Suffocation Mate

 This is from a blitz game, so I will freely admit it wasn't spotted and planned, however as soon as I played Nf5, I saw the possible mate.

Black's Rg4 sealed his fate, and suffocation mate followed.

Not sure I've managed this type of mate before.

White to move and mate in 1

A mate by any other name....

 I have no idea what this mate is classified as. On chesstempo it's probably a "pawn mate".

I can't say that I planned it, and certainly Black played into it, however having pieces active and "in the right places" certainly helped.

Although its only a blitz game, it was enjoyable to see.

Mate in 11

 I rarely channel my "Inner Tal", but somehow this position spoke out for an attack...

White to play

I chose 19.Bxg7 and there followed Kxg7 20. Qc3+ and then Kf8

White to play : Mate-in-12 !

To be honest, after Qh8+, I think losing with White would be a difficult thing to do, although there is the scary part after the forced response of Ke7 when the White Queen is attacked by two Rooks. 

However, resolving that is probably the only hard part, and you would have to do that before playing Qa8 anyway.

Play continued with 21.Qh8+ Ke7, and with perfect/engine play there is now a mate in 11 to find.

Naturally, my play was not perfect, but Black's was even more flawed and I managed the mate-in-3 that I had visualised with 22. Nf6+ Kd8 23. Rxe8+ Qxe8 24. Qxe8#.

However, Black had given almost no resistance, unlike in the engine variation. 

Enjoy finding it !

Missed this....

 Sad to say, but in the position below, I missed the winning move in this blitz game, even though I had registered and played a variation of it a few moves later.

Proof, not only that you should always be looking, but that however much you are practising, you can always do more.

Black to play and win

A simple combination

 This is probably why we practise tactics : they win games.

From a blitz game...

White to play and win

A recurring theme

I've posted many times about my 'favourite' mate pattern, that of the Arabian and Anastasia's Mate.

I'm not sure why this particular pattern of Knight/Rook or Knight/Queen appeals, but there is no denying that it does.

The below problem turned up in ChessTempo a while ago and although its not a difficult one ( the blitz rating is 1472, the standard is 1170) when the last move dawned on me, it brought a smile to my face :)


Here is is below, with the solution if required, although you know the pattern to aim for.

White to play : Mate in 3

One of the comments to it was "I want to do this in a game" : don't we all !

But I came close in a recent blitz game.

Here was a position where I had repeated the Knight checks (Ne7+, Kg8, Kf8, Ng6) , mainly to gain time as I had about 3 seconds on the clock, but also because my old brain didn't see a quick win easily enough.

But its blitz, you can try anything, crazy or not, and you may not have a perfectly measured responsefrom your opponent

I played the very wrong Rxe6+ ??  

I wouldn't do this in a standard game, since clearly the Black Queen capturing the Rook is a win for Black...

..but Black obliged me with fxe, allowing a nice finish !

 A "lucky" blitz win , but there again, you have to see a pattern to aim for.

A lost endgame

White to play here and complete the victory...

Yes, this is blitz, and I had already accepted that this was a loss after an interesting middlegame where I had gained the upper-hand  and 2 pawns, but had about 10 seconds left against White's 3+ minutes ( time is my biggest issue in blitz !).

Knowing the time for a slow victory was passed I had sacrificed Bishop for 2 pawns, but it was not a sound play !

However, with two active Rooks I played on and saw White switch from stopping my Rook attacks to throwing in a couple of checks : he began to change focus from stopping me, to winning himself.

Here we are, with Black giving up another pawn ( via Kxa6)  to put the Rooks on the same file .

In fact, here there is only one move that wins for White, although I didn't know it or have the time to plan further than my next move.

My opponent didn't play it, we carried on with Black checking and the White king moving, then 4 moves later White resigned before the mate arrived.

A significant lesson !

White to play and win after 47..Rcb7

Fruits

Recognising patterns or tactic from your practice is very satisfying : it gives an indication that things are becoming embedded in my "Chess RAM".

That these memories are accessed in Blitz is even better...

In the below I saw the move to play almost immediately, and despite the limited time.

Black to Play

After the game, I saw that there was actually a better move than the one I made, although still using the same idea.

To swap Queens or not ?

I was distracted during this rapid game and lost focus and the exchange.  A few moves later I was back in it due to his inexplicable ( to me anyway) decision not to re-capture a piece.

This gave the initiative back to me and I went for the king, but he had some dogged defensive play and we reached the below position.

I'm ahead on material, so my initial response to Qe5 is to exchange and simplify, but after all the tactics puzzles I do, there must be something on offer ?

Not too hard to find...

White to play

[5r2/p1Q2B2/4p1R1/3pq2p/3p1k2/2P5/PP1N4/2K5 w - - 0 28]

White to play 11 : Queen exchange !

 One of those tactical puzzles that its good to see in real life !

White to play and win

The downside of Blitz

I'm sure we've all experienced the downside of blitz chess.

Not the mistake you make because of a lack of time or calculation, but the painful game where you realise after a few moves that your opponent is a complete novice  at chess and either you choose to resign, to save more suffering on both parties, or you play on and prove that you know what you are doing !

Below a recent 'play on' choice which produced the obvious result in 8 moves. It was Rh3 that confirmed I was up against an almost complete novice, although the big clues were 1.h3 and 2.a3, despite the fact that these are sometimes played by bullish players as a psychological prod to the opposition.

A blitz mate !

As minor compensation the next game in the session gave an opportunity for a nice mate. Yes, I realise Black is way ahead on material, but serious blitz players rarely give up !

 

Black to play

 

Tactics : White to Play

Although I wonder about the direct link between training tactics, and actual improvement over the board, not having the time ( or direct experience)  to perform a controlled self-experiment to check this, I can go only by impression and feeling.

Using these, I feel the biggest improvement is in my behaviour at the board. 

Generally, I take more time to look around it board before I move, and try to check more often if tactics are present.  

This doesn't mean that I always "see" the tactics on the board, but I feel sure it helps my game overall.

Sometimes, though, my mind deceives me. 

It sees a solution, and something clicks that overrides the trigger to check again, resulting in a poor move.

For example, in this Chess Tempo problem below, I saw what had to be the solution, as I was looking for checkmate. 

37.a4   Black to play

I played and was wrong, the solution was about winning material ( so if you already thought 37...Nc5, intending Nd3 to cover the King's escape square, just re-think that ! ). 

Maybe my chess mind is still in its 'romantic 19th Century style' for a lot of the time and wants flamboyant and crowd-pleasing checkmates, rather than steady modern moves gaining material or positional advantage ? Who knows.

I can take some small comfort in the fact that 4500 others ( a third of the attempts ) made the same mistake on the above problem, but it doesn't help that much, and that comforting 'all-failures-together' feeling lasts even less.
  
Solution

Below is a rapid game played recently. 

My play had been to focus along the d-file ( in fact aiming at the d8 square) and also re-position pieces that were preventing this.

When Black played the natural 19...Rd8, my tactic-sense spotted what proved to be a resign-provoking move ! 

Not too hard to see, but good to spot it, and even better to play it !

White to play

A French Defence

After a long time of not using Chesstempo ( the tactics site ), recently I tried to pick up from where I left off in January.

A terrible experience, to be honest. 

I managed to miss simple mates, easy tactics, and plainly obvious combinations, and felt very useless, to be honest.

Switching to something else and returning later, seemed to make it worse, and by the time I tried 'a last one' just before bed, and missed a simple bishop capture and fork I realised that this just was not good.

As a result I stopped chesstempo ( after losing about 100+ rating points ) and next time around played a couple of 15-minute games, one of which I enjoyed, and then spent about an hour annotating afterwards, mainly without an engine, just switching it on at the end.

Anyway, here's the game I played and annotated.  

I think the chessbase widget works, but it does seem not to show the buttons under the board fully. I will leave this post up while I tweak. Click on the move in the text on the right, and use the arrow keys to move works for me. 

Feedback ( game or widget use ) welcome.

 

[Event "unrated blitz match"] [Site "FICS"] [Date "2017.5.27"] [Round ""] [White "guestALAN"] [Black "signalman"] [Result "0-1"] [Eco "C01"] [Annotator ""] [Source ""] {I have just returned to using chesstempo ( the tactics site) and am experiencing a bad time, showing up my months away from regular practise. After missing a simple combination tactic, and feeling like I was completely useless, I decided to stop the tactics session, play one blitz game, and try to think rather than react.} 1.e4 e6 2.Nf3 {I don't know why this variation, with a very early Nf3, is so popular with white. It reaches a standard French Exchange position, but invariably as Black I manage to get a decent position. I understand that Nf3 is the way that Kasparov played this variation, so maybe that is the reason. Additionally, if Black doesn't follow up with d5, I would guess that White feels good that the French Defence is avoided.} ( 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.Nf3 {This is the standard way to a French Exchange} ) d5 3.exd5 exd5 4.d4 Bd6 {This is the most popular move and the way I prefer to play, but Nc6 has much better results in Team League ( ie Amateur chess). I prefer Bd6 as it ensures that both Bishop and Knight will be developed aloows quick castling, and gives options on c6. The move Nc6 allows Bb5 to pin the knight. Not much to worry about, but I'd rather not play that way.} ( 4...Nc6 5.Bb5 Bd6 ) 5.Bd3 Ne7 6.Bg5 {I'm never clear why this is played. The riposte of f6 is so simple and obvious, and white loses a tempo.} ( 6.O-O O-O ( 6...Nbc6 7.c3 Bg4 8.Re1 ) 7.Bg5 f6 8.Bh4 ) f6 7.Bh4 O-O 8.O-O Bf5 9.c4 {I remember when I first started playing the Frence Defence and saw this move, I was surprised. However, I have since learned that it is a good, challenging move against the centre, plus an early c4 in the French is recommended by John Watson ( not Sherlock's sidekick, but the Chess theorist !). However in this position, it is way down the list of moves played} ( 9.Bg3 {The most popular} ) ( 9.Re1 {The most succesfull} ) Bxd3 {I want to get rid of my light-bishop, and also reduce White's attacking threats.} 10.Qxd3 c6 {d-pawn is secured.} 11.Re1 {With this move, as far as I can tell, we leave "theory" if that means anything much at amateur blitz level} ( 11.Nc3 ) ( 11.c5 ) Nd7 {A developing move. I wanted to play Bb4 immediately, but resisted.} 12.Nbd2 {A good move. Linking rooks and self-protecting the knights} Bb4 {Pinning the knight, and intending to exchange pieces.} 13.a3 {I considered this a wasted move by White , since I intended to capture anyway : hence no need to attack the Bishop.} Bxd2 14.Nxd2 {A good move and the likely response, since the knights were protectuing each other, plus the Queen still points at h7.} Re8 {I am planning Ng6, followed by Nf4, so want to dispute the e-file} 15.Nf3 Qc7 {Part of the Ng6-Nf4 plan.} 16.Re6 {Not expected, but I assume to double Rooks on the e-file.} ( 16.Bg3 {This is surely better than Re6 ?} ) Ng6 17.Rxe8+ {Bg3 is better as it forces the Queen to move and Black loses a tempo.} ( 17.Bg3 Qc8 ) ( 17.Rae1 Rxe6 18.Rxe6 Nxh4 19.Nxh4 ) Rxe8 18.Bg3 {Now Bg3 is forced, but Nf4 blocks the danger} ( 18.Re1 {Not a good idea !} Rxe1+ 19.Nxe1 Nxh4 ) Nf4 {As planned, but White actually has the advantage now after Bxf4.} 19.Qf5 {A complete surprise. Not even considered in my plans, and not quite sure why it's played. It does keep the Black Queen protecting Nd7, but gives Black an attack. I guess he missed Ne2+.} ( 19.Bxf4 Qxf4 20.cxd5 cxd5 21.Qb5 Qc7 22.Qxd5+ {I didn't see this line at all.} ) Ne2+ {! ..but equally, I see this move, and the following moves that break up the white pawn protection and give white doubled pawns. It must be a good thing !} 20.Kf1 Nxg3+ 21.fxg3 ( 21.hxg3 {This is probably better as it gives more centre protection from the f-pawn} ) dxc4 {A pawn up ! I almost missed this ( believe it or not ) but taking extra time and looking around the board, it was spotted and checked for any traps, which I did not find.} 22.Rd1 {Not sure why. I had little time left to explore why...} g6 {Short of time, I attack the Queen.} 23.Qg4 f5 {..and again. I am gaining clock-time.} 24.Qh4 {I can see what is coming ( vs h7 ) but have time to defend.} Qd6 {I think intending Qf6 to prompt an exchange, or more likely Nf6 to defend h7. Also making the Queen more active.} 25.Ng5 Re7 {Defending h7} 26.Re1 Rxe1+ {Simplifying} 27.Kxe1 Qe7+ {Defending h7, and pinning the knight, as well as check and gaining time!} 28.Kf2 Nf6 {Further h7 defence, and perhaps Ne5 , for an exchange and a passed centre pawn.} 29.Nf3 Nd5 {Offering a Queen exchange, but also quick as I am short on time.} 30.Qxe7 Nxe7 31.Ne5 {Now white will go after my pawns.} Kg7 {Activate king, but I miss a crucial move that puts us equal on material !} ( 31...b5 {! So much better, but I had less than 30 seconds on the clock.} ) 32.Nxc4 Nd5 33.Nd6 b6 {This will secure all Queen-side pawns.} 34.Nc8 a5 35.Nd6 {All things considered these white knight moves were wasted. I'm sure activating the king woudl be better, but given I was short of time, and white wasn't, I guess he was relying on me making a mistake and losing a pawn.} Kf6 {Going for the centre} 36.Nc4 Ke6 {I offered a draw at this point, but as White had about three minutes to my 45 seconds, he declined.} ( 36...a4 {Even now, this should be played. Why do I not see this as essential for such a long time ?} ) 37.Ke2 Kf6 38.Kf3 g5 {I should have been thinking a4 now, and for the next few moves.} 39.h3 h6 {In retrospect h5 is better, but I played h6 to allow a second move of the pawn, and more time.} 40.g4 f4 {Blocking the position, or so I felt. I offered a draw again, which was refused. In fact, engine analysis gives an advantage to white. The move to play was a4 !} 41.Ke2 {I can understand this move, as it gets the king moving to the queen-side, but I would probably have played Ke4 myself. Engine analysis gives Ne5 and a4 as the best for white, but these both edge to a draw. Equally, the engine gives Black an advantage now, but I didn't feel it at the time.} ( 41.Ke4 ) ( 41.Ne5 ) ( 41.a4 ) Ke6 42.Kd3 {Again, I understand why, but the engine wants to play a4.} a4 {Finally, I play it !} 43.Ke4 {This now looked bad for me, as I believed White was heading through to the king-side pawns. I was thinking about Ne3 a lot at this point. Surprisingly, engine analysis gives a significant Black advantage now. How come, I didn't realise that ?} ( 43.Ne5 ) b5 {The only move and an obvious attack on the knight, which allows Ne3} 44.Nd2 Ne3 ( 44...Nf6+ {This is the suggestion from the engine, which I see now a s a good move, but I was short on time and fixated on a plan of Ne3} 45.Kd3 {þ`0`0 `0} Nd7 {þ`0`0 `0} 46.Ke4 {þ`0`0 `0} Nb6 {þ`0`0 `0} 47.Kd3 {þ`0`0 `0} Nc8 {þ`0`0 `0} 48.b3 {þ`0`0 `0} Nb6 {þ`0`0 `0} 49.bxa4 {þ`0`0 `0} Nxa4 {þ`0`0 `0} 50.Ke4 {þ`0`0 `0} Nc3+ {þ`0`0 `0} 51.Kd3 {þ`0`0 `0} Nd1 {þ`0`0 `0} 52.Ne4 {þ`0`0 `0} Ne3 {þ`0`0 `0} 53.g3 {þ`0`0 `0} Ng2 {þ`0`0 `0} 54.Kc3 {þ`0`0 `0} fxg3 {þ`0`0 `0} 55.Nxg3 {þ`0`0 `0} Nf4 {þ`0`0 `0} 56.Nf5 {þ`0`0 `0} Nxh3 {þ`0`0 `0} 57.Nxh6 {þ`0`0 `0} Nf2 {þ`0`0 `0} 58.Kb4 {þ`0`0 `0} Kd5 {þ`0`0 `0} 59.Kc3 {þ`0`0 `0} Nd1+ {þ`0`0 `0} 60.Kc2 {þ`0`0 `0} Ne3+ {þ`0`0 `0} 61.Kd3 {þ`0`0 `0} Nc4 {þ`0`0 `0} 62.Nf7 {þ`0`0 `0} Nxa3 {þ`0`0 `0} 63.Nxg5 {þ`0`0 `0} Nc4 {þ`0`0 `0} 64.Nh3 {þ`0`0 `0} Nb2+ {þ`0`0 `0} 65.Ke3 {þ`0`0 `0} Kc4 {An example of what an analysis engine would do, not that I envisaged it ! þ`0`0 `0`;`0} ) 45.Kf3 {?? Not a good time to make a mistake....} ( 45.g3 Nd5 46.gxf4 Nxf4 {This was much better, and is a draw.} ) Kd5 {Black will win a pawn !} 46.Ne4 {White cannot protect the d- or b-pawn, and will take too long to threaten Black's queen-sdie pawns. The game is over.} Kxd4 ( 46...Kc4 {This is probably much better, as it threatens a lot more and keeps the pawn-capture available} ) 47.Nf6 Nd1 {After this, Black will gain another pawn, and I doubt if even I could lose the game now ! guestALAN resigns} 0-1

Material or Mate ?

One thing I enjoy about a blitz game are those occassions when one side has the upper hand, but the other has an immediate riposte, like some "sword of Damocles",  hanging over his opponent.

Usually, this is heightened by the time factor : the attacking side could win easily with enough time to think, but that's the problem !

Here's an example from recent play.

Black is more than ahead in material, but it seems like his Knight is pinned to his Queen, and a lowly pawn is about to regain the piece.

But is there a simple way out ? 

Has Black just lost a piece ?

Yes, there is !  In fact more than one, but the Queen is the better piece to use, and 20...Qc5+ forces Kh1 ( of course, Kf1 is mate with Qf2 ).

20..Qc5+ 

After Kh1, the Knight moves in for a check, forcing Kg1 allowing Knight takes Queen, and prompting a resignation.

21...Nf2+ 22. Kh8  : Mate in 3

However, 22...Nxg4 is not the best move, though of course it crushes White's resolve and the game is over.  

There is a much quicker and more elegant mate in 3, and the clue is in a previous post, if you need it !

Not enough focus…

Christmas, New Year, time off work, new roles at work and just general living, have put this blog on a back-burner since early December, but just to show some sign of activity, for me, if no-one else, here are a couple of useful positions from a recent blitz game.

I had manoeuvred and, dare I say, planned to be in this position, with the intention of swapping off the Bishop for knight.

However, I missed a nice tactic, as I had too much focus on previous plans, rather than viewing the position.There is a much better move here than Nxe3 that I played.

 

Black to Play

I won this game,but  I missed the mate in two that was available, probably because of a lack of time ( down to about 10 seconds ).

Its both hidden, because of the knight on d4,  and obvious at the same. Any takers ?

Mate in 2

                                                               

 Out of interest, I used a new tool I found to write this post ‘off-line’', ie not via Blogger.


Its new, based on ( possibly , inspired by  ? ) Windows Live Writer, and just released in the last month or so.

I think its a very neat piece of software, though possibly more useful for a more text orientated blog : view it at Open Live Writer.

Too much focus....

...in the heat of the game, is as bad as too little !

White to play and win

In what was probably a losing struggle for me as White at this point, I was focused on winning a pawn (e5) or Bishop, and had worked my Rook to the 7th rank for the purpose, also thinking of using the Bishop at h4 for attacks on the Knight.

So yes, focused, and with more than one idea, but I missed the key idea, since in this position I believed my Bishop was well-placed, defending b4.

A simple combination wins easily for White.  Can you see it ?


On the other hand, you can never get enough of Focus, the band !

It seems amazing that "Hocus Pocus" reached the top 20 in 1972, with its nonsense yodelling vocals, but it did, probably a credit to the skills of all the musicians concerned, and possibly to a more discerning music public back then.

"House of the King" was the B-side of the same single. I thought it was great when I discovered it via a friend's "Focus III" album, but finding the live clip below ( that hair, those boots ! ) is a marvel !

I bought the re-mastered "Focus III" and enjoy it immensely, along with "Focus Live at the Rainbow", both great music, and memories of my youth !

Focus still record and perform, but these days without guitarist Jan Akkerman who remains a solo artist.

Black to Play...again

A recurring theme...blitz, what is is good for...

The answer not being 'absolutely nothing, say it again ! ''


It's fine for a bit of relaxation, maybe for trialling and gaining some experience in a new opening, but the most frustrating part is going over the games afterwards and finding that you missed a great combination or sacrifice, which you may well not have missed in a 'proper game' with more time.

Here's an example.

Black to Play

I know why I missed it ( I'm Black, by the way ) as I had been focusing on defence around the king. threats down the h-file, threats of knight and Queen versus h7, etc, plus the fact that it was 'second time around', since it had been on show a couple of moves before.

But I did, I missed a lovely riposte that would have switched Black to attack.

Nevertheless, I managed a draw,which was a satisfying result for me.

Any ideas ?

Solution [ Nxd4 ! ]



...."What is it good for ? Absolutely nothing "

Black to Play, and exchange correctly

As Black, I was presented with this position, after the Knight has captured a pawn on d4.

Instinctively, I felt there was a correct combination here, that would give an advantage to Black.

What would you play ?

My game continued [33...Nxd4 32. Rxc8 Ne2+ ?  33. Kh1 Rxc8 34. Bxe5 Re8 ? 35. Rd5 ?? Nf4 ] which won, but was a bad combination.

White to Play

The surprisingly summery Summer has distracted me from the blog.

Just to keep things ticking over, here's a simple one for you.

Taken from a blitz game, Black has just captured a Bishop on a4...

White to play

Solution if required [The Queen recapture gives Black a steady win. White should play 29. Rc8+ Rxc8 30. bxa and wins ]

Blitz chess : strange resignation

Blitz chess for me, is addictive, and almost pointless, often together.

It is easy to waste hours online playing it ( hence 'pointless' ) , with practically no "chess" knowledge-gain at all, whilst losing an immense amount of time. That's not to say it isn't enjoyable, just that you need to be honest with yourself about why you are doing it !

I am sure that used properly, in a focused and controlled manner, something can be gained from it, I mean, of course,  something in 'chess' terms, not just an aimless whiling-away the time...

However, I am equally sure that such a gain will work primarily for players who already have the appropriate tactical skill level and so can concentrate on the positive aspects they want out of blitz, rather than constantly avoiding tactical mistakes in the limited time available ( or is that "suffering from the inevitable blunder"  ? ).

This positive aspect is often presented as 'gaining experience of new positions' or  'trying out new openings', ie playing a lot of quick games to end up with a feel of what positions arise from the opening, and then using this as input to the next stage in opening practise, that of adding (more) theory.

For my part, I have re-appraised how I spend my blitz time on the Net.

...Continue reading...