September 9

I ripped off some blitz games last night to settle down my provisional rating and then read some annotated games on www.chessgames.com (some Morphy and some of the Deep Blue-Kasparov matches).

So now time to start going through the steps. First, five blitz games.

As you can imagine at this level, the blitz is brutal in quality:

[Event "ICC"]

[Site "Internet Chess Club"]

[Date "2009.09.09"]

[White "KyleMayhugh"]

[Black "CoffeeLady"]

[Result "1-0"]

[WhiteElo "1067"]

[BlackElo "979"]

[ECO "D10"]

[Opening "QGD Slav defense"]

[Variation "Exchange variation"]

[TimeControl "120+5"]

1. d4 c6 2. c4 d5

We got the move order wrong, but we are now at the Slav/Semi-Slav according to Modern Chess Openings. Nf3 would apparently have been the proper continuation here.

3. cxd5 cxd5 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Bf4 Bf5

6. Nf3 e6 7. e3 Bb4 8. Bd3 Bxd3

Trade the undeveloped bishop for the developed one.

9. Qxd3 Nbd7 10. a3 Ba5

11. b4 Bc7

I'm honestly not too sure about b4, it doesn't seem like good players ever do that. But I felt like I everything developed over there and am planning to castle 0-0, so might as well grab the space on this side of the board. With no light bishop, there's no worry about a weak light-square setup.

12. Bxc7 Qxc7 13. O-O O-O 14. Rac1 Qd8

Hoping to use the knight in the discovered attack on the queen.

15. Rc2 Nb6

16. Rfc1

Doubling the rooks.

Nc4 17. e4 Nxa3

I'm in a little time trouble and decide to try to remove the guard on the knight without thinking it too far through.

18. Ra2 Nc4 19. exd5 exd5 20. Nxd5 b5

21. Nf4 Nd5 22. Ng5 Nxb4

Might as well threaten a mate at this level without any better ideas. Opponent missed it.

Crafty hated 22. Ng5, said it was -6.06 at depth 10, because I'm facing a queen and rook fork from Nxb4 once the mate threat is taken care of.

23. Qxh7#

1-0

New rating: 1067

Sheesh, I hate blitz games, and it's weird spending more time annotating than playing for just one game.

[Event "ICC"]

[Site "Internet Chess Club"]

[Date "2009.09.09"]

[White "maxydoodle"]

[Black "KyleMayhugh"]

[Result "1-0"]

[WhiteElo "958"]

[BlackElo "1041"]

[ECO "C20"]

[Opening "King's pawn game"]

[TimeControl "120+5"]

1. e4 e5 2. Bd3 Nc6

I have no idea what white is doing here with Bd3. The closest MCO has is the bishop's opening, 2. Bc4

3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Qe2 Bc5 5. Nc3 a6

6. a3 d6 7. b4 Ba7 8. Ng5 Be6 9. Nxe6 fxe6 10. Bb2 Qd7

11. b5 Nd4 12. Qe3 Nxc2+

The first big mistake (of many, by both sides). I could have consolidated my material advantage even more by retreating the bishop and rewinning the pawn later. But five points should be plenty, and if this were standard it would be. I'm awful at standard.

13. Bxc2 Bxe3 14. bxa6 Bxd2+ 15. Kxd2 bxa6

16. Ba4 Nxe4+

Patzer sees check, patzer plays check. I had a better option that I noticed a move later, this is just throwing away material.

17. Kc2 c6 18. Nxe4 Qa7 19. Bxc6+ Ke7 20. Bxa8 Rxa8

Material is now equal, but I'm in the uncomfortable position of a queen and two pawns against an extra rook, knight and bishop.

21. Rhd1 Rc8+ 22. Kb1 d5 23. Ng3 Qxf2 24. Bxe5 Qxg2?????????????????

Did I put enough question marks to make my point? Mate in one missed. I hate blitz so much. From here the loss is deserved as I'm flustered and out of my element.

25. Ra2 Qh3

26. Bb2 Qg4 27. Rg1 Qc4 28. Rc1 Qd3+ 29. Ka1 Rxc1+ 30. Bxc1 Qc3+

31. Bb2 Qe1+

Trying to bait me into putting my queen back on the second rank and getting the discovered attack.

32. Bc1 d4 33. Rc2 d3 34. Rc7+ Kf6 35. Nh5+ Kg6

36. Nf4+ Kf5 37. Rc5+ Kg4 38. Nxd3 Kh3 39. Rc2 Qe5+ 40. Bb2 Qd5

41. Nf4+

1-0

The third and final blitz game of the night is going to look a *lot* like the last one. Big material advantage, blow it in a stunning series of bad moves. To be fair, I had myself in time trouble in this one, down below 15 seconds, and I'm not used to trying to think that fast on a chess board.

[Event "ICC"]

[Site "Internet Chess Club"]

[Date "2009.09.09"]

[White "KyleMayhugh"]

[Black "dlhdlh"]

[Result "0-1"]

[WhiteElo "1020"]

[BlackElo "997"]

[ECO "D35"]

[Opening "QGD"]

[Variation "Harrwitz attack"]

[TimeControl "120+5"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nc3 e6 4. Bf4 a6

MCO has nothing to say about this opening, really. But I really need to remember that 3. cxd4 is almost always white's best response to the QGD.

5. cxd5 exd5

6. Nf3 Bb4 7. e3 Ne4 8. Qa4+ Nc6

Wasted move, thinking I'd win the bishop. You'd think by now I'd remember that combo.

9. Qc2 Bf5 10. Bd3 Ba5

11. O-O O-O 12. Bxe4 dxe4 13. Nxe4 Re8 14. Nfd2 Bxd2 15. Qxd2 Bxe4

Badly judged exchange leaves me down 2 points, but to be fair, that one was fairly complicated and I'm still in a blitz setting (how long can I use that excuse?)

16. f3 Bg6 17. Rfe1 Qd7 18. Rad1 a5 19. d5 Nb4 20. a3 Nc2

21. Rc1 Qf5 22. e4 Qd7

Nifty move blocks the defender and wins the knight, regaining a small material lead.

23. Qxc2 h6 24. Bxc7 Rac8 25. Re3 Re7

26. Rc3 f5

That's a whole lot of firepower trained on c7. I dare black to start that exchange.

27. Bxa5 fxe4

Black blunders a rook, but I'm in real time trouble and am making moves very haphazardly.

28. Rxc8+ Kh7 29. f4 Qxd5 30. Rc5 Qd4+

31. Kh1 e3 32. Bc3 Qxc5

Gives back the rook.

33. Re1 Bxc2 34. Rxe3 Qxe3

Gives back the queen, time to let him finish.

35. Bxg7 Rxg7

36. g4 Rxg4 37. h4 Qh3#

0-1

New rating 1020P (one game short of dropping the provisional tag).

Hooray, stupid blitz games are over.