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

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Super blitz #18: Two Bishops Ain’t All That

This game is a perfect example of 2 bishops vs a knight and bishop and where the strengths of each lie. My opponent traded off the major pieces in succession, rook, rook, Queen but didn’t consider how the minor piece endgame would be. They had two doubled isolated c pawns and a weak isolated a file pawn. Our game starts in one of my favorite variations of the Nimzo-Indian Defense.

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. e3 O-O 5. Nf3 b6 6. Be2 Bb7 7. O-O

Both sides have a solid setup. White has a good center, Black hasn’t committed to a center break and keeps some flexibility. Most times Bxc3 is played and White ends up with the two bishops but a slightly weakened structure.

7…d6 8. a3 Bxc3 9. bxc3 Nbd7

Black’s idea with this setup is to push the e pawn forward after Re8 and if possible continue to push through to e4. The position is equal here and there is plenty of dynamism for both sides to play for the win.

10. Bb2 Re8 11. Qc2 e5

White has made a mistake putting the bishop on b2, the c3 pawn isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. I get the break I’m looking for and the ideal position I am comfortable with. From here it’s White turn to decide how to proceed. The best moves are Nd2, Rfe1. Not incredibly intuitive moves to play. Nd2 attacks the e4 square not allowing me to push any further. Rfe1 looks to support the file once all the tension breaks.

12. d5 e4 13. Nd2 Nc5 14. a4 a5 15. Nb3 c6 16. Nxc5 dxc5 17. dxc6 Bxc6 18. Rfd1 Qc7 19. h3 Rad8

The tension in the center breaks and d file opens, White looks to trade off the rooks and Queens which I oblige as I notice how weak the c and a file pawns are. The end game will surely favor a N+B instead of 2 bishops.

20. Rxd8 Rxd8 21. Rd1 Rd6 22. Rxd6 Qxd6 23. Qd1 Qxd1+ 24. Bxd1

In the position above it becomes apparent what my plan is. White’s bishops are tied to c3 and a4 which leaves my knight to hop around and poke at other weakness along with my King.

25. Kf1 Ne5 26. Bc2 Nxc4 27. Bc1 f5 28. Ke2 g5 29. f3 Nd6 30. Bb3+ Kg7 31. Bb2 Kg6 32. fxe4 Nxe4 33. g4 fxg4 34. hxg4 h5 35. gxh5+ Kxh5 36. Bf7+ Kg4 37. Be6+ Kg3 38. Bb3 g4 39. Bc1 Kg2 40. Kd3 g3 0-1

In the end the power of the two bishop was rendered ineffective because of the weaknesses and lack of open diagonals for them to exploit.

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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.

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Blitz Adventures #43: Fighting Fire With Fire

Generally speaking I’m a conservative and solid player so going against the King’s Indian tends to be abrasive to my style. This game was a little different than usual. I had been reviewing games where Black moves the knight from f6 in preparation to play f5 and White replies with g4 immediately before f5.

1. d4 g6 2. c4 Bg7 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 d6 5. e4 O-O 6. Be2 e5 7. d5 Nbd7 8. Be3 Ne8

The position is going to get very sharp for Black but not so much for White. Since I haven’t castled yet I have the liberty of playing Qc2 and then 0-0-0 when the time is right, the g and h pawns will be thrown up the board supported by two rooks and the center is closed so there won’t be any center attacking pressure. As for Black, their pieces aren’t very active. In the position above both bishops aren’t on good diagonals, the rooks aren’t connected, the knights are on the 7th and 8th ranks still and the pawn shield in front of the King is more of a liability than anything when h5 and h6 come.

9. g4 c5 10. Nd2 f5 11. gxf5 gxf5

Because Black pushed f5 largely unsupported after 12. exf5 Rxf5 what can Black do? Whites plans of Rg1, Qc2, 0-0-0, and Ne4 are very easy to play but not very easy to interact with. In the next position we can see Black hasn’t accomplished very much, two tempi were wasted with a superficial Queen side attack.

12. exf5 Rxf5 13. Qc2 Rf7 14. Bd3 Ndf6 15. 0-0-0 Qa5(Black moves the Queen rather than developing) 16. Nb3 Qc7(again Black must move the Queen rather than a supporting piece) 17. Rdg1

Black is under a lot of pressure here, the h7 pawn is weak, there is a pin on g7 looking to be exploited, Ne5 is on the table, the h pawn can still be thrown up the board.

The game is over in a few moves after this position because there is no possible defense for Black. The e3 Bishop is coming to h6 threatening to remove the best defender of the Black King and from there the combination of Queen and rook is too much with so few pieces.

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