Saturday, June 30, 2012

Where Was I Wrong?

This was a tough game. I enjoyed the challenge. I played with a decent  plan of controlling the center. Of course, I lost. But what exactly did I do wrong?



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Many thanks.
Prady.
More links at http://www.facebook.com/groups/195960723787552/

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Practicing The QGD: Game 1


Thanks to IM Jeremy Silman's interesting article, I've decided to take up the QGD as my opening against everything except 1. e4. I plan to gradually improve my understanding of this opening by playing it.


My goals: 
a) To be able to play the QGD with confidence against strong opposition
b) To simultaneously hone my positional understanding.

Okay, then. Here's my first game in the series.

Key Moves:


7. Ne5 - I didn't understand the purpose behind this move. I guess it was to hit the d7 where I'd like to develop my N/b8. Since there was no immediate threat, I decided to solidify my pawn on d5.

10. ...Ba5 - Because I thought if 10. ...Bxc3 11. bxc3, then White could nicely take charge of the b-file.

14. e5 - At this point I couldn't find a comfortable home for my Knight. I thought of taking the path f6-e8-d6, but I couldn't analyze in depth the possibility 14. ...Ne8 15. Bh6 Ng7. So I gave up that attempt. What I did play was obviously worse.

15. f3 - I think this was a mistake. My opponent allows my Knight to expose his King before bidding the world farewell.

18. Bh6 - This insatiable hunger for material marked the beginning of my opponent's end.



All constructive advice that could help me get closer to either/both of these goals is always welcome (please note: I can digest only descriptive advice).


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Many thanks.
Prady.
Fun at http://www.facebook.com/groups/195960723787552/