I managed to win another tournament on Saturday. But in my second game (against a talented boy Aiden), I was lucky. My play in this game might seem strange to some chess players, but for those familiar with my style, this game fully reflects my irrational and risky manner of play. It involves elements of bluff since the calculation of moves often happens not based on objective factors of the position but rather on personal preferences. Sometimes this style fails, and sometimes, against inexperienced players (especially children), it works.
I played the opening somewhat awkwardly and inconsistently. At first, I wanted to execute my favorite pawn breakthrough e5-e6, which made me move the same pieces several times during the opening. Then, I got carried away with a combination involving sacrifices, thinking I could launch a mate attack, but soon realized I didn’t have enough resources for that…
Fortunately, at the right moment, I realized I needed to offer my opponent a draw, and I even had offered it several times. Twice - formally, with the words “I offer a draw,” and once through repetition of moves. My opponent refused me twice, but on the third try, feeling significant time pressure, he accepted.
However, the game turned out to be very interesting and rich with various combinatorial ideas. As an example, I illustrated a variation of 8 positions and will comment on it, highlighting the tactical ideas.
In position 1, I made a brilliant knight move Ng5-h7, sacrificing a piece to distract the rook in the variation “20. Nh7+ Rxh7 21. Qg5+ and 22. Qxd8.”
In position 2, Black boldly decided to play for the win, rejecting a move repetition in the variation “20…Kf6-f7 21. Ng5 Kf6 22. Nh7 Ke7” and not playing the cowardly Ke7 in the variation “20…Ke7 21. Qxe5 Rxh7 22. Bg5+.”
In position 3 White gave a check with Qh6, intending to use the powerful “queen and knight” tandem.
In position 4, Black figured out White’s plan and didn’t play 21… Kg8 due to the variation “22. Qxg6 Bg7 23. Bg5 with the idea of 24. Nf6,” although he could have played this way if he had seena maneuver 23…Nd4-e2+ followed by N?2-f4.
In positions 5, 6, and 7 both White and Black played correctly.
In position 8, Black, being in severe time trouble, didn’t play very well (it would have been better to play Qg8, securing the g-file in advance).
After that, Black made a few more unsuccessful moves, and I, feeling my opponent’s uncertainty, offered him a draw. And although the final position was actually in Black’s favor, Aiden accepted it (he had less than a minute left).
There are two conclusions from this game. First, the game turned out to be genuinely interesting. Second, all other conclusions – conclude them by yourself!
Congratulations to Yefim Treger for winning this report contest! If you want a chance to win a free entry into our Saturday Quads, email a report to icanewjersey@gmail.com, following these guidelines. We hope you guys have a great week and join us at our next Quad on March 29th.
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