Exploiting the back rank weakness for the white pieces and more active pieces.
Black to play
Saturday, August 29, 2020
Thursday, August 27, 2020
Alireza Firouzja bullet win in Taimanov variation Aug 26 2020 Katara
Alireza Firouzja shows us the black side of a tricky Taimanov line.
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nc6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Ndb56.. Qb8 7. Be3 a6 8. Bb6 !?Black has to take it and defend.
8..axb5 9. Nxb5-First idea 9...Ra5 10.Nc7+ Ke7 11.Qf3! Re5 12.Qa3+ d6 13.0–0–0 f6 14.Qa4.The queen in this variation goes to f3 and then a3 with pressure on a3-f8 diagonal.-The second idea is 9..Bb4+ followed by Ba5 to indirectly cover c7.lets look at this line.9.. Bb4+ 10. c3 Ba5 11. Nc7+
11..Qxc7 12. Bxc7 Bxc7 13. g3 Nf6 14. Bg2 O-OHow to continue here ? Lets see Alireza Firouzja in Katara Event Aug 26 2020 win easily.
Wednesday, August 26, 2020
Tuesday, August 25, 2020
My blitz game against Hikaru Nakamura Aug 2020- Scandinavian
got the privilege to play in a Hikaru arena and got faced with GM Hikaru Nakamura himself in a blitz 3 minutes for each player.
needless to say, I lost but this is quite an instructive loss I think.
[White "thechesscorner64"][Black "Hikaru"][WhiteElo "2402"][BlackElo "3218"]
[Result "0-1"][ECO "B01"][Date "2020.08.22"]
1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. d4 c5
here Hikaru surprised me with 4..c5. The best answer is 5 Nc3 to develop a piece followed by Bf4. I played 5c4 and 6 d5 which is ok.
5. c4 Qd8 6. d5 g6 7. Nc3 Bg4 8. Be2 Bg7 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Bxf3 Nbd7 11. O-O O-O 12. Bf4
we reached the following position with Black to play.
Here Nakamura uncorked 12..Ne8!An excellent idea ! Black plans to relocate knight from e8 to d6. from there, Black will play Ra8-b8 and a6-b5 creating pressure on my queenside pawn. This move opens the diagonal h8-a1 for the bishop on g7.
I suggest to replay the moves in the app below.
We reached the following position after 17..Nf6, White to play
it was time to start white's counterplay on the kingside with f4-f5, starting with 18 f4! instead I played 18 Rfe1 and Black started to put further pressure
18..b5 19. cxb5 axb5 20. Rad1 b4 21. Na4 Black to play
Hikaru played 21..c4 and I cannot capture the pawn as I need to protect the knight on a4. I had to play 22Qf4! attacking b4 if he pushes the c pawn further. Instead I played 22 Re3 and 22.c3 give Black a large advantage which Black converted without trouble.
Here's the replay from 21 Na4
Final position after 31..c2!
Saturday, August 22, 2020
Sicilian 2Nc3 Nc6 3Bb5!? trap
This occurs after 1e4 c5 2Nc3 Nc6 3Bb5 Nd4 4Bc4
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4..g6 5 Nge2 Bg7 6 Nd4 cd4 7Qf3!
Here Black can play 7..Nh6 or 7..Nf6 but the most natural human move is 7..e6?! which leads to the trap White has set up !
7..e6?! 8 Nb5 d6 9Qa3!
Black has to defend d6 and play 9..Ke7
White has exploited the weaknesses of dark squares after 5..Bg7 by targetting c7 and d6 playing Nb5 as Black didn't have time to play a7-a6.
after 9..Ke7 10c3! white is better. You Hifan won against Pia Cramling in 19 moves.
Note that Black can try 8..d5 instead of 8..d6 but White has 9Qg3! with Nc7+ winning the exchange.
Thursday, August 20, 2020
Breaking news: Hikaru wins first blitz game in finals against Magnus Day 7
official site:
Magnus needs two wins in a row : first 2nd blitz game and second the armageddon after game 1.
Hikaru very close to win the whole thing !
Hikaru wins critical Ruy Lopez game on day 7 to level the score : details inside
Hikaru went for a sharp version of the anti-berlin 4d3.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nbd2 O-O 7. h3 Nd7 8. Nc4 a5 9. g4 Re8 10. Rg1! a411. Ne3 Bxe3 12. Bxe3 Nf8 13. h4 Qd6 14. Qd2 c5 15. h5 b5 16. Nh4 Qc6 17. Nf5!
Tuesday, August 18, 2020
incredible win in Nimzo by Hikaru Nakamura against Magnus Carlsen
Armageddon game today. Hikaru must draw, Magnus must win for day 5.
www.chess24.com for full coverage
official site: http://www.chess24.com
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. a3 Bxc3+ 5. bxc3 c5 6. e3 Nc6 7. Bd3 O-O 8.
Ne2 b6 9. e4 Ne8!
a very important move to prepare f7-f5 and the knight will go back to f6 or d6. Black wants to play Ba6 pressuring c5.
Magnus had played this against Giri and Anand in the last months so Hikaru was prepared.
10. O-O Ba6 11. f4 f5!
White to play
The game continued and Hikaru increased his advantage with Black. After his move 30..Nd2! we reached the following
White to play
If white takes the knight 31 Nxd2 31..Qe3+ wins it back with attack against the king. Magnus pieces ( queen and rook) are too far to defend the lone white king. Magnus played 31 Rd8 but the following occured:31. Rd8 Nxf1 32. Qxf1 Qe3+ 33. Kh2 Re4
Monday, August 17, 2020
Colle-Zukertort ideas
Colle Zukertort is the system where white decides to fianchetto his dark square bishop b3,Bb2, plays e3,d4 as well as Bd3,Nbd2 and Nf3.
Here is what white starts the game with
and in a real life game, here's the position for white where f2-f4 is also played.
Remember to play actively with White, setting the board on fire. Use the a1-h8 and b1-h7 diagonals with your bishops. Bring your knights to the kingside.
Like this :
Now lets see full games with this system with the white pieces.
here's another one
and one more example without Qc2/f5 inserted
and a final one with early Rc1 and c4-c5
Sunday, August 16, 2020
Berlin Defense rapid games between Nakamura(white) and Carlsen(black) annotated
In this entry, I will analyze Nakamura versus Carlsen game the Ruy Lopez ( Spanish) Berlin Defense with White getting a better opposite bishop ending
Great example where White built pressure
www.chess24.com for full coverage
Great example where White built pressure
Berlin Wall destroyed: Hikaru Nakamura wins in 22 moves against Magnus Carlsen day 3 chess24.com finals
Berlin Wall is the position after 1 e4 e5 2 Nf3 Nc6 3 Bb5 Nf6 in the www.chess24.com finals.
Hikaru chose anti-berlin 4 d3 on which Carlsen plays the most popular and active 4..Bc5
6. Nbd2 O-O (6..Bg4 was played by Carlsen before) 7. Qe2
White hasn't decided where his king will castle
7..Re8 8. Nc4 Nd7 9. Bd2 b5 10. Ne3 Nf8 11. h4 Ne6? (11..a5 was safer)
White to play , what did Magnus miss with Black ? I am sure he intended 12..Nd4 but white has 13Nf7! Ne2 14Nd8 with 2 pawns up
12. Nxe5 a5? 13. Qh5! g6 14. Qf3 f6 15. Nxc6! Qd7 16. Qxf6 Qxc6 17. Bc3
Position after 17 Bc3!
White threatens 18 Qh8+ and h7, and has already 3 pawns for the piece. White can continue the attack with h4-h5 as well as 0-0-0 followed by d3-d4
17...Rf8 18. Qh8+ Kf7 19. Qxh7+ Ke8 20. Qxg6+ Kd7 21. d4 b4 22. dxc5 1-0
very convincing win by Hikaru today in the berlin
Hikaru Nakamura and Magnus Carlsen trade wins in Berlin Defense: Day 3 chess24 chess tour finals
Featuring the new pgn viewer from chesstempo.com along many other features you can find on the website like tactics training, database games, play online, guess the move, and much more.
I encourage you to check it out !
we want show here games between Magnus and Hikaru on day 3
we want show here games between Magnus and Hikaru on day 3
They played the Berlin Defense several times, with white and Black. Hikaru lost game 1 with white, drew with Black easily in game 2 and won game 3.
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6 dxc6 6. Nbd2 O-O
and replay with my comments below
Friday, August 14, 2020
Breaking news: Nakamura defeats Magnus Carlsen in day 1, game 2 for Magnus tour finals on chess24.com
Critical position where Magnus sacrificed the exchange on move 19 with 19Rg7?!
2nd Critical position where Hikaru played 36..Kg7 with a clear plan to activate rooks as indicated by arrows and explanation below. turning point of the game 2 with Hikaru(Black) in the driver seat
Wednesday, August 12, 2020
Ding Liren wins Brilliant Game against Magnus Carlsen in King's Indian Defence: chess24 magnus tour finals Aug 2020
In this entry, I will analyze a game where Magnus plays the King's Indian Defense with Black and Ding outplays it with near perfect play.
lots of tactics to calculate and Ding was up to the task.
Great example where Ding Liren quickly built pressure againt Magnus who wasn't really up to speed with KID structures. Ding has mastered positions with 1d4 and g3,Bg2 fianchetto. His calculation ability is world class level even though he started poorly in candidates 2020 first half and will not challenge Magnus for World Championship ( it will be either Nepo,MVL or Caruana again).
www.chess24.com for full coverage
Great example where Ding Liren quickly built pressure againt Magnus who wasn't really up to speed with KID structures. Ding has mastered positions with 1d4 and g3,Bg2 fianchetto. His calculation ability is world class level even though he started poorly in candidates 2020 first half and will not challenge Magnus for World Championship ( it will be either Nepo,MVL or Caruana again).
Ding was impressive with the line starting with 24Bh6! and played perfectly until 31 Qf4 checkmate. Magnus could have defended better if he found Bd4+ in several instances but instead lost very quickly
Tuesday, August 11, 2020
Carlsen tactics (Carlsen-Ding Liren 2020 Chess24.com Finals)
today I'd like to go over the game from Magnus Carlsen against Ding Liren, a sharp sicilian defense game.www.chess24.com for full coverage
Both players went into a dynamic types of positions ( Sicilian Najdorf by Ding Liren). with Kings on opposite sides.
Critical position 1:
White to play in diagram above.
Hint: Magnus was looking at 27 Rf3 and 27Rf7+. Can you calculate the lines ?
Critical position 2 (analysis):
White had to evaluate 27Rf7+ Kf7 28 Qe6+ Kg7 leading to the following diagram, white to play.
can Black defend and what is White's best move ?
_____________________________________________________________________
Solution
_____________________________________________________________________
Magnus looked at 29 Qe7+ Kg8 30 Nxe5 but 30..Rh7! saves Black.
White would win by playing 29 Ne7! , and here's why:
if 29..Rab8 30 Qg6+ Kf8 31Rf1+ wins
if 29..Rh7 30 Rf1! Qc4 31 Qf7+ Kh8 32 Ng6 checkmate
if 29..Qxc4 30 Qg6+ Kf8 31 Nf5! Qe4+ 32 Ka1 wins.
in the game Magnus played 27Rf3 f5 28 gf6+ Nf6 29 Qg2 Qd7 which allowed Ding to come back into the game. But eventually Magnus won the game anyway.
Hikaru Nakamura wins against Danil Dubov on Magnus Final Tour tournament
Hikaru Nakamura played a quite instructive game against Daniil Dubov and scored a key win in his match.
This is a rapid game played online in the chess24.com chess24 Magnus Finals tournament, in August 2020.
The Sveshnikov Variation has become very popular in master level chess
Hikaru is White, and Dubov is Black.
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7
They reached the following position after Black played 19..Qe8 to prevent b4-b5
White has a passed pawn on the b column and played 20 Be2. Dubov started counterplay with f7-f5 which is standard in this sicilian opening.
Eventually, they reached the following with white to play
Hikaru played 31 Ne3! the best move of the game. It deprives black from the bishop pair and targets the d6 pawn. Also the knight will jump to c4-a5-c6 which will be hard to defend against, as the dark square bishop is weaker than White's knight
and here is the final key moment, White to Play
Here Hikaru played 38 Rdc1! with the idea Nc6. Black tried 38..Bf4. Hikaru continued 39 Qc8+ Rd8 40 Qxd8 queen sacrifice with advantage but either 39 Qc7 or 39Nc6 was winning on the spot .
Here's the full replay
and the game notation (PGN)
[Event "Carlsen Tour Final 2020"]
[Site "chess24.com INT"]
[Date "2020.08.10"]
[Round "1.23"]
[White "Nakamura, Hikaru"]
[Black "Dubov, Daniil"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B33"]
[WhiteElo "2736"]
[BlackElo "2699"]
1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4
cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e5 6. Ndb5 d6 7. Bg5 a6 8. Na3 b5 9. Nd5 Be7 10. Bxf6
Bxf6 11. c3 Rb8 12. Nc2 Bg5 13. a4 bxa4 14. Ncb4 Nxb4 15. cxb4 Bd7 16. Bxa6 O-O
17. b3 axb3 18. Qxb3 Kh8 19. O-O Qe8 20. Be2 f5 21. exf5 Bxf5 22. b5 Be6 23.
Ra6 Qf7 24. Bc4 Rfd8 25. Rd1 e4 26. b6 Rf8 27. Ra2 Bd8 28. Rb2 Qh5 29. Qc2 Bf5
30. Qd2 Be6 31. Ne3 Bxc4 32. Nxc4 Bf6 33. Rbb1 Rfd8 34. b7 d5 35. Na5 Be5 36.
g3 Qg6 37. Qc2 Rd6 38. Rdc1 Bf4 39. Qc8+ Rd8 40. Qxd8+ Rxd8 41. Rc8 Qe8 42.
Rxd8 Qxd8 43. gxf4 1-0
Sunday, August 9, 2020
advanced tactics puzzles
presenting more difficult tactics, how to conclude an attack
Position 1: White to play and win
replay solution
Position 2 : White to play and win
chp10 solution. can you find the right move ?
Position 3 : White to play and win
can you figure out a way to finish off with the white pieces ?
solution (ch14)
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