Super Blitz #23: Classic Exchange Caro

This is a 3 minute Caro game where White never really applied any pressure and gave me control over the c file which ultimately leads to their loss. I can’t stress enough how often the c file becomes a weapon in the exchange Caro.

Below is a typical position you’d see albeit a little different of a move order. Generally I would hope to have played Rc8 and if the exchange of knights happens I can recapture with Rxc6, my opponent swaps them off immediately rather than after Bg5. There is an up side here, I can still play Rc8 after Nxc6 bxc6 because pushing the pawn with the support of the rook helps destabilizes the center and gives me more control over the c file before the other player.

We come to the position below where I’ve used the f rook to support the c file in addition to the Queen assisting from d6. There is an obvious down side for me and that’s the isolated a pawn which my rook needs to defend at the moment. Eventually the a pawn will move forward and look to trade off against the majority leaving me with the strong c file.

Here the Queen laterally defend the weak a pawn while both rooks threaten the c2 pawn. At some point if I need to break I can look to play Qc6, a4 and if b4 then Rc3.

Ultimately the game ends in a rather anticlimactic fashion, White simply forgets to make luft for the King and loses the game due to Rc1+.

View Full Game Analysis on Lichess.org

Super Blitz #20: Panov Realizations

While not a Panov game I came to the realization during analysis of how uncomfortable it is for me to play against. I spent a fair bit of time talking about c4 and the ways to prevent the discomfort, I’ve only found one line that’s enjoyable for me if White plays properly. If White doesn’t play the most accurate moves then the position is completely fine.

As many Caro games do, this one came down to pressure on the c file and White’s inability to counter it. Here is the position I’ll start the analysis from, everything before was decent opening play.

1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. d4 Bf5 5. Bd3 Bxd3 6. Qxd3 e6 7. O-O Nc6 8. Nc3 Bd6 9. a3 a6 10. Be3 Qc7 11. Rfe1 Nge7 12. b4 O-O 13. Ne2 b5 14. Ng3

You can already see how easy it can be to play against the backwards c pawn. It’s also possible to play a knight route like c8-b6-c4 and have a strong knight outpost. All of my games come down to a fight on the Queen side and it tends to feel like White has the only major weakness there.

14… Bxg3 15. fxg3 Rac8 16. Bf4 Qd7 17. Ne5

White made the first major mistake with Ne5. After Nxe5 dxe5 I am able to pressure c2 with tempo after Qc6and begin to stack all three major pieces against it. By taking with the pawn the bishop on f4 becomes much worse for the time being also. Nf5 is also a threat eyeing the isolated d pawn.

17… Nxe5 18. dxe5 Qc6 19. Re2 Rc7 20. Rc1 Rfc8 21. Bg5 Nf5 22. Bf4 Qc4

Here White has a few options as the c pawn isn’t immediately under threat but they must be careful. If they allow Qxd3 cxd3 then Rxc1 and the knight is still threatening to come to d4 and add a 4th attacker to the c pawn. With the pressure White swaps Queens off which is a safer move but I still maintain a -3 advantage. The problem being the same as before Qxc4 Rxc4 and then Nd4 comes with the triple attack on the c2 pawn and tempo on the rook.

25. Qxc4 Rxc4 24. h4 Nd4

Once the rooks come off and the pawn falls the position is as follows below, the position is lost for White since the center pawn control prevents their King from getting to my back line to find counter play. After this it’s just a matter of pushing forward and cutting the White King off while I creep on the Queen side.

25. Rf2 Rxc2 26. Rcxc2 Rxc2 27. Rxc2 Nxc2 28. Bc1 f6 29. exf6 gxf6 30. Kf2 Kf7 31. Ke2 e5 32. Kd3 Nd4 33. Bb2 Nc6 34. g4 Ke6

View Full Game Analysis on Lichess.org

Super Blitz#16: Practice Makes Perfect

It’s a good feeling when you’ve played an opening enough to have it memorized up to the 15th move. This was a Caro I played where I didn’t even have to think until the 16th move, my opponent played sound but simple moves that I had seen in some form and none were challenging. The game ended up being a perfect 0 inaccuracies, 0 mistakes, 0 blunders game.

1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. d4 Bf5 5. Nc3 e6 6. Bd3 Bxd3 7. Qxd3 Nc6 8. Bd2 Nf6 9. O-O Bd6 10. a3 a6 11. b4 b5 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bh4 O-O 14. h3 Rc8 15. Rfe1 Re8

At this point I’ve got a slight edge of -0.6 which I’d say is owed to the c file pressure and the lack of piece mobility of some of the White pieces. I usually focus on the c2 pawn since it’s the weakest point by stacking rooks or getting a Queen and rook battery on the c file.

16. Rab1 Be7 17. a4 Nxb4 18. Qe2 Rxc3

White really drops the ball here by having pushed a4. It removed the defender of b4 and allowed Nxb4 with an attack on the Queen while supported by the bishop on e7. You see this kind of thing a lot when players don’t know what to do and I think it’s the separating skill between an intermediate player and advanced player. The repercussions of pushing a single pawn with out calculating lead to the loss of the entire game but it must be calculated. There is no obvious move here or obvious tactical blow but there are ways to improve the position. Bxf6 and Rc1 are both slow but are what’s required in a longer positional game and most intermediate blitz players want to attack and push forward.

After Nxb4 White should have played 18. Qd2 to keep in contact with the c3 knight but instead played 18. Qe2?? allowing Rxc3.

19. Rxb4 Bxb4

White willingly gives up an exchange here, perhaps the knight on b3 was too strong after the rooks stacked up against the c pawn with the addition of the knight. The position is lost after the exchange however, White just doesn’t have anything to strive for and must react the the discover on the e1 rook.

20. Rb1 Be7 21. axb5 axb5 22. Rxb5 Qc7 23. Bg3 Qc4 24. Rb7

I offer White a Queen trade while attacking the rook on b5 but White declines the trade and leave the Queen hanging in the end. The game ends quickly in 7 moves after this position.

View Full Game on Lichess.org

Blitz Adventures #42: Facing the Witch King

Recently I’ve started spending more time on chess study and analysis rather than just playing a bunch of blitz and trying to take pieces of information from those games to learn from. The topic has been the Caro Khann lately and I had a game a couple days ago where the benefits from targeted study really became apparent. It was against TheWitchKing13 who’s 1622 in a 5 minute game and from the start it looked like a good fight, they knew the opening principles in the Caro well enough.

1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. d4 e6 5. c4 Nd7 6. cxd5 cxd5 7. Nc3 Ne7 8. Bb5 Nc6 9. O-O Be7 10. h3 h6

We get the position above after move 10, both sides are solid and there are no apparent weaknesses. White wants to attempt to capitalize on the fact my King is still in the center for another move but there aren’t any aggressive options so White follows with a6. This prompts me to play Qb6 putting pressure on the b2 and d4 pawns which both become targets, additionally if Bxc6 I can play Rb8 and have the Queen and rooks control the b file. After 11. a3 Qb6 12. a4 a6 13. a5? White has gone all in on the pawn push but lacks the support for it. Pushing a5 allows for the knight on c6 to capture it and be supported by the Queen so White simply drops a pawn.

11. a3 Qb6 12. a4 a6 13. a5? Nxa5 14. Bxd7 Kxd7

White captures the knight pulling the King to d7 but this actually helps my plans and connects the rooks. The King will be safe on d7 for the time being until I situate my rooks. Nc6, Bd3, Rhc8, Ke7 are played and we get a position where White has spent all but one move on moving the Queen over to the King side while not developing any other pieces.

15. Qa4+ Nc6 16. Nd2 Rhc8 17. Qd1 Bd3 18. Re1 Ke8 19. Qh5??

White has overlooked an important weakness while focusing on an attack, the d4 pawn. My next move is clear, Nxd4 threatening Nc2 forking the rooks. The game continues 19…Nxd4 20. Qg4?? (White is all for the attack without calculating anything else, the definition of tunnel vision. There isn’t another piece to support the Queen’s attack) 20…Nc2! 21. Qxg7?? Nxe1 22. Nf3?? Nxf3 23. gxf3 Kd7! (dropping a pawn but preparing to play Rg1+) 24. Qxf7 Rg8+

White has committed to the attack but left his King’s safety as a second thought. The combinations of the Rook on the g file and the Queen on b6 eyeing the f2 pawn is too much for White to stop.

View Full Game on Lichess.org