Back to Annihalating

Now that I have begun doing those warm-ups mentioned earlier, I am back to winning over half of my games. Here is one I played against Covak (1411) just moments ago. I had played him 80 games earlier with the result being a draw. During this game, with the aid of tactics, I was able to pull off a win.

Covak – Copeland

1. e4 c5 2. Bc4 Nf6

I believe Nf6 is the best possible defense when faced against 2.Bc4.

The move protects against pressure from the possibility of 3.Qf3, and at the same time attacks white’s precious e-pawn. The most typical of white’s responses is 3.e5 to attack the knight. However, this is debunked with 3…d5.

3. e5 d5 4. exd6 Qxd6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. O-O Nc6 7. Re1 O-O-O 8. Bxf7 Nd4

I willingly allowed Covak to take my pawn with his bishop. I had something in store for him later down the road.

Notice the pressure that keeps building more and more around his king.

9. d3 Bxf3 10. gxf3 Qc6 11. Re3 g6 12. c3 Bh6 13. Rxe7 Nxf3+ 14. Kg2 Rxd3!!

Rxd3 was one of the most brilliant moves I have made in a while, and it demonstrates that I am growing steadily as a formidable tactician.

Sure, his queen can take the rook. However, this would be followed by 15…Ne1+!, and he loses his queen (or possibly the game if he didn’t move his king to f1). From that point it would likely steadily go downhill for him as there was so much pressure built up on his king. Covak’s response was…

15. Qe2? Nd4+ 0-1

While 15.Qe2 wasn’t his worst possible move, it certainly wouldn’t win him a prize either. 15…Nd4+ wins the queen with a gain of six points. It also wins black a seemingly hopeless position. At this point, Covak ran out the rest of his ten minutes of the clock, perhaps hoping I would disconnect or would have ISP trouble. However, this fortunately did not happen. I gave him a negative evaluation for wasting almost ten minutes of my life. Had he continued (most likely with 16.f3), I would have given him, as I always do to opponents that blunder and keep going, an applause for effort.

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Game of the Day

This actually was a game I played yesterday, but I decided to go ahead and post it today. This game was played against Johnnny1 (1175). The reason I posted this game in particular is because I think it shows how I am improving compared to the last game I posted (which can be found in this blog’s first post).

Johnnny1 – Copeland

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 g6 3. Bc4 Bg7 4. O-O e6 5. Re1 Ne7 6. c3 O-O 7. d4 d5 8. Bg5 f6

Johnnny1 begins launching an attack on my position possibly hoping to at least win a pawn. However, I spotted 8…f6 as counterplay to his attack.

9. Qb3 fxg5 10. exd5 exd5 11. Bd3 c4

The attack begins!

11…c4 forks his bishop and his queen. However, if you’re following, I do not stop there – I keep attacking the queen.

12. Qb4 Nbc6 13. Qb5 a6 14. Qa4 cxd3 15. Nxg5 Bd7 16. Re3 Nxd4 17. Qd1 Nc2

17…Nc2 was another devastating blow. With my knight, I manage to fork both rooks.

Pretty nifty, huh? 😛

18. Rxd3 Nxa1 19. Na3 Nf5 20. Rxd5 Qe7 21. Nf3 Bc6 22. Rd3 Bxf3 23. Rxf3 Rfe8 24. g3 Qe4 25. Rd3 Rad8??

This and move 26 (Rxd8) were the only obvious blunders I made during the game. With these rather stupid moves, I could have lost both of my rooks. However, Johnnny1 went for my knight instead. This error cost him the game.

26. Rxd8 Rxd8 27. Qxa1 Rd2 28. Qc1 Ne3

With this invincible position, my opponent’s defeat is inevitable. Resistance is futile! 😀

29. fxe3 Qg2# 0-1

I know my opponent probably was a touch weaker than I am, but I believe this game demonstrates my growing skill as a tactician and that the circles could very well be working.

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First Post!

The blog about my quest towards chess improvement and ultimately a blitz (15 + 0) rating of 2000 on PlayChess.de has begun! Be sure to check the About Me page for more detailed information concerning myself, including what software I am using to study.

We’ll begin this blog with a perfect example of why I am on this quest. Today’s game of the day was played against RaduSabin (1270) and perfectly demonstrates why I need to improve my game.

RaduSabin – Copeland

1. e4 c5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. Nh3 Nxe4 4. Ng5 e6

Are you following so far? RaduSabin, in a blind rage to put my king in check, moves his knight to g5. Unfortunately, the only thing I’m paying attention to is the checkmate possibility 5.Bf7# and I miss the fact that he has hung his knight! I make a blunder of my own with 4…e6? >.<!

Oblivious to this, I only discovered it after doing a quick overview of the game. I felt like slamming my head into a brick wall. Regardless, we continued on with development as he blundered again sacrificing his knight for my pawn instead of just Nxe4.

5.Nxf7 Kxf7 6. Qh5+ g6 7. Qf3+ Nf6 8. d3 Bg7 9. Bg5 d5 10. Bb3 Nc6 11. a3 Nd4

I finally begin bringing my tactical weapons into battle.

If you are following this game, you can watch how RaduSabin begins to fall apart.

12. Qd1 h6 13. Bh4 Rf8 14. c3 Nxb3 15. Qxb3 Kg8 16. c4 g5 17. Bg3 Nh5 18. cxd5 Nxg3 19. hxg3 exd5 20. Qxd5+??

So committed to putting me in check, RaduSabin hangs his own queen! I might have missed his knight blunder, but I would have questioned my integrity to have missed this.

20…Qxd5 21. O-O Bxb2 0-1

Suffice to say, the game didn’t last very long after that blunder. After one move and an inevitable rook capture, RaduSabin resigns. This game could have ended a lot sooner had I noticed he had hung his knight, but because of my error I could easily have lost this game with 5.Nxe4.

I hope you enjoy reading this blog as much as I will writing it. I’ve got a long way to go!

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