AWC best game competition

Any other nominations?

I’m partial to the final game of Arka50 vs onubense match in AWC 2016, where Arka played a silly opening yet managed to draw the game. Juggling his only piece he managed to prevent the promotion and to force a 50-move draw.



By the way, nice CAPTCHA as I’m posting this:

Just saw the Match between Arka50 and JaakkoT and I really liked two of the games.

This one I like, because for the white Queen being in blacks position for so long time. Arka50 running with the King to avoid repetition and being in a very tough spot then, but playing fast so JaakkoT is in time pressure and misses the mate. In move 28. there would be a very nice mate in 2 with Ne7:


Then the second game i like is not that complicated, but the way JakkoT sees the mistake 17.cxb4 and gets the Queenside to open up was nice to watch. Its a nice win with black i think:

Thanks @Iubar I saw the first game live. The top guys are always so slippery when under pressure, you really have to kill them immediately if you have a chance!

Without looking at any computer evals I like the second game +1 for that effort. Nicely played @JaakkoT.

> The top guys are always so slippery when under pressure

I was a pawn up vs fast-tsunami once, with black at that, and with hardly any compensation for it for him. He launched a counter-attack that was futile vs best defense, but I did not provide the best defense.

> you really have to kill them immediately if you have a chance

This sounds like a controversial piece of advice, but I’ll also be so bold as to claim that if ever you find yourself in a mate in two position vs a 2500+, you should mate them :-)

Gannet, strong as he was, had the habit of blundering mates rather frequently. I like one (non-AWC) game of his for both his opponent’s piece count getting reduced by 8 during two consecutive moves, and for this funny spike in computer analysis at the bottom: lichess.org/2TiS0ZUr/black

> This sounds like a controversial piece of advice

I'm happy for people to ignore it if they're playing me :)

Just thought about this game: lichess.org/uxHQcONp

Not sure if its really that good, but I think its very instructive for all ppl disliking Nf3 e3 openings, because it shows how black needs to play for a draw. Not too much with throwing all pieces in (like me when i face this opening) and hope for a blunder, but with patient but pressuring pawns. And in move 19. black could have secured the draw, but played a mistake. Thats of course the thing most ppl dislike i guess, one mistake and your out as black. But i liked that game for showing black is not without any hope like i read most of the time.

And what would have been black’s counterplay, if instead of tactically complex Be2 white would just go for O-O and f push?

After White 0-0, Black can play ...Nf6 and the f-pawn won't be able to push for a while. In the meantime Black can play ...g5 and attack the White king. Black's play is quite natural and I think the counterplay is unpleasant to handle in a practical game. I'm always a bit surprised some people regularly choose to play as White in this way.

A propos that game, I find 11. Be2 (less tactical than strategic, I would say) far more annoying to face than the "default" ram-the-f-pawn plans. By saving the bishop and guarding g4 once, it makes ...Nf6 less potent, and black has to find other avenues of counterplay, namely correct pawn handling. That's a more testing than way for white to play. Black still has decent chances, but both sides need to match each other's level of subtlety.

Also 19...b4 was me trying to go for a win, I just overlooked that Ba6 would guard c8 (20. c4 bxc3 21. Rc1 Rac8 22. Rc7 Rxc7 23. Ba6), and then I was basically lost. I usually try to go for a win with black with this opening, unless white plays very accurately.