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This is from the final round of the Virginia State Champs. I had 2.5 points and was fighting for first. My opponent was Caijun Luo; he was rated 1700 USCF before this tournament. He was not in top form during this game. Note: I’ve mostly used the past tense here but chess belongs in the historical present; I suppose I deviated here for aesthetic reasons. I felt like I was was part of something virtually fait accompli, fully alive and in charge of my own destiny – it was my game to win or lose. I don’t normally feel that way but I suspect that good players often do.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. Qe2 {I’d never seen this move
before. It’s called the Worrall Attack. It is not critical due to its rarity
and the simplicity of fighting against it. Schiller plays it to good effect
however. See his game at http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1335688
This denied me the Open Lopez lines, and I’d forfeited the opportunity to play
the Bird Defense however.} Be7 {Bc5 gives white some issues because the d4
push isn’t so easy.} 6. O-O d6 7. c3 b5 8. Bb3 O-O 9. Rd1 Na5 {White could
have had d4 in exchange for a great piece.} 10. Bc2 c5 11. d3 Re8 12. Nbd2 b4 {
This was bad and I knew it at the time. White’s pieces were poised for an
attack that looked to be long-lasting and ferocious. I was willing to create
some weaknesses in order to establish my own activity.} 13. Nf1 bxc3 14. bxc3
Bd7 15. Rb1 Rb8 16. Bg5 h6 17. Bh4 Nh7 18. Rxb8 Qxb8 19. Rb1 Qc7 20. Ne3 {
Never in a month of Sundays did I imagine I’d get to trade off the bastard son
on e7. I suppose white was eager to trade off one of my defenders. He was
missing pawn play however.} Bxh4 21. Nxh4 Rb8 22. Qd1 Rxb1 23. Qxb1 {I was
fine by this point. Around this time my competition for first place had
offered a draw to his opponent. I took that as kind of a slap in the face; he
was sitting right next to me and did not think I had a chance to win or draw.}
Nf6 24. Nhf5 g6 {My first real mistake of the game. I can’t trap the knight
like I supposed. Can you see why?} 25. Ne7+ Kg7 26. N3d5 Qb7 27. Qxb7 Nxb7 {
White’s position seemed superior but it is eminently reasonable for black.
Black’s bishop was a great piece.} 28. Bb3 Na5 29. Nxf6 Kxf6 30. Nd5+ Ke6 {I
was happy about this move. It’s probably as close as I’ll ever come to a real
“!” but since it isn’t strictly necessary I can’t apply that much sought-after
label. I’ve never moved into double check willingly!} 31. Nc7+ {I exhaustively
examined all of the variations during the game and determined white should
repeat.} Ke7 32. Nxa6 {? My opponent was extremely tired and did not allow
himself to check the lines over again. At an amateur level it’s often wise to
ignore Kotov’s advice and check your work.} Nxb3 33. axb3 Bb5 34. Nc7 {This
can’t be held with best play from black. I draw a lot of these but my play has
been insulted by two people in as many hours. I’m winning this one.} Bxd3 35.
Nd5+ Ke6 36. f3 f5 {I tried to create a weak pawn.} 37. Kf2 (37. exf5+) 37…
fxe4 38. Ne3 d5 39. fxe4 Bxe4 40. g3 h5 {Not the best. The plan was to lock up
the pawns in order to create zugzwang. Knights can’t lose moves.} 41. h3 g5 42.
g4 h4 43. Nf1 Bc2 44. Nd2 d4 45. cxd4 exd4 46. Ke2 Ke5 {White was forced to
give way.} 47. Nf3+ Kf4 48. b4 d3+ 49. Kf2 cxb4 50. Nd4 {Allowed d2} d2 51.
Ne6+ Ke5 52. Nxg5 d1=Q 53. Nf3+ Qxf3+ 54. Kxf3 b3 * 0-1

I was rereading Beowulf the other day and I found a kenning I really liked. This literary convention, ancient in origin, replaces a single noun with a compound one; arguably the most famous kenning is “whale-road,” meaning the sea. The one that really struck me was for a king, “breaker of rings.” The king of old was first and foremost a patron. He kept his retainers in check with wealth, giving bits of gold from his rings to reward loyalty.

As chess players we understand that our “slow-walker” has got to know his limits. One such situation is in queen endgames. Although there is but one piece to each side, a naked king will usually shift the position’s balance. In skittles chess the other day I saw my opponent erect a defense I could not solve. Now I know its value, but not how to undermine it. Perhaps you will face the same quandary. Examine the pictures provided and comment on your impressions of the positions.

The starting position is below, before my opponent implemented his plan. I’m white. I failed to realize the potency of black getting his pawns on one color (f7, g6, h5) and using his king to protect the weak squares in the formation. He set it up without an issue and I eventually made a strategic error. I did not want to move my own pawns to weaken his position, and tried to rely upon piece play alone. How would you have proceeded?

In the diagram below I’ve made progress but don’t know the promotion plan. Once my pawn gets to a7 how do I move my opponent’s queen? By intervening with my pawns and/or king I may set up a check that will allow black’s queen perpetual check. Does white’s king hide (if he can) or participate in the promotion of his pawn? I can’t imagine the latter option would work.

It should be noted that the only pure-queen endgames worth studying involve asymmetrical pawn structures. Had three pawns been on the same side the threat of opposing queens would have made defense a breeze.

You probably expect that I’m moralizing and self-righteous in real life, judging from the amount I go to the “civilization depends upon us being nice to one another” motif. Sandy Koufax had his four-seamer and I guess have my go-to pitch as well. I wasn’t planning on broaching this subject again, until something odd happened to me in the fourth round of a club tournament. My opponent and I were undefeated and I congratulated the young man, “Nice job on winning three in a row.”  Without missing a beat he deadpanned, “I’m about to make it four.” I haven’t been so taken aback by six simple words since, “Ahh, honey I’m late this month.”

So, now the game in front of us took on a different dimension. We play chess in a Jewish Temple, nice folks let out some space for us every Tueday. The divide that rose up was rawer and more expansive than old Moses’ Red Sea. Showdown in the Synagogue, The Beth Messiah Brouhaha, The Rabbi’s Rumble – I don’t know what you’d call it, but all I know is, shades of Rocky V, “My Yeshiva is in the street!”

I have been dismissed by few people as coldly as by that nine year old. Still, if he wanted to win he was going to have to go through me. You don’t talk back to Bad, Bad Leroy Brown, you don’t dance with the devil, and you don’t tug on Superman’s cape.That “S” on my chest may stand for “slow-mo” most of the time, but tonight his words left my ego a pus-filled wound. I became very motivated. I stood there in the brackishness of it all and I felt as Gaius Muzio Scaevola must have, his hand over the brazier.

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 {I’ve been messing up this move order for
as long as I remember. Making the exchange early denies white the b1-h7
diagonal. He should get a piece on it before black. If black wants to seize it
white ought to make him spend time on g6 first.} exd5 5. Bg5 c6 (5… Bf5 {
This is the reason why the other move order, with an early Qd2, is better.
Black doesn’t have any problems, except of course f-pawns that can become
isolated and doubled.}) 6. Qc2 g6 7. e3 Bf5 8. Bd3 Bxd3 9. Qxd3 Bg7 {The light
squared bishop wasn’t that important. The Indian Formation makes it less
useful. White must take care to keep black’s bishop looked up at all costs. C5
from black needs to be calculated out every time white moves.} 10. b4 {
Beginning the minority attack. It’s a relief to not even have to prepare the
move with a3 or Rb1!} Qd6 11. Rb1 O-O 12. Nf3 Nbd7 {Black needs to get that
knight to c4} 13. O-O Rfe8 14. Bf4 Qe7 {Black sometimes sacrifices a knight in
these positions to pry open the king. This is usually after white plays f3 for
central space.} 15. Rfc1 Ne4 16. b5 Qa3 17. bxc6 bxc6 18. Nd2 Nxc3 19. Rxc3 Qe7
(19… Qxa2 {I wish!}) 20. Rb7 Qe6 21. Ra3 a6 22. Rc7 Reb8 23. Rxa6 Rxa6 24.
Qxa6 Rb2 25. Nf1 Bf8 26. Qxc6 Qxc6 27. Rxc6 Rxa2 28. Bd6 Bg7 29. Rc8+ Nf8 30.
Bxf8 Bxf8 31. h3 Kg7 32. Ng3 Ra1+ 33. Kh2 Bd6 34. Rd8 Bxg3+ 35. Kxg3 Ra5 {I
admit that I should not have gone to this endgame. Everything’s on the same
side and I shouldn’t have won.} 36. h4 Kf6 37. Kf4 Ke7 38. Rh8 h5 39. Ke5 f6+
40. Kf4 Ke6 41. Rg8 Kf7 42. Rd8 Ke6 43. Rc8 Ra2 44. Kf3 Ra6 45. g4 hxg4+ 46.
Kxg4 Ra2 47. Rc6+ Kf7 48. f3 Ra3 49. Rc7+ Ke8 50. Rg7 Rxe3 51. Rxg6 Rd3 52.
Rxf6 Rxd4+ 53. Rf4 Rd1 {I think my chances have improved. What is the king’s
role? How about the rook? Is it enough to keep black’s king out? There needs
to be some sort of finesse in order for the extra pawn to be conclusive. I
benefit from black’s inability to exchange down to a single pawn. If black’s
pawn were on the e,f,g or h files the road to a draw would be simple. Rook
endgames can sometimes be about qualitative factors rather than quantitative
ones (material).} 54. Kh5 (54. h5 {?} d4 {Black’s rook can harass the king
until he abandons the h-pawn.} 55. Kf5 {Avoiding the perpetual but losing time}
d3 56. Rh4 d2 57. h6 Rb1 58. h7 {Black to move and draw. Try this puzzle, but
be careful. White has some mate threats on the radar.}) 54… d4 55. Kg5 {The
only move. After Kh6? …Rh1 black gains time since white’s pawn defense is
obligatory. Black also gets his rook out of the way of his charging pawn.} (55.
Kh6) 55… d3 56. Re4+ Kf8 57. Kf6 {I’m hinking of mate threats from the side.
At least black will have to make a king move; I’m running low on time and this
is simple a spite check so I can get my bearings. Rf1 ends my night of chess.
It’s a dead draw.} Rf1 58. Rd4 Rxf3+ 59. Kg5 d2 60. Rxd2 {1/2/ 1/2} *

I have been notoriously inconsistent with the second part of any blog I divide into parts. My whimsical nature means new fancies and a new indentured servitude to this moment’s fashions. Nabokov told us, “Existence is a series of footnotes to a vast, obscure, unfinished masterpiece.” Still I know it’s a bit of a cop out and a shame when a part deux never materializes. This one’s for my grandfather, for whom the Korean War was just a giant after party – with some killing thrown in ; we think he’d have gone after any belief that had “ism” as a suffix…

Here’s a game I played online at the usual time control of Game 30. It features another sideline to the Albin Countergambit. This time I made my emphasis for the game “challenging beliefs”. I did my best to try nothing but concrete evaluations. A regular Kasparov!

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. e3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 dxe3 7. fxe3 Qe7 {
The problem with this move is that white can get in Nc3 instead of Nd2. Nd2 is
an important concession for black (if the queen captures on d2 it will have to
move again and cost white time). Although pressure on the e5 pawn is the plan,
and Qe7 is called for, move order is still important.} (7… Bxd2+ 8. Nbxd2 Nh6
9. Qb3 {Knights are very good in these types of structures. I want to play Bg4
if white allows it. It is not as easy to defend the pawns with a bishop as it
is to attack them with the knight. I can always play Ng8-e7-g6 if white plays
h3. Eventually the e5 pawn will fall. This is mostly on account of a)
potential rook pressure along the e-file and b) the lack of defensive help
from white’s knight.}) 8. Be2 Be6 {I decided to treat this position like an
isolani. This was nomothetical then, to put this bishop here. It turned out to
be correct, but of course I can’t yet bank on f5 an d5 weaknesses. I’ll get a
beautiful weak square on d4 if white advances his other pawn. It will also be
fixed.} 9. Bxb4 Qxb4+ 10. Nc3 Rd8 (10… Qxb2 {I rejected this because I’m two
moves from castling, I’ll be obliged to make a few hard-to-find defensive
moves to secure my position, which may come at the cost of more development.
The b pawn seems like a true white elephant. As far as concrete variations I
didn’t get very far. The move deserved consideration. Some of these pawn grabs
are traps and some are not. Some patterns stick in your memory, black losing
his queen in Sicilian variants, but a lot of times it pays to be frisky.}) 11.
Qc2 {I was frightened of Qb3. My hope of gaining an advantage was saved the original source. Qb3
is a crusher because I lose a move. I don’t like the capture for black because
my queenside pawns would become weak along an open file. If I recapture then
my knight is no longer targeting e5.} Nh6 {!} 12. O-O Ng4 {? White’s queen can
roost on e4 and be nigh unassailable.} 13. Qc1 Ngxe5 14. Ng5 O-O {? I wanted
the knights in this position. This is incorrect. White’s bishop will be quite
good. A queen trade is in the offing, due to their proximity, and then I’ll be
denied the advantage of a queen with the knight pair.} 15. Qc2 g6 16. Nxe6 fxe6
17. b3 {The game becomes difficult from here on out. Playing attack and
defense simultaneously is perhaps the last trick a chess player learns.
There’s precious little shorthand, and general principles are apt to lead the
unitiiated into an unbalanced and inappropriate balance of forces in an area.
I’m still not very good when under the gun. The signals that tell GMs about
piece distribution and the “value of time” are still invisible.} Rd7 18. Rxf8+
Qxf8 19. Rf1 {This position is equal. I sensed this. I tried to make a move
that would not wreck my position. Besides the plan to attack the base of
white’s pawn chain I’m fresh out of ideas. In four moves white’s knight can
get to f6 and the first player will be better for black’s inactivity.} Qc5 20.
Qe4 Qb4 21. Nd1 Rd2 22. Qf4 Rxe2 {A blunder. Unfortunate for white since I
believe his position was easier to play. White also has some concrete ideas
where as I had been trying to muster up the courage to take the a-pawn.} 23.
Nf2 Qf8 24. Qg3 Qc5 25. Kh1 Qxe3 26. Qh4 Kg7 {Missed Re1!. Due to heuristics I
thought I’d generate favorable tactics by securing my king and protecting e6
while involving the c6-knight somehow. This meant elaborate pawn moves and was
really quite silly. It came to me more naturally than Re1.} 27. Nd1 g5 28. Qh5
Qd2 29. Qxg5+ Qxg5 {Whew, thank God for blunders!} 0-1

“Nomothetical” is an adjective used to describe an approach given to the formation of universal laws. “Idiographic” is its antonym, that is an approach revolving around individual cases. Related to chess you might ask, “Why am I losing so often?” or, more narrowly, “What caused me to lose this last game? What do you suppose are the pros and cons of these diametrical approaches? I’ll analyze the following game from both points of view. It’s not very deep, or very well played, but presents an opportunity for metacognition. I am black in a Game 30. My opponent is a 1480 and I am a 1560 on this particular server

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. e4 Nge7 6. Bd3 Ng6 7. O-O Ngxe5 8.
Nxe5 Nxe5 9. f4 Nxd3 10. Qxd3 Bc5 11. Nd2 O-O 12. f5 Bd6 13. Nf3 c5 14. e5 Bc7
15. f6 gxf6 16. exf6 Qxf6 17. Ng5 Qg7 18. Bd2 Qg6 19. Qf3 Be6 20. Qxb7 Bd6 21.
b3 f5 22. Qc6 Bxc4 23. Qf3 Bxf1 24. Rxf1 Kh8 25. Qd5 Rf6 26. Qxa8+ 1-0

The Opening

Nomothetical: I play this opening although it’s not very highly regarded. The road to equality is very difficult. Although I know the Cambridge Springs Defense to the Queen’s Gambit Declined I often refuse to play it, so annoyed am I by the QG Exchange that takes me far afield. As a law I play openings that I enjoy; perhaps I have a good game with them once in a while and that’s what I remember.

Idiographic: I can’t blame the opening. I equalized on move five and was better shortly thereafter. White’s Bd3 was an early inaccuracy, no doubt caused by his unfamiliarity with my offbeat try.

Nomothetical: I can’t presume they’ll make an opening error. In this case white picked the e4 thrust, but it’s regarded as a non-threatening idea. Also by playing the Albin, which I won’t play in a longer time control, I’m being extremely inefficient with my play. Games should reinforce my study and vice versa.

Before Black’s Seventh Move

Nomothetical approach: I didn’t realize I was ready for a very good game. I knew I should be okay, but didn’t pause to figure out how. I do this a lot. I will know an opening’s principles and then “forget” to look for better responses after my opponent deviates. I need to start a) looking for great moves instead of good moves and b) ensuring that all forced moves are calculated c) ensure that I understand who is better or worse in a given position. I can assume that when playing a sideline to a sideline the player should be worse, objectively.

Idiographic: I’m not sure if the last thing can bear the stamp of law. I don’t have a comprehensive understanding of openings so it’s hard to say. In some examples like this one, it could have benefited me. In other cases I may be chasing a chimera and trying too hard to refute something beyond my ken. I may stray, or waste valuable time. In this game my time trouble caused me to blunder. I certainly would not have found 7…Be7 no matter what. I should have seen that the variation with the knight exchange is relatively equal (a passed pawn and a bishop pair versus a slight lead in development), and been happy. That’s what I did. Time saved for later will allow me to make moves that truly matter.

In part two I’ll evaluate the rest of the game, as well as the right approach to wins and losses.