? dxe5
11. fxe5 Bc5!

Instead of moving his attacked Knight, Black immediately counter-attacks!

12. Be3 Nc6!

And now, lacking a reasonable way to reinforce the d4-Knight, White decides to take on f6.

13. exf6 Bxd4
14. fxg7!? ....

Offering a piece in order to destroy the Black King's cover. After much thought, I decided to take it.

14. .... Bxe3+!

Challenge accepted!

15. Kh1 Rg8
16. Bxe6! ....

I saw this coming, of course. Black cannot accept the second piece, because of the Queen check on h5. That Bishop is going to have to take a number and sit down, because I have some Pawn issues that I'm still dealing with.

16. .... Rxg7!

Guarding f7 and menacing the White King along the file as well as the masked pressure on the a8-h1 diagonal.

17. Bxf7+! ....

The White Bishop won't take "No" for an answer!

17. .... Rxf7
18. Qh5! ....

... and now it looks like Black has miscalculated, since mate is threatened on f7 and there seems to be no good way to prevent it. Any move by Black's Queen to guard f7 (eg: Qe7) is met by Nd5 and White wins.

18. .... Ne5!!

A tremendous defensive shot... guarding the threatened mate on f7 and simultaneously unblocking the long diagonal, so that Black's b7-Bishop can keep the White Knight out of d5 and can also menace White's King on h1!

19. Qxe5+ ....

Of course, the Knight move has its deficiencies as well... ... but White had sacrificed TWO pieces to reach this position. If I can rescue my King by returning ONE piece, that leaves me in pretty good shape.

19. .... Qe7
20. Qh5 Rd8

After the game, one of the International Masters who had been drawn by the carnage pointed out that I could have saved a tempo by playing my 21st move (21. .... Kf8) immediately, on move 20 instead, and followed it with 21. .... Re8. No doubt he is correct, but in the heat of the action I was mainly concerned with completing my development and massing my pieces near my King.

21. Rae1 ....

Threatening to simply take the e3-Bishop, since my f7-Rook is pinned against my King, and my Queen is tied down to protect the mate on f7.

21. .... Kf8!

Unpinning the f7-Rook, so that I can reply to 22. Rxe3 with 22. .... Rxf1 mate! But by stepping out of the diagonal pin, I've stepped into a pin on the file...

22. Qxh7! ....

Threatening mate on h8, and again it looks like Black has overlooked something. How do I wiggle out of this?

22. .... Bd4!!

Guarding h8 and preventing the mate, and meanwhile White's e1-Rook is tied down to guarding his brother at f1.

23. h3 ....

Finally White is really threatening my Queen... it was immune to capture before, because of the mate on f1.

23. .... Rd7!

So go ahead and take it! Black would end up with two Rooks and a Bishop as compensation for his lost Queen. But the Rook move to d7 does more than that... it also guards f7 and therefore threatens 24. .... Qxe1! diverting the f1-Rook, so White must for the first time in the game move backwards instead of forwards!

24. Qg6 ....

A psychological victory for Black... this move is the first overt sign that White's attack is being repulsed, and Black is still clinging to his extra piece! Now... does the Black Queen stay close to the King to assist in the defense?... or is it time to counter-attack?

24. .... Qh4!

Counter-attack! With the a8-h1 diagonal open, Black threatens Qxh3+. So White stakes everything on his last attacking chance:

25. Re8+! Kxe8
26. Qg8+ ....

Obviously I can't block that check, so my King heads for the open board, shedding pieces as he goes!

26. .... Ke7

Abandoning the f7-Rook.

27. Rxf7+ Kd6

The King now threatens to duck into c7 (and later into a7) where he will be shielded from checks, so White no longer has any choice... he must prevent the Black King from reaching safety on the Q-side.

28. Qb8+ Kc5!

Abandoning the other Rook as well! But White has no time to take it, in view of Black's threat of 29. .... Qxh3+ 30. Qh2 Bxg2 mate. Black also threatens mate in three with 29. .... Qe1+, and White's f7-Rook is also en prise. There are just too many threats... White is busted. He tries to save what he can...

29. Rf5+ Kb6
30. Kh2 ....

The only way to both guard h3 and also avoid the mate-in-three with Qe1+. But the entry of Black's Queen on e1 is so powerful that it hardly matters whether or not the move is played with check.

30. .... Qe1

Now the threat of Bg1+ is fatal. White tries a distraction...

31. Nd5+ Rxd5!

... But I just give up my last Rook to break that up.

32. Rxd5 Bg1+

And facing mate in three, White finally resigned.

Very exciting game Blue Emu!

 

[Blue Emu]

Thanks.

It's nice to play a game like that in a country vs country match!

 

[Kaitzilla]

Thanks.

It's nice to play a game like that in a country vs country match!

I'm a chess newb, so I had to put it into an analysis board with the AI suggestions turned on (Toggle Local Evaluation button in top right) to follow along even a little.
https://lichess.org/analysis


After line 5, I was puzzled why A6 would be so great (the pawn on the side of the board moving up 1?), but you pointed out the name so I could look it up.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Defence,_Najdorf_Variation

Black's 5...a6 aims to deny the b5-square to White's knights and light-square bishop while maintaining flexible development. If Black plays 5...e5?! immediately, then after 6.Bb5+! Bd7 (or 6...Nbd7 7.Nf5) 7.Bxd7+ Nbxd7 8.Nf5 and the knight on f5 is difficult to dislodge without concessions.

Black's plan is usually to start a minority attack on the queenside and exert pressure on White's e4-pawn. This is often carried out by means of ...b5, ...Bb7, and placing a knight on c5, or c4 via b6.

Oh!
That makes sense.

I really like your commentary.
I'm too new to come out on top of a big exchange, so it was really nice to read the behind the scenes thoughts.

10. e5!? dxe5

There goes white.

Instead of moving his attacked Knight, Black immediately counter-attacks!

12. Be3 Nc6!

Attacking more on line 12 instead of saving the Knight on F6
I don't think I could muster the courage to move the left horsie instead of saving the right horsie.





Following the crazy back and forth for 13 moves on each side, line 23 is reached.

23. .... Rd7!

So go ahead and take it! Black would end up with two Rooks and a Bishop as compensation for his lost Queen. But the Rook move to d7 does more than that... it also guards f7 and therefore threatens 24. .... Qxe1! diverting the f1-Rook, so White must for the first time in the game move backwards instead of forwards!

Flipping the board, does white have any surefire way to achieve victory starting on line 24?
White is down 1 good piece and their position does not look as good as black to me.
5k2/1b1rqr1Q/p7/1p6/3b4/2N4P/PPP3P1/4RR1K w - - 1 24



White ended up doomed after you wiggled your king to safety after putting the Queen on H4.
Sweating bullets there!

24. Qg6 ....

A psychological victory for Black... this move is the first overt sign that White's attack is being repulsed, and Black is still clinging to his extra piece! Now... does the Black Queen stay close to the King to assist in the defense?... or is it time to counter-attack?

24. .... Qh4!

Counter-attack! With the a8-h1 diagonal open, Black threatens Qxh3+. So White stakes everything on his last attacking chance:

25. Re8+! Kxe8
26. Qg8+ ....

Obviously I can't block that check, so my King heads for the open board, shedding pieces as he goes!

26. .... Ke7

Abandoning the f7-Rook.

27. Rxf7+ Kd6

The King now threatens to duck into c7 (and later into a7) where he will be shielded from checks, so White no longer has any choice... he must prevent the Black King from reaching safety on the Q-side.

28. Qb8+ Kc5!

Abandoning the other Rook as well! But White has no time to take it, in view of Black's threat of 29. .... Qxh3+ 30. Qh2 Bxg2 mate. Black also threatens mate in three with 29. .... Qe1+, and White's f7-Rook is also en prise. There are just too many threats... White is busted. He tries to save what he can...

29. Rf5+ Kb6
30. Kh2 ....

The only way to both guard h3 and also avoid the mate-in-three with Qe1+. But the entry of Black's Queen on e1 is so powerful that it hardly matters whether or not the move is played with check.

30. .... Qe1

Now the threat of Bg1+ is fatal. White tries a distraction...

31. Nd5+ Rxd5!

... But I just give up my last Rook to break that up.

32. Rxd5 Bg1+

And facing mate in three, White finally resigned.

Really nice game, love seeing white lose since they go first.
I put myself into the game at a few spots and instantly lost the game 5 or 6 times according to the computer scoring.

 

[Kaitzilla]

Flipping the board, does white have any surefire way to achieve victory starting on line 24?

White is down 1 good piece and their position does not look as good as black to me.
5k2/1b1rqr1Q/p7/1p6/3b4/2N4P/PPP3P1/4RR1K w - - 1 24

I don't really see a way for white to win after line 23 after looking at it for a while.

24) Ne4 does mess up black's move to put the Queen on G5.
It is guarded by the white queen and white rook.
If the B7 bishop takes the knight on e4, then a rook exchange happens below blacks king and white's queen can take the bishop on e4.

White might be able to try and force a draw.

If the knight is left alone on e4, then the pawn can be pushed up to c3.


I love how white knight stayed on c3 the entire game from line 5 until line 31.
It didn't do much the whole game.

 

[Blue Emu]

After 24. Ne4 Stockfish on depth 20 gives 24. ... Qe5 with a fairly easy win for Black.

Certainly it's too late for White to hope for an advantage... Black has been in the driver's seat since 10. e5.

 

[Petek]

I was cleaning out my apartment and found an old notebook containing some games that I recorded many years ago. Here's one I played against Jeremy Silman, who went on to become an International Master and author of many books on chess.


Date: March 29, 1969
White: Silman, Jeremy
Black: Petek

1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Nxd4 Nxe4 6. O-O d5 7. Bb5 Bd7 8. Re1 Be7 9. Nc3 Nxc3 10. bxc3 O-O 11. Bd3 g6
12. Bh6 Re8 13. Rb1 b6 14. Ba6 Rb8 15. Nxc6 Bxc6 16. Qd4 Bf6 17. Qd3 Rxe1+ 18. Rxe1 Qd7 19. Qe3 Re8 20. Qxe8+ Qxe8 21. Rxe8+ Bxe8 22. c4 dxc4 23. Bxc4 Ba4 24. Bb3 Bxb3 25. axb3 Be5 26. Kf1 f5 27. Ke2 Kf7 28. g3 Ke6 29. Kd3 Kd5 30. Be3 c5
31. c4+ Kc6 32. h3 b5 33. f4 Bd6 34. Bf2 Kb6 35. Be1 Be7 36. Bd2 a6 37. Be1 Kc6 38. Bd2 Kd6 39. Be1 Bf6 40. Bf2 Be7 41. Be1 Ke6 42. Bd2 Kf7 43. Bc3 Bf6 44. Bd2 Bd4 45. Be1 Kf6 46. g4 fxg4 47. hxg4 h5 48. Bh4+ Kf7 49. gxh5 gxh5 50. Bg3 Kf6 51. cxb5 axb5 52. Ke4 Kg6 53. Bh4 Bf6 54. Bg3 h4 55. Bh2 b4 56. Kd5 Bd4 57. Ke4 Kf6 0-1

The game was played with clocks at 45 moves/2 hours. I won a pawn early and nursed that advantage to a win. My chess engine (Houdini) shows that 52. ... Kg6 was an error that gave away most of my advantage (52. ... b4 was better). White should have played 53. b4 with an almost equal position, but he returned the favor with 53. Bh4.

I've attached a zipped file that contains a PGN version of the game. PGN files can easily be replayed in most chess database programs and engines.

 

[Hamilton321]

I am quite noobish at chess and most of my games are crap, here is a list of moves of a blitz game I played recently against another noob , I thought of sharing it because I played much better than usual, I only blundered once and even though it was a very one-sided (I had it locked down from turn 4 as long as I did not blunder , my opponent launched an aggressive counterattack which made it interesting for awhile, there was also no pawn structure to speak of in this game, tell me what you think:
Hamilton321 of USA as white versus nku123 of India as black

1. d4, d5,

2. Nc3, Nc6, van geet opening

3. Bf4, Nf6, both considered inaccurate by the engine, after Nf6 I was never losing

4. Nb5, Qd7, massive blunder by my opponent, that will let me take his rook.

5. Nxc7+, Kd8,

6. Nxa8, Ne4, very good move by black putting his knight on e4, from now till move 17 Black will always have at least as many pieces on my side of the board as I have on his. That knight will capture 2 pawns and a rook

7. g4, e6,

8. g5, Bb4+ missed an opportunity to kick the knight from e4.

9. c3, Bxc3+ Black makes a second mistake, not exactly sure of the logic behind trading a bishop for a pawn, but Black will do better after this, making 8 accurate moves in a row.

10. Bxc3, Nxc3, the knight on e4 makes a capture on c3.

11. Qd2, Ne4, black knight returns to e4 and now my queen will be chased

12. Qd3, Nb4,

13.Qb3, a5,

14. o-o-o, Qc6+, Black's queen places my king in check and props up

15. Kb2, Nxf2, Black does to me what I did to him earlier, hooking my rooks with his knight.

16. Rc1, Qb5, Black's queen once again has a line to my king and is coordinating while with the knights, d3 is attacked three times, something which we would both overlook (computer would have ) and had Black focused his attack on d3 he may have won.

17. Be5, Rg8 I now have more pieces on Black's side than he does on mine.

18. e4, dxe4, I do not feel confident pressing the attack and want to relieve the pressure on my rook, I blunder by moving pawn to e4, hoping that the knight will capture the pawn instead. According to computer move is blunder because pawn was helping to defend d3, in the sequence of moves that would follow if Black played knight to d3 I would be down a rook and have a vulnerable king position. dxe4 is a much bigger blunder by Black, giving me his queen and checkmate in 7, perhaps he did not see the d3 move or the threat to his queen, perhaps he panicked seeing me be more aggressive, move 18 was the worst move both of us played in this game.

19. Bxb5, Nbd3, I capture Black's queen and remove two squares from Black's king and black finally sees the great move on d3, the window of opportunity has passed for Black and without an active rook, queen, pawn structure or dark squared bishop, Black's right and center are in ruins.

20. Kc3, Nxh1, Black's king can no longer move

21. Qa3, Nhf2, Black gives me checkmate three moves earlier with Nhf2, his last move, Nxe5 would have been better

22. Bc7# knight on a8 participates for the first time since move 6, knight on a8, bishop on c7, bishop on b5, queen on a3, quite elegant final arrangement of pieces if you ask me.

 

[Petek]

Nice finish! However, you need to work on getting your pieces into play and castling before the game gets too complicated. Instead of 7. g4, you should have played Nf3, e3 and move your King Bishop (defending, if necessary, against any immediate threats by Black). Then castle. Now all your minor pieces are developed and your King is safe. You then can work on taking advantage of your lead in material.