Showing posts with label SA3OD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SA3OD. Show all posts

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Consolidation


The following educational game, mentioned in the previous post (see "White Punishes Errors Quickly"), was played online at InstantChess.com at its "classic" time control, 30 minutes or more per game.

SA3OD - gianluca
classic, InstantChess.com, 2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Bc5



Asking for trouble, allowing a transposition to the Semi-Italian Jerome Gambit.

6.Bxf7+ Kf8

I know this sounds silly, but there are 30 games with this position in The Database. White scores 48%. (Which sounds even sillier.)

7.Nf5

A thoughtful idea, although stronger was 7.Nxc6!? Qh4!? 8.O-O bxc6 9.Bb3 Qxe4 when White has recovered his sacrificed piece, as a better pawn structure and a safer King.

7...Kxf7 8.Qd5+ Kf8 

Instead, 8...Kf6 would be too bold: 9.Qxc5 Nge7 10.Nc3 (10.Qc3+!) 10...d6 11.Nd5+ Nxd5 12.Qxd5 Re8 13.O-O Re5 14.Qd3 Bxf5 15.exf5 Rxf5 16.b3 Kg6 $2 17.Bb2 (17.g4!) 17...Ne5 18.Bxe5 dxe5 19.Qb5 b6 20.Rad1 Qe7 21.Rd7 Qg5 22.Rxc7 (22.Qc6+!?) 22...Raf8 23.Qe2 e4 24.Qxe4 Kh7 25.Rxa7 Kh8 26.Re7 Rxf2 27.Rxf2 Qc5 28.Ref7 Rxf7 29.Qe8+ Rf8 30.Qxf8+Qxf8 31.Rxf8+ Kh7 32.Rb8 Black resigned, MidKnightBlue - cesrmathurine, FICS, 2005

9.Qxc5+ d6 10.Qc3 Bxf5 11.exf5 Nf6 



White has an extra pawn (temporarily) and a safer King, but he lags in development.

12.O-O Ne7 13.Nd2 Nxf5 14.Nf3 Kf7 15.Qb3+ Kg6 



The King needed to go back to f8, as SA3OD immediatly shows.

16.Qd3 Qd7 17.Nh4+ Kf7 18.Qxf5 Qxf5 19.Nxf5 Rhe8 



20.g4

In the next few moves, White is thinking of attack. (Instead, he should heed American National Master Dan Heisman's advice to club players, that after winning material one should think about consolidation first, not wild aggression. The simple 20.Be3 comes to mind.) 

20...Re2 21.h3

Instead, the consolidating 21.Ne3! would have saved a world of headaches. 

21...Rxc2 22.f4 

Everybody is going to the party, but, by the time they get there, the party will have moved on.

White still had time for 22.Ne3, evicting the enemy Rook. Even 22.Be3 was possible, as 22...Rxb2?! would be well met by 23.Rac1!? with counterplay.

22...Re8 23.g5 Ree2 

24.Nh4

The correct way to protect g2 (and attack Black's Rook) was 24.Ne3! 

24...Ne4 25.gxh6

Instead, 25.Rf3 would have kept the enemy Knight out of g3 and lead to an even game.

25...gxh6

Better to invade: 25...Ng3

26.f5

Still attacking. Still overlooking 26.Rf3

26...h5

Black overlooks his last chance for 26...Ng3.

White is in a turned-around situation for a Jerome Gambit player, being up a piece and down a pawn. His King is in more danger, too.

Although Black has more practical chances, the game is still about even.

27.Bf4 Rxb2 28.Ng6 Rxa2 29.Rxa2 Rxa2 30.Re1 Ra4 



31.Nh8+

Not the solution to a difficult position, especially if time was getting short. Stockfish 7 suggests: 31.Kg2 Kf6 32.Kf3 Ng5+ 33.Bxg5+ Kxg5 34.h4+ Kxf5 35.Ne7+ Kf6 36.Nd5+ Kg7 37.Re7+ Kg6 38.Rxc7 b5 39.Nf4+ Kf5 40.Nxh5 Rxh4 41.Ng3+ Ke5 42.Rxa7 and White should hold on. Whew!

Now Black's game improves step-by-step.

31...Kf6 32.h4 Kxf5 33.Bg5 Nxg5 34.hxg5 Kxg5




35.Nf7+ Kg6 36.Nd8 b6 37.Ne6 c5 38.Rd1 Rg4+ 39.Kh2 c4 



40.Rxd6 Kf7 41.Nc7 Rg5 42.Rc6 Rc5 43.Rh6 Kg7 44.Re6 Rxc7 45.Kg2 b5 46.Kf2 b4 47.Ke3 b3 48.Ra6 b2 49.Ra5 b1=Q 50.Rxh5 c3 51.Rg5+ Kh6 52.Rd5 c2 53.Rd6+ Kh7 54.Kd4 Qd1+ 55.Ke5 Qxd6+ 56.Kxd6 c1=Q 57.Kd5 Rd7+ 58.Ke6 Rd2 59.Ke5 Qe1+ 60.Kf4 Rf2+ 61.Kg3 Qg1+ 62.Kh3 Rh2 checkmate



Monday, March 7, 2016

White Punishes Errors Quickly

Image result for flag united arab emirates

Here are a couple more games from United Arab Emirates player SA3OD (mentioned in the previous post), playing online at the InstantChess.com website. White punishes errors quickly.

SA3OD - buckeyes435
rapid, InstantChess.com, 2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 h6 

The Semi-Italian Opening.

4.d4

Although SA3OD plays the regular Jerome Gambit move order in his games, too - 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.Bxf7+ - he often likes to insert d2-d4 before the sacrifice. In the case of the current game, his 4th move is good on its own merits; while the alternatives 4.0-0 and 4.Nc3 serve both to advance White's development and act as a waiting move to "allow" Black to play ...Bc5.

4...exd4 5.Nxd4 Bc5 



Black's move is not the best, as it invites trouble. Perhaps, having played ...h6, he is feeling protected from danger. (On the InstantChess.com website the opening is referred to as the "Italian Game: Anti-Fried Liver Defense" because Black is apparently protecting against 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5?! 6.Nxf7!?)

6.Nxc6

White played the more accurate 6.Bxf7+  in SA3OD - gianluca, classic, InstantChess, 2016 (0-1, 62); SA3OD - yeah bite, rapid, InstantChess, 2016 (1/2-1/2, 75); and SA3OD - Joseph S. DiBernardo, rapid, InstantChess, 2016 (1-0, 30).

6...bxc6

Likely a reflex response, but 6...Qf6!? defended better, i.e. 7.O-O dxc6 (not 7...Qxc6 because of 8.Qh5!?) although White would still be for choice. 

7. Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Qh5+ Black resigned




SA3OD - Ray777
blitz, InstantChess.com, 2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 Na5 



Black is going for the advantage of the "two Bishops", but, like in the Jerome Gambit, there is a sharp response to this offside Knight.

6.Bxf7+ Kxf7 7.e5 Ne8 8.Qf3+ Kg8 9.Qd5 checkmate






Saturday, March 5, 2016

InstantChess


A recent internet search brought me to the online site InstantChess.com, where I discovered a player from the United Arab Emirates with the handle SA3OD who plays the Jerome Gambit - and who likes to play Bxf7+ in other circumstances as well. The following very exciting game, with another in the notes, gives an example of his style in lightning chess, which is defined by the site as 1 to 4 minutes per game. (Fast!) His opponent, Zmei Gorinich, is from the Russian Federation.

SA3OD - Gorinich, Zmei
lightning, InstantChess.com, 2016

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.d4 



The Italian Gambit, highlighted in The Italian Gambit System (2006) by Jude Acers and George Laven. I love the comment on the move in the November 1874 Dubuque Chess Journal: "Brilliant but not sound."

I am still exploring the InstantChess website, and have found one (I am sure that there are more) of SA3OD's Jerome Gambits (also at lightning time control) against Gorinich: 4.Bxf7+ Kxf7 5.d4 (this move scores 38% in 2,154 games in The Database) Bxd4 6.Nxd4 Nxd4 7.Qh5+ Kf8 8.Qd1 {TN} Nf6 9.c3 Ne6 10.O-O d6 11.Na3 Kf7 12.Bg5 Rf8 13.Nc4 Nxg5 14.Ne3 Kg8 15.Nf5 Bxf5 16.exf5 Qe8 17.h4 Nge4 18.g4 Qc6 19.g5 Nd5 20.f6 Nf4 21.fxg7 Kxg7 22.f3 Ng3 23.Kh2 Nxf1+ 24.Qxf1 Nh5 25.Kh3 Rxf3+ 26.Qxf3 Qxf3+ 27.Kh2 Qg3+ 28.Kh1 Qxh4+ 29.Kg2 Qg3+ 30.Kf1 Rf8+ 31.Ke2 Qf2+ 32.Kd3 Nf4+ 33.Kc4 a6 34.Kb3 b5 35.a4 bxa4+ 36.Rxa4 Rb8+ 37.Ka3 Qc2 38.Rb4 Rxb4 39.cxb4 Nd3 40.g6 Qxb2+ 41.Ka4 Qxb4 checkmate.

4...exd4 5.Bxf7+ Kxf7 6.Ng5+ 



This move is at least as old as Wright - Hunn, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, 1874 (0-1, 18).

6...Kf8 7.Qf3+

Next time he might look (if he hasn't already) at the goofy 7.Qh5 Qf6 8.Nxh7 Rxh7 9.Qxh7.

7...Nf6 8.O-O Ne5 9.Qb3 h6 10.f4



White is thinking: Attack!

10...hxg5 11.fxe5 Qe8



In a lightning tempo game there is not always time to catch subtleties. Here, Black should have first played 11...e3+, putting a road block in front of White's Queen, and then moved his own Queen to e8. After 12.Kh1 Qe8, White could not afford to capture Black's Knight with 13.exf6? - we will see why, shortly. 

12.exf6

White, in turn, misses his opportunity. He needed to play 12.Qg3! when he could then safely capture Black's Knight, e.g. 12...d6 13.exf6. The position would then be unclear, but probably balanced. Stockfish 7 gives the wild continuation: 13...Rh5 14.Bxg5 Qg6 15.h4 d3+ 16.Kh2 dxc2 17.Nc3 Qxg5!? 18.Qxg5 Rxg5 19.hxg5 Be3 20.g6 Be6 21.f7 when Black will eventually regain the exchange for his advanced c-pawn.

12...d3+ 13.Kh1 Rxh2+!




Nice. Forces chekmate. (Or: it should.)

14.Kxh2 Qh5+ 15.Kg3 Qh4+ 16.Kf3 gxf6 



Oh, no! With 16...d5 Black would threaten mate with ...dxe4. Time must have been short. Now White has 17.cxd3! and his defense would hold.

 17.Qxd3 d6

Yikes! White's slip on move 17 gives Black another chance to play...d5. The pawn two-step would help open the d-file, giving the second player strong play against the enemy King: 7...d5 18.Ke2 Bg4+ 19.Kd2 dxe4 20.Qxe4 Rd8+ 21.Kc3 Bd4+ 22.Kb3 Rd6 etc.

18.Nc3

Zeitnot. White's King could, instead, play 18.Ke2 as in the previous note, and survive because of the closed d-file

18...Qg4 checkmate


Fun!