[Event "Exhibition Match: TCCMB Simultaneus Exhibition Match - Board Eight"] [Site "SchemingMind.com"] [Date "2006.10.09"] [Round "-"] [White "Easy_E"] [Black "JohnKnudsen"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C18u"] [WhiteCountry "USA"] [BlackCountry "USA"] [GameID "70492"] 1. e4 { Easy_E: Hi John, it's nice to meet you. I'm excited about this opportunity to play someone of your skill level. Hopefully I can give you more of a challenge than our ratings indicate I will :). } 1... e6 { JohnKnudsen: Hi Eric: Nice to meet you as well, and I hope we have a nice game. Good luck! John } 2. d4 { Easy_E: So how long have you been playing chess? At what age did you first "get serious"? } 2... d5 { JohnKnudsen: I started late - in my middle teens. Started correspondence chess in 1978 and have been hooked ever since. } 3. Nc3 { Easy_E: I know what you mean about "hooked". I started playing CC about a year ago, and my wife laughs every night when I log on to make my moves :). I think I like CC better than OTB, but I fear I don't take enough time thinking about moves. (Kind of a quantity of games vs. quality kind of thing...) } 3... Bb4 { JohnKnudsen: I can't carry more than 10-15 electronic games (email, server) at the same time and maintain my skill level. It takes a lot of discipline to keep the gameload down... } 4. e5 { Easy_E: I agree. I learned the hard way when I got really excited and started many games...I had over 40-50 going at a time, and my rating plummetted. Since then I've been slowly winnowing down, and I only have 10-15 standard chess games at a given time. } 4... c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Ne7 7. Qg4 Qc7 8. Qxg7 Rg8 9. Qxh7 cxd4 10. Ne2 { Easy_E: This game is getting interesting :). I'll be out all day tomorrow on a very long hike, so I should be back again on Monday. } 10... Nbc6 11. f4 Bd7 12. Qd3 dxc3 13. Qxc3 { Easy_E: I'm pretty sure I'll find this out as the game goes on, but I'm hoping you can remember this position and offer comments after the game is done. The literature I've seen suggests Nxc3 as a safer position. I'm hoping that you can offer some insight into Nxe3 and Qxe3. (Of course, please wait until comments won't affect future moves :) ). } 13... Nf5 { JohnKnudsen: Hi Eric - not a problem - have played this position many times! } 14. Be3 O-O-O 15. g3 { Easy_E: I am going on vacation to visit Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. If I have internet access I will be making moves, but I may be out of touch until next Monday. } 15... d4 { JohnKnudsen: Hi Eric: Enjoy your vacation - it sounds like a nice place... } 16. Bxd4 { Easy_E: John: Thanks! The vacation was very fun and relaxing. I definitely recommend Cabo as a vacation spot if you ever get the chance to go. } 16... Ncxd4 17. Qxc7+ Kxc7 18. Nxd4 Nxd4 19. Rc1 Bc6 20. Rg1 Nf3+ 21. Kf2 Rd2+ 22. Ke3 Rxh2 23. Bg2 Nxg1 24. Bxc6 Rxg3+ 25. Ke4 Re2+ { JohnKnudsen: Hi Eric: Thanks for the nice game. I'll have to dig into my notes to answer your questions - I will respond here. Best of luck in your future chess endeavors! Kind Regards, John } { JohnKnudsen: Okay, here is the skinny from my notes. Both 13. Qxc3 and 13. Nxc3, of course, are playable in the position. I prefer 13. Nxc3 in these lines, as white. The latest idea in theory, which may be an actual refutation of this line chosen by black, is that the knight can be placed in superior defensive positions in the 13. Nxc3 line. An example of this is first 13. Nxc3, then shortly later N back to e2, and then perhaps N to d4, if black allows this. Remember, white is a pawn up, so if he survives black's fluid piece play, in conjunction with a timely P to d4 (from d5), white should win the game. In the present game, the critical position was reached after 14...0-0-0. White cannot play 15. g3, which loses a piece, but can instead choose 15. Bf2 (the most popular move) or even 15. 0-0-0 (this leads to some wild complications), or, 15. Bc5 (not recommended - poor prior results). Once you understand that the key to the position, in this variation, from black's perspective, is active placement of your pieces for an attack which is usually initiated by a timely P to d4 move, 15. g3 (??) can be eliminated as a possible move out of hand. Which leaves white with the other possibilities that I mentioned above. Those are the essentials of the game. } { Game Over: Well John, I suppose resistance is futile. Thank you very much for the opportunity to play you. I'd be interested now to hear your comments on Qxc3 vs Nxe3 at move 13. Was the game already lost at 14. Be3...? } 0-1