April Aquinas Chess

Well, I've decided to create a blog.

I've been inspired by Joshua Posthuma's blog Path to Promotion,
and I need to be more consistent analyzing my chess games.  This blog can help keep me accountable.

Today, I played in the April Aquinas Chess.  Time control was G/30 with a 5 second delay.
I went 2/3, but was the highest rated in my section.  I tied for first with Joshua Posthuma and won 5$, my entry fee.

I need to remember to play more slowly in G/30, as this cost me the full point in Round 1.



Round 1 was against Bill Adams, rated 1326.  I've played him before, and he's about as good as his rating.  So I thought I'd have an easy win.  Pride comes before the fall.  I played much too quickly, and paid for it.

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. g3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. Bg2
The game starts with a normal reversed dragon.

5...c6 6. Nf3 Bd6 7. O-O O-O 8. d3 Re8 9. Qb3 Nd7? Just hanging a pawn.

10. Nxd5 cxd5 11. Qxd5

After this position, I'm simply up a pawn, and I get lazy.
I accept the queen trade thinking, "well, I'll just go into and endgame up a pawn, and it'll be an easy win."

Nf6 12. Qb3 Qb6 13. Qxb6 axb6
14. Be3 Nd5 15. a3?

My laziness starts to show.  Ng5 is very good.  It's still good after 15...b5

15...b5 16. Rac1 16... b4 17. axb4

Bc5 is very good here. (17. Bc5 Bf8 18. Bxf8 Kxf8 19. Rc5 e4 20. Rxd5 exf3 21. Bxf3 bxa3 22. bxa3 Rxa3) Completely missed it during the game.

17...Bxb4 18. Ng5??

Completely loses the exchange. Bc5 is still recommended.
Here I show my laziness.  I was thinking that I'll get a rook on the seventh and have smooth sailing from there, not even paying attention to Bd2

17...Nxe3 19. fxe3 Bd2

Upon seeing this, I cringed.  But I thought, "I'll get two rooks on the seventh, definitely a draw, maybe I can still even win.  So I play this blunder.

20. Rc7??

 Kf2 salvages the position, but I thought I had at least a draw. I was wrong.
20. Kf2 Bxc1 21. Rxc1 h6 22. Ne4 and I have an exchange for a pawn.
With Rc7, I'm down a whole piece without compensation.  The rest of the game is just his technique and me blundering more.

20...Bxe3+ 21. Kh1 Bxg5 22. Rfxf7 Ra1+ 23. Bf1
Rf1 holds the material.

21...Bf6 Traps the f7 rook while opening the f1 bishop to attack.
24. Kg2 Be6 25. Rxf6 gxf6 26. Rxb7 Bd5+ 0-1

Round 2 was against Bill Ignasiak, rated 1593.  I've Bill before, but he plays very safe moves, and we usually end up drawing.  It's quite frustrating, because he's 150 rating points below me.  I was a little upset after my first game, and took my time much more in this game.


1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. d4 Bf5 5. c3

Playing c4 would bring us into the powerful Panov-Botvinick. After the game, I asked Bill why he didn't play it, and he said he would only play risky stuff if he knew it already. That explains a lot of his chess. He plays safe chess.

5...Nf6 6. Bd3 Bxd3 7. Qxd3 e6 8. Bf4 Be7 9. h3 O-O 10. O-O Nc6 11. Nbd2

So, after this move, we have a relatively even position. At first I decided to go with a6
to start a minority attack.

11...a6 Immediately after making this move, however, I realized I should connect the rooks first, and put them both on the c-file.

12. Rfe1  Qd7


Stockfish wants me to trade bishops, but I like to keep my dark squared bishop in positions like this.


13. Ne5 Nxe5 14. Bxe5 h6

This move is overly prophylactic. I was thinking that I would play h6 anyways after nf3, to stop ng5 threats.  I should have played this move later if he had played Nf3, as that wasn't his plan.

15. a3 Rfc8 16. Rac1 a5 Opening a file if b4 is played.

17. c4 dxc4 18. Nxc4

Bill didn't like this move after the game, but I think he really got into trouble later.

Qb5 19. Qe2 Rc6 20. Rc3?!

A questionable move at best. Bill keeps sliding
down a slippery slope.

20...Rac8 21. Rec1 Nd5 22. R3c2 Nb6 0-1, White resigns.

However, the knight is not lost. The position is better for black, but unclear after 23. Qg4 The knight has time to escape.




Round 3 was against my friend Joshua Posthuma, rated 1644.  We started with a pet line I like to play, and misplay, apparently.  I managed to get through the opening with an inferior, while survivable position.  He locked up the position, giving me the control of the pawn breaks.  I timed the break as I could, and he made a few inaccuracies and finally blundered.  I was able to stop his passed while gaining two of my own, at which point he resigned.


1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. e4 d6 4. f4?! Slightly dubious. d4 is much more sound. f4 overextends.

4...b6 5. Nf3 Bb7 6. e5 dxe5 7. Nxe5

fxe5 might be better, but after black plays c5, the e-pawn becomes extremely weak

7...Nbd7 8. d4 Nxe5 9. dxe5 Exhanging queens off instead of playing fxe5 with a
weak e-pawn.

9...Qxd1+ 10. Kxd1 Ne4 11. Kc2 Nxc3 12. Kxc3 a5 13. Be3 Be7 14.
Bd3 f5

Locking up the kingside. During and after the game, my opponent and
I thought en passant fails to 15. exf6 Bxf6+ 16. Bd4 Bxg2 17.
Rhg1 Bc6 But stockfish disagrees.

15. Rhg1 h5 16. g3 c5?

Blocking in his own bishop. Black's dark squared bishop is now terrible, and White controls
the pawn breaks.

17. Rad1 O-O-O 18. Rd2 Bc6 19. Bf1

At this point, I realized that I was the only one who was going to open the game.  I didn't want to trade light squared bishops, because after the break, his dark squared bishop is better than mine.

19...Rxd2 20. Bxd2 Kc7 21.
a3 Be4 22. Be2 g6 23. Ra1 Rd8 24. Rg1

Attempting to time the pawn break at
the best possible moment.

24...Rh8 25. b3 Rd8 26. h3 Rh8 27. Kb2 Kc6 28. b4
cxb4 29. axb4 Rd8 30. b5+ Kb7 31. Be3 Bd3 32. Bf3+ Ka7 33. Ra1 Be4?

Black missed Bb4, holding the position.  The game looks drawish.

34. Rxa5+ Kb7 (34. .. Kb8 fails to 35. Bxb6 Rd2+ 36. Kc1 Rc2+ 37. Kd1)

35. Bxe4+ fxe4 36. Ra6 Bc5

Here I realized that since my king couldn't stop the pawn, I could block with my rook, and he could not take it.

37. Bxc5! bxc5 38. Rd6!

(38. .. Rxd6 39. exd6 Kc8
40. b6 Kd8 41. b7 And the king cannot reach the b-pawn.)


38...e3 Missing the simple king move. 39. Kc2 1-0




All in all the tournament was fun, and that's all that matters.
As long as I slow down, I think I should be fine against these players.
I have to shore up my pet opening.