lichess.org
Donate

Road to 2000: Game #1

Hey everyone! I am a learning chess player with a USCF rating currently below 1500. Here's one of my games I played today, bringing me one step closer to chess mastery.

http://en.lichess.org/hPZEeeQd

My opponent made costly mistakes that I took advantage of. Any advice is appreciated. :-)
I noticed, looking back on the game. That the knights never left the squares I developed them to. In these sort of positions, how are the knights usually maneuvered (to get them to good positions).
Nice game! You really got a quick kingside attacking going. In the queen's gambit black really cannot play Nf6 before c6 or e6 since after cxd5, Nxd5 runs into e4, either immediately or after Nf3, and if Qxd5 just Nc3 as you played (if Qa5 then Bd2) with a strong lead right out of the opening. These sequences are good to know and be familiar with since lower rated players will move 2...Nf6 very often (or alternately 1...Nf6 2...d5) and even higher rated club players still sometimes make this opening mistake. It is clearly dubious when looked at in comparison to the grunfeld, for example, when black allows his knight to come to d5 but only after white has committed the knight to c3 to allow black counterplay after the exchange on that square instead of having the knight inconvenienced.

As for the middlegame play, maybe even more aggressive would have the set up with the immediate f4 and Nf3 (instead of the fianchetto with the knight coming to e2. You play f4 later anyway to initiate a successful attack on the kingside so why not start with it so you can get your knight to the more active square. I think this nuance might be where your unease about the knight maneuvering might be coming from; from f3 it can much more easily join in the attack. The other advantage of the immediate f4 Nf3 is that, in the case of a k-side attack like the one that occurred in the game, the light-squared might be better place on a diagonal aiming at the k-side, for instance with the move Bd3 (or in some cases just the more modest Be2). This development of the bishop also takes one less move, and a whole tempo is especially valuable in this type of attacking position.

On the whole, a well played game, you developed your pieces, your space advantage played off, and you followed through with correct play for the k-side attack, nice job!
Thanks for your input and encouragement! Yeah, at first I was not playing for a king-side attack (hence the fianchetto); but as I saw the slow play of my opponent I decided an attack was viable. I changed plans. Thanks again and I will be sure to use your line (f4... Nf3) in a future assault. :-)
I think you could learn much more and get much better feedback, if you showed a game that you lost. All in all you played this game very fine, but maybe your opponent was not strong enough to put pressure on you. He made it a bit too easy, so we cannot see much of your weaknesses and therefore cannot give much advice.
@jaotomschu Very true. Expect to see more games (especially ones I have lost) in the future. Remember this is only #1! I posted this one because it made me very proud as a novice chess player.
Yes, of course. You really can be proud of this one! Well played! I just wondered why there is so little feedback, because I think there are enough people, willing to give advice. But with this game, they just cannot! Looking forward to see more!

This topic has been archived and can no longer be replied to.