You might be wondering why I am using some Eve Online fleet battle art as a header image for a chess battle report. Good question! The answer is straightforward: I didn't know what image to use. 😀 However, seeing how I am in one of my autumn science fiction feeding frenzies, and also seeing how chess has a strong fleet warfare dynamic to it - perhaps no game outside of a dedicated naval wargame captures that spirit of line and support vessels as chess does - such an image tickled my fancy. So...there.
The following correspondence game was probably one of the most enjoyable in quite some time. My opponent was tough!
I had the black pieces.
1. e4 c5
I went with the Sicilian Defense. Just because.
2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. Nxc6 Bxc3+ 7. bxc3 bxc6
8. Bd3 Qf6
My opponent and I found ourselves in B45: Sicilian Four Knights variation. I was not well versed in this opening. It was surprising to see the queen-side knights go down so quickly! The battle begins in earnest.
At this point, Fritz tells me that my opponent, White, has a slight advantage. I recall being happy with the state of the game.
9. O-O Ne7 10. c4?
My opponent blunders. I understand his idea here: get his doubled c-pawns moving forward, starting with 10.c4. It is a natural impulse. However, even without the move leaving his a1 rook exposed to capture by my queen, I still don't care for this move as it cuts off the d3 bishop's line of attack down the queen-side of the board.
Be that as it may, I was celebrating. A rook left en prise? Huzzah!
10... Qxa1
Main batteries fire! Gotcha!
I am up a rook in the early part of the game.
11. Qf3 Qf6 12. Qg3
White applies the "the only good defense is a good offense" defense. 😀
12...Ng6
I want to bring my king to safety as soon as possible with a king-size castle. Hence, I was glad to get that knight out of the way.
13. Bg5 Qe5 14. f4 Qd4+
White is keeping the pressure on my queen. I reply by using my queen to pressure his king. Now it is my turn to use the "the only good defense is a good offense" defense. 😁 Fritz has evaluated me as comfortably in control of the board.
15. Kh1 O-O
I finally get to bring my king in from the cold. Protect the command ship!
16. f5 exf5 17. exf5
White is getting his counter-offensive going here. He is determined to get compensation for the early loss of his rook.
17...Qe5?
Fritz considers this a blunder (17...Ba6-+ for a winning set-up as per Fritz). I don't recall my exact reasoning, but I suspect I was afraid to just evacuate my knight and allow the white queen, bishop, and pawn to close to assault range and begin working on my king's defenses. So, I decided to try to ease the pressure by offering an exchange of our line battleships, the queens.
18. fxg6
White wasn't biting. He instead takes my knight.
18...Qxg3
I responded by capturing his queen.
19. gxh7+
To which he responded by using his pawn to take one of my pawns and checking my king. Despite the intention behind my offering to swap queens, my king's defensive wall has crumbled nonetheless. Worse, I cannot capture the invasive pawn as it is guarded by his white-square bishop. I just can move out of check. Vessels are starting to burn.
19...Kh8
Which allows him to capture my queen.
20. hxg3
It is an interesting position filled with endgame potentialities. I agree with Fritz: White has almost equalized the game due to that h7 pawn being full of menace. Time to start digging myself out of this hole.
20...d5 21. cxd5 cxd5 22. Be7 Re8 23. Bc5 Be6 24. Bd4
And White has equalized the position.
24...a5 25. g4 Rf8 26. g5 Rab8 27.g6?
Fritz considers this a blunder on White's part.
27...f6?
Fritz prefers fxg6. However, I wanted to make sure that black's Bishop was unable to put pressure on the g-pawn as I considered that the keystone in keeping White's assaulting pawns away from scoring a newly minted queen. My long term gameplan was to find a way to get the White Bishop on d3 to stop guarding those endzone pawns so they could be gobbled up, removing White's only hope for a win. Indeed, those two white pawns formed the entirety of White's game now.
28. Kh2 a4 29. Re1 Rfe8 30. Rf1 Rf8!
Fritz considers the use of my rook to be commendable for some reason. I still felt very much on the defensive here. 😵
31. Bc5 Rfe8 32. Bd6 Rb6 33. Bc5 Rc6 34. Bb4 Rc7 35. a3 Bd7 36. c3 Re3
It is here that Fritz determined that I extricated myself from that defensive hole and began taking control again. Let me tell you: the middlegame maneuvering was some of the tensest I have experienced in some time. Like two fleet battlelines, our pieces maneuvered for maximum effect! One slip up and the game could be lost. I sweated blood plotting each move!
With 36.Re3, I am finally attempting to get the White Bishop away from guarding those pawns of his.
37. Rd1 Re5 38. Bd6
This was a heartstopping moment! Even though I planned for this eventuality where my opponent skewered my two rooks, when I actually saw this play out on the board, I thought I had majorly messed up!
Then I remembered:
38...Rh5+ -+
Fritz has this marked as a decisive move in my favor. Torpedoes away!
39. Kg1 Rxc3 40. Bb1 Re3 41. Bc2 Bf5!
Aha! I finally am in a position to denude those pesky White pawns from their Bishop protector!
42. Rxd5
You can have the pawn.
42...Bxg6!
Strike one White pawn! I finally have them under control - my King will finish off the next one. White's game is crumbling. He is still dangerous, mind you, as two Bishops and a Rook can wreak a lot of havoc if used well!
43. Rxh5 Bxh5
Now I just have to worry about Black's two Bishops. I would have held on to that Rook if it was me.
44. Bxa4 Kxh7
The last White pawn falls. We are now in the endgame.
45. Bb5 Be8 46. Bc4 Ba4 47. Bb4 g5 48. Kf2 Re8 49. Bd3+ Kh6 50. Bc3 Re6 51. Bb4
Again, precise maneuvering on both sides. Here, I was beginning to seriously contemplate offering a draw, But then I had a risky idea...
51...f5!
Using one of my precious pawns as bait! If 52.Bxf5, then 52...Rf6, pinning his Bishop to his King, and subsequently winning it. If my opponent didn't take the bait, I would still be accomplishing something: advancing my last two pawns up the board and closer to becoming a queen. Win-win!
52. Bc4 Re8 53. Bf7 Rc8 54. Be6 Rc2+ 55. Kg3 f4+
Fritz opines, "Black is clearly winning." I didn't think it was possible, but now my two kingside pawns have a chance of advancing as far as White's did and possibly even become a Queen or two. How tables are turned in this game! I am feeling confident as White's fleet is in ruins, adrift and on fire.
But there is still a lot of careful endgame maneuvering to do. My opponent is no slouch.
56. Kf3 Bc6+ 57. Kg4 Rxg2+ 58. Kf5 f3
And one of my pawns breaks free! It is here I can see how it will all end.
59. Bc4 f2 60. Bc5 g4 61. Kf4 Kh5 62. Ke3 g3 63. Bf1 Rg1 64. Ke2 Bb5+
And my Bishop gets in the killing salvo. (Fritz suggests 64...Rxf1 as another approach.)
65. Kf3 Bxf1 0-1
Victory! Time to bring the fleet home in glory!
It's been some time since I analyzed one of my chess games. I used to do it all the time when I was a much heavier chess player some years ago. I have forgotten not only how relaxing it can be to do so, but also how it reveals a whole other layer of pleasure to be had from the game. I think I'll be doing this again - for my pleasure, if not yours. 😜
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