Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Atlanta Championship 2013

I recently played in the amateur (<1800) section of the Atlanta championship ending up sole winner with 4.5/5. This was one of my best games in the tournament. The last move (a modest pawn push) is effectively a zugzwang, which is a rare game finish for me.
Atlanta Champs 2013, ?
Andrew Park (1678) vs. Maxwell Feng (1725)
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
abcdefgh
+2
Result: white won
1.e4c5
2.Nc3d6
3.f4Nc6
4.Nf3g6
5.Bb5Bg7
6.O-Oe6
7.d3Nge7
8.Bd2O-O
9.Qe1Nd4
10.Ba4Nec6
11.Rc1a6
12.Nh4Re8
13.Nd1b5
14.Bb3Bf6
15.Nf3Nxf3+
16.Rxf3Nd4
17.Rf1d5
18.c3Nc6
19.Nf2Bb7
20.Rd1Qc7
21.Ng4Bg7
22.Qh4c4
23.Bc2Qe7
24.Nh6+Kh8
25.Qxe7Rxe7
26.f5Rd7
27.f6Bf8
28.d4Bxh6
29.Bxh6Rad8
30.e5Kg8
31.Rf4b4
32.Rdf1bxc3
33.bxc3Rb8
34.Rh4Ba8
35.Bc1Rb5
36.Kf2Rd8
37.Ke3h5
38.g4hxg4
39.Ba3Ra5
40.Bd6Rxd6
41.exd6Nd8
42.a4Bc6
43.Rb1Bb7
44.Rxg4Kh7
45.Rh4+Kg8
46.h3
 

Sunday, May 20, 2012

I'm back!

Where to start? Since my last posts, I've moved from Montpellier, France to Athens, USA. I'm still playing chess. My USCF grade has yo-yo'd a bit. Currently 1696 but I'm hoping that is an underestimate. I recently beat a player rated >2000. My tactics are a bit foggy, as the game shows. I'm using the website "chess tempo" to work on that. Meanwhile, enjoy the game.




GA Champs 2012, Atlanta, GA, USA
Payne, Adrian T. (2034) vs. Park, Andrew W. (1706), G/120 D5
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
abcdefgh
0
(white to move)
1.Nf3Nf6
2.d3d5
3.Nbd2g6
4.g3Bg7
5.e4dxe4
6.dxe4O-O
7.Bg2Nc6
8.Qe2h6
9.h3Be6
10.O-OQd7
11.Kh2Rad8
12.a3Nd4
13.Nxd4Qxd4
14.Re1Nh7
15.Nf3Qd7
16.Bf1c5
17.Rb1Ba2
18.Ra1Be6
19.e5Bd5
20.Bg2b6
21.h4Qb7
22.Bf4g5
23.hxg5hxg5
24.Bd2g4
25.Nh4Bxg2
26.Nxg2Qf3
27.Bf4Qxe2
28.Rxe2f5
29.Ne3Rd4
30.Rae1e6
31.Kg2Rfd8
32.c3Rd3
33.Nc4Kf7
34.Nd6+Kg6
35.Re3Rxe3
36.Rxe3Rd7
37.Kf1Bh6
38.Ke2Nf8
39.Rd3Rh7
40.Ne8Nd7
41.Rd6Bxf4
42.gxf4Re7
43.Nc7Kf7
44.Nb5a6
45.Nc7Nxe5
46.fxe5Rxc7
47.Rxb6f4
48.a4c4
49.Rxa6Rc5
50.Rd6Rxe5+
51.Kf1Rc5
52.a5Rxa5
53.Rd4e5
54.Rxc4Ra1+
55.Kg2Rb1
56.Rb4Ke6
57.Rb8Kf5
58.Rf8+Ke4
59.Rg8g3
60.fxg3Rxb2+
61.Kh3f3
62.Rf8Ke3
63.g4e4
64.g5Rg2
65.Rf5Rg1
66.Kh2f2
 

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Narbonne 2008 Round 5 - Lesson 5

in my round 5 game i had the black pieces against a 1990 rated opponent. the opening had a been a little difficult for me and i have just castled in the hope of consolidating.



here, my opponent did what i had done in my first round game: he'd become fixated on one plan and was not considering alternatives. he wants to put a rook on the 7th rank. obviously 24.Rd7 loses to 24...Nxd7 so he played 24.Bxe5 removing the defender of d7, but after 24...fxe5 he realised in time that there was a nasty check looming (25...Bh6+) so he had to waste a move dealing with that threat (25.Rc3). this gave me time to take control of the d-file (25...Rfd8 & 26...Bf6) and the game was eventually drawn.

rather than the routine "rook to the 7th" plan, white could have played 24.Rd6 keeping the bishop pair, doubling rooks on the d-file and even threatening tactics against black's weak g6 pawn in some lines. i think that looking for plan B, plan C etc is something we could all work on.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Narbonne 2008 Round 4 - Lesson 4

look at the whole board! this might sound obvious but take my round 4 game. i had the white pieces against a 1775 player, and felt i stood a lot better. the opening was a caro-kann nimzowich and my opponent had begun to play some 'off-beat' moves. in the position below i was focussed on 2 tactical ideas: the e-file with white's Q and black's K; and the h2-b8 diagonal where i wanted to put my B to attack the Q. I was trying to make the tactics work, playing my B to f4 to provoke black into pushing his pawn to e5.



if i had been surveying the board as a whole, i would have noticed that if i start with 20.c5, then black must move the bishop on to the a-file, so his rook at a8 is no longer protecting the pawn on a4. then my 21.Bf4 would provoke 21...e5. although the tactics involving the e-file and the h2-b8 diagonal don't work, after 22.dxe5 Nxe5 i will be able to play Qxa4 safely (probably after exchanging rooks on d8 in the case of 20...Ba7).

Monday, May 12, 2008

Narbonne 2008 Round 3 - Lesson 3

my round 3 game was one of the most exciting. i was paired against a fairly strong player (1965 elo) and i had the black pieces. it was a king's gambit and we both missed wins (the game eventually being drawn). the main lesson i learned was that i need to improve my sense of when i have a winning idea. let's look at one of the critical positions



my opponent has just attacked my queen with 22.c4

what is the best square for my queen? highlight the space between these quotation marks for the answer "g2! play it through and see if you can see how things end up after the exchanges on g2"

Narbonne 2008 Round 2 - Lesson 2

staying focussed is very important during tournaments. i notice that some people walk around after they've played their move, while others remain at the board. i usually stay at the board and use the technique that many good players have mentioned: when it's your move, use the time to calculate specific lines - and when it's your opponent's move, plan your strategies using more general principles.

in my round 2 game, i had the white pieces and have just played 15.RxNe4



what's wrong with the automatic recapture 15...exf4? and what should black play instead?

for the answers, highlight the space between these quotation marks

"if 15...exf4 then 16.Nd6+ wins the exchange. black should instead play 15...a6. once the white knight can no longer hop into d6, then black can think about exf4"

although my opponent didn't fall into this trap, i later went on to win this game.

Narbonne 2008 Round 1 - Lesson 1

i've just finished playing in a 7-round open. in the first round i was paired against an IM rated 2370. i didn't last too long but there are still some lessons to be learned.

we got a fairly standard position out of the 4.Ng5 variation of the two knights defence. i am black and my opponent has just played 13.Re1



here i ignored the saying "if you see a good move... look for a better one". i found the idea of playing f5 irresistible (followed by the pawn fork e4). first i played 13...Nxc3 and after 14.dxc3, i struck out with 14...f5

clearly, i should have thought things through more. why would an IM allow this? if you play it through you'll see that white gets a big attack (and gets the piece back).

However, 13.Re1 wasn't such a great move. if i had played 13...Nb4 i would have lasted longer, enjoying a nice middle-game. white's bishop on d3 is tied to defending c2. if white tries to force the issue with 14.a3 then black can play 14...Nxd3 and whether or not queen's are exchanged, white would have to play cxd3 at some point, when my other knight on a5 can jump into the 'hole' on b3.

i was guilty of underestimating and overestimating my opponent at the same time. i underestimated him by not looking deeper into the f5, e4 pawn pushes, and i overestimated him by assuming that Re1 was a natural, un-punishable developing move.

the lesson?: play the board and not the opponent. it doesn't matter whether the person sitting opposite you is much higher rated or much lower rated. you should always think your plans through carefully (especially if they involve committal pawn pushes!) and you should always question your opponent's move, however natural it looks.