I only played 1 proper game with a kiddo today. My play felt decent, although as usual, the opening feels shaky =) There are, however a couple of positions which I'm not sure I agree with the engine's evaluation. If you dear reader could help me out, that would be great!
Feeling "lazy" today, I shall try a different way to review my game. I go straight into the engine's one-click tactical analysis, followed by my own thoughts on the game.
My own thoughts and queries
- Is 7...Be7 that I played really that bad compared to engine's recommended 7...Nf6 ? I really don't get it!
Position after 7.Bg5, which the engine's one-click tactical analysis recommends 7...Nf6 and did not evaluate 7...Be7 very well for Black.
- 12...Qxd1 was a genuine mistake. Initially, I thought I can just trade Queens and play 13...Bxc2. But I didn't like facing 14.Rd7. On hindsight, I think 12...Qc7, aiming at the "over-extended" White pawn on e5, is best.
- Even though the difference is small, 13...Rfd8 played instead of 13...Rad8 allows Black's King to be centralised ...Kg8-f8-e8/e7. If 13...Rad8, the Rook on f8 only has 1 square to move to.
- I guess this is indeed my typical pattern in games I draw / won (survive the opening phase, the slowly climb from there). Nothing to boast, but also nothing to be ashamed of.
I also did some basic opening run-through with another fellow player making his debut tournament soon. Maybe I sound a bit critical, but his opening repertoire as Black is sorely inadequate. Some examples:
"Sicilian Defence"
1.e4 c5 and not knowing what to do with the Black pieces against 2.c3 Alapin variation, 2.Nc3 closed Sicilian, 2.d4 Smith Morra Gambit and other "funny" second moves like 2.Ne2. He is only ready to face open Sicilian 2.Nf3...
"2 Knight's Defence"
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 Not that the 2 Knights Defence is a bad opening, but playing it this way shows Black doesn't know his stuff. Here, he probably needs to play something like 5...Na5 And this complication could've been easily avoided by simply opting to stick with Giuoco Piano with 3...Bc5.
"Ruy Lopez: Exchange variation"
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 bxc6 This is not losing but already Black is drifting astray. 4...dxc6 was much better, immediately opening up the Bishop on c8 for free. Black will benefit in open positions with the Bishop pair.
We also tried out other lines arising from 1.e4 e5, like Bishop's Opening King's Gambit (which I don't play at all). Yet again, Black continues to get into very bad positions. And he even admitted to having no experience against the Scotch opening. What will he do facing these positions in the tournament is everyone's guess.
The conclusion is simple and clear: Black is not actually ready to play 1.e4 e5 or 1.e4 c5. Yes, the player "likes" it and may have been playing it for a long time, but really, the player doesn't actually know enough to play it decently well. I guess he only has 2 options:
(a) Bite the bullet and fix these holes bit by bit (a good solution in the long run but probably the results would be terrible in the short run);
(b) Sidestep the problem by playing something simpler first (But this only sidesteps the problem rather than actually going about to fix it in the long run)
This is not meant to ridicule anyone, but rather seek to demonstrate these useful learning points / food for thought (which applies to my own as well):
- Playing the same opening consistently does NOT automatically make you an effective specialist in that opening. If you keep playing the same stuff without trying out or think of the different variations that the opponent may throw at you, it simply means you have inadequate experience in these other variations you've never seen. (For instance, playing 1.e4 c5 and only expecting to face 2.Nf3 the open Sicilian is, to me, one-dimensional to the extreme.) And the best way to quickly get a glimpse of various opening variations? Play more blitz games! Or specifically request for your training partner to throw different ideas at you, or to have a bigger pool of training partners.
- It is so much more valuable to find an opening that suits your own playing style. I sincerely hope this player isn't blindly following trends at elite level chess (which often starts with 1.e4 e5 or 1.e4 c5). 1.e4 2.Nf3 is indeed most played, but it doesn't mean Black can ignore White's alternatives.
I'm actually looking forward to see if the player, after today's session will be able to get his act together before the upcoming tournament. All the best to him, myself, and everyone else!
Thank you again for your time and attention.
Yours sincerely
Ong Yujing (Eugene)
a.k.a. newbie_learner
a.k.a. newbie_learner
Siglap South CC Chess Quartet
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