Bloomington Normal Chess Club

June 2020 Virtual

Our June 2020 virtual tournament concluded on June 25th. Congratulations to Sriram Malladi, who finished with a perfect 4-0 and close behind in second Mihir Bafna whose only loss was to Sriram. Next week we do a Lichess arena tournament, join us then!

Following are all tournament games with commentary from Joseph Alford or you can download the pgn file:
Round 1 June Games.
Round 2 June Games
Round 3 June games.
Round 4 June games
All June 2020 Tournament Games

Players:Open Page 1

No. Name Rate Pts Rnd1 Rnd2 Rnd3 Rnd4 1 BetrPlyr4Chs (Malladi) 1085 4.0 W10 W4 W2 W3 2 MBafna (Bafna) 1828 3.0 W5 W9 L1 W4 3 prithiv3 (Prithiv) 1387 2.5 W6 D8 W10 L1 4 nishthefish (Bhamidipati) 1448 2.0 W12 L1 W9 L2 5 selmanfeyz (Selman) 1300 2.0 L2 W7 W11 --- 6 JosephOAlford (Alford) 1920 2.0 L3 W11 --- W9 7 metapands (Kopula) 553 2.0 --- L5 W12 W10 8 gbpackerfan (Heil) 1700 1.5 W11 D3 --- --- 9 UKWildcat (Smith) 1435 1.0 W13 L2 L4 L6 10 Quassialeaf (Newman) 1500 1.0 L1 W12 L3 L7 11 Gonji (Blumberg) 1270 1.0 L8 L6 L5 W12 12 AarushiB (Bafna,A) 909 0.0 L4 L10 L7 L11 13 LaughingVulcan (Erickson) 826 0.0 L9 --- --- ---

Round 4

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/MO5HSbcr"] [Date "2020.06.26"] [Round "4"] [White "Newman, Steven"] [Black "Kopula, Panduragan"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B50"] [BlackElo "553"] [PlyCount "120"] [EventDate "2020.06.05"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 {Too passive, says Fritz. cd or Nbd7} b6 5. Be3 Nbd7 6. Bc4 {Also too passive, says Fritz. dc bc; e5} e6 7. O-O Bb7 8. Re1 {That just loses a pawn. Fritz suggests d5 or e5} Be7 9. d5 exd5 10. exd5 O-O 11. Ng5 {And where are you off to, my good man? Fritz prefers a4 to prevent a6 and b5 undermining the bishop and thus the pawn.} h6 12. Nge4 Ne5 {Fritz likes the move, but suggests Ne4; Ne4 f5; Nc3 and then Ne5} 13. Nxf6+ Bxf6 14. Bb3 { Be2 Now c4 Ba4; a6 will be awkward} a6 15. a4 c4 16. Ba2 Rc8 17. f4 {White’s pawns are gettng weak. Bd4 or Ne4} Ng6 18. Qd2 Bxc3 19. bxc3 Ne7 20. Bd4 Nxd5 21. Qf2 Ne7 {b5 Why just give up the pawn?} 22. Bxb6 {Interestingly, Fritz suggests putting either rook on b1 rather than taking the pawn immediately} Qd7 23. Bd4 Nf5 24. g4 {a4 was attacked, but this gives Black an even better target } Nxd4 {Both players (and I) missed the much stronger Qc6} 25. cxd4 Qxg4+ 26. Qg3 {The Bishop forces this queen trade.} Qxg3+ 27. hxg3 Rfe8 {That should lose a pawn to Re8+ Re8; Bc4} 28. c3 d5 29. a5 Re6 30. Kf2 Rce8 31. Re5 f6 32. Rxe6 Rxe6 33. Re1 {When ahead, trade. White is not ahead. Rb1} Kf7 34. Bb1 Rxe1 35. Kxe1 Ke6 36. g4 {both sides dither on the king-side for a few moves. The a5 pawn is the key. White must soon play Bc2 or Bg6 to cover the entry point b5. Black must use his own bishop to prevent this.} Ke7 37. Bg6 Bc6 38. Kf2 Be8 39. Bf5 {This is the losing move. Now Black can force the bishops off and White cannot protect a5. White had to play Bc2 or Bb1} Bd7 40. Bxd7 Kxd7 41. f5 {locking Black’s pawns so that White can get to g7.} Kc6 42. Kg3 Kb5 43. Kh4 Kxa5 {assuring a queen. Fritz says this is a blunder! Ka4 and queen the c-pawn. } 44. Kh5 Ka4 45. Kg6 Kb3 46. Kxg7 Kxc3 47. Kxf6 Kxd4 48. Ke6 c3 49. f6 c2 50. f7 c1=Q 51. f8=Q Qe1+ 52. Kd7 Qe4 53. Qg7+ Kd3 54. Qxh6 Qxg4+ 55. Kc6 Qc4+ 56. Kd6 d4 57. Qg6+ Kc3 58. Qb1 {Allowing the queen trade and losing the game.} Qb4+ 59. Qxb4+ Kxb4 60. Kd5 Kc3 0-1 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/36KD46eU"] [Date "2020.06.26"] [Round "4"] [White "Alford, Joseph"] [Black "Smith, Jeff"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [WhiteElo "1920"] [BlackElo "1435"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2020.06.05"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nc3 Nc6 4. Bc4 Bc5 5. d3 d6 6. h3 O-O {h6} 7. Bg5 h6 8. Bh4 Be6 9. Nd5 Bxd5 10. Bxd5 Rb8 11. Qd2 Nd4 12. c3 Nxf3+ {I really did not think he would open the g-file for me.} 13. gxf3 c6 14. Bb3 {Fritz says we both missed Ne4} b5 15. Rg1 Kh7 {Now Ne4 would fail to Qh6, so Black protects the h-pawn.} 16. Bc2 Qd7 {Fritz does not like that at all. d4 Bb6 de} 17. O-O-O Nh5 18. d4 {Fritz doesn’t like that either. If Black plays b4 I will play c4 and hope that my attack is faster.} exd4 {Now we see why it was important to move the knight. If it was still on f6 then I would now win it with e5+. Fritz says it’s time to sacrifice with Rg7+ Ng7; e5+ f5; ef+ Nf5; Qf4 Rf6; Bf6 Kg6. I wanted to double rooks first.} 19. cxd4 Bb6 20. Rg4 {I liked that move. Fritz does not. Again, he says Rg7+} Kh8 {Fritz says f5 or f6} 21. Rdg1 {Fritz gives this as second best. He still insists Rg7 is best. Note that Qe6 is then needed to protect h6 and then d5} Rg8 22. e5 {Fritz and I are not on the same wavelength. He still wants Rg7 Qe6; Rg4 with massive advantage to white.} dxe5 {Now it is time for Rg7 Rg7; Qh6 Kg8; Qh7+ Kf8; Qh8+ and I stopped looking because after Ke7 both my rook and my queen are attacked. Of course, Black can’t play Ke7 because of the bishop on h4.} 23. Bf6 {I was really proud of that move which removes the knight from defending g7 and prevents the queen from coming to e6 to protect h6. Unfortunately, the move loses a piece.} Nxf6 24. Rxg7 Rxg7 {Black’s salvation is Qh3 and both mates are blocked.} 25. Qxh6+ Rh7 26. Qxf6+ 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/qj9sYS1p"] [Date "2020.06.26"] [Round "4"] [White "Malladi, Ram"] [Black "Kumar, Prithiv"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B23"] [WhiteElo "1085"] [BlackElo "1387"] [PlyCount "87"] [EventDate "2020.06.05"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. Bb5 d6 4. Bxc6+ bxc6 5. Nf3 e6 6. O-O Bb7 7. d3 Be7 8. e5 dxe5 9. Nxe5 Nf6 {That’s a little suspect because of the doubled, isolated c-pawns and the bishop stuck behind them. Fritz likes d5} 10. Qe1 O-O 11. f4 Nd5 12. Ne4 {trading would solve many of Black’s problems.} f6 13. Nc4 Qc7 14. Bd2 {I liked this move until I saw the Fritz suggestion of Ned6 using the weakness on e6 to protect the knight.} Rad8 {Fritz wants the rook on e8 or the bishop on c8 to protect e6} 15. Ba5 Nb6 16. Qf2 Rd5 17. Rae1 Bc8 18. b3 {Fritz prefers this over Nc3 when Na4 is so strong that he sacrifices the rook.} Bd7 19. Ng3 {Ne3 the rook escapes to h5 with some attacking chances according to Fritz} Qb8 20. f5 e5 21. Ne4 Be8 22. Qh4 Bf7 23. Re3 h6 24. Bd2 Kh7 25. Na5 Qc7 26. Rh3 h5 {White threatened Bh6} 27. g4 c4 28. bxc4 Rd4 29. gxh5 Nd7 {Forcing white’s knight to retreat. Unfortunately, it has a good retreat square.} 30. Nb3 Rxe4 31. Qxe4 Nc5 32. Nxc5 Bxc5+ 33. Be3 Bxe3+ 34. Qxe3 Rg8 35. Rf2 c5 36. Rg3 Qb6 37. h6 gxh6 38. Rxg8 Bxg8 39. Qf3 Qb1+ 40. Rf1 Qb8 {QxP; Qb7+ Kh8; Qe7} 41. Qh5 Qf8 42. Qg6+ Kh8 43. Rb1 Qf7 44. Qxh6+ 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/GVAi7fYt"] [Date "2020.06.26"] [Round "4"] [White "Bafna, Mihir"] [Black "Bhamidipati, Nishant"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "A00"] [WhiteElo "1828"] [BlackElo "1448"] [PlyCount "31"] [EventDate "2020.06.05"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. h3 c5 2. g4 d5 3. f4 e5 4. Bg2 Qh4+ 5. Kf1 exf4 6. Nf3 Qd8 7. d4 Nf6 8. Bxf4 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Qb6 10. Nc3 Nc6 {The losing move? Fritz says Bd6 or Bb4} 11. Ndb5 Ne4 {Don’t miss the mate threat} 12. Nc7+ Kd7 13. Qxd5+ Nd6 14. N3b5 g5 15. Bxd6 Bxd6 16. Qxd6# 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/6vyaxa9t"] [Date "2020.06.26"] [Round "4"] [White "Bafna, Aarushi"] [Black "Blumberg, Luke"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "C00"] [WhiteElo "909"] [BlackElo "1270"] [PlyCount "50"] [EventDate "2020.06.05"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. e4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. d4 Bd6 5. Nc3 c6 6. Bd3 Nf6 7. O-O O-O 8. h3 h6 9. Re1 Be6 10. Ne2 Qc7 11. Be3 Nbd7 12. Qd2 {Fritz suggests Qc1 to avoid the problems arising from Black’s next.} Ne4 13. Bxe4 {Qc1 f5 would be unpleasant. White’s main problem is that now the knight has no squares.} dxe4 14. d5 {Fritz says Ne5 losing a pawn, but keeping some control over the center. } exf3 {cd would give Black a powerful center and an extra pawn. Fritz llkes Bh3 or Bd5.} 15. dxe6 fxe6 16. Nd4 Bh2+ 17. Kf1 fxg2+ 18. Ke2 {Kg2 Rf6 looks very unpleasant, but returning the king to the center also looks bad. Fritz gives Black 1+ after Kg2 and 3+ after Ke2} Qe5 19. Nf3 {such a nice looking move. fork and also protect g1 and also attack d7 . Black’s reply ends the game quickly.} Qh5 20. Qxd7 Qxf3+ 21. Kd2 Rad8 22. Bxa7 Rxd7+ 23. Kc1 Bf4+ 24. Kb1 Rd1+ 25. Rxd1 Qxd1# 0-1 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Round 3

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/JrQpi8p9"] [Date "2020.06.19"] [Round "3"] [White "Bloomberg, Luke"] [Black "Selman"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B33"] [WhiteElo "1270"] [BlackElo "1588"] [PlyCount "152"] [EventDate "2020.06.04"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 e5 5. Nb3 {If the knight isn’t going to b5 to attack d6, then it belongs on f3} Nf6 6. Nc3 Bb4 7. f3 {This move is almost always suspect. Bd3} O-O 8. Bd2 d5 9. Nxd5 Nxd5 10. exd5 Qxd5 11. Bxb4 Nxb4 12. Qxd5 Nxd5 13. O-O-O Be6 14. Bd3 Ne3 15. Rd2 f5 16. Re1 f4 17. Be4 Nc4 18. Rde2 Rac8 {Is the pawn less valuable than the open file?} 19. Bxb7 Rc7 20. Be4 a5 21. Kb1 Rb8 22. c3 a4 23. Nc1 a3 24. Nd3 {after b3 Ne3 and the c-pawn falls, but so does the e-pawn after Nd3 says Fritz.} axb2 25. Nxb2 Rd7 {Fritz says the a-pawn falls after Ra7} 26. Ka1 Na3 {Fritz points out Rb2; Rb2 Nb2; Kb2 Rd2+} 27. Rd1 {A game-losing oversight? by which side?} Rxb2 28. Kxb2 Nc4+ {Fritz says Black has miscalculated and this makes it worse. Rd1 was better.} 29. Kc1 Ra7 30. Bd5 Bxd5 31. Rxd5 Ra3 32. Rd3 Kf8 33. Kb1 Ke7 {Ne3 to protect the e-pawn, says Fritz} 34. Re4 Ra4 35. Rxc4 {Perhaps a bit over-optimistic. Rd5 looks better. Fritz likes Rdd4} Rxc4 36. Kb2 Rc6 37. a4 Rh6 38. h3 Rb6+ 39. Ka3 h5 40. a5 Rb1 41. Ka4 {Rd2 says hindsight} Rb2 42. a6 Rxg2 43. Kb5 Rb2+ 44. Kc6 Ra2 45. Rd7+ Kf6 {Ke6 Fritz says Black should be happy to trade the g-pawn for the a-pawn.} 46. a7 g5 47. Kb7 Rb2+ 48. Kc8 Ra2 49. Rb7 {Kb8 also loses} (49. Kb8 g4 50. fxg4 hxg4 51. hxg4 f3 52. a8=Q Rxa8+ 53. Kxa8 f2 54. Rd1 e4 55. Rf1 e3 56. c4 Ke7) 49... g4 50. hxg4 hxg4 51. fxg4 f3 52. Kb8 e4 53. a8=Q Rxa8+ 54. Kxa8 e3 {two pawns on the 6th beat a rook} 55. Rb8 e2 56. Rf8+ Kg5 57. Rxf3 e1=Q 58. Rf8 Qa1+ 59. Kb7 Qb2+ 60. Kc6 Qxc3+ 61. Kd5 Qb3+ 62. Kc6 Qa4+ 63. Kd5 Qb5+ 64. Ke6 Kxg4 65. Rg8+ Kf4 66. Rf8+ Ke4 67. Rc8 Qd5+ 68. Ke7 Ke5 69. Re8 Kf5 70. Rf8+ Kg6 71. Rf6+ Kg5 72. Rf8 Qc5+ 73. Ke8 Kg6 74. Rg8+ Kf6 75. Rf8+ Ke6 76. Rf7 Qc8# 0-1 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/f45g91Lh"] [Date "2020.06.19"] [Round "3"] [White "Alford, Joseph"] [Black "Erickson, Darren"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C69"] [WhiteElo "1920"] [BlackElo "826"] [PlyCount "55"] [EventDate "2020.06.04"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] {Note: This game was played as a substitute for an absent player. Although it’s included here it was not used for pairing purposes in the final round.}1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Bxc6 dxc6 5. O-O Bd6 6. d4 {Fritz likes Bg4 or Qe7} exd4 7. Qxd4 {Much better than Nd4} f6 {This ugly move is first choice for Fritz. The alternative is Bf8} 8. Re1 Be7 9. Qc4 Bg4 10. Nc3 {What’s your hurry, says Fritz. He likes Nbd2 or Qb3 and says the game is now equal after a trade on f3.} Qd7 11. Bf4 O-O-O 12. Rad1 Qe8 13. Rxd8+ Qxd8 14. Nd4 Bd6 {I looked for a way to pick off that bishop on g4. I looked at e5 and at a knight sac on c6. fritz says Nc6 is best and e5 is second best, and both are better than what I chose.} 15. Bxd6 cxd6 16. h3 Bd7 17. Nf5 Bxf5 18. exf5 Ne7 {Dropping a piece. I expected Nh6; g5} 19. Qe6+ Qd7 20. Qxe7 Rd8 21. Qxd7+ Rxd7 22. g4 Kd8 23. Kg2 g5 24. fxg6 hxg6 25. Re6 d5 26. Rxf6 d4 27. Ne4 b6 28. Rxc6 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/wBQhbYrt"] [Date "2020.06.19"] [Round "3"] [White "Bafna, Mihir"] [Black "Malladi, Sriram"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B10"] [WhiteElo "1828"] [PlyCount "64"] [EventDate "2020.06.04"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. e4 c6 2. Ne2 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. d3 c5 5. Ng3 Bd7 6. Be2 Nc6 7. f4 e6 8. O-O Nge7 9. Nd2 Nd4 10. Nb3 Nef5 11. Bg4 {Fritz prefers Nf5 or Nd4.} Nxg3 12. hxg3 h5 {trading a pawn for an open file} 13. Bxh5 Nf5 14. Kf2 {g4 Fritz says the king dies in the center.} c4 15. dxc4 dxc4 16. Nd4 {overloading the queen which cannot defend d4 and h5, but Nd2 unleashes the entire black army on the king. Or g4 Qb6+} Nxd4 {Fritz likes Rh5 to avoid the sacrfice that follows.} 17. Bxf7+ Kxf7 18. Qxd4 Rc8 {Protecting c4, but also threatening Bc5} 19. Be3 Bc5 20. Qc3 Qb6 21. Rad1 Bc6 22. f5 {looking for counterplay, but Bc5 is better.} Bxe3+ 23. Qxe3 Rh2 24. Rd4 {White is down a piece and really can’t afford to trade queens, but he is getting mated. The immediate threat is Rg2+ and the king cannot protect the queen. fritz says fe+ Ke6; Rd6+ and then trade queens is the best try.} Rxg2+ 25. Ke1 Qxb2 26. fxe6+ Kg8 {Not Ke6; Rd6+ Ke7; Qg5+ and it is black who is getting mated} 27. e7 Qb4+ 28. c3 Qxe7 29. e6 Re8 30. Rdf4 Bd5 {There was still time to lose with Qe6; Rf8+ and Re8} 31. Kd1 Qxe6 32. Qd2 Rxd2+ 0-1 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/rYIV7pHI"] [Date "2020.06.19"] [Round "3"] [White "Kopula, Pandurangan"] [Black "Bafna, Aarushi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C50"] [BlackElo "909"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "2020.06.04"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. d3 h6 5. O-O d6 6. h3 {preventing Bg4 with an eventual Nd5} Nf6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. a3 Re8 9. Re1 Be6 10. Bb5 Rb8 11. Na4 Nd7 12. Nxc5 Nxc5 13. b4 Nd7 14. Bb2 Qf6 15. Nh2 {Fritz is not impressed by that. He wants d4.} a6 16. Bxc6 bxc6 17. Ng4 Qg6 18. Rf1 {Now Fritz likes Qf3 with equality.} Nf6 {Fritz likes h5 winning the h-pawn.} 19. Nxf6+ Qxf6 20. Qf3 {How about f4, says Fritz. The e-pawn is pinned. He would have captured on f6 with the pawn, opening the g-file for rooks.} Qh4 {Black could win a pawn with Qf3 gf; Bh3} 21. Qg3 Qf6 22. f4 {Suddenly, Black is losing a pawn? No, says Fritz. Black can just play ef.} Qd8 23. fxe5 a5 {Fritz likes d5 to keep the diagonal closed.} 24. exd6 cxd6 25. Qxg7# 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/sfgOhMHr"] [Date "2020.06.19"] [Round "3"] [White "Bhamidipati,Nishant"] [Black "Smith, Jeff"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D00"] [WhiteElo "1448"] [BlackElo "1435"] [PlyCount "109"] [EventDate "2020.06.04"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. d4 d5 2. Bf4 Nf6 3. e3 Nc6 4. Bd3 e6 5. Nd2 Be7 6. Ngf3 O-O 7. h3 Bd6 8. Ne5 Bd7 9. Ndf3 Nh5 {A knight on the rim looks grim.} 10. Bh2 {White retreats to this square very effectively several times. Fritz points out Bh7+ Kh7; Ng5+ and Qh5.} f5 11. Nxd7 Qxd7 12. Ne5 {Note that the knight on h5 is also attacked.} Nxe5 {Be5; de g6; g4 will open attacking lines for white. Perhaps Qe8} 13. dxe5 Bxe5 14. Bxe5 Nf6 15. c3 Qc6 16. Qc2 Nd7 17. Bh2 d4 {Re8. This idea of trading the d-pawn for the g-pawn is suspect. White will make good use of the open g-file. Fritz says sit on the position with Rad.} 18. exd4 Qxg2 19. O-O-O Qg5+ 20. f4 Qe7 21. Rde1 Qh4 22. Qg2 c6 23. Rhg1 g6 24. Rxe6 Qd8 25. Qg3 {Fritz wants Rg6 now. This gives Black time to move Kh8. White wants to play h4 to let the pawn open lines.} Nb6 26. h4 Qd7 27. Rxg6+ {that must have come as a bit of a shock. White is up a piece, but that’s a whole rook he is sacrificing.} hxg6 28. Qxg6+ Kh8 29. h5 {Rg5 says Fritz.} Rg8 {Rae The text loses. Fritz is now showing a forced mate. There are too many weak squares aroung the black king.} 30. Qh6+ {Good enough. Fritz says Qf6+ is even better. Kh7 meets Bf5+ and Rg7 meets h6} Qh7 31. Rxg8+ {I like Qf6+ Rg7; Bf5 Qg8; h6} Rxg8 32. Qxh7+ Kxh7 33. Bxf5+ Kh6 34. Bg6 {White has 3 pawns, two of them passed and supported by two bishops to match against the knight.} Nd5 35. f5 Nf6 {not good enough. Time for a rook sac. Rg6; hg Kg5; g7 Ne7. Fritz likes Kg5 now} 36. Bf4+ Kg7 37. h6+ Kh8 {Kf8 Bd6 is mate, says Fritz.} 38. Be5 Rf8 39. Bd6 Rg8 40. Be5 Rf8 41. Kd2 Kg8 42. Bxf6 Rxf6 43. h7+ Kg7 44. Ke3 Rd6 45. c4 b6 46. Ke4 Rd8 47. Ke5 a6 48. d5 cxd5 49. cxd5 b5 50. Ke6 Rc8 51. d6 Rc2 52. f6+ Kxg6 53. h8=Q Re2+ 54. Kd7 Rxb2 55. f7 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/EOvEGDu0"] [Date "2020.06.19"] [Round "3"] [White "Kumar, Prithiv"] [Black "Newman, Steven"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D38"] [WhiteElo "1387"] [PlyCount "67"] [EventDate "2020.06.04"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 Nf6 5. Bd2 dxc4 6. e3 O-O 7. Bxc4 Be7 {Retreat when forced to. Black needs to develop the queen-side pieces. Fritz likes Nc6. Be7 is his second choice.} 8. O-O Nbd7 9. e4 h6 10. e5 Nh7 11. Bf4 Nb6 12. Bd3 Nd5 13. Nxd5 Qxd5 {Fritz likes ed to let out the bishop. Qd5 is his second choice.} 14. Qc2 f5 15. exf6 Nxf6 16. Bxc7 Bd7 17. Bc4 Qc6 {Qh5 avoids the unpleasantness next move} 18. Ne5 Qxc7 {Hard to suggest a good move. This is first choice for Fritz. Qe4 also loses a piece.} 19. Bxe6+ Bxe6 20. Qxc7 Nd5 21. Qxb7 Bf6 22. Nd7 Rfd8 23. Nxf6+ Nxf6 24. Qb4 Nd5 25. Qd2 Rd7 26. Rac1 Rad8 27. Rfe1 Bf7 28. a3 Nf6 29. Qa5 Rxd4 30. Qxa7 Rd2 31. b4 R2d7 32. Rc7 Rd1 33. Kf1 Bc4+ 34. Rxc4 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Round 2

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/q2yc9FaL"] [Date "2020.06.12"] [Round "2"] [White "Heil, Sam"] [Black "Kumar, Prithiv"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "A34"] [WhiteElo "1700"] [BlackElo "1387"] [PlyCount "128"] [EventDate "2020.06.11"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. Nf3 c5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. g3 {Fritz suggests e4 Nb4; Bc4 Nd3+; Bd3 Qd3. Compare my first round game.} Nc6 6. Bg2 Nxc3 7. bxc3 e5 8. O-O Bd6 9. d4 exd4 10. cxd4 O-O 11. Bb2 Bf5 12. Rc1 Qb6 13. dxc5 Bxc5 14. Qd2 Rad8 15. Qc3 Bd4 16. Nxd4 Nxd4 17. Rfe1 Rfe8 18. e3 Ne6 19. Qe5 Bd3 20. Red1 {Bd5 is met with f6} (20. Bd5) 20... f6 21. Qc3 Bg6 22. Bd5 Kh8 23. Qb3 Qxb3 24. axb3 b6 25. b4 {To give more oomph to Be6 Rd1+; Rd1 Re6; Rd8+ Re8; Rd7} Bh5 26. f3 Ng5 27. Kf2 Nh3+ 28. Kg2 Ng5 29. g4 Bf7 30. Bc6 {Second choice for Fritz who prefers Bf7 setting up a classic bishop vrs knight with pawns on both sides of the board.} Rxd1 31. Rxd1 Rc8 32. b5 Be8 {Not bad. Fritz prefers h5. Avoid a back-rank mate and bring the king to the center.} 33. Bxe8 Rxe8 34. Rd7 h6 35. h4 Ne6 36. Rxa7 Nc5 37. Bd4 Nb3 38. Bxb6 Re5 39. Bd4 Rxb5 40. f4 Nxd4 41. exd4 Rb2+ 42. Kf3 Kg8 43. Ke4 Re2+ 44. Kf5 h5 45. Kg6 Kf8 46. Kxh5 Re4 47. f5 Rxd4 48. g5 fxg5 49. hxg5 Rd6 50. g6 Rd5 51. Kg5 Re5 52. Ra8+ Re8 53. Ra7 Re7 54. Ra6 Re5 55. Re6 {Fritz marks this as a draw immediately. To having winning chances, White might try Ra1 heading for h1 and h8} Rxe6 56. fxe6 Ke7 57. Kf5 Ke8 58. Ke5 Ke7 59. Kd5 Ke8 60. Kd6 Kd8 61. e7+ Ke8 62. Ke5 Kxe7 63. Kf5 Kf8 64. Ke6 Ke8 1/2-1/2 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/scQtOgf5"] [Date "2020.06.12"] [Round "2"] [White "Alford, Joseph"] [Black "Blumberg, Luke"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C11"] [WhiteElo "1920"] [BlackElo "1270"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2020.06.11"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 {Bg5 Be7; e5 is normal} Nfd7 5. Nf3 a6 6. Bd3 c5 7. Ne2 {dc} c4 {Well, that’s rather pitiful. He offered a take back, but I don’t think that’s appropriate in a tournament game.} 8. O-O cxd3 9. Qxd3 Be7 10. Be3 O-O 11. h3 Nc6 12. c3 f6 {A logical move to free up Black’s pieces, but my eyes lit up when I looked at the weak e6 pawn.} 13. exf6 Nxf6 14. Ng3 Bd7 15. Rfe1 Be8 16. Ng5 Bg6 17. Qe2 Qd6 {It turns out Qd7 is stronger} 18. Bd2 Ne4 {Fritz likes this move. I don’t. It gives me back a second pawn and still leaves the weakness at e6. Bf7; Nf7 Rf7; Qe6+ Qe6; Re6 gets many pieces off the board and leaves Black with a piece for only 2 pawns.} (18... Bf7) 19. N5xe4 Bxe4 20. Nxe4 dxe4 21. Qxe4 Rf6 22. Bg5 Rg6 23. Bxe7 {I had intended Bf4, but the Qd5 and I have to trade queens because of the mate on g2} Qxe7 24. d5 Nd8 25. Rad1 {looking for de Re6; Rd8+ and then Qe6+} Rc8 {The machine suggests Nf7; de Ng5 with attacks on the pawn and the queen and h3.} (25... Nf7 26. dxe6 Ng5 27. Rd7 Qxd7 28. Qxg6 Qd2 29. Qb1 Rf8 30. e7 Qxf2+ 31. Kh1 Re8 32. Qd1) 26. dxe6 Nxe6 27. Rd5 {Preventing Qc5 and also Qg5} Rf6 28. Re5 Re8 {Rc6. White is slightly better after Kf7, but much better after Re8} 29. f4 {queen and rook are both behind the pinned knight!} Qd7 {g6 is countered by g4} 30. f5 Nc7 31. Rxe8+ Nxe8 32. Qxe8+ Qxe8 33. Rxe8+ Kf7 34. Rb8 Rb6 35. b3 g6 36. fxg6+ hxg6 37. Rd8 Ke7 38. Rd3 Rc6 39. Kf2 Rc7 40. c4 Kf6 41. Kf3 Ke6 42. Kg4 Kf6 43. Rd6+ Kf7 44. Kg5 Re7 45. Rf6+ 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/vgttZRHp"] [Date "2020.06.12"] [Round "2"] [White "Bhamidipati, Nishant"] [Black "Malladi, Sriram"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "D02"] [WhiteElo "1500"] [BlackElo "2038"] [PlyCount "51"] [EventDate "2020.06.11"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4 d5 3. Nf3 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nbd2 Qb6 6. Qb3 c4 7. Qxb6 axb6 8. e3 Bf5 9. Be2 e6 10. O-O h6 11. h3 b5 12. Ne5 b4 13. g4 Bh7 14. Nxc6 bxc6 15. cxb4 Bxb4 16. Nf3 O-O 17. Ne5 c5 18. a3 {This attempt to remove the defender of c5 meets a surprising reply.} c3 19. axb4 {White has to play bc. He forgets that the distant bishop controls b1} Rxa1 20. Rxa1 cxb2 21. Rf1 c4 {To prevent Bc3. White’s attempt to block the bishop from b1 allow the rook to come to a1.} 22. f3 Ra8 23. e4 Ra1 24. exd5 Rxf1+ 25. Bxf1 Nxd5 26. Nd7 0-1 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/qC6e1gx5"] [Date "2020.06.12"] [Round "2"] [White "Newman, Steven"] [Black "Bafna, Aarushi"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C53"] [PlyCount "85"] [EventDate "2020.06.11"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 d6 5. O-O Bg4 6. d3 h6 7. b4 Bb6 8. Nbd2 Qf6 9. Re1 Nge7 10. h3 h5 11. Nf1 {An open rook file would be worth the bishop. Fritz likes a4 or Qb3} (11. hxg4 hxg4) 11... Rd8 {Bf3 favors Black slightly.} 12. N1h2 Be6 13. Bg5 Qg6 14. Bxe6 Qxe6 15. d4 {Black says this attempt to fork on d5 loses a pawn. White has seen further.} exd4 16. cxd4 Nxb4 {Overlooking one fork, Black falls into another. Fritz says avoid the d5 fork with Qc4 or Qg6} 17. d5 {Qa4+. Now Black could play Qd7 and not lose a piece} Qg6 18. Qa4+ c6 19. Qxb4 c5 20. Qa4+ Rd7 {Do not pin yourself. Now e5 opens deadly lines.} 21. Bxe7 Kxe7 22. Nh4 Qf6 23. Nf5+ Kd8 24. Nf3 Re8 25. Rab1 g6 26. Rxb6 {The brave knight will last long enough to keep the king from defending e8.} axb6 27. Qa8+ Kc7 28. Qxe8 gxf5 29. exf5 Qxf5 {Fritz says now Nd4 is deadly. He suggests Qd8} 30. Re7 {A blunder only because Nd4 is so much better.} Rxe7 31. Qxe7+ Kb8 32. Qxd6+ Ka7 33. a4 c4 34. Kh2 Qc2 35. Kg3 Qxa4 36. Qc7 c3 {White is going to queen. Black cannot stop that. Fritz suggests h4+ I was wondering if he was going to suggest that. The game is still totally lost.} ( 36... h4+ 37. Kxh4 (37. Nxh4 Qa3+ 38. Nf3 c3 39. d6 c2 40. d7 c1=Q 41. d8=Q) ( 37. Kh2 c3 38. Qxc3 Qf4+) 37... c3+ 38. g4 c2 39. Ne1 Qd4 40. Qxc2 Qxd5) 37. Qxc3 b5 38. Qe3+ b6 39. d6 Kb7 40. Qe7+ Kc8 41. d7+ Kc7 42. d8=Q+ Kc6 43. Qdd6# 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/fQaBLZyL"] [Date "2020.06.12"] [Round "2"] [White "Selman"] [Black "Kopula, Pandurangan"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C55"] [WhiteElo "1588"] [BlackElo "1718"] [PlyCount "73"] [EventDate "2020.06.11"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 h6 {To prevent Ng5, but this is a waste of time. After Bc5, the queen prevents Ng5 and if d3 to protect g5 then Nf6; Ng5 0-0 and Black is fine.} 4. d4 d6 {This loses a pawn. ed was correct} 5. dxe5 { Fritz says Qe7} dxe5 6. Qxd8+ Kxd8 7. Bxf7 Nf6 8. Nc3 Bb4 9. Bd2 Rf8 10. Bd5 Nxd5 11. Nxd5 Bd6 12. Nh4 {Fritz says it is a bad idea to put a knight on the edge of the board. He suggests Be3 or c3} Be6 13. f4 {You need to be castled before you start things like that. Fritz likes Be3 or Ng6} exf4 14. Ng6 Rf7 { Passive, says Fritz. Re8 with threats against that still un-castled king.} 15. Ngxf4 Nd4 16. O-O-O Bxd5 17. Nxd5 c6 18. Ba5+ {This works because the knight is hanging. Maybe Black’s last move should have been to retreat the knight. Fritz suggested Ne6 or Ne2+ last move} b6 19. Nxb6 axb6 20. Bxb6+ Kd7 {Avoid the pin with either Ke7 or Ke8 says Fritz} 21. Rxd4 Ke6 22. Rhd1 Bxh2 23. Rc4 Rxa2 {Black must protect c6} 24. Rxc6+ Ke5 25. Kb1 Ra4 26. Bc7+ Rxc7 {Else the bishop falls.} 27. Rxc7 g5 28. Re1 Ra6 29. Rc5+ Kf6 30. e5+ Kf7 31. e6+ Ke7 32. Rh1 Bd6 33. Rb5 Kxe6 34. Rxh6+ Kd7 35. Rxg5 Kc6 36. b4 {good enough. Rd6+ and then Rg6+ works too} Rb6 37. b5+ 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/0a29xMwO"] [Date "2020.06.12"] [Round "2"] [White "Smith, Jeff"] [Black "Bafna, Mihir"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B28"] [WhiteElo "1435"] [BlackElo "1828"] [PlyCount "66"] [EventDate "2020.06.11"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 a6 3. Nf3 b5 4. d3 Bb7 5. Bf4 e6 6. a3 Nf6 7. Be2 Be7 8. O-O d5 9. exd5 exd5 10. Qe1 {Re1. Fritz also likes d4 because it locks the bishop on b7 out of the game.} O-O 11. Ne5 {d4 is still best with a4 the second choice.} Re8 12. Qc1 {Too many queen moves. White’s pieces are not working together.} Bd6 13. Ng4 d4 {Black’s control of the center is deadly. Fritz likes d4, but says b4 is even stronger} 14. Nxf6+ Qxf6 15. Bxd6 {Bg5 is not quite as bad.} dxc3 {Now both bishops are attacked and cb is threatened} 16. bxc3 Qxd6 17. Re1 Nd7 18. Bg4 Qg6 19. Bh3 Ne5 20. Kf1 h5 21. d4 Ng4 22. Bxg4 hxg4 23. Qd2 g3 24. fxg3 Rac8 25. Rab1 cxd4 26. Rxe8+ Rxe8 27. cxd4 Qe4 28. Rb2 {Re1 loses to Qg2+ ; Qg2 Bg2+; Kf2 Re1} Bd5 29. c3 Re6 30. Qc1 Rf6+ 31. Kg1 Qd3 32. Rd2 Qe3+ 33. Kh1 Qxd2 0-1 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

Round 1

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/ldrxsDlY"] [Date "2020.06.05"] [Round "1"] [White "Kumar, Prithiv"] [Black "Alford, Joseph"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D91"] [WhiteElo "1387"] [BlackElo "1920"] [PlyCount "89"] [EventDate "2020.06.07"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Bg5 c6 6. cxd5 Nxd5 7. e4 Nxc3 8. bxc3 O-O 9. Bd3 c5 10. O-O Bg4 11. Rb1 cxd4 12. cxd4 Nc6 {sacrificing the b and e pawns for a mating attack.} 13. d5 Nd4 14. Rxb7 Bxf3 15. gxf3 Qc8 16. Rxe7 Qh3 17. Be2 {OK, not quite as simple a mate as I thought.} Qh5 {Fritz says Rfb8 or Rfc8} 18. Be3 Be5 {Now f4 allows Ne2+, but how else to stop the mate?} 19. h3 Bf6 {White was threatening BxN, but not RxB Ne2+ and then QxR} 20. Rb7 Nxe2+ 21. Qxe2 Qxh3 22. f4 {White cannot take on h7 because of Be5} g5 {I’m only a pawn down, but those passed pawns are deadly, so I’m hoping for e5 gf; ef f3. Fritz does not like this pawn move. He wants to put a rook on b8 or e8} 23. fxg5 Be5 {Now f4 would give me drawing chances after Qg3+ when refusing the draw would cost White a piece.} 24. f3 Rab8 {Can I get a rook to b2?} 25. Rfb1 Qg3+ 26. Kf1 {Not Qg2 Rb7!} Rxb7 27. Rxb7 Qh3+ 28. Qg2 Qc8 29. Rxa7 Qc3 30. Qd2 Qc4+ 31. Qe2 Qc3 32. Qd2 Qc4+ 33. Qe2 Qc3 {That’s a draw by 3 time repetition, but I’m still looking for a win! Fritz says when the position is drawn, take the draw.} 34. Ra4 Rb8 35. Rc4 Rb1+ 36. Kf2 Qa3 37. f4 Bd6 {Now the long diagonal is deadly.} 38. Rc8+ Bf8 {Kg7 Bd4+} 39. Bc5 Qh3 40. Rxf8+ Kg7 41. Ra8 Qh2+ 42. Ke3 Qg1+ 43. Qf2 Qc1+ 44. Kf3 Qh1+ 45. Kg3 {Qe4 Qd4+ is pretty convincing. At this point Black lost on time. A very nice defense by Prithiv.} 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/ydFOMe2Q"] [Date "2020.06.05"] [Round "1"] [White "Blumberg, Luke"] [Black "Heil, Sam"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B40"] [WhiteElo "1270"] [BlackElo "1700"] [PlyCount "56"] [EventDate "2020.06.07"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Bg5 Qa5+ 6. Qd2 Bb4 7. c3 Nxe4 8. cxb4 Qxg5 9. Qxg5 Nxg5 10. Nb5 Na6 11. h4 Ne4 12. Bd3 Nf6 13. a3 d5 14. N1c3 Ke7 15. Rc1 Bd7 16. O-O Rhc8 17. Rfe1 Nb8 18. f4 {this weakening of the king-side pawns causes White’s resignation in just 10 more moves.} Nc6 19. Na4 h6 20. Nc5 b6 21. Na6 {The knight will never get out of that hole. Nd7 was better. The bishop was bad, but the knight is now worse.} Ne8 {White threatened Nbc7 winning an exchange. Fritz says just Rg8 and laugh at the silly knights.} 22. Nc3 Kd8 23. Nb5 {b5 and Nb4. White’s pieces are not making any progress.} Ne7 24. Rc3 Bxb5 25. Bxb5 Rxc3 26. bxc3 Nd6 27. Bd3 Rc8 28. Rc1 Nef5 0-1 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/ekV6cIzG"] [Date "2020.06.05"] [Round "1"] [White "Bafna, Arushi"] [Black "Bhamidipati, Nishant"] [Result "0-1"] [ECO "B40"] [WhiteElo "909"] [BlackElo "1448"] [PlyCount "76"] [EventDate "2020.06.07"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d3 Nc6 4. Bd2 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Be2 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. e5 Ne8 9. Na4 {Ne4 Else, why move the e-pawn? White’s knight has no place to go from here.} Qc7 10. Bc3 {Saving the pawn. Losing the knight. Bf4} b5 11. Nxc5 Bxc5 12. d4 Bb4 {When ahead, trade.} 13. Bxb4 Nxb4 14. c3 Nd5 15. Nh4 {Another wandering knight. Perhaps Nd2 heading eventually to e4. Fritz prefers a4 or Bd3} Bb7 16. Bf3 d6 {g5 does not win the knight after Bd5 Bd5; Nf3 with some attacking chances.} 17. Re1 dxe5 18. dxe5 Qd8 19. Qc2 {g3} Qxh4 20. Rad1 Nec7 21. Rd4 Qe7 22. b3 Rac8 23. c4 bxc4 24. bxc4 Nb5 25. Rg4 Nb4 26. Qd2 Bxf3 27. gxf3 f6 {There is a knight still under attack on b5} 28. exf6 Rxf6 29. cxb5 Rc2 {Interesting that both players lose both knights to unforced errors.} 30. Qxb4 Qxb4 31. Rxb4 Rxf3 {ab The b-pawn could become dangerous} 32. Kg2 {This gives Black stuff to attack. b6 and Black can’t go pawn grabbing because he must stop the passed pawn. The best defense is a good offense. Fritz says either ba or b6 with Rff2 the proper response. Black should take the draw by perpetual check.} Rfxf2+ 33. Kg3 axb5 34. Rxe6 Rxa2 35. Rxb5 Rg2+ 36. Kh3 Rxh2+ 37. Kg4 Ra4+ 38. Kf5 Rh5# 0-1 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/uX711X0S"] [Date "2020.06.05"] [Round "1"] [White "Malladi, Srirama"] [Black "Newman, Steve"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C45"] [WhiteElo "1500"] [BlackElo "1500"] [PlyCount "47"] [EventDate "2020.06.07"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 d5 5. Nc3 Bb4 6. Nxc6 bxc6 7. Qd4 Bxc3+ 8. Qxc3 Qf6 9. e5 Qe6 10. Be3 Ne7 11. O-O-O O-O 12. Kb1 Re8 13. f4 Nf5 14. Bf2 Bd7 15. g4 d4 {A serious mistake. Ne7} 16. gxf5 Qxa2+ {This loses a second piece. dc; fe Be6 was better.} 17. Kxa2 dxc3 18. Rxd7 cxb2 19. Kxb2 Reb8+ 20. Kc3 Rb1 21. Bg2 Rbb8 {There is no good move. Rab; Rb1 Rb1; Rd8 mate} 22. Bxc6 Rd8 23. Rhd1 Rab8 24. Rxd8+ 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/EFj7si8P"] [Date "2020.06.05"] [Round "1"] [White "Smith, Jeff"] [Black "Erickson, Darren"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C30"] [WhiteElo "1435"] [BlackElo "826"] [PlyCount "29"] [EventDate "2020.06.07"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. e4 e5 2. f4 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Nf3 d6 6. O-O O-O 7. d3 Nd7 { Protecting e5, but the King’s Gambit is an attack on f7. Na5 would remove the bishop from the attack. White could not win a pawn by fe ed; Ne5 when Qd4+ drops the knight.} 8. Nd5 b6 9. Nxe7+ Qxe7 10. fxe5 dxe5 {Nce5 Trades help the defender} 11. Ng5 {There are now 3 attackers on f7. If only there was a knight on e5 to trade off the White bishop. Fritz says, don’t panic. Nf6 holds.} h6 {OK, now you can panic. White has the dream King’s Gambit attack.} 12. Nxf7 Nf6 13. Nxh6+ Kh8 14. Nf5 Be6 15. Nxe7 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.

[Event "June 2020 Virtual Tournament"] [Site "https://lichess.org/qJWd39KQ"] [Date "2020.06.05"] [Round "1"] [White "Bafna, Mihir"] [Black "Selman"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "B24"] [WhiteElo "1828"] [BlackElo "1300"] [PlyCount "61"] [EventDate "2020.06.07"] [TimeControl "G/60 inc 5"] [Annotator "Joseph Alford"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 e5 5. d3 b6 6. Nge2 Ba6 7. O-O Rc8 8. f4 exf4 9. gxf4 d6 10. Ng3 Be7 11. Nf5 g6 12. Nxe7 Qxe7 13. Nd5 Nxd5 {Qd8 is the only playable move. White is mounting a strong attack. Black is going to lose the queen or the knight on c6.} 14. exd5 O-O 15. dxc6 Qh4 {Why? Bb5 to attack the passed pawn.} 16. Qf3 Rfe8 17. Bd2 Re7 18. f5 Qd4+ {Really bad time to go pawn hunting. Bb5 still looks good.} 19. Kh1 Qxb2 20. f6 Re5 21. Bh3 Rce8 22. Rae1 {Fritz calls this a blunder because his line is so much better. Bf4 followed by Bd7} Qxc2 23. Rxe5 {Good enough. Qf4-h6-g7 cannot be stopped. Actually, by taking with the pawn, Fritz says the mate can be stopped for a moment with Kh8 and Rg8.} Rxe5 24. c7 Re8 25. Qc6 Rf8 26. Bh6 Bxd3 27. Re1 Qc3 28. Qe8 Be4+ 29. Rxe4 Qf3+ 30. Bg2 Rxe8 31. Rxe8# 1-0 You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.