[The Chess] Debaser vs. Pinback - Teaching Style

Debaser · Post by **Debaser** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 11:23 am

e4

After reading everything Ben wrote on openings and really ingesting that knowledge, I feel like I already have a much better understanding of The Chess. Thus the new and improved Debaser is going to open this game by... making the exact same first move he made last time against Pinback.

Anyway, I understand this is like the most generic opening move for white in Chess, so I generally consider it a safe bet. I like to try to spend the first couple round or two "opening the gunports" and getting my diagaonally moving pieces out and flopping about, at least until my opponent has either revealed an opening or completely reduced me to a blubbering pitiful shell of myself and forced me on the defensive.

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 3:01 pm

1. ...e5

Restoring equilibrium, and all the other good stuff that comes with pushing the King's pawn.

Debaser · Post by **Debaser** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 4:12 pm

c4

This gives the Queen as much freedom of movement as I can in the early game and also frees me up for a couple "instant check" situations depenending on how black moves.

As an added bonus, I maintain some presence in the center-ish part of the board (while d4 would be more center-ish, it would also pretty much put a huge "capture me" sign on that pawn, which isn't a big deal but still no pointing in giving it away).

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 4:53 pm

The only strategic problem with 2. c4 is that it eliminates forever (or at least until the next game) the opportunity for a pawn to have control over d4. Therefore, black (me!) is going to have his eyes drawn to d4 as a nice place to stick one of his pieces at some point. Then, that piece will flourish and incite fear (and shame) in the white pieces under his malevolent glare!

2. ...Nf6

Develops the Knight, attackes the pawn, pressures the center, etc, etc.

Debaser · Post by **Debaser** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 5:01 pm

Nc3

I know it's just a pawn, but at this point in the game I have no concrete long-term plans, so I might as well PROTECT MAH BOYZ as I develop a knight.

A real Chessmaster doesn't just lead his pawns to victory. He also leads them... home.

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 5:08 pm

3... b6

This technique has a fancy-sounding name, "fianchetto", but its aims are the same as ever. The plan is to next move the bishop to b7, which 1) develops the piece, and 2) puts pressure on the center of the board from, with the bishop aiming all the way down the board, diagonally.

Debaser · Post by **Debaser** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 5:17 pm

g3

If this were a roleplaying game, I'd be committing a cardinal sin here: using my out of game knowledge of your intentions in game. That bit of rampant geekery aside, I'm planning to finachetto myself (sounds dirty!), with the intent of keeping the BoD (Balance of Death) in my favor should your bishop or knight decide to provoke a shitstorm by taking my pawn (though in this case I'm less interested in the pawn himself then his usefulness as a roadblock to your bishop shooting straight across the board).

Again, developing my pieces at the same time.

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 5:21 pm

...Bb7

No explanation necessary.

Debaser · Post by **Debaser** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 5:23 pm

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 5:28 pm

...Bb4

A move more tactical than strategic in nature, it serves two main purposes (as far as I can tell):

1. Indirectly attacks white's e4 pawn, as the Knight under the bishop's gaze is one of its protectors.

2. If white moves the d pawn, it pins the Knight (disallowing the movement of the Knight until either the King is moved or some other piece is placed between the knight and the King.) (Yes, Debaser, I know you know what a pin is, I'm just explaining it in case anyone else is following along.)

The third purpose is: I'm just curious to see what happens.

Debaser · Post by **Debaser** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 5:38 pm

Actually, I didn't know the fancy vocabulary for it until now.

Nh3

I'm not, of course, immediately concerned about losing my knight, as he'is protected by two pawns (knight for bishop is about the most even nonsymmetrical trade in the game, as I've been lead to understand it), so I'm just doing what I was going to do anyway. This develops my knight (another new term I've learned today!) and preps me to castle in the near-to-immediate future (which will have the originally unintended but nice little side-effect of freeing up the knight and pawn on the other side of the board). I'm not moving the knight to the more central f4 position, as that would gum up too many of my other pieces' lines of sight.

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 5:48 pm

I personally don't like Nh3 just because it develops a piece to the side, when as we all know, the opening's all about the center. Plus, on f3, the knight has eight possible destination squares, whereas on h3, it has only four.

Plus, as you'll soon see, your e4 pawn is still left vulnerable:

...Bxc3

When to trade, when not to trade. It's a complicated topic, but I'll simplify it in this case, by explaining the two reasons I did it:

1. I wish to capture your e4 pawn, a wish I intend to follow up on next move.

2. Not all bishops are created equal. The pawn structure of the forces in the game exert great influence on which bishop is the "better" one. Notice how many pawns in this game are already on black squares. This has the effect of constricting the flexibility of the "black bishop" (the one on the black squares). Ergo, the black bishop becomes LESS valuable than its base value. A bishop in such a predicament is often called a "bad bishop", and trading it for a knight becomes an enjoyable prospect.

Debaser · Post by **Debaser** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 5:55 pm

dxc3

Aside from the obvious it frees up my black bishop and opens up another line of sight for my Queen.

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 6:03 pm

Actually, taking that pawn looks too dangerous for me (...Nxe4 Qe2...f5 Qh5+, and that's about as far as I can see ahead, but it still looks scary)...

So, let's just tidy up around the ol' homestead.

...O-O

Debaser · Post by **Debaser** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 6:11 pm

O-O for me, too.

Getting rooks out is a bitch under normal circumstances.

While we're on the subject, let me ask you a theoretical:

Assuming my Bishop is more likely to leave his current position going forward than one of your unmoved pawns, which of our kings is in the better position? Historically, I've find myself just a tiny bit claustrophobic when it comes to castling behind 3 pawns. On the one hand, it makes him hard to check, but a king who can't move off the first rank in a pinch strikes me as a little too easy to mate.

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 6:18 pm

In theory, ANY pawn movement around the King weakens it. So, taken out of context, yours is in a slightly weaker position.

However, even knowing this, I will play:

...h6

You've got two pieces there who could potentially cause me difficulty on the g5 square, so I'll play a little defensively here and keep you from going there.

Debaser · Post by **Debaser** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 6:30 pm

Re5

Gettin' guys out for the time being. Your lack of glaring weaknesses is frustrating, so I'm guess I just keep jockeying for position. Usually my matches are either decided or at least much more violent and bloody by this point.

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 6:37 pm

Assuming you meant Re1:

...d6.

I was feeling a bit cramped, and wanted to quit worrying about the e5 pawn.

Debaser · Post by **Debaser** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 6:52 pm

Qb2

I feel like I've got the right and center of the board covered much better than the left (speaking from my perspective) so this balances that a bit; and from b2 my queen's in a good position to attack your King at some vague point in the future.

pinback · Post by **pinback** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 6:59 pm

Qb3 or Qc2?