Two Overly Aggressive Players

  In real life, I'm a rather peaceful and gentle person, but I bring none of that to the chess board. When the clocks are started, I'm immediately transformed into a vicious predator. It's strange, but I've come to terms with my chess personality, and I don't try to avoid aggressive play.

That means that my games often see me attacking and my opponent defending. The most common scenarios are either me making a blunder due to over-confidence, or my opponent cracking under the pressure.

Sometimes, however, I face an opponent even more aggressive than myself, and that can lead to really weird games where most of the moves should objectively be classed as mistakes. Here's a recent example, enjoy! (I should add here that my opponent is a very gentle person away from the board.)

Me - N.N. (Open Tournament, 2024)

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Nf3 Bc5 The first sign of aggressiveness. Instead of the standard move 3 ... Nf6, Black immediately takes aim at f2.

The cautious player now continues with 4. e3, making the Bishop look rather misplaced.

 4. Na4 Chasing away the Bishop, but at a cost. The Knight has no future on a4, and must eventually return to c3.

 4. Be7 5. g3 An attempt to steer into my normal Reversed Dragon, but that requires d3 to be played first. Now Black take the initiative with 5 ... e4 forcing the Knight back to g1, but instead:

5 ... d6 6. Bg2 h5 Black is eager to get a Kingside attack, and once again misses e4.

7. h4 Be6 8. d3 Qd7 This looks dangerous, but it's not, unless White panics. White should now play Nc3, preparing a Queenside advance to discourage Black from castling long. 

9. Ng5 Bxg5 10. Bxg5 (hxg5 was better) 10... f6 11. Bd2 O-O-O

 

Black wants to use all his pieces for his attack, but underestimates White's threats on the Queenside. 11 ... Nge7 preparing O-O would keep the game equal, but now White is clearly better.

12. b4 Nge7 Too slow. Nd4 followed by Bg4 was the only way to keep the attack going. 

13. b5 Nd4 14. e3 Ndf5

Now White's attack breaks through before Black can organise their Kingside attack. Unless...

15. Qf3? White couldn't resist setting up a battery on the long diagonal. Rb1 followed by c5 would secure the win. Now Black could save the day by 15 ... c5, a nice multi-purpose move that stops White's c5 advance, and also defends b7. Instead, Black tries to dismantle the battery:

15... d5?? 16. Nc5 Qd6 17. Nxe6 Qxe6 18. cxd5

18... Nxd5?? Black is in in deep trouble, but Rxd5 would at least avoid losing a piece.

19. Bh3 Qd6 20. Bxf5+ Kb8 21. O-O? Wasting time. Qe4 would kept up the pace.

21... g5 This move is a ghost, because both players now foresee a terrible onslaught on the Black King, while in reality there isn't one. Unless White helps, which is what happened in the game. But first, some floundering where neither player finds the right moves.

22. Be4 Qe6 23. Bf5 Qd6 24. Rfc1 gxh4 25. gxh4 Rhg8+ 26. Kh1 Ne7 27. Bh3 Qxd3 28. Bb4 Nd5 

 

White is still winning, but now it starts to slip.

29. Bf1? Qg6 30. Bg2?? Giving away the win. Bc4 was the only move.

30... Qf7?? Giving back the win. 30 ... e4 could save the game for Black. Surprisingly often a blunder is answered with another blunder, as this game demonstrates.

31. Rab1?? Another blunder, Rd1 was the right move. However, White still retains some advantage.

31... Rg4 32. a3? Now Black can take over the game with f5, but chooses a more "active" move:

32... e4?? 33. Qh3? (Qf5 wins) Rdg8 34. Rg1 Nxb4 35. Rxb4 f5 

White is a piece up, but how should White continue? The only move that promises winning chances is Qh2, but that wasn't on my radar at the time. Instead, I went completely lost.

 36. Rbb1?? Qf6?? 37. Bxe4?? Another triple blunder sequence! But now Black shook it off, and finished the game in orderly fashion.

37... fxe4 38. Rxg4 Rxg4 39. Rg1 Qxh4 40. Qxh4 Rxh4+ 41. Kg2 Rg4+ 42. Kh2 Rxg1 43. Kxg1 c5 44. bxc6 bxc6 45. f4 exf3 46. e4 c5 47. e5 c4 0-1

Takeaway

If you're an aggressive player, then go ahead and play aggressively. Just remember, you're increasing the randomness, and that means that both players will make more mistakes than in a normal game. So, against weaker players, it's safer to just wait out their mistakes before lashing out.

Fear and Greed

 Fear and greed are probably the most common causes for making bad decisions in chess. Both emotions prevent us from thinking logically and systematically, and make us do stupid things. Below is an example on what greed can do to you (I'm at the move as White, and I'm the greedy one in this game).

I have been building up for a Kingside attack, and now it's time to leap into action. I started off with 1. Bh6, seeing that the Bishop cannot be captured due to 2. Rxf6, but now greed kicked in:

1...Qe6 2. Bxg7?? Kxg7 3. Qg5+ Bg6

This was the move I completely ignored, blinded by the beautiful wins after 3...Kh7. Now White's completely busted. This is the hardest type of loss - you are just waiting for them to resign, but instead they play a move that not only saves the day, but also wins the game! The worst part of it is that you have only yourself to blame.

Instead of the disastrous Bxg7, White could have retreated the Bishop to e3 with a winning game. But, retreats are seldom on your mind in the middle of an attack.

However, the greediness doesn't stop there. Being obsessed by the capture on h6, I completely overlooked a much better continuation from the diagram:

1. e5! dxe5 2. Bxe5 Nh7 3. Bxa8 Rxa8 (or 1...Ne8 2.Rae1 Ne6 3.Bxh6) and White is winning.

Takeaway

The next time you're overcome with fear or greed, try to take a moment to calm down. It's not easy to be objective is the heat of the battle, but if you succeed, it could save you the game.

When to make a Change of Plans

 

Do you remember the Kodak Company? They were once the world leaders i photographic film, with strong brands like Kodachrome and Ektachrome. So what happened to them? They got completely overrun by digital photography, and eventually went bankrupt in 1983. You might think that the new technology took them by surprise, giving them no time to reform their business, but that's not the case. In fact, Kodak made the very first digital camera in 1975 (as shown above). They also hade some success in providing sensors to digital camera manufacturers, so why did they fail?

Even though Kodak knew perfectly well that digital photography would soon make film obsolete, and they were well advanced in digital technology, they could not bring themselves to abandoning film. It had always been at the core of their business, and they felt that they had invested too much in it to just let it go.

This scenario is common in chess too - you have built a great plan only to discover later that it doesn't work. Theoretically, the solution is simple: just ditch that failing plan and make a new one. However, in reality, it's not that simple. Having invested precious time and energy, it's tempting to try to save at least some parts of your plant. Don't to that, just remember Kodak, and make a brand now plan.

It might help to see a plan as a vehicle to take you a bit further down the road. Once you get there (even if the position isn't what you hoped for), it's time to make a new plan and forget about the old one.

Missed opportunities

I had resolved to not include correspondence chess games in this blog, but no rule without exceptions. This is a casual correspondence game played under OTB rules, so no books, databases or chess engines were allowed. The plan was to play a game resembling OTB, but without the errors coming from fatigue, impatience, or real-life interferences.

My opponent's style is a somewhat different from mine - aggressive like me, a bit more attacking, less positional, more calculating, and less intuitive. So, slow manoeuvring was not to be expected here!

Me - N.N (Casual correspondence game, 2024)
English Opening

1. c4 b6 2. g3 Bb7 3. Nf3 g6 Black goes for an immediate double fianchetto. Other alternatives are:

3... Bxf3 4. exf3 c5, giving up the Bishop pair for a doubled pawn, or
3... Nf6, heading for a standard English Opening position.

4. Bg2 Bg7 5. Nc3 e6 6. d4 Ne7 7. e4

 7 ... c5 Probably not the best,  as White now can claim the centre and cut off the Bishop on b7. O-O would have been better.

8. d5 exd5 This leads to trouble. A better plan was O-O followed by e5 and d6, and possibly a kingside attack in the King's Indian style.

9. exd5 O-O 10. O-O Nf5 11. Ne4 d6 12. Bf4 Bxb2 13. Rb1 

 Black has gained a pawn,but at a price. There are three sleeping pieces on the queenside, and the d6 pawn is vulnerable and under attack. White must now play resolutely not to give Black time to develop.

13 ... Bg7 14. g4 Re8 15. Nfg5? This is the first missed opportunity. The right move is 15. Re1, when Black must give up the exchange with 15 ... Rxe5 to save the pawn on d6.

15 ...h6? Overlooking some tactics.

16. Nxf7 Kxf7 17. gxf5 

 White has an overwhelming position, but it's very sharp, so things can still go wrong. And they will.

17 ... Be5?? Black had to play 17 ... Rxe4. This was a mistake that would cost the game, if only I've seen the crushing 18 ... Qg4!, but...

18. Bxh6?? Apart from missing the winning Qg4, this move puts the Bishop on a vulnerable square. Just look at Rh8 and Qh4, with a lot of firepower bearing down on h2. The plan was to prepare for Ng5+, but that turns out to bad too.

Rh8 19. Ng5+? Inviting Black back into the game. fxg6+ was the move to play.   19 ... Kg8 

20. Ne6? Gives away the last shred of advantage. 20 ... Qe7?? 

Evades the immediate threat, but nothing more. But, there's a multi-purpose move here - 20 ... Qh4, threatening both mate and the Bishop on h6. After 21. f4 Rxh6 22. fxe5 Qxh2+ 23. Kf2 Qh4+, Black has time to develop the queenside starting with Nd7.

21. Bf4 Keeps the pressure up, but f4 was even better.  Bxf4 22. Nxf4 Qh4 

 23. Nh3?? Black threatens to mate on h2, and also to capture on f4, but this is not the right way to solve those problems. Instead, 23. Re1 avoids the mate, and also threatens Re8+. It's very complicated, but White should win.

23 ... gxf5?? Another missed opportunity. Bc8 followed by Bxf5 would solve all Black's problems.

24. Qd3 Qe2 is better, allowing Rb3. 

24 ... f4?? This is the decisive mistake. I don't know what Black was planning, but I do know it wouldn't work. After 24 ... Nd7, White is better, but there are at least some survival chances.  25. Qg6+ 

Now the mate is on the horizon, all White needs to do is bringing out a Rook or two. The finish is not perfect, but at least the job gets done. Can you find any improvements from this point? There are several!

25. Kf8 26. Qxd6+ Kg7 27. Rbe1 Rf8 28. Re7+ Rf7 29. Rfe1 Bc8 30. Rxf7+ Kxf7 31. Nxf4 Na6 32. Qg6+ 1-0

Takeaway

There were some technical mistakes in the opening, but starting from move 15, the mistakes were all psychological. Most of the missed chances were caused by blinded by your own plan. This means that when you find a move that fits your plan, you look no further. A useful tool for looking for a better move is the multi-purpose move.

The methods I use to study my mistakes are found in how to analyse your games.