Hey guys! So, I am beginning this series called "Road to #1 in Classical". Every week, I will post a few classical games that I have played, and explain my thoughts.
***VERY IMPORTANT*** Will not be using engine, so some of my thoughts will probably not be the best, but it will show you how a master thinks during his/her games.
Without further ado, let's dive into the games this week.
So, I am starting with a normal solid catalan opening.
4. Bb4 is a line that I play from time to time with black, and I think it's one of the best lines to play against the catalan. The point is that you are forcing Bd2 to be played by white (Nc3 would ruin your pawn structure most likely, and Nd2 would block the bishop on c1) and then black can just play Bd6 or Be7, with the point that they may have wasted a tempo, but the bishop on d2 is just plain ugly and blocks white's development. As you can see in the game, I had an issue with putting the bishop on a good square later on.
I played 6. Qc2 because I wanted to defend c4 just in case black chooses to take, and play a6 and b5, which is usually very annoying to handle with white.
After 10. Nbd2, my plan was to open up the center with e4. I am actually surprised that he chose to play 9.a5, because I think that a5 just wasted a tempo for him, and was useless later on in the game. Maybe he has a plan though, I am not sure. After 10.Nh5, I wasn't exactly sure what to do with my bishop. Be3 seemed like an awkward move, but it was necessary to be played. He responded with 11. f5, and his plan was to start a kingside attack at this point. f4, g5, etc. I quickly played Bf4, without even thinking about the consequences of my actions. I was scared of a ghost, as they say. I could have just played Rac1, f4 was not something to really worry about. Let's say this happened: 12. Rac1 12. f4 13. gxf4 13. Nxf4 14. Bxf4 14. Rxf4 15. e3 or Kh1, and everything is completely fine for me because of his undeveloped pieces on the queenside.
After 12. Bf4, I didn't realize that he had the simple g5 move, which would make me play 13. Be5 which is not a preferred choice for sure. If 13. Be3, then f4 would trap the bishop. So after 13. Be5, black played 13. g4, which forces me to play 14. Ne1. Now, he can of course play 14. Nxe5, and he has the bishop pair which leaves me in some trouble. My dark squares are somewhat weak at the moment, and if he finds a way to make a rook lift, it's over for me because h2 is extremely hard to defend; basically the weak spot that he has to target.
And now, one my choices in this game which I absolutely regret. He played 15. Bd7, with the idea to play Be8, and put his bishop on a better square, g6. However, he should have pushed f4, because it was important to get that move in. After 15. Bd7, I could have played 16. e3! to cement the f4 square. However, I played a superficial move; Nd3. The point is, that I can play Nd3 whenever I want to, but I can only play e3 for a limited amount of time. So with simple logic, I should obviously play the move that I can only play for a limited amount of time first.
The position was pretty hard for me to play, I had no clear idea of what to do. (Note that 20. fxg3 21. hxg3 21. Nxg3 22. fxg3 22. Be3+ doesn't work, because of 23. Nf2!! and the rook on d1 is suddenly useful, and is defending the knight on d4.) I saw this during the game, that was the point of Rd1.
24. e3 is definitely not something you want to do (allow f3) but my position was pretty dead so I tried it anyways hoping that my bishop would find a way out someday. 28. Qc4 was a very good choice by him, and I had to move my queen back. Reasoning: if I exchange queens, I am basically playing down a piece in the endgame (my bishop is stuck) and you have to ask yourself: Would you rather play down a piece in a middlegame, or in an endgame? Obviously, you would have more chances with Queens on the board, and you have chances to trick/swindle your opponent. So I played 29. Qb1, even though all of my pieces were on the first rank pretty soon.
The rest of the game is pretty self explanatory, kudos to my opponent for not giving me any chances, even when we went in time pressure!
I knew I couldn't end on such a game, so I played another game in honor of my bishop on h1 :D
We started out with a normal f3. Nimzo Indian, and I really like the system that I play. It offers great attacking chances on the queenside in most games, and it's very stable.
There isn't a lot to say until 18. b4. The first critical moment of the game. I played 18. Bb6, because I don't want to give my opponent any counter play: 18. cxb4 19. axb4 19. Bxb4 20. Nxb5, with a pin on my a8 rook. Bb6 was a nice move; keeping the tension on. He played Be2 which is respectable, since he wants to potentially open up a d3 square for his f4 knight.
Note that 22. Qe3 does NOT win a piece, because of 23. Qc1, which protects both knights. I decided to take control of the c-file instead. I think that he fell apart with 25. f4, because that creates too many holes for him to handle in his position. Remember, pawns cannot move backwards!
I honestly think my opponent resigned a bit too early, but maybe not. I have complete dominance on the queenside. I finished this game with 4 inaccuracies and 19 ACPL, no mistakes or blunders. I guess that made up for the first game!
***IMPORTANT*** Here is the best way to study these games: Get your chessboard out, and make the moves on the chessboard while you have my notes open on your device!
Classical rating: 2354 ----> 2355
Alright, I think this is it for Week 1 of the grind to #1 in classical. Please leave a thumbs up 👍if you enjoyed, and want more! In the comments section, feel free to ask me any questions about the games, and I will respond as soon as possible!
Cya all next week!
***VERY IMPORTANT*** Will not be using engine, so some of my thoughts will probably not be the best, but it will show you how a master thinks during his/her games.
Without further ado, let's dive into the games this week.
So, I am starting with a normal solid catalan opening.
4. Bb4 is a line that I play from time to time with black, and I think it's one of the best lines to play against the catalan. The point is that you are forcing Bd2 to be played by white (Nc3 would ruin your pawn structure most likely, and Nd2 would block the bishop on c1) and then black can just play Bd6 or Be7, with the point that they may have wasted a tempo, but the bishop on d2 is just plain ugly and blocks white's development. As you can see in the game, I had an issue with putting the bishop on a good square later on.
I played 6. Qc2 because I wanted to defend c4 just in case black chooses to take, and play a6 and b5, which is usually very annoying to handle with white.
After 10. Nbd2, my plan was to open up the center with e4. I am actually surprised that he chose to play 9.a5, because I think that a5 just wasted a tempo for him, and was useless later on in the game. Maybe he has a plan though, I am not sure. After 10.Nh5, I wasn't exactly sure what to do with my bishop. Be3 seemed like an awkward move, but it was necessary to be played. He responded with 11. f5, and his plan was to start a kingside attack at this point. f4, g5, etc. I quickly played Bf4, without even thinking about the consequences of my actions. I was scared of a ghost, as they say. I could have just played Rac1, f4 was not something to really worry about. Let's say this happened: 12. Rac1 12. f4 13. gxf4 13. Nxf4 14. Bxf4 14. Rxf4 15. e3 or Kh1, and everything is completely fine for me because of his undeveloped pieces on the queenside.
After 12. Bf4, I didn't realize that he had the simple g5 move, which would make me play 13. Be5 which is not a preferred choice for sure. If 13. Be3, then f4 would trap the bishop. So after 13. Be5, black played 13. g4, which forces me to play 14. Ne1. Now, he can of course play 14. Nxe5, and he has the bishop pair which leaves me in some trouble. My dark squares are somewhat weak at the moment, and if he finds a way to make a rook lift, it's over for me because h2 is extremely hard to defend; basically the weak spot that he has to target.
And now, one my choices in this game which I absolutely regret. He played 15. Bd7, with the idea to play Be8, and put his bishop on a better square, g6. However, he should have pushed f4, because it was important to get that move in. After 15. Bd7, I could have played 16. e3! to cement the f4 square. However, I played a superficial move; Nd3. The point is, that I can play Nd3 whenever I want to, but I can only play e3 for a limited amount of time. So with simple logic, I should obviously play the move that I can only play for a limited amount of time first.
The position was pretty hard for me to play, I had no clear idea of what to do. (Note that 20. fxg3 21. hxg3 21. Nxg3 22. fxg3 22. Be3+ doesn't work, because of 23. Nf2!! and the rook on d1 is suddenly useful, and is defending the knight on d4.) I saw this during the game, that was the point of Rd1.
24. e3 is definitely not something you want to do (allow f3) but my position was pretty dead so I tried it anyways hoping that my bishop would find a way out someday. 28. Qc4 was a very good choice by him, and I had to move my queen back. Reasoning: if I exchange queens, I am basically playing down a piece in the endgame (my bishop is stuck) and you have to ask yourself: Would you rather play down a piece in a middlegame, or in an endgame? Obviously, you would have more chances with Queens on the board, and you have chances to trick/swindle your opponent. So I played 29. Qb1, even though all of my pieces were on the first rank pretty soon.
The rest of the game is pretty self explanatory, kudos to my opponent for not giving me any chances, even when we went in time pressure!
I knew I couldn't end on such a game, so I played another game in honor of my bishop on h1 :D
We started out with a normal f3. Nimzo Indian, and I really like the system that I play. It offers great attacking chances on the queenside in most games, and it's very stable.
There isn't a lot to say until 18. b4. The first critical moment of the game. I played 18. Bb6, because I don't want to give my opponent any counter play: 18. cxb4 19. axb4 19. Bxb4 20. Nxb5, with a pin on my a8 rook. Bb6 was a nice move; keeping the tension on. He played Be2 which is respectable, since he wants to potentially open up a d3 square for his f4 knight.
Note that 22. Qe3 does NOT win a piece, because of 23. Qc1, which protects both knights. I decided to take control of the c-file instead. I think that he fell apart with 25. f4, because that creates too many holes for him to handle in his position. Remember, pawns cannot move backwards!
I honestly think my opponent resigned a bit too early, but maybe not. I have complete dominance on the queenside. I finished this game with 4 inaccuracies and 19 ACPL, no mistakes or blunders. I guess that made up for the first game!
***IMPORTANT*** Here is the best way to study these games: Get your chessboard out, and make the moves on the chessboard while you have my notes open on your device!
Classical rating: 2354 ----> 2355
Alright, I think this is it for Week 1 of the grind to #1 in classical. Please leave a thumbs up 👍if you enjoyed, and want more! In the comments section, feel free to ask me any questions about the games, and I will respond as soon as possible!
Cya all next week!