October 30th, 2013, 05:40
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Rowain actually missed
The lesson here is that if there are open lines leading to a king, you have to watch constantly for intermediate moves and checks (as the silly Qa5 saga in my game also demonstrated)
October 30th, 2013, 05:44
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(October 30th, 2013, 05:40)uberfish Wrote: Rowain actually missed
The lesson here is that if there are open lines leading to a king, you have to watch constantly for intermediate moves and checks (as the silly Qa5 saga in my game also demonstrated)
Indeed my usual problem. Once I find a good move I stop looking for better ones.
October 30th, 2013, 06:30
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Yes that is the correct move that the chess.com analysis said for move 23
October 31st, 2013, 01:37
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Well managed to give us the first loss, sorry all!
October 31st, 2013, 04:23
(This post was last modified: October 31st, 2013, 05:51 by Gustaran.)
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(October 31st, 2013, 01:37)Jkaen Wrote: Well managed to give us the first loss, sorry all!
That's 10 pushups!  
No, I am sorry to see that my assessment was unfortunately correct: Opening success, middlegame ok but as soon as an endgame without a lot of pawns arrives everything goes downhill. If I had just one advise it would be to devote some time to endgames & technique (especially rook endgames).
Look at the position at move 21: White just played Rb1, threatening either Rb8+ or Rb7 with a dominant position.
You should not even consider such an ugly move like g6, which forces you to deal with a dominant Rook on the 7th and an annoying Knight as well.
Instead 21...Rb6 would have killed all counterplay on the b-file immediately and the only player who has winning chances is you. Even if that move wasn't available, 21...Ke7 was another much better solution, because after 22. Rb7+ you could just respond with 22.Rd7 and White has to retreat or to trade.
You see these alternative moves are neither hidden nor do they require any sort of calculation. It's just the sort of technique you gain by playing and studying endgames with a few pieces.
(The computer says you could have held after 23.Ne5 if you had played Rd5 instead of Ke8, but even I find that sort of defense rather difficult. I certainly wouldn't want to defend such a position unless I absolutely had to.)
On the plus side, I really think you are not very far away from beating 1600 players regularly, the initial endgame was clearly better for you.
October 31st, 2013, 10:00
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Oh yeah, that's why I didn't like d5 before 
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October 31st, 2013, 15:51
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So my remaining game where I am right now. If I can get a draw is that good or should I be pushing for a win?
October 31st, 2013, 16:06
(This post was last modified: October 31st, 2013, 16:52 by Gustaran.)
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Objectively, the position is equal and the result with best play should be a draw. I'd say if you can reach a draw against someone rated almost 300 points higher than you that's a good result. So you don't need to enter crazy complications (unless you want to ).
On the other hand I think it wouldn't hurt to play until the end, because that's exactly the kind of position you could use some practice in (your opponent would probably decline a draw offer anyway). Even if you should lose in the end, your endgame skills will improve, so don't worry.
One additional thing I'd like to mention: I've tried to play for a draw before which first got me an equal, then passive and in the end losing position. Thinking the game will draw itself without much effort can backfire, so pay full attention until the very end.
November 1st, 2013, 12:52
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Finally starting to feel good about my game as white (which probably means i'm overlooking something  ). It's still tricky but i have an idea what i need to push for now. I think he missed an opportunity on move 20 when he played c6. Ra5 would have had me on the defensive
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November 1st, 2013, 13:53
(This post was last modified: November 1st, 2013, 13:55 by Gustaran.)
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Yes, since you will be up a rook for a pawn in your game with Black, I would think this should be an easy win. In your game with White you are basically winning as well. Even though you are not up in material yet, your positional advantage is overwhelming and in many lines Black loses material within the next 5-10 moves. In addition, I think it's a perfect "pindicator"-position: You have a safe king, a great positional advantage and your opponent has hardly any counterplay or complicated tactical variations available at all. White certainly has all the fun.
So unless you do something like hang a piece or stalemate him I think this could very well be another full point for Team RB. 
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