Team X Chess thread (2 Viewers)

[Sand]

In our white game O moved, shockingly, Nh6.

Lots of opportunities - O-O, g4, b4, Qd2.

I LOVE g4 here. If they go g5 I think we consider opening his K side with Nxg5 and exchange the N for the 2 king pawns and castle Q side and load up on his K.

I will analyze, but I love the concept of an opposite side castle. That makes for all kinds of mayhem.

I officially like g4. If we move anything else they move g5 first and we lock in our g pawn because the bishop has to retreat. Two votes here. nsyfl or Joe, can we get a third analysis?

 

[pizzatyme]

Black

Nd5?

 

[Joe T]

I'm back home now. Thanks for the great progress. I'll take a look at both games

.

 

[Joe T]

are both games up to date in post 2 and 3?

 

[pizzatyme]

In the white game after we moved h3 they moved Nh6. We are stringy considering g4.

The black game is current and I'm trying to talk to them into Nd5. Other considerations are Nd7 or dxe5.

 

[Joe T]

Nd5 line:

A simple Nxd5 forces us into stacked pawns in the middle of the board. Don't really like that exchange.

Nd5

Nxd5 exd5

Rb3 Qc5

Qe3 dxe5

Qxe5 world of hurt

Nd7 line:

exd6 Bxd6

Rb3 Qa5

nxe6

If we take the knight, they go Qxd6, and have us by the short hairs. If we move the bishop, he goes Nc7, and gets our rook.

Ugh.

No need to immediately take back. I'd move Nc5 to put pressure on the b3 spot and to protect e3 as we will want to move f6.

I'm still on either exd5 or Nd7.

More later.

I agree with Sand's line on Nd5. We are basically dead or at minimum "world of hurt" when they get to Qe3. I don't see an exit that we are not well behind.

I guess the other two options named were exd5 or Nd7. Haven't looked at both yet. exd5 seems best on first look, but I'll run through both.

 

[nysfl2]

Start with the easy one:

White

Logic behind g4 is strong, and I don't see anything that looks better in the short-term. I endorse.

 

[Sand]

Start with the easy one:

White

Logic behind g4 is strong, and I don't see anything that looks better in the short-term. I endorse.

I am going to make this move - Pizza, we concur with your endorsement of this one.

On the other game I went through some lines and wanted to share. First Nd5:

Nd5

nxd5 exd5

Rb3 Qc5

Rc3 Qb4

Qe3 dxe5!

Be7

Not a horrible outcome, but I think we can do better.

Nd5

nxd5 exd5

Rb3 Qc5

Qe3 Be6

Nxe6 Qxc3

Rxe3 fxe6

exd6 Kf7

f5 ??? Yuck.

Nd5

nxd5 exd5

Rb3 Qxa2

Qe3 Nc6

exd6! Ke7

Nxc6 Kxc6

Qc3 Kd6

Rb6 ??? Again, yuck.

So, I moved onto Ne7:

Ne7

Rb3 Qa5

Ne4 Qxd2

Nxd2 dxe5

I like the lines and the interconnected pieces here. This isn't a bad result at all.

Ne7

Rb3 Qa5

Ne4 Qxd2

Kxd2 dxe5

fxe5 Nxe5

Again looking ok.

Please poke holes in the Ne7. I haven't looked at the dxe5 items yet.

 

[nysfl2]

Complicated it is! You have my vote.

Ne7 looks ugly to me:

Ne7

Rb3. Qe5

Ne4 QxQ or Qxa2? Others?

Nxd6 looms or exd6 and then we're fighting a passed pawn.

No?

For this, what if instead of Rb3, they go Qe2?

I guess we respond Qa5+? Nc6 doesn't seem to end up well.

 

[pizzatyme]

I have run through this Nd5 line and don't see the worry, but I again will defer.

I'm okay with exd5

fxe5 Nd7 seems to cover up and attack the e pawn at the same time.

 

[nysfl2]

Black

Nd5

Nxd5. exd5

Rb3. Qxa2

R or Qe3 Be6 eliminates the pressure on the K

exd6 Ke7 and we win the pawn back

Nxe6? fxe6 we now take Bxe6 and g5, Nf6 and we are in great shape.

Play it out and give thoughts.

Also, if it makes it this far, I think he's more likely to go Nxe6 instead of exd6, which keeps the pressure on the king.

 

[Sand]

Complicated it is! You have my vote.

Ne7 looks ugly to me:

Ne7

Rb3. Qe5

Ne4 QxQ or Qxa2? Others?

Nxd6 looms or exd6 and then we're fighting a passed pawn.

No?

For this, what if instead of Rb3, they go Qe2?

I guess we respond Qa5+? Nc6 doesn't seem to end up well.

Qe2 wouldn't happen - we take Nc3. Qe3 instead of Rb3 also isn't great for them - Qa5 pins the knight.

What I like about the Ne7 is that it takes away the certainty of losing a pawn off the e row. That really helps protect the king.

 

[Sand]

I have run through this Nd5 line and don't see the worry, but I again will defer.

I'm okay with exd5

fxe5 Nd7 seems to cover up and attack the e pawn at the same time.

But we went with your g4 line.

So:

dxe5

fxe5 Nd7 Nd7 also covers b6, which is nice to ward off that rook.

Rb3 Qa2 or Qa4 I can see both of those working, not writing all the permutations up here

dxe5

fxe5 a3

Ba4 b5

Bc2 Nb4

looks pretty good. Better line than Nd7, I think.

Poke holes!

 

[nysfl2]

Complicated it is! You have my vote.

Ne7 looks ugly to me:

Ne7

Rb3. Qe5

Ne4 QxQ or Qxa2? Others?

Nxd6 looms or exd6 and then we're fighting a passed pawn.

No?

For this, what if instead of Rb3, they go Qe2?

I guess we respond Qa5+? Nc6 doesn't seem to end up well.

Qe2 wouldn't happen - we take Nc3. Qe3 instead of Rb3 also isn't great for them - Qa5 pins the knight.

What I like about the Ne7 is that it takes away the certainty of losing a pawn off the e row. That really helps protect the king.

Sorry - quoted the wrong post. That was responding to pizza's Nd5 move

Black

Nd5

Nxd5. exd5

Rb3. Qxa2

R or Qe3 Be6 eliminates the pressure on the K

exd6 Ke7 and we win the pawn back

Nxe6? fxe6 we now take Bxe6 and g5, Nf6 and we are in great shape.

Play it out and give thoughts.

 

[pizzatyme]

Start with the easy one:

White

Logic behind g4 is strong, and I don't see

anything that looks better in the short-term. I endorse.

I am going to make this move -

Pizza, we concur with your endorsement of this one.

On the other game I went through some lines

and wanted to share. First Nd5:

Nd5

nxd5 exd5

Rb3 Qc5

Rc3 Qb4

Qe3 dxe5!

Be7

Not a horrible outcome, but I think we can do better.

Nd5

nxd5 exd5

Rb3 Qc5

Qe3 Be6

Nxe6 Qxc3

Rxe3 fxe6

exd6 Kf7

f5 ??? Yuck.

Nd5

nxd5 exd5

Rb3 Qxa2

Qe3 Nc6

exd6! Ke7

Nxc6 Kxc6

Qc3 Kd6

Rb6 ??? Again, yuck.

So, I moved onto Ne7:

Ne7

Rb3 Qa5

Ne4 Qxd2

Nxd2 dxe5

I like the lines and the interconnected pieces here. This isn't a bad result at all.

Ne7

Rb3 Qa5

Ne4 Qxd2

Kxd2 dxe5

fxe5 Nxe5

Again looking ok.

Please poke holes in the Ne7. I haven't looked at the dxe5 items yet.

After Qa5 why do you think they automatically move Ne4?What if instead they move exd6?

Do we respond Bxd6?

Then they can go Nxe6 which attacks the Bishop. We can go Bxc4 and they have to take with either the Q or B. This allows us fxe6.

At this point we are still up a pawn but the King is in the open and the e pawn is easily attacked.

It's okay, but I prefer dxe5 then Ne7 I believe.

 

[pizzatyme]

Sand, on your a3 I think you mean h6 but that doesn't work as he would just take the N and win a pawn.

 

[pizzatyme]

This brings me back to dxe5

fxe5 Nd7

I don't see any weakness here.

Thoughts?

 

[Sand]

Sand, on your a3 I think you mean h6 but that doesn't work as he would just take the N and win a pawn.

Then Bxg7 and eventually takes e5

It's okay, but I prefer dxe5 then Ne7 I believe.

I think I am starting to go there, as well. Ne7 is effing complicated. dxe5 simplifies a good bit. At this point we like even steven trades.

 

[nysfl2]

This brings me back to dxe5

fxe5 Nd7

I don't see any weakness here.

Thoughts?

I'm leaning dxe5, too. It immediately takes some of the pressure off of our queen and still allows us to protect against the queen-bishop attack on the king.

 

[pizzatyme]

White

In preparation for g5 are we ready to exchange the N for the 2 pawns and open up his King side?

 

[Sand]

White

In preparation for g5 are we ready to exchange the N for the 2 pawns and open up his King side?

It is more likely that they move Nf7, but that said if they push g5 then it will be a consideration. I don't see with this closed board how we really push to take advantage, though.

Also, I have gone through a number of variants of dxe5 for our black game. I am going to endorse that one. It looks pretty solid. For this one I definitely want to get three strong yes votes since it is getting muddy. So chime in when you can.

 

[pizzatyme]

You mean dxe5? If so, I'm a yes.

 

[Sand]

You mean dxe5? If so, I'm a yes.

Surreptitiously edited.

 

[nysfl2]

I'm sold on dxe5. Make it so.

 

[Sand]

I'm sold on dxe5. Make it so.

Done.

 

[pizzatyme]

I think we overwhelm them everything we send over both games. #mindblown

 

[pizzatyme]

Black

We have a move! As expected, they did fxe5.

I think Nd7 is our best line. Time to get to work gentlemen!

 

[Sand]

Black

We have a move! As expected, they did fxe5.

I think Nd7 is our best line. Time to get to work gentlemen!

Having gone through it multiple times last night I concur on Nd7.

 

[Joe T]

For black:

I'm failing to see better alternatives to Nd7. I'd love to go through some other lines, but I just don't see any.

 

[pizzatyme]

Black

Nd5 is messy. So is Ng4. So is h6.

 

[pizzatyme]

Any other with an opinion on the Black game? Are we good to go on Nd7?

 

[nysfl2]

Nd7 looked like the best move when I looked at it last night. Full agreement here.

 

[Sand]

Any other with an opinion on the Black game? Are we good to go on Nd7?

Seeing as I already moved it since we had three speak up?

 

[Sand]

In our black game, O has move Ne4. We should step back and renew our lines here.

 

[pizzatyme]

First glance looks like Be7. We give back a pawn but it looks like we avoid trouble.

Be7

BxB KxB

Qg5 Ke8

Qxg7 Rf8 at this point if he takes the h pawn we have options with our Q to take the a pawn or Qa5+ then Qxe5.

Nc6 is no good. And f6 is no good.

Look it over.

 

[Sand]

In our white game O has moved Nf7. Not much of a surprise there, either. I'm kinda look at O-O and b4, at first blush.

 

[nysfl2]

First glance looks like Be7. We give back a pawn but it looks like we avoid trouble.

Be7

BxB KxB

Qg5 Ke8

Qxg7 Rf8 at this point if he takes the h pawn we have options with our Q to take the a pawn or Qa5+ then Qxe5.

Nc6 is no good. And f6 is no good.

Look it over.

That doesn't look great, as we lose the pawn and our ability to castle.

What's the problem with just going Qxa2 immediately? I don't see anything devastating that he can do on his next move, and he'd have to protect the rook on his next move.

 

[pizzatyme]

Black,

Sometime I can't see the forest for the trees!

We still have to be careful of the d8 pressure but I agree, Qxa2 looks fine.

I was worried about a Nxe6-Qd8 combo.

 

[Sand]

Black,

Sometime I can't see the forest for the trees!

We still have to be careful of the d8 pressure but I agree, Qxa2 looks fine.

I was worried about a Nxe6-Qd8 combo.

Moves that I see considering:

Qxa2

h6

Nxe5

Nc6

I like the idea of chasing that dark bishop off the diagonal he is on. The nice thing about h6 (and then g5) is that we pretty much know where he is moving. I also like Qxa2. He likely then moves Rb3 and we either chase the king or simply move back to a4. Not sure if chasing the king to f2 is advantageous or not, but likely so. Then maybe nc6.

The idea of Nxe5 is very compelling and I'm trying to find the hole there. Captures a pawn, allows the light bishop to develop, and can provide support for an Nc6 move.

I plan on spending some time tonight looking this one over. This one is getting fun.

 

[pizzatyme]

Sand,

Nxe5 looks bad to me.

Nxe6 with the threat of mate Qd8. If we block with the N or B, he then goes Nc7++.

 

[Sand]

In our white game I'm still looking at b4 or g5. I don't see the advantage of castling right now. When the time comes O-O-O may be the better route, anyway. For b4 I can see moving b4, then Qa4, O-O-O, f5.

I also see the advantage of g5 as, if we don't, we may well see them move g5.

g5 fxg5

Nxg5 Nxg5

bxg5 Qd7

Rg1

or maybe

g5 fxg5

Bxg5 Nxg5

Nxg5 Qd7

a4 threatening a5 and opening up the a column.

Another task for tonight.

 

[pizzatyme]

White

I'm not sure about g5 as I think it leads to f5. Unless you guys like what follows there?

I think I'm okay with them going g5 as we can do Bg3 then push the h pawn and open the file up for the rook.

 

[pizzatyme]

White,

Please take a look at Qd2. If they go g5 I think we should trade the N for the 2 pawns and open up their King side.

If they try Bh6 I think we go g5 and it accomplishes the same thing.

Just a thought.

 

[nysfl2]

Sand,

Nxe5 looks bad to me.

Nxe6 with the threat of mate Qd8. If we block with the N or B, he then goes Nc7++.

Yeah, Nxe5 is out. He could also follow with Nc6 to give us the choice of mate or losing our queen.

 

[nysfl2]

Black

Nc5 looks meh to me. He probably trades knights there, which doesn't do a whole lot of damage, but weakens our pawn structure on that side.

Qxa2 and h6 look like the best options to me. Could probably even do the h6-e5 combo first to chase the bishop off, and still be able to do Qxa2 afterwards.

 

[nysfl2]

White

g5 will give them the choice between fxg5 and f5.

Looking down the f5 line:

f5 exg5

Nxg5 say Rg3 (maybe we can find something better here)

Nxh4 Nxh4

Bxh3

If we don't move Rg3, then instead of Bxh3, their last move is Qxg5 and they still get a pawn.

It looks like we wind up down a pawn with a g5 move.

a4 seems to make castling queenside less attractive, but I don't see any reason to fear a g5 move. We have to retreat the bishop, but that's about it.

 

[Sand]

Black

Nc5 looks meh to me. He probably trades knights there, which doesn't do a whole lot of damage, but weakens our pawn structure on that side.

Qxa2 and h6 look like the best options to me. Could probably even do the h6-e5 combo first to chase the bishop off, and still be able to do Qxa2 afterwards.

Sounds reasonable, though I didn't get a chance to do much on this tonight.

 

[nysfl2]

Actually, if they respond f5, it looks better if we don't take the pawn. Let them go fxe4, and take it back with our knight.

 

[pizzatyme]

You guys like g5 better than Qd2?

 

[pizzatyme]

White

If we go g5, I see them going f5 followed by f4 locking in our Bishop. I still think we should consider sacking the N to open the King side and get the 2 pawns.

Something to consider.