My Worst Defeat and Victory in a While

Intro

Since I've started playing chess again, I've had ups and downs. In my previous post was one of the ups. Naturally, what comes up must come down. Although one game is a victory, it is not worth celebrating; we kept missing opportunities to win or equalize the game, like two boxers missing each other constantly. The other was a good game until small mistakes and a cramp position led to one lethal blunder. It's one of the worst kinds of loses, but not nearly as bad as stalemating or even losing a won game. Both feature similar openings, but that's where the comparisons stop. Before I go on, both of my opponents played well.

Game 1: My Defeat

Above is the whole game.

Opening Analysis

I had the black pieces this game. After Nc6 and Nf6, I was a little worried that the Vienna Gambit (f4) was about to kick off. The only thing I remember about that gambit is that taking the f pawn is a fairly bad move as compared to the King's Gambit. Fortunately, it turned into a Four Knights Game: Italian Variation, something I have much more experience in. I usually play Bb4 (which I did in this game as well), although I've been considering Nxe4, with the idea that after Nxe4 recapture, fork the white knight and bishop with d5 for compensation. The reason I've been playing Bb4 in this position is because it can either take the c3 knight, creating double pawns, or maneuver to the c5 or b6 square along a strong diagonal. After some normal opening development and a bishop and knight exchange on c6 came the move c3 (which is below).

In these positions, I'm more used to a3 being played. This would push my bishop to c5 then b6 after the b4 pawn push. Usually, I would use this as an opportunity to put my rook on b8 and target their overextended pawns. But with the c3 pawn, that becomes more difficult. So, I decided to place my bishop on a7 to avoid further harassment. After some piece maneuvers, I stupidly traded my good light-squared bishop for one of their knights. Once white developed their dark-squared bishop, I consider it the end of the opening (position below):

Middlegame Analysis

I was worried about Bxf6, Qxf6, Qxf6, then after gxf6, I thought my king would be way too open to attack. That's if I redefended the knight with the queen in the first place. This would ruin my kingside structure. The only move that seemed logical was Ne8, even though it placed the knight on a seemingly bad square. However, the chess engine seems to prefer this move (choosing it after depth=21). I then threatened their bishop with f6, forcing them to flee to e3. Then came a4, which was a somewhat surprising move by white. It was obvious that they did not want to capture my bad bishop with their good bishop, thus correcting my doubled pawns. That would have been a benefit at this point. I responded with a5, thinking that if white did bxa5, Bxa5, attacking the weak c3 pawn. Although, after they played Qg3, I was afraid that they would play Bh6. So, I just took on b4, then traded bishop for bishop. This meant that the only minor pieces left were my moveless knight versus their well placed one. So I tried to make some room for him with d5. I also had the unintended effect of undoubling the pawns, but this is a moot point considering how the game ends. Then comes white's only major mistake, e4. I also messed up by playing d4 instead of taking the free pawn with Rxa4. I was irrationally concerned that after white's Rxa4, and Qxa4, white could play exd5 but there's compensation with either Qxb4 or Nd6. I only played d4 because I prefer locked pawn games, and that pawn would never be harassed by another one. I finally got my knight on d6 only for them to play Nh6+ and pivot to the g4 square (position below):

Naturally, I took a drawn position (according to the engine) and played the single worst move. I think @WorstFish would be proud. After Ra5, the f6 pawn is now pinned or I risk checkmate (Rxf8#). So that's a pawn gone. My thought behind this was to double up on the a-file. After forking my rook and pawn, I resigned. Sadly, there's no endgame to analyze.

Game 2: Mediocre Victory

Above is the full game and below is a link to it on chess.com
https://www.chess.com/game/live/172116281368?username=thesponge8000&move=0

Opening Analysis

I had the black pieces once again. For some reason, games on Lichess versus chess.com feel very different, and I cannot put my finger on it. This game, when compared to the last one, proves this, at least, I think so. It starts off with your standard Petrov's Defense where both sides capture the e pawns. Although, my opponent did not immediately kick out my knight with d3 or pin it with Qe2. Both moves have a total of 45% chance of being played by white (according to Lichess, anyway). However, my opponent played h3, and then a3!? I marked it with !? instead of ?!, which means inaccuracy or slight mistake. It essentially means that it's an odd move that's neither bad nor good. After some more development, I blundered with Bd7, giving up a free pawn (position below). Stupidly enough, neither of us knew about this because they did not capture it, and I only noticed this afterwards. I was so used to my knight being back on f6 that it simply did not cross my mind. You really cannot take anything in chess for granted.

They finally kicked my knight out with d3. Rooks went to the open e-file, as usual in Petrov games. They placed their queen knight on d2 instead of c3, which I thought was very peculiar, and then to f1. I do not remember the last time I saw a knight maneuver like this so early into the game. But after they developed their dark-squared bishop, I consider this the end of the opening. Honestly, I consider both sides to be equal by this point in the game.

Middlegame Analysis

With their Bg5 move, they threaten to take out d5's only defender, so d4 seemed like a natural choice. Although, I cannot be defended by another pawn, making it a potential sore spot in this position. They put their queen knight to g3, making a knight pair. I have a feeling that my opponent is a knight player rather than a bishop one. After trading the rooks off, I had to relocate my light-squared bishop. The g6 square seemed like a great defensive move against white's encroaching army; it also along a nice diagonal. After their dark-squared bishop and my knight were traded they placed their queen rook on the e-file. At the time, it felt like I forced my hand into playing Kf8 so that an opposing rook could come into the game. However, the engine is telling me that blocking the e-file with Ne5 was better. If they took with Nxd4, then there's Nxd3! This attacks both the rook and knight, winning a pawn, it seems. Instead, we traded off the some minor pieces, the last of the rooks, and the queens. This left only the pawns and our bishop and knight each. I consider this the end of the middlegame (position below):

Endgame Analysis

My 25th move was, admittedly, not great. I allowed for Bd5, which forces Bc5 to defend after the knight's been taken, which could then be followed up by b4, kicking the bishop to b6. This would have rendered my bishop as extremely passive while having doubled c pawns in a pawn focused endgame. Fortunately, they did not play this, instead choosing to move their king up and then play c3. The c3 push is the critical mistake of the game, since their b2 pawn is overloaded, allowing for a free pawn capture. I would like to point out that my opponent was very low on time at this point, only have about a minute left compared to my eight minutes. I believe that played a role in the error. After a simple pawn trade at the kingside, I placed my bishop at b2. White had two realistic ways of defending the c pawn. They could have played Kd2 (which the engine considers better) or c4. When I played Bb2, I knew that c4 would lead to a forced knight exchange and my bishop on d4. On d4, it would be unmovable with a c5 pawn push, which is what happened. To my dismay, the c5 move was also not great, since it allows their king to centralize. But even after I centralized my king, I made more mistakes with my other queen pawns by making a dubious pawn structure and ignoring the progress I needed to make. I should have moved the bishop out of the way for my king to threaten their d pawn, forcing Be4 and allowing my a pawn to climb up to promotion. King back to f3 would have prevented this, which would have been a more draw-ish position. Strangely, under time pressure, they blundered their f pawn (position below):

The rest of the game is self-explanatory. I captured two more pawns for the victory. Honestly, if either one of us was paying more attention to this game, it could have been a draw or even loss for me, which is why I cannot celebrate this win.

Conclusion

Both of these games were fun to play. The first was much more stressful than the other and the missed opportunities in the second were painful to rewatch. I find it near infinitely fascinating that two games with similar openings can diverge so much. Nevertheless, I hope I can take the lessons from these games and improve.