SenseiDanya (1779) vs chimzinho (1418)

1780Episode 19 · 1-0

During the gameIn the review

  1. French Defense: 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4, with 3...Nd7
  2. 1.d4 d5 2.Nc3 e6 3.e4
  3. 3... Nd7 A knight that cuts the queen off from d5 Opening Already a small but significant mistake. The knight blocks the bishop, and it also blocks the queen's defence of d5 - very important to avoid in the French. In the review, advice for anyone move-ordered into an opening they do not play: focus on the pressure points and on not blundering, rather than on accuracy. Taking on e4 was a good option - trade, reduce the tension, then develop healthily, and you will not get crushed. This move got off on the wrong foot.
  4. 4.exd5 exd5 5.Nxd5 Ngf6
  5. 6. Nxf6+ A pawn up, simplify a little and develop Strategy A sensible developing move by Black, and again the choice of moving the knight or taking. Already a pawn up, there is no need to reinvent the wheel: simplify slightly and carry on developing the kingside, with the knight to f3 next either way. Taking back with the queen changes nothing substantial.
  6. 6...Qxf6 7.Nf3 Bd6
  7. 8. Bd3 Pins are often overestimated Piece play Where to put the light-squared bishop is not a trivial question. The squares to look at are d3 and c4. The case for b5 is the pin, but Black just pushes c6. Pins are among the most powerful tactical ideas and also among the most overestimated, because they can often be undone for the loss of a tempo - and c6 is a healthy move that controls a central square. Black need not even bother: he could castle and leave the bishop on b5 doing nothing.
  8. 8...O-O 9.O-O h6
  9. 10. c3 A bishop at home can already be working Piece play A pawn up with a great position is where many players struggle. First: the bishop on c1 does not have to come out. It is doing more than people think, and it is fine where it is for now. A rook to e1 would be a good general improvement, but he wants to show a typical plan: a battery with the queen in front of the bishop, threatening mate. This is good on its own merits too, making a small chain that supports the main asset on d4.
  10. 10...c5
  11. 11. Bc2 Queen in front of the bishop, aimed at h7 Attack The bishop drops back and the queen follows to d3 - seen in many kinds of position. Why not the queen to c2 and save time? The symmetry does not work: with the queen behind the bishop, the bishop on h7 is no serious threat, while the queen in front leads and threatens mate. Black's pawn move is a good one, but d4 is so well protected that it needs no reaction - neither pushing nor taking. Just continue the plan. In the review he shows Navara using the same battery in a top-level game. Most people would call the bishop on c2 terrible; Navara sees a game-winning bishop with all its potential energy, needing only the pawn on e5 out of the way, so he plays f4, and Black is pinned and tied up all over the board. It shows kinetic energy, and how strong the c2-d3 battery is. Had Black taken on d4 here, the queen would go to d3 anyway - when you threaten mate, you care about nothing else.
  12. 11...c4
  13. 12. b3 Undermine the pawn that sticks out Pawn structure The textbook way to deal with such a pawn is to undermine it. If it takes on b3, it is gone and the a-file opens.
  14. 12...b5
  15. 13. bxc4 Keep the bishop where the plan needs it Piece play The a-pawn's push is tempting, but he wants the bishop to stay on c2: after the capture on b3 it would be distracted and have to recapture. Take on c4 first, so that pawn is protected by nothing else, then go after it with the knight from d2. In the review: the push is not bad, but the bishop would be far from c2 and need another tempo to get back.
  16. 13...bxc4
  17. 14. Qe2 Two ideas in one move General The queen to e2, suggested by viewers, is very smart, and the knight to d2 has a similar secondary idea. From e2 the queen reaches e4: two ideas in one move. The knight move was his original intention - it was heading for e4 - and the queen could have come to h5 and f5 to build the battery. But the suggested move killed two birds with one stone.
  18. 14... Nb6 Is the threat actually a threat? General The review shows how a grandmaster would defend. Start with the Sam Shankland question: is taking on c4 actually a threat? It is not, because the bishop to a6 pins the queen and wins the exchange. So the only thing to defend against is the queen to e4, which is not as hard as it seems: the bishop to b7 is the computer's choice and the only move that keeps a playable position. Finding it is extremely hard unless you ask that question, because people assume at once that the pawn needs protecting - which is why this move was played. Do not let your brain tell you what is what before you have examined it concretely. Not to the point of obsession, though: some threats, like mate threats, simply have to be defended.
  19. 15. Qe4 A battery leaves a lose-lose choice Attack The battery threatens mate, and Black has to make a concession. If the bishop comes to f5, White takes it, thanks to the x-ray defence on that square. Otherwise it is a choice between g6, which weakens the kingside terribly, and the queen to g6, against which White has a cleverer move. Allowing the queen to h7 would be devastating. Black is in a lose-lose position - that is how effective this battery is.
  20. 15...Qg6
  21. 16. Qxa8 Desperado: if the queen must go, take something Tactics The obvious move is to take on g6 twice and be two pawns up in the endgame. But the bishop and the queen on g6 are on an x-ray: if White's queen were gone, the bishop would hit Black's queen. Ideally the queen would move away with check; failing that, with a desperado - if it is leaving anyway, it might as well take some pieces with it. It wins the exchange, not the rook, because Black can take the bishop. The knight taking back on a8 was also possible, leading to an endgame. The review explains the desperado again: if Black takes the queen, White takes his.
  22. 16...Qxc2 17.Qxa7 Qxc3
  23. 18. Bd2 Loose pieces drop off Tactics The first way is to take on b6, and after Black takes the rook White takes his bishop and is a piece up. To be clinical: the bishop attacks the queen, and now queen and knight are both attacked. The queen must go to b2 to keep the knight protected, and then one more step: the rook to b1 skewers the queen against the knight. A simple line but an instructive one - loose pieces drop off, a rule for every kind of position. White ends up a full rook ahead. The a-rook goes to b1, not the f-rook, which would leave the a-rook stranded; the f-rook stays for any emergency defence.
  24. 18...Qd3 19.Qxb6 Ba3
  25. 20. Bb4 Up material, look for trades Strategy How to untangle? Of the two methods for converting extra material, trading and attacking, an attack on the king does not look prudent here. Looking for trades, the bishop and rook are on the same diagonal, so the bishop to b4 forces the bishops off. The queen to b1 was possible but a little passive. Asked in the review about the bishop to h6 instead: not quite enough, and up a rook, trading pieces is easier - so why take the risk?
  26. 20...Bxb4 21.Qxb4 Bg4
  27. 22. Ne5 A pawn is a fair price for the last trade Strategy The same spirit: the knight comes to e5. Does that not drop the d4 pawn? Up a rook, giving up a pawn for something important is fine, and trading off the last pair of minor pieces is worth it. The pawn does not matter; people get obsessed with restoring material, with keeping every last inch of their kingdom. Which is not permission to throw pawns away - judge whether they matter in the position at hand. In the review: the bishop is what counts, not the pawn.
  28. 22...Be6 23.Nxd3 cxd3 24.Qb5 Bf5 25.Qxf5
  29. Black resigned
End of episode 19 · 1-0 ← 18. vs abrahamcharles (1305)All games at 178020. vs Kajand (1897) →