Playing with the online tyros once again

In these days of COVID-19 most of us have been sidelined, SIP, quarantined, whatever you wish to call it and the world wide web is a tool to connect us all now more than ever before. Until further notice, a lot of our interactions happen behind masked faces and in a social distanced world.

Seriously, how do board games or even chess tournaments happen now in an intimate setting? The answer is, that it is almost impossible to social distance while sitting across another person challenging them to a game of chess....this is where correspondence chess and other tools come into play. Personally I have been playing on and off games with my friend and former president of the Citrus College Chess Club since 2014 when I left to work in Texas. I have been back in California since late 2016, albeit I currently reside up north, but if you have stumbled upon this old blog by accident, through Google or whatever organic means are out there, welcome and let's discuss some of the fine points of the royal game. Before I digress some more, I will say that life is short and so I have decided to dedicate some of my free time on a more consistent basis to the things I really enjoy, like chess for one. Cassia will once again have a somewhat persistent devotee until the end of this lousy 2020.

I started this series to chronicle my games with the internet tyros that I challenge from time to time and boy am I ever rusty! I definitely am in need of some studying and practice. To illustrate the point I will walk you through a recent game I engaged in online which I made a  horrific final blunder. But we should learn from our victories as well as our losses. I opened following typical "book" lines of a Giouco Piano (four knights) game. Playing white went something like this:

e4 e5, Nf3 Nc6, Nc3 Nf6, Bc4 Bc5, 0-0 0-0, d3 h6, Nd5 Nd4 (after which the computer analysis shows as an inaccuracy, best was d6)

Be3. The computer also questions this move and rightly so! I could have gobbled up the free pawn with Nxe5, but in my defense I wasn't really thinking that much about material advantages but trying to place my knight beyond the fifth rank with an eye towards possible infiltration of the back rank an/or a fork. Unfortunately those opportunities did not present themselves.

The game continued: Black counters with Nxf3+ but it is not considered the best option. Better would have been Nxd5 because I made what analysis showed to be the best move at the time Qxf3 and parrying the check. There follows: Bxe3, fxe3 which is a mistake on my part. Nxf6 would have been a stronger attack with more attacking chances.

Computer analysis considers black's response to be a blunder: d6, Nh7 preserving its knight is considered the best move. I of course take the Night with Nxf6+ and this leads to Qxf6. Also a strong response.

There follows d4 which analysis thinks of as another error, because the computer suggests Qxf6, although I don't think it is critical because the chances of both queens coming off the board are pretty strong, indeed it happens a few moves later with Qf3, gxf3 followed by exd4. Once again analysis rates my next move to be mistaken as I slide my rook to the semi closed file with Rad1and analysis shows that another free pawn is not gobbled up. The oversight in gaining a material advantage for white is a byproduct of my still eying chances for infiltration but black has done well in trading pieces and standing his/her ground. The response is a puzzling one: d3? dxe3 would have netted a pawn as well and with the pieces being traded off the board, material becomes important.

cxd3, Bh3 is a good move, Bishops can really disrupt your strategy especially when they fly from the diagonal like this, in this case attacking my Rook. Re1 is my response but analysis showed that Rfd1 would have been better, forming the ominous Rook battery on the d file. Black's response Rae8 is good but best would have been a5 for black. Shows my opponent was also thinking infiltration and/or attack rather than a methodical positioning for a later payoff. I respond Red1 but analysis shows Kf2 is better. Black plays Re5, and I play f4 putting the question to the black rook. The computer questions this move and calls it another mistake with Rd5 being a better choice, but what can I say? Rooks beyond my fifth ranks make me nervous in a timed game. Black's move is also deemed inaccurate, he plays Rc5 but the analysis calls for Rxe4. With the doubled pawns on the file, I also wondered by he did not attack the pawn. Bd5 but if you are thinking material, Rc3 is better. Rxc2 and he plans to start eating up the pawns and I counter with b4 but in hindsight R3d2 is better.
Black plays Rg2+ and it is not looking that good for white. I should have escaped with Kh1 but for some reason moved the k to f1 which is not optimal. Rd2+ with the discovered Bishop not as good as Rxa2. White plays Ke1 followed by Rxd3? why not Rxh2 instead?
Rxd6
The rest of the game went like this: Rxd3 c6, Bb3 c5, Rxd6 cxb4, Rxd7 which led me to lose the rook and therefore the game. I wanted to start eradicating the pawns on the rank, but was it time pressure that led me to overlook the rook's capture? Was I just too rusty not looking at the board and playing too fast? Probably a bit of both I am afraid. Under 30 moves and not a good ending for white. Maybe if the rest of you can analyze and give feedback, that would be most instructive. Hope you enjoyed this and I hope my results will improve as I ease back into the royal game.

Final position after my huge blunder playing the W pieces when after his bishop swooped to capture the Rook I left hanging. I had to resign because I was in time trouble and behind in material with little hope of salvaging this game. Live and learn.