tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8973200.post115975125244957427..comments2023-10-26T04:20:35.571-04:00Comments on C's Chess: london fall open 2/4Craighttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08888637708599072141noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8973200.post-1159930323682887022006-10-03T22:52:00.000-04:002006-10-03T22:52:00.000-04:00Hi Craig, Too bad. Obviously you let Steve's openi...Hi Craig,<BR/> <BR/>Too bad. Obviously you let Steve's opening get to you. FYI that is the Fajarowicz Gambit. Sometimes opening knowledge is critical. Steve likes the Fajarowicz but it is unsound due to a simple move - a3 which is best for you on move 4 and it stops his tactics or even at move 7. You were obviously affected still in your 3rd game. Instead of playing solid as you started to do - you uncorked the howler 9...c5?? which would have allowed 10.Nb5 winning if your opponent had seen it. You had a great position with just 9...a6 preparing c5 or even 000 before playing c5 (after a6) then after he played 10.00 you further compounded your troubled by playing cxd4 before you were properly set up. (again just a6). You finally played a6 when it was too late goading him into Nd6+ which was great for him (all his pieces were active) Instead of finding counterplay you traded off pieces and allowed him to come in. Obviously you were not yourself in that game. (sometimes its hard to recover after a bad loss). Years ago (in the 80's) I had trouble with Brian Hartman. It seemed like every tournament I played in he was there and I always played him. In almost every game he was white and for a while I thought all the tournament directors were against me. I must of lost 15 in a row against him (he was white in every one) and it affected my whole tournament as I usually lost another stupid game to a nobody because of that result. I finally studied Hartmans games and learned how to play him as Black and it got so that he was uncomfortable playing me. However that advice isnt going to help you because you dont play Steve Demmery enough to warrant that treatment. You obviously cant prepare against every unorthodox opening out there so the best I can do as advice is when you are caught by the unexpected use plenty of time to compose yourself and find solid moves. For example 4.Qc2 is not the best but having played it I would have played as you did with en passant but then Qd1 and followed by a3 keeping very solid and making him prove his position (Qb3 allowed tricks further along). Even though you are behind in development your position is impossible to crack and you are a pawn up.<BR/>Sorry the tournament did not work out for you but these things happen.<BR/> <BR/>HansCraighttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08888637708599072141noreply@blogger.com