Illustrative Games

In every book of chess, they always recommend that if you want to learn you must play through great games. If you value that advice, don't look at these games. They are not great, or even good. They contain poor moves on both sides. What they will do is illustrate some of the details I have been talking about in the tactics section. Both the games were played at an easy level on my Spectrum Chess Computer.

When reading through games in books, I find that the commentaries do not always explain things at my level. Even in beginners books, after the first couple of chapters, they seem to step up a gear and leave beginners behind. In light of this, I will try and explain all the moves that are made in the hope that it will be of use to people learning the game. If some of this is too simple, I hope you will understand.

The first game illustrates the dangers of getting the queen out early, the power of development and the use of pins. The second illustrates the use of forks, which is a very important tactical device.

I will show the games first, so that they can be played through and then I will comment on them.

 

Spectrum Chess computer - F Comley

2002

1. e4 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. c3 e5 4. cxd4 exd4 5. Qxd4 Nc6 6. Qd5 Nf6 7. Qf5 d6 8. Qf4 d5 9. Nc3 Bd6 10. Qe3 O-O 11. exd5 Re8 12. dxc6 Rxe3+ 13. Bxe3 Qe7 14. Bb5 Bf4 15. O-O-O Bxe3+ 16. fxe3 Qxe3+ 17. Kb1 Bf5+ 18. Ka1 bxc6 19. Bxc6 Rc8 20. Rd6 Qc1+ 21. Nb1 Rb8 22. b3 Bxb1 23. g3 Be4# 0-1

This game starts with Whites Queen being chased around the board, which prevents White from developing all his pieces. At the end, the fact that the h1 Rook cannot get out because of the undeveloped Knight is fatal. Notice also how Whites Queen and then Bishop are pinned to the King and so are unable to move.

This is known as the Sicilian defence. White plays for direct control of the centre, and black attacks the centre indirectly. The move black is trying to prevent is d4.

The computer plays that anyway, and I respond, trying to entice whites queen into the centre, by taking it.

White attacks the black pawn, so I defend it.

This was just what black was after. White swapped off the pawns, and left me with a pawn on d4. To equalise, white must retake with the queen.

Whites Queen is now exposed, and black can chase it. The Knight move is a developing move.

The Queen is forced to move, wasting time for white. I can then develop my other Knight, attacking the queen again.

The Queen has to move again, more time lost. Moving blacks 'd' pawn attacks the Queen with the Bishop, which has been uncovered, but the pawn should have been moved to d5, because White must move the Queen, and so must ignore the pawn.

The Queen moves again, and the d pawn is moved once more, so that I have space for my other bishop. If I had put my pawn here last move the Bishop would have been able to attack this move, not the next.

White manages to develop a piece, because of the lost time caused by moving the d pawn twice. At least I can go back to attacking the Queen.

The Queen moves again. I notice that I am in danger of discovered check if whites e pawn takes my d pawn, which will lose my Knight if I don't move my King. (11 exd5+ Kf8 12 dxc6 and I would have lost a Pawn and Knight with nothing to show for it). I castle, to get my King to safety and to prepare my Rook for the following pin

The Pawn is taken, but my Rook pins whites Queen, which is now caught.

White takes the Knight, so that he has got something to show for the loss of the Queen.

The Rook is taken by the Bishop, which is then pinned by my Queen.

Whites Bishop supports the Pawn and my Bishop attacks the pinned piece again

White Castles long, which is possible because of the double Pawn move I made earlier (moves 7 and 8). The King is still on a diagonal with the Bishop, so exchange gives check.

The Bishop is taken, but the Queen can now take the Pawn giving check, gaining more time for black.

The King must move, and my other Bishop can now join in, Checking the King again.

The King now moves, and my next problem is the Pawn on the sixth rank. It is dangerously close to queening. Swapping the pawn off will also leave whites Bishop in a vulnerable position.

The Bishop retakes, and the Rook can then attack it.

This is a fundamental error on whites part. The Rook should not have been brought forward. It seems to be a weakness of my computer, as the next game shows the same mistake. It leaves the back rank available for the Queen.

This is the only move White could make. (Note: I have noticed that from this point on, I could have achieved checkmate with the Queen protected by the Bishop, but I miss it until later). I now need to attack whites pawn on b2. If white can take that safely, it will be mate. Moving the Rook puts white in danger of that.

This is whites best move, but an unnecessary reply. The Queen could have taken the Knight bringing the game to a close one move earlier.(note: even earlier - see note above)

White makes a non-committal move, and black moving the Bishop leaves the King in checkmate.

 

White - Black

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 g6 5. Nc3 Bg7 6. Be3 Nf6 7. Bc4 O-O 8. O-O Qb6 9. Ndb5 Qd8 10. f4 d6 11. f5 Ne5 12. b3 Qa5 13. a4 Nxc4 14. bxc4 Bd7 15. Rb1 Bxb5 16. Nxb5 Nxe4 17. fxg6 hxg6 18. c3 Bxc3 19. Nxc3 Nxc3 20. Qd4 Ne2+ 21. Kh1 Nxd4 22. Bxd4 Qxa4 23. Rxb7 Qxc4 24. Rf4 Qc1+ 25. Rf1 Qxf1+ 26. Bg1 Rab8 27. Rxe7 Rb1 28. Rxa7 Qxg1# *

This game shows the power of the fork. In the opening, both sides develop well (just look at Whites centre after move 7) and then Black conducts a powerful Queenside attack, culminating in a couple of forks which attack the Queen.

The Sicilian defence again.

This is the main version of the Sicilian, both sides trying to develop. White takes a more active role, Black hopes for a counter attack.

White on the attack, black takes, which wastes time, but that is given back when white recaptures the Pawn.

4. Nxd4 g6

This is called the 'Dragon' variation of the Sicilian. The Pawn move here gives an outpost for the Bishop, which is said to be in fianchetto.

Still developing, the Bishop is now in position.

Still developing. Each piece moving out ready for the middlegame.

Castling is considered a developing move, as it gets the Rook into a more active position.

Black castles, and I make a poor move. I was aiming at whites b pawn, which, if taken removes the only defence of Whites Knight on c3.

White moves the Knight to an active position, and this produces a discovered attack on my Queen by Whites Bishop. I must move the Queen. This has been two wasted moves.

White now starts a kingside attack. If whites e pawn is moved forward, my Knight will be attacked without a good escape square. The d6 move means I am attacking the e5 square and opening up a better escape square for the Knight.

White moves the other pawn forward. This is a strong position, with the two pawns on f5 and e4. In 'My System' by Nimzowitch, he describes this Pawn formation as a granite block. To deal with this, he advises, one must undermine it by taking away its defences, which means the pawn at the base of the pawn chain. In this case, it is defended by the Knight on c3, and that is defended by the Knight on b5, which is defended by the Bishop on c4. It would be possible to just remove whites b5 Knight, but there is an easy attack on the c4 Bishop, which is the Ne5 move that I have taken.

White defends the Bishop, and I get my Queen into position to attack the main target, the c3 Knight.

White moves the a pawn, not sure why. I can now exchange off my Knight for the Bishop. White must respond, which gives me time.

Attacking the defender of the c3 Knight.

White defends with the Rook, but that is of no consequence at the moment. It is the exchange I require.

White moves the c3 Knight. Now I can do what I wanted to from move 11.

The f pawn is now isolated, and so White makes sure its loss produces something. I take back with the h pawn, to keep all my pawns connected.

I am also not sure about this move of whites. I have seen the possibility of a Knight fork on the Queen and Rook, so must attack c3. The square is defended by Whites Knight on b5, so I take the Pawn with my Bishop.

White takes with the Knight, just what I hoped he would do. I can then retake with my Knight, forking Queen and Rook.

White then makes another mistake. This Queen move means I can fork his King and Queen.

White must move out of check, so his Queen is lost.

The Bishop takes the Knight, and I take the pawn.

White can now take my b pawn, which in other circumstances would be a real problem, but he has little to back it up with. Especially as I am to gain more time by attacking the Bishop.

This is Whites next mistake. I had forked the Bishop and Rook, but moving to d8 would have been much better. This is the other example of the Computer moving a Rook off the back rank at a critical time. My Queen move Forks King and Rook. The Rook will fall.

White moves the Rook to block the Queen, there is little else he could do. The Rook is taken, but does not solve the problem of my Queen being on the back rank.

Whites move is forced. His Bishop is now pinned, and his Rook is the only active piece. I need to get one of my Rooks down to support my Queen, so I attack Whites Rook. If he takes, then that will be best, because White will have no active pieces. If he moves the Rook, then I can get my Rook down to the back rank.

White takes one of my unprotected pawns. This is not going to help him. My Rook can now get to where I want it.

White can take another Pawn, but it is too late.

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