I would be trying to reorganise my pieces to play d5. Maybe g6, Re8, Bf8, Bg7, move the e6 knight. ...g6 creates weaknesses, but also covers f5 and blocks the b1-h7 diagonal, which you are thinking of opening. Plus you often have enough defensive resources in these positions if it does come down to White having a kingside attack: the bishop covers the dark squares and if it gets exchanged you play h6, Kg7 and stay prepared to play Rh8.

I agree your position sucks though and you've wasted time already. It's possible that your best option is sitting tight and doing nothing and being prepared for White to play on the kingside or in the centre. But that's hard to do in practice, and really hard to do well.

I'm not sure that c5 does anything for you in this position: it doesn't discourage d4 or prepare ...c4 or ...b4, and you might want to play c6 at some point.

Thanks for all the input!

I ultimately decided on g6, which the computer analysis likes (it considers it the best move and rates the position as -0.01 after it), but I really hate in retrospect. It's one of those "passive, but that's okay because we can play perfect defense for the next 10 moves" sort of computer moves. Stuff like this is why I've almost completely given up computer analysis for my games.

Two moves later we've got:



And here I think black's queenside play could materialize. Nc5 and black starts to get some nice room to maneuver, while it's going to take white forever to get anything real going on the kingside (example: Nc5/Bc2 Nxa4 and white's got to concede the bishop pair and black gets some files to play with).

g6 definitely looks like the right move now that you got here. Overall, against slow White plans playing for d5 is at least reasonable and often good. You could have played 9.-d5 in Marshall style, there will be really good compensation due to the extra move pair a4 and Bb7 if he grabs the e-pawn.

I'd be more concerned with Nc5 Ba2 and if Nxa4 then Ng5 and I think Black is in trouble.

I think Bf8 is the best move in this position.

Agree, Bf8 should be the idea. You want to exchange those bishops. Even though it looks like you have weakened your dark squares and need the bishop to defend them, the king can do that job on g7. If he plays Qd2, then Qe7, or maybe you can get away with Bxh6 and then Qe7.

If the bishops come off, f4 starts to look a lot better for your knight. Nc5 Bc2!? Ne6 would just be a repetition, anyway, which is probably good for Black.

Choking someone to death for saying "I lost on time, but I was winning the game" when they used up all of their clock in 13 moves of blitz should be justifiable homicide, if not commendable homicide.

This got a lol from me. Comments like luckbox and stuff like that when they lose on time.

also the people who think that they are entitled to an instant draw in any endgame (even disadvantageous ones) because THEY are low on time. You try to win, they lose on time, abuse follows.

I have lost many a game clicking on the request draw with a second left after thinking I had three folded the position...Oopsie I didnt...was going to lose anyways

Anyone help here? This is from chess tempo. White to move, it gave the solution as 1. dxc5, followed by 1.....Bxf3, giving up the black queen. Why not 1....Bxc5??

Then White plays Qxg4. It's dead lost either way.

Its better to be down a queen and compensated with a bishop and a knight than to be down a bishop.

If I had any talent at UI, I would definitely right a chess tactics app which had a lightweight engine build in, so that one could easily check these sorts of things.

I think Bxf3 is the "wrong" move for the computer to play--every player will spot cxb6, but if you didn't get the tactic right, it was because you didn't see the discovered attack on g4. Even though, yes, Bxf3 is stronger.

oh derp. did not see that.

btw I recomend using crafty or any free engine to check out problems you dont really get, its faster than posting on the internet and waiting for a human being to point it out.

what would you guys do here? whats your plan? white to play

I think I would play Bg5. My "plan" is to play Qf3, e5 and Ne4 before he realises he is losing a piece. If he plays h6, I think White still has some awkward pressure after Bh4, e.g. g5 Bg3 0-0 Qa4 Qd7 Rad1 or 0-0 f4!?

Even if not, provoking h6 can't be bad.

I would play Qa4 Qd7 Rd1 threatening e5. If 0-0 e5 Ng4 I would plan exd6 cxd6 Bf4 Be5 Bxe5 Nxe5 c5, or that kind of idea. If Ng4 immediately then h3 Ne5 f4. If c5 after Rd1 e5 looks good.

1.Qa4 Qd7 2.e5 tempts me; (this moveorder, not 1.e5 dxe 2.Qa4 0-0), 2.-dxe5 3.Rd1 Qe6 4.Nd5 looks pretty dangerous at first sight?

Yeah I spent a while trying to make that work but Rc8 defends.

meh I guess it does. 4.-Rc8 5.Be3 0-0 6.Qxc6 might be an advantage but 5.-Nd7 :\ Nb4 ideas don't work either since c4 hangs.

thank guys , Im working on my transition from the opening into the middlegame where I never have any plan at all if there isnt a tactic involved.
In the position above crafty suggests Qa4.

The game went like this,
Bg5 ( without any plan yet but simply wanting to develop the bishop)/h6
Bh4/g5
Bg3/0-0



Here I went with f4, planning to then do Qf3 and have a lot of pressure on the king side, then the queen rook is going to enter the battle to put pressure on the center.

Crafty OTOH suggests e5(how strong is crafty in this kinda positions btw?)

Chess is hardest when you have to make non-tactically orientated plans but I don't think the position you posted is an example of this. Well I guess it is if you play Bg5.

I reckon f4 is a move I would play 100% a few years ago, but now I think that it isn't great. Black can play Re8 applying pressure on e4, and later plans of Nd7-e5 (or c5) with central dark sqaure control. e5 is a tough move to respond to, dxe5 Bxe5 leaves white clearly better structurally. Black has to play Ne8 and then exd6 cxd6 Qd2 f5 f4 leaves white well placed.

I'd never really played the Ruy Lopez as white before, so it was inevitable that now that I started I would see it eventually, but it was still interesting that it happened not long after you mentioned it here. I got beaten pretty bad on a blunder, but it was a pressure-induced blunder and I appreciate the power of the attack.

Then today I decided to watch some videos (something I almost never do) and saw that the ICC had a huge 10-part series on the Marshall.

I hope I never get out of this part of chess: It seems like every week there's some fascinating, shiny new toy to play with.

I was originally thinking of e5 in that position, and I thought dxe was forced as a reply. I'm not sure if that's all that good for White though, if you go crazy trying to win the c7 pawn Black will probably get to invade on d2 or attack on the b-file or something. After e5 Ne8, White doesn't have to take on d6 but can keep the tension with something like Re1 de Qf3 (Qa4) and will win back the e5-pawn eventually when Black is just disorganised and has weakend his kingside.