Holiday Wins and Losses.

The holiday season is nearly over and soon I will be back in school. I've been playing a lot of games on Chess.com and not really spending my leisure time analyzing them. I had an epic session yesterday, where I finished up eight games of correspondence chess. Of those eight, I only lost one of them. To be fair, it was a devastatingly stupid loss, but these things happen. So, to ring in the new year, I'll post my favorite of the wins and the loss. And, perhaps if I find myself with an excess of free time in the future, I'll come back and annotate them.

This is my favorite win from yesterday. Keep in mind, I was playing basically a simul--since it was turn based chess and I was moving on board after board. It was great fun, but the quality of my games could probably have been better. To be honest though, I think mediocre games are much more exciting than games where no one makes mistakes. Anyways, I end up with tripled pawns, and he gets mated by four of my pieces--probably one of my favorite mates I've ever done. Enjoy watching us navigate through our own ineptitude.

King Safety?


This game was my only loss yesterday (I've already suffered one today though). I was over ambitious and over confident--two traits that I should learn to curb in real life as well as my chess life.

Didn't See That Coming

Pushing Pawns.

I'm beginning to notice a pattern in my life. Chess takes over as soon as I'm not focused on school or work. Sherlock Holmes did cocaine when he was without work, I suppose chess is a much safer thing to be addicted to in times of listlessness.

I'm on break from school right now. It's nice to have some R&R, but I need something to keep me occupied. So, for the time being I'm back on the chess scene. I don't know if I'll be able to keep this up when the semester starts back up, but I'll be enjoying my time back during this break.

And, here's a quick game that I just finished. You'll quickly see why it's not analyzed. It was a nice self-esteem booster to get me over the hump that always happens when I come back to chess.



Back in the Ring

LindseyAnn vs. MatthewMcCann 0-1

This game is a rare occurance. I actually faced my number one chess rival of all time--my husband. This is probably one of the best games I've ever had against him. I'm not sure if it's because I'm getting better or he's out of practice. With a couple of different moves I could have pulled out a draw. As it stood, I went into the endgame one pawn down and he was able to convert the advantage.


'Til Death


[Event "I Love You!!"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2010.08.03"]
[Round ""]
[White "lindseyann"]
[Black "MatthewMccann"]
[TimeControl "1"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO " "]
[WhiteELO "1350"]
[BlackELO "1475"]


1.e4
{A strange opening move for me. Matt didn't want to play the Queen's Gambit, so allowed for something different.}
1...e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nc6
{This move takes us out of the Philidor's Defense opening.}
5.Bb5
{While this move isn't "bad", I'm wondering why I didn't just play Nxc6 and double
his pawns.}
5...Bd7 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Be3 g6 8.O-O Bg7 9.Nce2
{This move gives up some of the initiative. Now black has a slight advantage. Better would have been Qd2.}
9...O-O 10.c3
{My first mistake of the game. Drops the pawn for nothing.}
10...Nxe4 11.Bd3 Nc5 12.Bc2 Ne5 13.Qd2 Nc4 14.Qc1 Re8
{Nxe3 fxe3 would have given him the bishop pair and isolated the pawn, but also opened up my rook.}
15.Bb3
{This was a mistake on my part, but he did not take advantage of the mistake.}
15...d5
{While this response doesn't change the score very much, the following variation would have been better for black.}
16.Nf4 c6 17.Nxc6
{I was really, really proud of myself for finding this move because this is the sort of thing that I miss 9 out of 10 times.}
17...Bxc6 18.Bxc5 b6 19.Bd4
{This was a weak move on my part. I knew my plan was to try and win the d-pawn and I block off my rook access to the attack. It also allows him to isolate one of my pawns. Bd3 would have been a better choice.}
19...Bxd4 20.cxd4
{The position if pretty even at this point in the game, with black maintaining a slight advantage.}
20...Re4 21.Rd1
{Protecting my pawn, but 21. Bxc4 dxc4 22. Qxc4 looks alright for white.}
21...Qf6
{After this, things get messy and the tactics overwhelm me. Funny thing is, I felt like I had a better understanding of this position when I was playing it than I do
now.}
22.Nxd5 Bxd5 23.Bxc4 Rd8
{The computer like Rc8 much better here, and with Rd8 I gain back some of the initiative (although, I do not manage to keep it as we'll soon see).}
24.Bxd5 Rxd5 25.Qc7
{I knew I couldn't save the the pawn, so I tried to threaten one of his to maintain my "advantage". However, his pieces were a lot more active and after 25. Qc2 Rexd4 26. Rxd4 Rxd4 27. Re1 Things are a lot more even and we would have been moving toward a draw.}
25...Re2
{This move was great on Matt's part. He didn't need to take the d-pawn because he can do it whenever he wants. Instead he creates another threat for me.}
26.f3
{Rf1 would have been slightly better here, since there was no way to hang onto the d-pawn.}
26...Rxd4 27.Qxa7
{I was already losing this game, but I could have kept it a little closer.}
27...Rxd1+ 28.Rxd1 Qxb2 29.Rf1
{Ouch, steps into a forced mate. Matt misses it and is not going to be happy when he finds out.}
29...Qc3 30.Rd1
{And I step into another Mate in 3.}
30...Qb2 31.Qb8+ Kg7 32.Qg3 Qxa2 33.Re1
{My goal was to trade off our pieces and see if I could beat him in an endgame. Which is a pretty silly thing to do when you're down a pawn.}
33...b5 34.Rxe2 Qxe2 35.Qf2 Qxf2+ 36.Kxf2
{From this point forward it was pretty much over for me, but I played it out hoping for a terrible blunder on Matt's part. He did not comply with my wishes.}
36...Kf6 37.Ke3 Ke5 38.f4+ Kf5 39.Kf3 b4 40.Ke3 b3 41.Kd3 Kxf4 42.Kc3 Ke3 43.Kxb3 Kf2 44.Kc3 Kxg2 45.Kd3 f5 46.Ke3 g5
0-1
*

Arnez Gray Jr vs. LindseyAnn 0-1

Two games analyzed in one day! I'm on a roll. Here's a win to cheer myself up. Although as usual, my win came about by some very questionable playing by my opponent and I missed a very important queen move through most of the beginning of my attack. However, I pulled it out with a pretty mate at the end.

Also, I've included playable variations of mates that I missed along the way. This is a new experiment and it takes a lot more work than just casually mentioning the mates that I overlook.

Insert Obligatory Knight-Pun Game Title Here


[Event "Let's Play!"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2010.07.05"]
[Round ""]
[White "ArnezGrayJr"]
[Black "lindseyann"]
[TimeControl "1"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO " "]
[WhiteELO "1123"]
[BlackELO "1261"]

1.e3 e5 2.d4 Nc6 3.Nf3 e4
{This is move is more aggressive than I am.}
4.Ng5
{But, sometimes it pays to be aggressive.}
4...Qxg5 5.f4 Qh4+
{It would have been slightly better to play 5. exf3ep gxf3 and then 6. Qh4 check when he doesn't have the pawn to interpose.}
6.g3 Qh6 7.Bg2 d5 8.Nc3 Nf6 9.O-O Bb4 10.a3 Ba5
{It might have been smarter to trade this off for the knight, since the center is all locked up and knights are probably a bit stronger. Also, it's just generally good to trade off pieces when you're ahead in material.}
11.Nb5 Bd7
{I missed a GREAT move here. 11...Ng4 and the queen has no where to go and nothing can interpose. Wow. I'd have to drop a few pawns after 12. Nxc7+ Kd7 13. Nxd5 Bxd1. But, I could have picked up the queen.}
12.b4 Bb6 13.g4
{Hanging a pawn and further weaken his king-side.}
13...Nxg4 14.h3 Nf6 15.Nxc7+
{I guess he just hates his knights, because he seems to like hanging them.}
15...Bxc7 16.Qe2 Qg6
{I remember reading or hearing a chess expert once say, "Never prepare to do something that you can just do". In this case, I was preparing to take the pawn,
Bxh3, but I could have just taken it and traded off bishops (since it's already clear that knights are going to decide this game).}
17.Qb5
{He could have played Kh2 and ruined my plans. But, he did not.}
17...Bxh3 18.Rf2 O-O
{It would have been better to play Qg3 followed by Nf4 and picking up the rook. However, I knew I needed to get my rooks in on the action and my king tucked away and I missed this tactic.}
19.Qxb7 Ne8
{I wouldn't have been so concerned about protecting my bishop, if I had realized I had a mate in 10 after Qxb7. I do not beat myself up over missing mate in 10.
Although Qg3 was always the best move.}
20.Qxa8 Ne7
{I seem to be dropping material left and right, but I knew that if I could just get my pieces to the king side, I would find a mate.}
21.Qxa7 Nf5 22.Kh2
{Mate in 7 from here. Once again beginning with Qg3 (that move never even crossed my mind during the game).}
22...Bxg2 23.Rxg2 Qh5+ 24.Kg1 Nh4 25.Rg5 Nf3+
{I missed a mate in 5 from here, but I almost had a bow on this one anyway.}
26.Kg2 Qh2+ 27.Kf1 Nxg5
{I prolonged his pain for a while longer, and I could have had a shorter mate from here if I'd just left the rook alone. But, sometimes its better to be safe than sorry.}
28.Qc5 Nf3 29.Qxd5 Qg1+ 30.Ke2 Qe1#
{I really quite like this mate.}
0-1

LindseyAnn vs. Krasi24 0-1

As promised, here is that really embarrassing loss that I suffered recently. I've been spending a lot more time playing than analyzing. Since my last update, I've gotten a few more wins under my belt. I also suffered a crushing loss today and I have a few boards where things look very delicate at the moment.

I won six games in a row before losing, which is pretty decent. But, I'm probably not going to analyze them all here, since I find looking over my losses a lot more instructive than looking over my wins.

Without further ado, I present:

Chess Blindness


[Event "Let's Play!"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2010.07.06"]
[Round ""]
[White "lindseyann"]
[Black "Krasi24"]
[TimeControl "1"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO " "]
[WhiteELO "1242"]
[BlackELO "1378"]

1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.Nc3 Nc6 4.e4
{Already, I've made a stupid mistake, dropping a pawn right away. Better would have been either Nf3 or e3.}
4...Nxd4 5.Bxc4 e6 6.Be3 Nc6 7.Nf3 Bb4 8.Qb3
{So I can castle without isolating a pawn.}
8...Nf6 9.Nd2
{This move was sort of pointless on my part. Bb5 or Rd1 or 0-0 would have probably been more productive. My knight seems a bit loose here and I've plugged up the open file.}
9...a5 10.O-O O-O 11.Rfd1 h6 12.a3
{After this move, I've gotten back some of the initiative that I'd given up.}
12...Bxc3 13.Qxc3 Ng4 14.Nf3
{I played this to gain a tempo, control of the center, and look after the h2 & h4 squares.}
14...Qe7
{At this point in the game, even though I'm down a pawn, I feel pretty good about my position. My pieces seem a lot more active and better placed them him. Unfortunately I get a little to comfortable with my position soon, and I over look forced win for him.}
15.Be2
{I probably should have played Bf4 here, to prevent him from trading his knight for my bishop.}
15...f6 16.Nh4
{I was playing to put my knight on the hole at g6 (also, forking the queen and rook). But, I stupidly missed the easy tactic 16. Bc5 winning the exchange.}
16...Nce5 17.Bxg4
{I thought this was brilliant, since after Nxg4 Ng6 I've accomplished what I set out to do. Not only does it backfire, but the simple Bc5 is still on the board.}
17...g5
{I totally missed this response, and my bishop is hanging along with my knight. However, the computer still shows me in the lead with 5.02, if I play Bc5 that is. What do you think I'll do?}
18.Ng6
{Well, I certainly never saw Bc5. Now, my "plan" has failed and I'm pretty well psychologically devastated.}
18...Nxg6 19.Rd3
{I still could have played it, and I gave him the chance to fork my pieces.}
19...Ne5
{Now even here I could have still played Bc5 and had the advantage...}
20.Be2 Nxd3 21.Bxd3 e5
{I won't even bother pointing out the obvious at this point.}
22.Bc4+ Kh8
{And, with that move Bc5 is no longer an option!}
23.Rd1 Bg4 24.Rd2 Rfd8
{Now, around this point of the game, I wrote in my notes: "Watch out for back-rank mates! Only bishop to f4 is keeping you safe!" But, keeping with the theme of carelessness that this game has had running through it, I soon fail to heed my own advice.}
25.Rc2 Be6 26.Bxe6 Rd1+ 27.Qe1 Rxe1#
0-1

Jamiebubs vs. LindseyAnn 0-1

This is my first win since coming back to chess. It isn't pretty and I make a lot of mistakes. A day or two later, I lost a game terribly, so be expecting that to make it's way here soon enough.



[Event "Let's Play!"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2010.07.05"]
[Round ""]
[White "jamiebubs"]
[Black "lindseyann"]
[TimeControl "1"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO " "]
[WhiteELO "1216"]
[BlackELO "1247"]


{Termination "lindseyann won by resignation"}
1.d4
{What's hilarious about this move: even though I love opening with 1. d4, I HATE playing against it.}
1...d5 2.e3 Nf6 3.b4 Nc6 4.a3 e5 5.Ne2
{He's not doing the best job of getting his pieces out quickly and the advantage is shifting toward my favor.}
5...Bd6 6.g3 O-O 7.Nec3
{While this was pretty much the only square this knight had to go to, he has now
blocked in the other knight.}
7...Be6
{I enjoy putting my pieces in this formation whenever possible. It might not have been all the best moves on my part, but look at it...}
8.Nb5 Re8
{It probably would have been best to play the breakthrough 8...dxe4 with all my pieces super active. But, I like to keep things as orderly as possible for as long as possible.}
9.N1c3 Be7 10.Bd3 a6
{At the time, I thought this move was really clever. The knight appears trapped, and indeed my opponent goes along with my flawed logic. However in truth, he had the response dxe4, ruining my plans. Better for me would have been to first play 10...e4 and then my plans work out better.}
11.Nxc7 Qxc7 12.f4 exf4
{I missed 12...Nxb4 winning the pawn after the discovered attack on his knight.}
13.exf4 Bg4
{I'm not sure why I did this instead of the obvious Nxd4. The computer seems confused as to which move is better.}
14.Be2 Bd6
{A pretty weak move, considering I had either Nxb4 or Bxb4 instead.}
15.O-O
{I've begun to slowly give away a lot of my advantage and it's a good thing that I was already up a knight because I'm about to make a stupid mistake.}
15...Bxe2
{I thought this move was totally brilliant because I totally overlooked his knight on c3. I think this is one of those moments where I wanted the tactic to be there
so bad, that I ignore the fact that it wasn't there at all.}
16.Nxe2 Re6
{Looking to play Rae8 and Qe7, with domination over the e-file. But, I over looked the obvious response...}
17.f5 Re4 18.Bg5
{Kind of a silly move, since my knight is much happier on g4 anyways.}
18...Ng4
{While I do like my knight on this square, Rae8 was a better way to start things off.}
19.Nc3
{A mistake.}
19...Rxd4
{...and I finally win that pawn that's been waiting to be taken this whole game.}
20.Qf3 Ne7
{I moved here to protect the d-pawn, but it would have been more effective to play Nce5, attacking the queen. Sometimes offense is the best defense.}
21.Nxd5 Nxd5
{Better would have been Qc2, threatening Qxh2#}
22.Rad1 Qb6
{Once again, Qxc2 was the best move.}
23.Kg2 Ne5 24.Qh5 f6
{Doing a good job of realizing that all was not completely safe in my camp.}
25.Be3 Nxe3+
{In all my years of having the computer auto-analyze my games, I have never seen it
use the phrase "quadruple-fork" and I must say, it's pretty awesome. I have to give more credit to my opponent than to myself, but at least I didn't miss it.}
26.Kh3 Nxd1
{The computer like several moves more than this one. I wanted to get his other rook away from his king and win this game. It didn't cost me much of my lead, so I'm not too concerned about it.}
27.c3 Rd3
{While I could have just played Nxc3 and it would have been objectively better, I like pins.}
28.Rf4
{And he can be mated several different ways from this point, but it doesn't go that far.}
28...Nf2+ 29.Kh4 g5+ 30.Qxg5+
{I think I enjoyed forcing him to give up his queen a bit too much.}
30...fxg5+
{White resigns. Join me next time for a terrible loss.}
*

Jimbua vs. Lindseyann 1-0

You may have looked around this site and noticed that a majority of my games are wins. This isn't because I don't want to publish my losses, or that I'm particularly good. It comes down to one simple factor... I'm almost always playing below my actual rating, because of timeouts during my chess breaks. This isn't the best way to get better. But, it just sort of works out this way. Well, I've been playing more on Chess.com lately, and I'm not playing very far below my true rating, so expect a few more losses to show up on this blog.

This game is a great example of how careless I can be. I resigned early, mainly because of self-outrage. So, learn from my mistakes and always keep an eye on how far apart your queen and king are, and beware of knight forks...



[Event "Let's Play!"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2010.07.05"]
[Round ""]
[White "Jimbua"]
[Black "lindseyann"]
[TimeControl "1"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteELO "1444"]
[BlackELO "1197"]

1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4
{I normally love when players do this, because I'm usually pretty good at navigating early queen threats and turning them into an advantage.}
3...Nc6 4.Qd3 Nf6 5.Bg5 Be7
{I always make this move, and it is usually a bad idea. It didn't really hurt my position, but there were other more productive options.}
6.Nf3 O-O 7.Nc3 d6 8.O-O-O
{At this point, white has gotten back the advantage and I completely failed to capitalize on his early missteps.}
8...Nd7 9.h4 Nc5
{Trying to win some space with tempo, but it would have been much smarter to play Nde5 instead--centralizing the knight.}
10.Qc4 Bd7 11.Nd5 Be6
{It is all down hill from here, much better was Bxg5+ There were so many tactics for him to take advantage of, and although he didn't work it out immediately, I soon slip up.}
12.Qb5 Qc8 13.Bxe7 Nxe7 14.Nxe7+
{Well, there it is, by leaving the bishop on g5 alone and moving my queen to the stupidest square ever, I have lost here.}
14...Kh8 15.Nxc8 Raxc8 16.e5
{And, because I don't see the point in playing a lost position, I resigned. This was a really sad game for me.}
1-0