Game against Sophia-BOT on chess.com leads to confinement!!

So, my latest mission is to beat Sophia-BOT on chess.com. This is so far proving to be a real challenge and I haven't managed it yet!! (Although I've managed to get two draws). In the latest 'drawn' game, I spent time at the end Reviewing the game using the analysis on chess.com, and it appears that if I'd played the ending correctly, I'd actually of won ... but instead my King was subjected to 'confinement' ..! If you are relatively new to chess, then the chances are that you won't have experienced this yet ...

Confinement

Confinement is a technique used by an enemy King to 'confine' your King to either the 'a' file or the 'h' file, normally when you are trying to promote a Rook's pawn. The problem is that, if you make an attempt to leave the 'a' file for the 'b' file, or the 'h' file for the 'g' file, leaving way for the pawn to promote, then the enemy King will make a beeline for the the "corner, promotion square" where they are guaranteed a draw. So, in summary, with accurate play there is no win for the side with a Rook's pawn if the enemy King is well placed enough to dive into the corner square where the pawn wants to be.

Game against Sophia-BOT (2300)

Mistake in the Endgame ...

Here is the mistake I made in the endgame. Instead of taking on h5, I should have actually played h4! This would have guaranteed a win.

Here is the continuation when playing for a win ...

Ideas Behind the Scotch Blumenfeld Attack

I've created a slideshow of the Blumenfeld Attack, in order to teach students how it arises ... I'm going to post my findings here ... It all starts with the scotch - mainline:  

Interesting?

Here are some interesting facts about this highly tactical opening:  

1)   The Scotch: Blumenfeld attack is extremely rare and occurs in less than 1 in 10,000 games.

2)  From the data, you can expect that White will have a high 71.43% chance of winning, while Black should only have a 28.57% chance of winning. Because of the fact that most players probably have never seen this opening, and that Black has such a low expected chance of winning, it may be well worth it to keep this variation in your back pocket. Since as White, you should have a significant edge and will probably catch your opponent off guard.

The Scotch: Blumenfeld attack: How Often Does It Occur, How Popular Is It, and What Are Your Chances Winning Using It? (simplifychess.com)

Here is the initial move of the Blumenfeld Attack:

6.  Nb5!!

Here's an interesting trap if Black tries to grab the pawn on b2

In my opinion, the correct move to play here is 9.Kd2!  This should mean that you will win Black's Knight for the cost of the c-pawn. I've played this move myself in several online blitz games with some success.

Of course, White is hoping that Black will take the Knight with his King.  This would lead to the shocking 11. Nd5!!  winning Blacks Queen for the Knight ... !

Here is a novel idea that I found in the Blumenfeld Attack, but I doubt that it is very unsound?   Its a move that I thought of playing in a Standard-Play club game and it really tempted my opponent into playing Qxe4 ...?   Presumably they wanted activity, so happily traded their Rook for my Knight ... ?  

As it turned out, the trade didn't pay off and they (Black) eventually lost the game (see previous Blog post). 

Anyway, we have the following man to thank for his ideas regarding this particular attack: 

Why not give his idea a try?  

Scotch Blumenfeld Attack 'Bamboozles' My Opponent

This game started out as a routine, Classical Scotch Game, but then on move 6, I decided to unleash the unpredictable (and no doubt unsound) 'Blumenfeld Attack'. This variation got very interesting when my opponent took a gamble and decided to give his Rook away early on a8. I used the word 'bamboozle' in this post's title, because on move 8. Kd2?! my opponent took over 30 mins to cook up his next sequence of moves !!! Unfortunately I was unable to write all the moves down om my score sheet, as the rules state that in the final 5 minutes of the game the player is not obliged to do so, but luckily I remembered the final few moves in the time scramble ... !!! The outcome was that my opponent got his queen pinned to their King, by my Rook. Finally, he tried to move this piece (illegally) to check me in a bit of a rush, but I had to remind him that his piece was actually pinned and then he realised that he'd incurred a two minute penalty ... He resigned with this in mind.    

As usual, any comments welcome ...

Scotch Game

PGN Viewer courtesy of http://chesstempo.com/

How to deal with the openings Part 3 of 3

In this final part we will examine some of the 'unorthodox' openings in more detail.  I intend to cover:

For White

• Grand Prix Attack
• The Scotch Game 

For Black:

• Kings Indian Defence
• Budapest Defence

Grand Prix Attack

Typical starting position 

This position arose after:  1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 e6 3. f4 Nc6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bb5 Bg7 6. O-O Nge7 7. d3 O-O 8. Qe1 *

Scotch Game 

Typical starting position

This position arose after:  1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nxd4 5. Qxd4 *

Kings Indian Defence

Typical starting position

This position arose after:  1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 e5 *

Budapest Defence

Typical starting position

The above position arose after:  1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 Ng4 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. Bf4 Bb4+ 6. Nc3 Qe7 *

In the next post I will be looking at the Grand Prix Arrack in some detail ... 

How to deal with the openings - Part 2 of 3

As Black ...what do you like to play?

If White plays e4 - then we can choose our favourite response ... It depends as to what type of player you are as to which response you choose. Here are some examples of some very specific responses to 1.e4 that are typically played ... but they may not be everyone's bag?


   - 1. ..c5 Sicillian Defence (E.g. use the Najdorf to travel down sharp and theoretical lines)

And what about d4?
  - Kings Indian (very theoretical)
  - Budapest Defence (surprise value!)


These are my personal favourites ... but whichever opening you choose to respond with, I recommend drilling down into sub-variations either with a computer or with a book to gain an understanding of the possible positions that you will typically reach in the middle-game.

As White - what do you like to play?

As White you will have to decide upon whether or not you are an e4 or a d4 player (or neither of these). I was once advised that playing 1.e4 leads to more tactical games - whereas playing 1.d4 takes you into a more strategic opening with a slow thematic build-up. For instance - you can drive down tactical lines with 1.e4 ..

Here are some typical openings that arise after 1.e4 at club level ...   - Scotch Game/Gambit
  - Sicillian Defence - Grand Prix Attack (worth learning for surprise value if your opponent plays 1. ..c5! - play 2. Nc3)
  - Scandinavian - an interesting line to play is the Leonhardt Gambit
  - French Defence (Note: if your opponent plays the French then you can steer the game into the Exchange Variation because in doing so you get out of book pretty quickly)
  - Caro-Kann (Note: if your opponent plays the caro kann then play the Advanced Variation, which is especially effective in a blitz game I find!)


The above openings are some of my personal favourites and which I have spent some time learning and practicing. The bottom line is that you need to make a choice of opening - then do the homework and drill down into the lines for this chosen opening!

Note: The ones I have given here are just examples and by no means the best :) Interestingly, The Budapest and the Sicillian - Grand Prix Attack are both classified as unorthodox openings in one particular Batsford reference book I once read through !!! The key is to 'be ready and prepared' in chess for what is coming next ... the less time you need to spend analysing a position over the board (because you've already encountered it before) then the more likely it is that you will win, given that you can spend more time analysing the game in those critical positions that demand your concentration ...


So in summary you can see how it is possible to build a little repertoire of openings with 1.e4 and after 1. d4 is played. In the final part of this little series of Blog posts I will drill down into a few of the variations that can be played using these openings and the typical middle-game positions that can be reached.

How to defeat Scotch Terrorist Attack

I had an interesting game online this evening.  It reminded me of a game I played in the Portsmouth Chess Congress some years back.  I enjoy playing the Scotch game and my opponent played 4.Qh4 - "The Terrorist Attack".  This can get quite sharp and White has to play it accurately to not let Black  get an advantage!  The trick is to sacrifice the e4 pawn early on ... The result being that black has a lone Queen in play with the hope of being assisted ONLY by a bumbling pair of Knights ... White should win if they manage to get all their pieces in play, whilst Black struggles to develop their Bishop and Rook, partly due to forfeiting their right to castle.

You'll note from this game that I could have won my opponent's knight earlier on with a simple f4 pawn push, but failed to spot this ... It was only after replaying the match that I realised!!

Enjoy the game .... !



As usual, any comments welcome ...

Scotch Game

PGN Viewer courtesy of http://chesstempo.com/

Portsmouth Chess Congress 2013: Game 2

Here is my second game in the Portsmouth Chess Congress 2013 - a Qh4 terrorist attack !!!

I think that after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Qh4 !? ... the Queen somehow looks misplaced and has surely committed herself too early? Sadly I was about to find out just how WELL placed the Queen is if White tries to hold on to the pawn ... I have added a sub-variation which David Ross pointed out to me after the game is far sharper and much better for White ...

As usual, any comments welcome ...

Game 2 - Scotch Game

PGN Viewer courtesy of http://chesstempo.com/

Scotch Draw

In my latest club game I thought I had a reasonably good opening out of a scotch, but any advantage I had seem to fizzle away ... I had to defend to keep the draw ... There was surely more to play once the draw was agreed though? I was happy enough because the team won 3-2 overall!

PGN Viewer courtesy of http://chesstempo.com/

Mine's a double-Scotch!

My latest club game was a Scotch. I know a little about the Scotch opening - so I got a little lucky there ... I'm pleased to report, to my utter relief that I managed to win convincingly - a Kingside attack, followed by a Bishop sacrifice on g6, which incidentally I spent some time looking at just in case of tricks! Here is the game ...

PGN Viewer courtesy of http://chesstempo.com/

Scotch Game

I played a Scotch game recently which soon got out of the book! There are two points worth stressing here - 1) passed pawns have to be pushed and 2) there are always tactics lurking on the back rank!!

This was a fun game!

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "-"]
[Date "2011.05.14"]
[White "greg_b"]
[Black "A-Player"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1602"]
[BlackElo "1650"]
[TimeControl "15|0"]
[Termination "greg_b won by checkmate"]

1.e4 e5
2.Nf3 Nc6
3.d4 exd4
4.Nxd4 Bc5
5.Be3 Qf6
6.c3 Nge7
7.Bc4 O-O
8.O-O Nxd4
9.Bxd4 Bxd4
10.cxd4 d5
11.e5 Qg6
12.Bd3 Qg5
13.Qf3 f6
14.Qg3 Qh6
15.Nc3 c6
16.Rfe1 Nf5
17.Bxf5 Bxf5
18.e6 Rfe8
19.e7 Qd2
20.Qc7 Qxb2
21.Rac1 Rac8
22.Qd6 Bg6
23.Nxd5 cxd5
24.Rxc8 Rxc8
25.Qd8+ Rxd8
26.exd8=Q+ Kf7
27.Re7#
1-0

Another Scotch with 0-0-0 for Black

GJB vs CW
=========

1.e4 e5
2.Nf3 Nc6
3.d4 ed
4.Nxd4 Nxd4
5.Qxd4 b6
6.Bc4 (hoping that my opponent will play c5 and then I follow with Qd5 threatening mate or Qxa8)
6. ... Bb7
7.0-0 Qe7
8.Nc3 0-0-0
9.Bf4 Qc5
10.Qd3 (it is certainly not to White's advantage to trade queens in this position)
10. ... f6
11.Nb5 (the win of a pawn 'threat' is simple...)
11. ... Bd6
12. Bxd6 cxd6
13.Nxd6+ Kb8
14.Nxb7 (I have the option of winning the exchange in this position but opt to remove a defender of the Black King)
15.Bd5+ Kb8
16.Qa6 Qc7
17.Rad1 Ne7
18.Bb3 (again I don't want to encourage a potentially powerful knight from joining the game by swapping off!)
18. ... d6 (moving the Knight would surely have been better?)
19.Rd3 Qb7
20.Qa3 Qxe4 (a pawn grab ... )
21.Rxd6 Qb7
22.Rd1 Rc8
23.Rd7 Rc7?? (unfortunately a blunder due to ... Qxe7)
24.Qxe7 (Black Resigns)

Scotch Game - trebled pawns

Hi Steve

In response to your comment, instead of 9. .. Nf6 - I thought he could play Be6 with the intention of pushing the pawn onto c4. This could give Black some good counter-play and become a real hindrance for White! Black has successfully reduced the scope of White's bishop along the f1-a6 diagonal by doing this - however White could develop the Bishop on g2, after g3 eyeing the pawn on c6 which is vulnerable to attack and also preparing f4 ... !?

Actually, in the game I was afraid of the c5 pawn reaching c4 hence I think in hindsight that it would have been better to play an immediate 9. c4 ... (Your idea looks good though)

Traps in the Opening

I have been playing the Scotch game (not to be confused with Scotch Gambit) a lot recently and trying to exploit the tactics of this opening.

Example of a game
-------------------
Opening: Scotch Game
White: greg_b
Black: A.N Other

1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. d4 exd4
4. Nxd4 Nxd4
5. Qxd4 Nf6?
6. e5 Nh5? (This move causes loss of a tempo because the knight is misplaced on h5. This can be met with 7.Be2 and black has to defend with g6 ... 6 .. Qe7 would have been better, exploiting the pin)


Playing the opening correctly as black ...

1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 Nc6
3. d4 exd4
4. Nxd4 Bc5
5. Nxc6 Qf6 (threatening mate)
6. Be3 / Qf3 / Qd2 are all playable) Qxc6

Game is equal ...

If you're playing the White Pieces

If white plays 6. Qf3 then
(6 ..Qxc6. It is wrong for create a mate threat of his own with 7.Bc4? Because
7 .. Bxf2+ 8.Kxh2 Qxc4) wins black a pawn and favourable endgame.

A common trap I have found for White while playing this opening is when after (6 .. Qxc6 7.Nc3 Black plays 7..d6?? or 7..d5??, this is always met with Bb5, winning the Black Queen).

These tactics are definitely cheapos - but nevertheless worth knowing :)

I am very interested to learn more about this opening, so if anyone has any more theory or traps to add then please let me know ....!

greg_b