Bloomington Normal Chess Club

BNAK September Games, 2020

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[Event "2020.09.BNAK"] [Site "https://lichess.org/8oC4lgt9"] [Date "2020.09.29"] [Round "4"] [White "Sivagnanam, Kavin, Kavin952011"] [Black "Upadhyay,Anushuman, FirstCamel"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "731"] [BlackElo "832"] [PlyCount "38"] [EventDate "2020.09.08"] [TimeControl "G/30; 5"] 1. e4 {This was the championship game for the September G/30 tournament. MLavanur placed second. Kavin tied for third.} e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 h6 7. Be3 Bb6 {Although this is the move I always play, it is not the strongest move. Exchanging the bishops is better.} 8. Qd2 d6 {And here I do exchange the bishops to prevent the attack on h6.} 9. h3 Be6 10. Bb3 Nd4 11. Ne1 {since White plans to sacrifice on h6, it makes no sense to bury this knight. The sacrifice is not sound if there are no pieces to back it up. Nh2 is better, heading eventually to g4 after a bishop trade on e6. Fritz says Bd4, but White wants his Bh6 attack.} Qd7 12. f3 Nh5 13. Bxh6 {Black’s last was not particularly good, but White’s reply is a disaster. Now Nf3 is not only discovered check with the bishop, it is double check forcing Kh1 when Ng3 is mate! But even if that were not true, the sacrifice is unsound because White has no pieces positioned to help with the mate.} gxh6 14. Qxh6 Ng7 {That would be excellent except that Nf3 still forces mate} 15. Ba4 c6 16. Nd5 {Heading for f6, but…} Bxd5 17. exd5 Ndf5+ 18. Rf2 Bxf2+ 19. Kxf2 Nxh6 {and Black won. If you are going to sacrifice, you must have pieces ready to join the attack.} 0-1 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "2020.09.29.BNAK Arena"] [Site "https://lichess.org/MRvTR0al"] [Date "2020.09.29"] [Round "0"] [White "Lavanur, Mahendra, MLavanur"] [Black "Sivagnanam, Kavin, Kavin9520"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "764"] [BlackElo "731"] [PlyCount "39"] [EventDate "2020.09.08"] [TimeControl "G/5; 5"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 h6 7. Be3 Bb6 8. Qd2 d6 9. h3 Be6 10. Bb3 Qd7 11. Kh2 {The king is a good defender.} Nd4 {seeking to trade on f3 when gf removes the defender of h3.} 12. Nxd4 {This allows a fork that costs White a piece. Bd4 ed; Ne2 and Black can only defend d4 by c5 which buries the bishop.} exd4 13. Bxh6 {Might as well try the sacrifice, since losing a piece loses the game anyway.} dxc3 {take the free piece before dealing with the h6 sacrifice.} 14. Qg5 Nh5 {Bad defense. Ne8 prevents the mate and leaves Black a piece up.} 15. g4 d5 16. gxh5 Qd6+ 17. Kg1 {Kg2. Fritz points out that f4 is crushing.} g6 18. Qf6 {Threatening mate next, but hg is stronger} Qg3+ {That’s why Kg2 was a better move. The pawn is pinned.} 19. Kh1 Qf3+ {Black has a draw by perpetual check after Qh3+; Kg1 Qg3+. Fritz says Black can do even better than that with Qh3+; Kg3 Qg4+; Kh1 Qh5+ and QxB} 20. Qxf3 {And White won.} 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "BNAK 2020.09"] [Site "https://lichess.org/3npiDB09"] [Date "2020.09.22"] [Round "?"] [White "Sivagnanum, Kavin"] [Black "Upadhyay, Anushuman"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "731"] [BlackElo "832"] [PlyCount "42"] [EventDate "2020.09.08"] [TimeControl "G/5; 5"] 1. e4 {Kavin took first place in the Arena tournament this week. In almost every game he sacrificed a bishop to bring his queen near the enemy king. He usually won because his opponents defended poorly. In fact, he lost only two games, and both were because his opponent defended well.} e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 h6 7. Be3 Bb6 {This is the move I always play, hoping the opponent will trade bishops. That removes an attacking piece from his army and opens a file for my rook. The best move, however, is Be3 with equality.} 8. Qd2 d6 {And at this point I always play Be3 to avoid the sacrificial attack that follows.} 9. Bxh6 gxh6 10. Qxh6 Nh7 {This move is very important. Black cannot wait for White to play Ng5 because then While will play Nd5, take on f6, and mate on h7.} 11. h4 {Fritz prefers Nd5 to prevent Qf6.} Qf6 12. Qh5 Be6 13. Bxe6 fxe6 14. Qg4+ Kh8 15. Ng5 {And that’s a losing move. Fritz gives Qh5 or Na4, both with a substantial advantage to Black.} Nxg5 16. hxg5 Bxf2+ 17. Kh1 Qg7 18. g6 Qh6+ 19. Qh3 Qxh3+ 20. gxh3 Kg7 21. Kg2 Bd4 {And Black is a piece up in an ending.} 0-1 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "BNAK 2020.09"] [Site "https://lichess.org/GSM5Ub0B"] [Date "2020.09.22"] [Round "3"] [White "Sivagnanum, Kavin, Kavin952011"] [Black "Upadhyay, Anushuman, FirstCamel"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "731"] [BlackElo "832"] [PlyCount "56"] [EventDate "2020.09.08"] [TimeControl "G/5; 5"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 h6 7. Be3 Bb6 8. Qd2 d6 9. Bxh6 gxh6 10. Qxh6 Nh7 11. Nd5 Be6 12. h4 Bxd5 13. Bxd5 Qf6 14. Qh5 Ne7 {In the first of their 3 encounters Black blundered with Qg6 and lost his queen.} 15. Ng5 Nxg5 16. hxg5 Qg6 17. Qh4 Qh7 18. Qg4 Nxd5 19. exd5 Qg7 {And again White is simply a piece down in an ending.} 20. Rae1 f5 21. Qg3 f4 22. Qg4 Qe7 23. g6 Rf6 24. Qg5 Qg7 25. g3 Rxg6 26. Qf5 Rxg3+ 27. Kh1 Qh6+ 28. Qh3 Qxh3# 0-1 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "2020.09.BNAK.Arena"] [Site "https://lichess.org/Rb2VsmOC"] [Date "2020.09.15"] [Round "2"] [White "Lavanur, Mahendra, MLavanur"] [Black "Upadhyay, Anushuman, FirstCamel"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "764"] [BlackElo "832"] [PlyCount "117"] [EventDate "2020.09.08"] [TimeControl "G5; 5"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. O-O O-O 6. d3 d6 7. Bg5 Be6 8. Bb3 h6 9. Be3 Bxe3 10. fxe3 d5 11. exd5 Bxd5 12. Bxd5 Nxd5 13. Nxd5 Qxd5 14. e4 Qe6 15. Qe2 Nd4 16. Nxd4 exd4 17. Qf3 Rad8 18. Qg3 Rd6 19. Rf3 Qg6 20. Qf4 Rf6 21. Qg3 Rxf3 22. Qxf3 f5 23. exf5 Qxf5 24. Qg3 Qg5 {sacrificing the c-pawn for a mating attack that isn’t there.} 25. Qxc7 Qe3+ 26. Kh1 Qf2 27. Qc4+ Kh8 28. h3 Kh7 29. Qc7 Rf7 30. Qa5 a6 31. Qd5 Qf5 {This is the last game of the evening and both players are tired. Still, Qd4 leaves White two pawns up with an easy win.} 32. Qxf5+ Rxf5 33. Kh2 Rf2 34. Rc1 g6 {No, in the ending the king wants to get to the center as soon as possible. Thus Kg6 is the move} 35. Kg3 Rf5 36. c3 {yes, every trade makes White’s extra pawn that much stronger.} Rc5 37. a3 b5 38. b4 {And that should lose the game. Now Rc3 and if the rooks trade then the c-pawn queens or if Rd1 then Ra3} Rc6 39. c4 bxc4 40. dxc4 Rd6 41. c5 Rd8 42. c6 d3 43. c7 Rc8 44. a4 d2 45. Rd1 Rxc7 46. Rxd2 Rb7 47. Rb2 a5 48. b5 Rb6 49. Kh2 {And this is the reason I wanted to show this game. White wins this easily by advancing his king to support the b-pawn.} Kg7 50. g4 Kf7 51. Kg3 Ke6 52. Kf4 Kd5 53. g5 h5 54. h4 Kd4 55. Kg3 {Rc2 Kd3??; Rc6 wins.} Kc3 56. Rb1 Kc2 57. Ra1 Kb2 58. Re1 Kb3 59. Re4 1/2-1/2 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "2020.09.BNAK"] [Site "https://lichess.org/CzK9mi1T"] [Date "2020.09.08"] [Round "1"] [White "Ramkumar, Gautham"] [Black "Lavanur, Mahendra"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C65"] [WhiteElo "984"] [BlackElo "764"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2020.09.08"] [TimeControl "G30; 5"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. Nc3 Bd6 6. O-O O-O 7. Re1 Qe7 8. d3 h6 9. Be3 Bg4 10. h3 Be6 11. Qd2 Bd7 {Why move this piece twice? I like Nd7 with f5 to follow. Open lines leading to the enemy king.} 12. Rad1 {Fritz wants d4 now. After the rook move Black could play c5 to prevent d4 or Rad to protect the d7 bishop.} Rae8 13. d4 {Not Ba7 b6 and the rook slides back over to eat the trapped bishop.} exd4 14. Bxd4 c5 {Bc5 Now White wins a piece because of the bishop on d7. Fritz prefers Nh7 or Nh5 to avoid the fork.} 15. Bxf6 Qxf6 16. e5 Bxe5 17. Nxe5 Rxe5 {Bh3 gets something for the bishop} 18. Rxe5 Qxe5 19. Qxd7 Re8 {b6, says Fritz. Protect the pawns.} 20. Qd5 {When ahead, trade.} Qe7 21. Qxb7 a5 22. Qb5 Ra8 23. Qb7 Rb8 {A blunder in a lost game.} 24. Qxb8+ 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "2020.09.BNAK"] [Site "https://lichess.org/NaQQwEt4"] [Date "2020.09.08"] [Round "1"] [White "Upadhyay, Anushuman, FirstCamel"] [Black "Saraf, Mohini, Sarafian4"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B00"] [WhiteElo "832"] [PlyCount "39"] [EventDate "2020.09.08"] [TimeControl "G30; 5"] 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 Nf6 {Watch the pawns chase those knights around. In the opening, you have to occupy the center with some pawns.} 3. d5 {Right idea. Wrong pawn. e5 Nd5; c4 gives White a strong grip on the center. It is worth noting that Fritz likes d5 better than e5, but he follows it up with Ne5; f4 Ng6 e5 chasing the knights back home.} Ne5 4. Bf4 Ng6 5. Qd2 {Qf3 protects both bishop and pawn.} Nxe4 6. Qe3 f5 {Nf6 with an attack on d5.} 7. Bd3 {Fritz says this gives Black a chance after e5; Bg3 Bc5} b6 8. Bxe4 fxe4 9. Qxe4 Bb7 10. Nf3 {c4 with Nc3 to follow or just Nc3 now.} e6 {Nf4; Qf4 Bd5 recovers the pawn, says Fritz.} 11. Nc3 Bc5 12. O-O O-O 13. Bg3 exd5 14. Nxd5 c6 15. Nf4 Rxf4 {Nf4 and then do not retake with the rook.} 16. Bxf4 h6 {Nf4} 17. Qxg6 d6 18. Bxh6 Qd7 19. Ng5 Kh8 20. Qh7# 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "2020.09.BNAK"] [Site "https://lichess.org/NfjPm7zo"] [Date "2020.09.08"] [Round "1"] [White "Sivagnanam, Kavin, Kavin952011"] [Black "Prabakaran, Ishanth, IshanthP"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "731"] [BlackElo "699"] [PlyCount "43"] [EventDate "2020.09.08"] [TimeControl "G30; 5"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O d6 5. h3 h6 6. d3 Nf6 7. Be3 Bb6 8. Nc3 O-O 9. Nh4 {A knight on the rim looks grim. This allows Ne4 winning a pawn. Qd2 was correct} Na5 10. Nf5 Bxf5 11. exf5 Nxc4 12. dxc4 Bxe3 13. fxe3 c5 {Now Black’s d-pawn is backward on an open file and thus easy to attack with Qd2 and Rad and Nb5} 14. Rf3 b6 15. Rg3 Nh5 {Playing too fast, Black drops a piece and the game.} 16. Qxh5 f6 17. Qxh6 Kf7 {Qd7. Now Rg7+ Ke8; Qg6+ Rf7; Qf7 mate} 18. Qxg7+ Ke8 19. Qh7 Rc8 20. Rg7 a6 21. Qh5+ Rf7 22. Qxf7# 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "2020.09.BNAK"] [Site "https://lichess.org/g0eqk4rp"] [Date "2020.09.01"] [Round "0"] [White "Upadhyay, Anushuman, FirstCamel"] [Black "JosephOAlford"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C45"] [WhiteElo "832"] [BlackElo "1928"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2020.09.01"] [TimeControl "G30; 5"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Nf3 d6 6. Bc4 Nf6 7. O-O O-O 8. Nc3 Bg4 9. Bg5 h6 10. h3 {Fritz is not impressed with that move which loses a pawn. Bh4 or even Bf6 Qf6; Nd5} hxg5 11. hxg4 Nxg4 12. Qd5 Nb4 {Fritz says now is the time for Nf2; Rf2 g4!} 13. Qd2 Nxf2 {This just doesn’t work out. Ne5 is probably better. I thought the white king was exposed, but I don’t have enough resources to kill it.} 14. Rxf2 Bxf2+ {I saw g4 but did not see how to continue after Nd4. Fritz says Qh4} 15. Kxf2 g4 16. Ng1 Qf6+ {Fritz likes Qh4+ with Rae to follow with all of Black’s pieces active} 17. Ke1 c6 {Qd4; Qd4 Nc2+ says Fritz} 18. a3 d5 {Still trying to expose the white king} 19. exd5 {Be2} cxd5 {I thought later that Rae+ (or Rfe+) was better (Fritz agrees), but I don’t see a kill there either.} 20. Nxd5 Qe5+ {This helps White defend. Rfe8+ says Fritz. Or trade on d5 first and then play Rfe8+} 21. Ne2 Nxd5 22. Bxd5 Rad8 {Qb2 should be played now. White’s reply solidifies his position. At this point I had 2 minutes left to White’s 20.} 23. c4 Rfe8 24. Rd1 g3 {I saw the trap Rd6; Bf7+ Kf7; Qd6 Qe2 mate, but did not think he would fall for it.} 25. Kf1 Qf5+ {That’s a blunder. Rd6 is still the best try.} 26. Qf4 {And I lost on time. It looks like Qh5 might be a hard move to meet. Fritz says just Qf3 protects everything. It is worth noting that Anushuman is the only player who used more than half of his 30 minutes. Well done.} 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "2020.09.BNAK"] [Site "https://lichess.org/DwUHS6a5"] [Date "2020.09.01"] [Round "0"] [White "Bayyarapu, Srihit, srihitchess"] [Black "Alford, Joseph"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "890"] [BlackElo "1928"] [PlyCount "114"] [EventDate "2020.09.01"] [TimeControl "G30; 5"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O d6 5. c3 Bg4 6. d3 Nf6 7. Be3 Bb6 8. Nbd2 Na5 9. Bb3 Nxb3 10. Qxb3 O-O 11. h3 Be6 12. Qd1 Qd7 13. Kh2 h6 14. Qe2 Nh7 15. Rg1 f5 16. Nc4 {White needs to transfer pieces to the king-side. Or he could trade on f5 and then play Nc4.} Bxc4 17. dxc4 fxe4 18. Bxb6 axb6 19. Qxe4 Rf4 20. Qd5+ Qf7 21. Qxb7 Rf8 22. Qd5 Ng5 23. Nxg5 hxg5 24. f3 Rxc4 25. Qxf7+ Rxf7 26. Rgf1 b5 27. g4 {This weakens f3. White should just sit on the position.} Rcf4 28. Kg3 e4 29. Rae1 Rxf3+ 30. Rxf3 Rxf3+ 31. Kg2 d5 32. Rf1 {Trade when ahead. Avoid trades when behind.} Rxf1 33. Kxf1 Kf7 34. Ke2 {The danger is b3 followed by a4. White gives time to bring the king up to guard against that.} Ke6 35. Ke3 c5 36. b3 Ke5 37. a4 d4+ {first, gain the winning position in the center.} 38. cxd4+ cxd4+ 39. Kd2 bxa4 40. bxa4 Kd5 {Then kill the outside passed pawn} 41. a5 Kc5 42. Kc2 Kb5 43. Kd2 Kxa5 44. Ke2 Kb4 45. Kd2 Kb3 46. Ke2 Kc2 47. Ke1 d3 48. Kf2 d2 49. Ke3 d1=Q 50. Kxe4 Qd6 51. Kf5 Qf6+ 52. Ke4 Qe6+ 53. Kf3 Kd2 54. Kg2 Ke2 55. Kh2 Kf3 56. Kh1 Kg3 57. Kg1 Qe1# 0-1 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "2020.09.BNAK"] [Site "https://lichess.org/UlaktvUf"] [Date "2020.09.01"] [Round "0"] [White "Lavanur, Mahendra, MLavanur"] [Black "Alford, Joseph"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "764"] [BlackElo "1928"] [PlyCount "70"] [EventDate "2020.09.01"] [TimeControl "G30; 5"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 d6 {Bc5 is better. Only after I moved did I realize I had left out the bishop move.} 4. h3 Be6 5. Bb3 Bxb3 6. axb3 Nf6 7. O-O Be7 {Fritz says there is no danger in Ne4} 8. Nc3 O-O 9. d3 h6 10. Nh2 Nh7 11. Qe1 {Fritz likes the immediate f4. Or Ne5 Bg5; f4 ef; Nf4.} Nd4 12. Qd2 {This blocks in the bishop. Qd1.} f5 13. f4 {That’s an error. Nd5 is probably best.} exf4 14. Rxf4 Bg5 15. Qf2 Bxf4 16. Bxf4 Ne6 17. Be3 {This gives Black several pawns. Fritz likes e5 to keep the f-file closed.} fxe4 18. Qg3 exd3 19. cxd3 a6 20. Bxh6 Qf6 21. Be3 Rf7 {Blunder. Fritz shows Ng4 Qe7; Nh6+} 22. Rf1 Qe7 23. Re1 Raf8 24. Ne4 Qd7 25. Bd2 Nc5 26. Nxc5 dxc5 27. Be3 {A blunder allowing Qd3. Fritz likes b4 seeking a better diagonal for the bishop.} Qxd3 28. Qe5 Nf6 29. Bxc5 Re8 30. Qg3 {Both of us missed that there is nothing guarding the queen!} Rxe1+ 31. Qxe1 Ne4 32. Be3 Ng3 {A trap. The knight sacrifices himself for mate.} 33. Qxg3 Qd1+ 34. Nf1 Rxf1+ 35. Kh2 Rh1# 0-1 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "2020.09.BNAK"] [Site "https://lichess.org/sB5NSJvY"] [Date "2020.09.01"] [Round "0"] [White "Sivagnanam, Kavin, Kavin9520"] [Black "Alford, Joseph"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "731"] [BlackElo "1928"] [PlyCount "96"] [EventDate "2020.09.01"] [TimeControl "G30; 5"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. O-O d6 5. Nc3 Bg4 6. h3 h5 7. d3 {Of course not hg hg; Nd2 Qh4 with a quick mate} Nd4 {Blunder, says Fritz. hg; hg; Ng5} 8. Bxf7+ Kxf7 9. Ng5+ {Fritz says hg hg; Ng5+ with advantage to White} Qxg5 { I would imagine that was a bit of a shock.} 10. Bxg5 Bxd1 11. Raxd1 c6 {I am more interested in locking down his pieces than in taking a pawn. Taking the pawn is probably better.} 12. Na4 Bb6 13. c3 Ne6 14. Bh4 g5 15. Bg3 Nf6 {Fritz says Bc7. The white knight is on a poor square. Why let him exchange it?} 16. Nxb6 axb6 17. d4 {just a3, says Fritz. Sometimes you need to just sit on a position.} h4 18. Bh2 Rxa2 19. dxe5 dxe5 20. Bxe5 Rxb2 21. Bxf6 Kxf6 22. Rd7 Nc5 23. Rd6+ Ke5 24. Rg6 Nxe4 25. Re1 Kf5 26. Rg7 Rd8 27. g4+ Kf6 {hg in passing never occured to me} 28. Rxb7 Nd2 {Fritz says take either of the pawns.} 29. Ree7 Rf8 30. Red7 Nf3+ 31. Kf1 Ke5 32. Re7+ Kd6 33. Rbd7+ Kc5 34. Rc7 Nh2+ 35. Ke1 Rfxf2 {Threatening mate on f1} 36. Re5+ Kd6 37. Rf5 Rxf5 38. gxf5 Kxc7 39. f6 Rb5 {The king could chase the pawn leaving the White king entombed.} 40. f7 Rf5 41. f8=Q Rxf8 42. Kd2 g4 43. hxg4 Nxg4 44. Kc2 h3 45. Kb3 h2 46. Kb4 h1=Q 47. Kb3 Qb1+ 48. Kc4 Rf4# 0-1 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.