Haha, I have no problem being slow. And it is my favorite game from the tournament, so while the results won't affect the tournament in anyway, I am interested to see how it turns out.

Wow, y'all weren't kidding. I just played through that game. Incredibly, incredibly interesting.

Yes, well Sholar will have to explain it when we're done

Hah! The only moves I have explanations for are my blunders.

There are a few key positions in that game it should be fun to look at in more detail once it's completed.

It's finally over! Well, my game with Sholar is over, and so is round 1, so I guess round 2 is to start now. I hope he will share his thoughts on the game. I will likely be too busy to do so until Sunday. I suspect it could be instructive to see how differently we viewed some of the same positions, though it may have just come down to a few key lazy calculations on my end.

Good game, ganstaman!

I'll start a thread on the game this weekend, if you don't get to it first. I think it had a lot of interesting positions.

There were a lot of lines that I thought were drawing even at the end there (even as late as move 73, maybe Re7 instead?) but to be honest, I hope someone with a 6-man tablebase+engine can weigh in.

You were, of course, winning out of the opening/middlegame, but the position from move 42 (K2R2P v kbn5p) felt much easier for me to play--which was a surprise to me.

Anyway, will comment more when I have the time to do it justice.

Looks like 4 extra rating points saved me from the "group of death"...

gl everyone, i'm expecting some big fights.

Man my group is rough. Ajezz, Nsholar, and Damagor...

In this round, there are no easy groups.

Were the round 2 pairings done like this?

1,4,7,10,13
2,5,8,11
3,6,9,12

That doesn't seem like a great way to do it..?

You're right about the system Punker and I agree that it would be more equal like that:

1 6 7 12 13
2 5 8 11
3 4 9 10

Note that the TD has no influence on pairings on chess.com.

There is a certain logic to chess.com's system in that every player has around the same "rating list difference" to defend or overcome to qualify for the next round.

Won a game I didn't want to (really!) against castlerook. I was hoping he would hold the draw but then i didn't want to hand it out for free. Now both he and NajdorfDefense advance, meaning we will probably get an extra round.

Well if I had known that's the way you felt about it, I would have offered a draw some time ago!

Good game, going over it now I'm really not sure why I didn't recapture on c3 with the queen instead of the b-pawn, I think my position would have been fine then.

Yeah, maybe I have a slight advantage but your LSB is not so bad as it looks.

Exchanging queens was a pretty obvious blunder to me, I had not expected you to do that after you played both games pretty well. If you just move it away I think my advantage is not that great yet.

Good games after all, I invested more time into those than into most of my chess.com games lately.

Next round! I thought the last game (mine with DaMaGor) was pretty interesting...hated my position out of the opening, but didn't feel like I should just take the repetition on move 16 or so.

Probably I was lost at some point, but there was only one idea for me (play g4) and eventually I managed to get it in...the final moves are interesting only because the following position is reached, where the right path for Black is pretty tricky (in my opinion) although maybe I just need to study my endgames.



Here's the full game--comments welcome!

Wow. I didn't realize I was that close to the edge. I was using Basic Chess Endings (yes, I know that it has quite a lot of errors and omissions, but I didn't have anything better*) to help guide me, and I realized that Ke6 would work because it would put my king in position to attack the rook whenever it tried to support the pawn from the side, which is a principle that Fine talks about in one critical position (#310, I think). But I was surprised to find out, looking at the tablebases now, that 59...Ke6 was the only way to draw. This endgame is much harder to hold than I thought, though maybe I should just be happy that it was a draw even with my king starting out all the way across the board.

I thought I had some chances in the middlegame, too, but I made some moves that seem aimless in retrospect and wasn't able to get anything going.

*I do have a book called "Secrets of Rook Endings" by John Nunn, which is actually just an exhaustive study of R + P vs R, but in accordance with the rules, I didn't refer to it since it depends heavily on tablebases.

Yeah, now you know why I kept declining those draw offers :-)

I'd seen the general idea before (defend pawn from the side, ladder the king up, deliver a rook check to displace the king, bring the king back to advance the pawn) and sort of assumed that this endgame would be winning for me, when entering it via the bishop trade--there was nothing better, so I didn't try to analyze too deeply.

But I hadn't actually worked out all of the details, and some of the rules of thumb I had in mind were wrong--for example

1.Re2? is a draw--despite earning three files of separation because, as DaMaGor notes, the Black king controls enough key squares to prevent the White rook from protecting the pawn from the side, and White doesn't have enough space on the left.

The only way to make progress is with 1.Rh2 and to lose a move with sidechecks, to reach:

Now, e.g., 1.Kc7 Rb3 2.Re2+ works as
is lost for Black whereas with Black to move, 1...Kf5! would draw.

The b-pawn hurts White is a win after 1.Kc5...

For the record, I think using the book would have been fine, as long as one doesn't open up the tablebases directly. Perhaps Noir_Desir can clarify.

This was my first of any note to finish...had promised myself I would annotate one game since I always do this with each of my OTB games...but not turn based games so much. I realize I can't get it to look very nice. Any one have any ideas of how to do this?


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[Event "2+ 2 Round 3 on Chess.com"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2013.??.??"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Noir - Desir"]
[Black "Leavenfish"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C10"]
[WhiteElo "2231"]
[BlackElo "2313"]
[Annotator "Leavenfish"]
[PlyCount "94"]
[EventDate "2013.??.??"]

1. d4 e6 2. e4 d5 3. Nd2 dxe4 4. Nxe4 Nd7 {A passive line I have been playing
exclusively for about a year whenever given the chance. I have been more
active this year than in the past decade and simply want to get playable
positions, without having to know much theory.} 5. Nf3 Ngf6 6. Bd3 c5 ({I have
experimented with Andew Martins recommendation} 6... Be7 {but ...c5 is more
natural.}) 7. O-O Nxe4 8. Bxe4 Nf6 9. Bg5 cxd4 {With no central pawns, Whites
space advantage is eliminated and Black does not have to worry about his
pieces being constricted by a pawn on d4. However, White does have superior
development so maintaining an opening advantage all boils down to an exercise
in making something of that piece activity while Black seeks to bring his off
their original squares and perhaps trade them.} 10. Nxd4 Be7 11. Bf3 $5 {This
I really like for White instead of Bd3. On f3, the Bishop makes Blacks
unraveling of his queenside more problematic.} O-O 12. Qd3 Qb6 {Here I was
pretty much going my own way from theory. Most everyone seems to play Qc7. I
certainly did not play this with any thought of taking on b2. Blacks only real
thought should be to complete his development.} 13. Rad1 {13. Rfd1!? makes
more sense to me. I am not saying the move played is bad, just that the other
Rook looks more natual here with this one remaining on a1 to support play on
the Queenside with a subsequent a2-a4-a5. Checking the database, White may
have been following a rapid game by Karjakin. I will never been in the same
league as Karjakin so make of my advice what you will.} Rd8 14. Be3 Qa5 15. Qb5
$5 Qc7 {Exchanges may favor the cramped side in many situations, but clearly
not here as I am just too under developed. Goal #1 is to develope my pieces.
My basic idea is to trade pieces with the idea of reducing Whites development
trump. The opposing Rooks on the d-file will help there.} 16. Qb3 {or I will
gain a temp with my next move.} Bd7 {This may be the novelty. I never
considered 16...a6 which was played in the Karjakin game and as I remember
failed to the stock tactic 17.Nf5.} 17. c4 {Rad1 in conjunction with c4 just
doesn't seem right, but perhaps that is just me.} Rac8 18. Rc1 {Further
'proof' that White's last couple of moves have been inexact?} b6 {The
immediate 18...Qb8 was another try. If the White reply was the same, Black
would have the 19...Bc5 option. If Black were to play 19.Qb7 then after 19...
Qb7, 20. Bb7 Rb8 Black looks to be okay. Regardless, this is simply the kind
of position Black has to be willing to play in this defensive set up. White
will probe and look to create a weakness and Black will look to trade and
steer towards a safe endgame. It is of course possible that White will simply
overplay his hand. I always expect the former...but ironically have been
seeing the latter. Maybe such positions 'fit me' more than they do some of
those opponents.} 19. Nb5 Qb8 20. Qa4 {Walking into pin to try to induce a
weakness was not what I expected. 20. Na7 Qa7, 21. Bb6 would have radically
changed things; but perhaps White felt with his queenside pawns have not
advanced very far, he would not get enough for parting with his bishop pair.}
a5 21. Rfd1 {I do not see any way to take advantage of b6 so I was not unhappy
with recent developments and White's Queen is in a pin with few squares to
operate in. My relatively abstract thinking to this point began to be
replaced with more concrete ideas - things like ...Be8, followed by ...Nd7 and
...Bc5. Or Bc6 getting rid of the dominate White bishop or the immediate Bc5
to take the pressure off the backward pawn.} Bc5 {Be8 followed by Rook
exchanges is still valid; but with with the b6 pawn being targeted and the pin
on the Queen, this just made more sense.} 22. Qb3 {Should White have taken on
c5, I could have captured with the Rook and due to the pin, force the c4 pawn
onto b5. That would be no small victory as the b5 weakness may be more real
than the b6 weakness and I should be able to centralize my Queen shortly. In
any case, Blacks play becomes easy.} Bxe3 23. fxe3 $2 {This is more than just
'visually bad' - it gives me something easy to play against; and while I would
have been happy to accept a draw offer up to this point, I can now
realistically think of more. While I only had 3 other games going on,
Noir_Desir may well have had many more and simply did not think enough about
the consequences. After the normal 23. Qe3 he may feared having to double his
pawns on the b-file after 23...Bb5, 24. cb5 and subsequent exchanges on the d
(or now c) file. Perhaps he was placing more faith in the Bf3 over the Nf6
than remained true at this point. Whatever the case, I began to look at this
game more and more given how the last several moves had played out.} Bxb5 24.
Rxd8+ {Giving up the d-file so easy? I remember thinking 24. Qb5 had to be
better as - if nothing else - it would be harder for me to bring my Knight
into play (c5 or e5) via d7.} Rxd8 25. Qxb5 {Perhaps White was looking at 25.
cb5 followed by playing the Rook to c6, eying my only pawn weakness? Perhaps
he then saw 25...h6, 26. Rc6 Nd7, 27. Qc3 Nc5 with the idea of ...Rd3 and ...
Qd8? That is what I was looking at anyway and thought the new configuration
good for me as Rc6 would be a bit shut out. I don't know, but the trend has
shifted Blacks way the last several moves.} h6 {Of course I want to play
against the newfound weakness on e3 but I should probably think about my back
rank first.} 26. Rc2 {Here I just need to get my Queen to a better square
while not letting the b6 pawn fall or allowing c5 - c5 seemed the move White
had to play to try and gin up some counterplay to offset that e3 weakness. I
did not see any obvioius way to play it though. Only here did I start making
my first notes to the game since play had been of the pretty simple to this
point. After this purely defensive Rook move, I looked for ways to 'jump on
the poisition' with concrete calculation. I noted what I thought was a clear
way to continue: centralize the Queen, play Nf6-d7-c5 and with White not
having any useful plan that I could see, I felt I could play without any real
worries for 'two results'. The queenside pawn majority is now pretty useless
for White given his more pressing concerns - the d file and the weak pawn on
e3.} Qd6 {with the idea of ...Nf6-d7-c5 and maybe playing the pawn to a4.
Trying to make use of the queenside pawn majority would too slow as Rc2 and e3
are unprotected.} 27. c5 $5 {I'll have to look at this in more detail sometime,
but in retrospect, maybe 26...Qc7 was more precise when 27. c5 might be met by
Nd5. In any case, while I had considered the very move White plays, I simply
thought he could not play it because of my next move...but I think now that I
was just wrong.} Qe5 {I really do not seem to have another move here. At least
the e3 pawn is attacked and the White Queen is pinned.} 28. Rc3 $6 {Perhaps
White can simply take on b6 with his Queen? Yes, his King is weaker than mine,
but giving up the e3 pawn for my b6 pawn (and getting a passer!) would be a
great trade-off unless he gets mated. Off-hand, I do not see any way to do
that: 28 Qb6 Qe3+, 29. Kf1 Qd3 when 30. Re2 or 30. Be2 just looks unclear at
the moment. 28. Qb3!? looks like it simply gives up the c5 pawn...but now
that I look at it further, after 28...bc5, 29. Qc3, maybe White has drawing
chances - it looks like the Queens should come off and then the split a5 and
c5 pawns coupled with B vs N. might make things relatively drawish. I think
that must be the way for White to go. This last line in particular is why I am
thinking my 26...Qd6 may not have been the best move.} Ne4 $1 {My first
thought here was to invade to d2 with my Rook. That is probably fine but when
it was time to respond I looked at the position anew and felt that I really
should probably address that Nf6 which needs to get into play. As the old
Nf6-d7-c5 no longer works (White has Rd3!) there is one other route to get the
Knight to c5 which would not have been possible had my queen not been forced
to e5.} 29. Bxe4 {Pretty well forced as the Rook is attacked and the c5 pawn
would simply fall. 29 Qb6, lets me switch the rook to b8 and the Rook and
Queen cannot both be saved.} Rd1+ $1 {"Look for a better move", they say when
'automatic' captures are at hand. That rule of thumb seems worth its weight in
gold when other things are in the air - like a weakened King or there are
several pieces in conflict with with the enemy. This move forces the King to
an uncomfortable square from where I will have more options. Taking
immediately would allow White to control the d1 entry point with 30. Qd2 at
the cost of the c5 pawn. White might be able to get away with 31. Rc5 but I
did not have to calculate any of that with the move played.} 30. Kf2 Qxe4 31.
Qe2 {To stop 31...Rd2+. Again, we see the difference that results from Blacks
intermediate move on his 29th - White's life is far more uncomfortable and
Black can force the play with dangerous threats. The position should now be
winning but I have to watch out for the c6 pawn.} Qh4+ 32. Kf3 Re1 33. Qf2 {
Thinking White would probably play 33. Qc4 when 33...Qf6; 34. Kg3 bc5 would
surely be winning. Instead, White makes things more difficult but at least the
lines that follow tend to be of the more forcing nature while I try to spin a
mating net.} Qh5+ 34. Kg3 Rh1 {At this point I probably spent the most time in
calculation for the entire game. Attacking h2 seems logical but the c6 pawn
gets to take a step closer to the queening square. I am pretty quick to spot
tactics...but have always been somewhat lacking in counting them out with a
clock mercilessly ticking away. Fortuantely, in turn based play, you get to
move the pieces around and those ticks are measured in days so when a little
precision is required, even I can usually manage it.} 35. c6 {While I had just
looked at this, it still came as a suprise. I had dismissed it outright and
felt White simply had to play 35. h3 and look to find a haven there for his
King. White is definitely worse but something like 35...Qg5. 36. Kf3 Qf5, 37.
Kg3 Qe5 allows Qf4; so...maybe 37...bc5 is the way to go since I can not play .
..f5 and threaten mate with ...Qg4. The move played gets the pawn closer to
promotion, but allows me some pretty forcing moves.} Qxh2+ 36. Kf3 Qh5+ 37. Kg3
f5 $1 {As he did not play h3, I am able to threaten a quick mate. The threat
basically forces his Queen up the board and away from the first two ranks.} 38.
Qf4 {If 38. Rc4, I had intended 38...Qg5 and after 39. Kf3 the neat 39...Rc1.
If White takes the Rook, it allows 40...Qg4 mate, while moving the rook allows
me to win the c6 pawn.} Qh2+ 39. Kf2 Qg1+ 40. Kg3 h5 {The last move I really
had to spend any time on when I was looking at how to continue a few moves
earlier. OTB I record how much time I spend on each move, but in this type of
game it is harder to do as you may look at something for a few minutes, and
come back to it multiple times over the next couple of days.} 41. Qd4 h4+ 42.
Kf4 {Forced as the net snaps shut after 42. Kf3 Qf1++} Qh2+ 43. Kf3 e5 {
Checking on g3 may work as well I admit that had been the way I was leaning.
When it was my time to move I fretted over the King possibly escapeing to b3
and the c6 pawn seemed to grow ever larger... and I changed my mind. I only
had to ask myself: what if I just try to close the mating net with 43...e5?
After say 44 c7 e4; when 45. Kf2 is mate in 2 while the Queen sacrificing
itself for the two central pawns with 45. Qe4 fe4; 46. Ke4 Qg2 and even if
there is no mate, Whites King is exposed, my King is safe, I am a pawn up and
my h pawn may soon queen.} 44. Qd8+ {This was the only thing I had to
calculate when deciding on 43...e5 and it was very straight forward as White
will run out of checks.} Kh7 45. Qg5 e4+ 46. Ke2 g6 47. c7 {Should the Queen
check on c7, my King will find shelter on g4 while White's has no escape.} Qg1
{And White resigned as there is no good way of stopping Qe1++} 0-1

holy text of wall batman

Yeh...any idea how to 'make it pretty'? I went to the coverter sight listed in the FAQ. Either it no longer works or I did something wrong.

Well, the final has rolled around and I'm quite happy to still be standing. Already last round there were no easy games anywhere, and I thought I was worse in every game at some point. But I kept fighting, and even in correspondence chess that sometimes works.

Most interesting, I think, was my game as Black against Noir_Desir -- an opening line I've played a couple times already in this tournament, a pawn sacrifice to complicate what looked like quite a bad position for me, a rook endgame that I thought slowly shifted from "worse for me but maybe I can draw" to "better for me but should still be a draw", and, at the end, a missed tactic that gave me the win. When I have a bit more time I will post my annotations on it.

After our games in rounds 1-2 in that line, I have decided that anti-Dutch is just not that great for White (hence going back to my old anti-Dutch this round). I will have to see what Noir_Desir cooked up and whether I should revisit that assessment.

I think h6 was a blunder (obviously missed the check) and Ke1 instead would have probably drawn. I'm very curious about when you thought that I was better in that rook ending

I didn't cook up anything, I just followed Schandorff. I was probably better at some point. At the moment, unfortunately, I mainly play from my cell phone and don't have time to analyse properly.

round 4! fight! (I'll try to play the openings well this time)