Why is move 9 e5 a blunder for black? • page 2/2 • Game analysis • lichess.org

The fundamentals are easy to understand. Read "Common Sense in Chess" by Lasker or "Chess Fundamentals" by Capablanca or "My System" by Nimzovich.
These explain that you should bring pieces into play instead of moving pawns whenever possible. You need 2 pawn moves to open diagonals for your bishops and to secure squares for your knights.

In the above example you have played 5...d6 and 7...g6?.
7...g6 was a mistake because of 8 e5: your knight at f6 is not secure. anyway, after 5...d6 and 7...g6 both your bishops have a diagonal, so 9...e5 is plain wrong: develop 9...O-O.

The fundamentals are easy to understand. Read "Common Sense in Chess" by Lasker or "Chess Fundamentals" by Capablanca or "My System" by Nimzovich. These explain that you should bring pieces into play instead of moving pawns whenever possible. You need 2 pawn moves to open diagonals for your bishops and to secure squares for your knights. In the above example you have played 5...d6 and 7...g6?. 7...g6 was a mistake because of 8 e5: your knight at f6 is not secure. anyway, after 5...d6 and 7...g6 both your bishops have a diagonal, so 9...e5 is plain wrong: develop 9...O-O.

pyrykoski

#12

e5 makes d6 a backward pawn which cannot be defended well.

Fullbasket

#13

Just do it in blitz... Weakness? I don't care!

BossOfBosses

#14

Maybe weakens the light squares.... e5?!

jomega edited

#15

Lichess analysis for this is silly because it does not complain about White's 10th move. Yes, 9...e5 is a blunder. One way to understand why, is what people have said above. Another is to see this...

10.Bb5+, and Black either gives up the right to castle immediately by moving his King, or 10... Bd7 11. Qxd6 {Now seeing that 9... e5 weakened the d6-pawn.} 11... Bxb5 {Best} 12. Qxe5+ {That will teach that upstart pawn!} 12... Qe7 {Trying to keep castling rights?} 13. Qxe7+ Kxe7 14. Nxb5 {Simplest.} when White is up a few pawns and is threatening to win a piece with e5.

Lichess analysis for this is silly because it does not complain about White's 10th move. Yes, 9...e5 is a blunder. One way to understand why, is what people have said above. Another is to see this... 10.Bb5+, and Black either gives up the right to castle immediately by moving his King, or 10... Bd7 11. Qxd6 {Now seeing that 9... e5 weakened the d6-pawn.} 11... Bxb5 {Best} 12. Qxe5+ {That will teach that upstart pawn!} 12... Qe7 {Trying to keep castling rights?} 13. Qxe7+ Kxe7 14. Nxb5 {Simplest.} when White is up a few pawns and is threatening to win a piece with e5.

surreyDIMOS

#16

i like chess but i am beter at tennis

NM MrPushwood

#17

"You don't ALWAYS understand why certain moves are considered blunders."

Especially not now!

"You don't ALWAYS understand why certain moves are considered blunders." Especially not now!

intro_bard_bot edited

#18

@tpr
There is more subtlety in this position than simply a backward pawn. In many sicilian najdorf positions, ...e5 is called for, even in combination with g6. The key to this position has to do with the fact that a pair of knights has already been traded.

...e5 not only pins Black's only knight, but also blocks his bishop, and further creates a serious long term weakness on d5 (and weakens the pawn on d6, but d5 is more important here -- listen up). In one move, Black simultaneously deactivates his bishop and knight, and weakens the one square that White can easily take over. Since Black only has one knight, Black's move ...e5 basically gives White the d5 square for the rest of the game. White will be able to trade off light squared bishops, trade his dark squared bishop for the pinned knight, and then White secures a very simple and easy great knight vs poor bishop game. That's the best case scenario for Black btw. White can likely apply even more pressure with how tied up Black is after the self-harming ...e5.

Note that g6 is not a bad positional move, besides allowing White to play e5 and messing with Black's development. It pairs well with d6, but the timing was bad in this situation.

@tpr There is more subtlety in this position than simply a backward pawn. In many sicilian najdorf positions, ...e5 is called for, even in combination with g6. The key to this position has to do with the fact that a pair of knights has already been traded. ...e5 not only pins Black's only knight, but also blocks his bishop, and further creates a serious long term weakness on d5 (and weakens the pawn on d6, but d5 is more important here -- listen up). In one move, Black simultaneously deactivates his bishop and knight, and weakens the one square that White can easily take over. Since Black only has one knight, Black's move ...e5 basically gives White the d5 square for the rest of the game. White will be able to trade off light squared bishops, trade his dark squared bishop for the pinned knight, and then White secures a very simple and easy great knight vs poor bishop game. That's the best case scenario for Black btw. White can likely apply even more pressure with how tied up Black is after the self-harming ...e5. Note that g6 is not a bad positional move, besides allowing White to play e5 and messing with Black's development. It pairs well with d6, but the timing was bad in this situation.

boilingFrog

#19

@angstg It be bad ...