In the last Hive chess game, @maestroask emerged victorious by tiebreak - @kintokris did well in the tournament and could have won it. A closer look, I noticed he lost just two games, one that put the tiebreak against him and one that might have been a deciding factor in a positive way If only he had one. I looked at the game and I have decided to break down that game in this post.
@dhilan04 (2101) Vs @kintokris (2214)
- e4 d5
The Scandinavian Opening! I know jonbellion fan loves this opening alot. I play it myself too for fun, I believe it's quite up there in openings even though high grandmasters games dont feature it.
2.exd5 Qxd5
Queen takes pawn is very popular. Although 2.Nf6 sometimes is played. Everyone plays this even though a general principle involves not bringing out the queen early. But dont they also say fortune favours the brave?
3.. d4 e5?!
Black gets aggressive immediately. I like this move however engines dont respect it, they feel it helps white maintain an opening edge
White maintains the opening advantage and has and easier game because he could stress the black queen and also his pawn in the center is a strength.
6... Be3 Nf6 7. Nc3 Bb4 8. Nf3 O-O
Black has castles however the queen is still on d5. It looks good for black however
The Middlegame
9... h3 Bf5 10. Be2 Rad8 11. Qa4 a6 12. a3 Bxc3+ 13. bxc3 Qa5
White decides not to castle and get the bishop pair with 12.a3. Black was fine with the trade and proceed to even offer a queen exchange.
14.. Qxa5 Nxa5 15. O-O b5
After b5. Black position is tricky without the bishop pair but still very playable
16.. a4 Nc4 17. axb5 axb5 18. Bxc4 bxc4 19. Ra7 Rd7 20. Ra5 Be4
White looks better here with an active rook. Although opposite color bishop makes the endgame hopeful for either side.
Endgame - A comedy of Errors
21... Nd2 Bd3 22. Rc1 h6 23. Nf3 Re8 24. Ne5 Rde7 25. Nxd3 cxd3
White exchanges his knight for the bishop and looks better due to his better pawn structure and the d3 pawn is about to fall. Black could have prevented the exchange earlier but after the fork it was inevitable.
26... Rd1 c6 27. Rxd3 Nd5 28. Rc5 Re6 29. c4 Nf6 30. d5 cxd5 31. cxd5 Rd6
White maintains his extra pawn and tries to move it down the d file. Primed for a comfortable win.
- Bd2 Re2 33. Bf4 Rd7 34. d6 Ne4 35. Rc7 Nxf2 36. Rf3
It was all a matter of technique at this point. As black resigned!
Considering how the game went, I must say it was photo finish as in that position black has to give up another material.
Conclusion
I love this game because it shows how easy it is to play as white and also demonstrates how a good pawn structure is important to watch out for during captures.
Hivechess is played every friday on lichess.org hosted by @stayoutoftherz! For more information, join the community and follow the host for reminders and tag
I am @samostically,I love to talk and write about chess because i benefited alot from playing chess and I love writing about chess.
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