Scott Tortorice
Senior Member
Hey, it's a board game too! 
Anyway, I just thought I would share one of my recent victories over the board. Lately, I've been locked in a bunch of tough-fought battles that seem to drag on and on, making my rating stagnant over the last month or so. Therefore, when I won this game, it made me feel like I finally making progress (of course, I do have an almost 200-point rating advantage---but I'll take 'em as I can get 'em! :rifle.
The following comments are from me (in italics), Fritz 9, and Chessmaster 10:
(30) jamtaylo (1508) - Crusader Scott (1698) [D06]
www.ChessWorld.net server game www.ChessWorld.net , 27.06.2006
[Fritz 9 (10s)]
White Black
Book Move 2 2
Leave Book 1 0
CMX Agrees 28 33
CMX Disagrees 13 8
Agreement Pct. 68% 80%
Total Error 25.47 19.98
Relevant Error 7.44 6.44
Missed Mate 0 0
Moved Into Mate 2 0
D06: Queen's Gambit: Symmetrical and Baltic Defences
1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6 D06 Queen's Gambit / Marshall Variation.
Chessmaster 10: “Awful is such a strong term. Positionally, this is an awful defense.
Black gives up the center for absolutely nothing! 3.Nc3, 3.cxd5, and 3.Nf3 are the
favorite moves here, all of which extract extreme punishment from Black's
positional transgression, though 3.Nc3 allows Black to transpose to normal
positions with 3...e6.” I don’t know about that. I like this response as, with proper play, I believe black can extract more than his fair share of flesh---which I do.
3.Bf4 Nc6 4.Nf3 e6 5.a3 Consolidates b4 5...Bd6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 dxc4 8.Nc3 g5 9.Bg3 Bxg3 10.fxg3 [10.hxg3!? should be investigated more closely 10...g4 11.Ne5 Qxd4 12.Qxd4 Nxd4 13.0-0-0=] 10...Ng4 11.Qd2? CM 10: “Leads to 11...Na5 12.Qc2 Nb3 13.Rb1 Ne3 14.Qe4 Nxd4 15.Nxd4 Qxd4 16.Qxd4 Nc2+ 17.Kd1 Nxd4, which wins a queen and a knight for a queen, a knight, and a pawn. Better is e4, leading to 11...O-O
12.Qd2 e5 13.O-O-O exd4 14.Nxd4 Nxd4 15.Qxd4 Qxd4 16.Rxd4 Nf2, which wins a
queen, a knight, and a pawn for a queen, a knight, and a pawn. 11...e5 CM 10 disagrees with me too: “Leads to 11...Na5 12.Qc2 Nb3 13.Rb1 Ne3 14.Qe4 Nxd4 15.Nxd4 Qxd4 16.Qxd4 Nc2+ 17.Kd1 Nxd4, which wins a queen and a knight for a queen, a knight, and a pawn. Better is e4, leading to 11...O-O 12.Qd2 e5 13.O-O-O exd4 14.Nxd4 Nxd4
15.Qxd4 Qxd4 16.Rxd4 Nf2, which wins a queen, a knight, and a pawn for a queen,
a knight, and a pawn.” 12.d5 Na5-+ 13.h3?? Fritz: a blunder in a bad position. CM 10: “Leads to 13...Nb3 14.hxg4 Nxd2 15.Nxd2 Bxg4 16.e3 Qf6 17.Bxc4 O-O-O 18.Rf1 Qg6,
which wins two knights and a pawn for a queen and a pawn. Better is Qc2, leading
to 13...Nb3 14.Ra2 c6 15.e4 b5 16.dxc6 Ne3 17.Qf2, which wins a pawn. This was
white's most critical error. Even though the game was within reach here, white
eventually resigned.” I, of course, was very happy to see that my opponent missed my impending attack on the right. Scratch one carrier! 13...Nb3 14.Qd1 [14.hxg4 doesn't improve anything 14...Nxd2 15.Nxd2 Bxg4 16.Nxc4-+] 14... 15.Qxa1? Ne3 16.Qc1 Nxd5 17.Nxe5 Be6 [17...Nb6 might be the shorter path 18.Ne4 Qd4 19.Nf6+ Kf8 20.Qc3 Qxc3+ 21.bxc3-+] 18.e4 19.Qxc3 f6 20.Nxc4 b6?? letting the wind out of his own sails [>=20...Qd7!? 21.Be2 0-0-0-+] CM10 recommends Qe7. 21.Be2 0-0 22.0-0 Kg7 23.Bh5? [23.Ne3 c6=/+] 23...Bxc4 24.Qxc4 Qe7 25.Qd3 Rad8 26.Qf3 Qc5+ 27.Kh2 Qe5 28.Qe3 Qxb2 29.e5? [29.Rf2 Qb5 30.Qc3-+] 29...Qxe5 30.Qb3 Rd2 31.Qb1 f5 32.Qc1 [32.Bf3 does not improve anything 32...g4! the final blow 33.hxg4 fxg4 34.Bxg4 Rb2-+] 32...Qd6 33.Qc3+ Kh7 34.Qd5 35.Bf3 This was my opponents biggest mistake.CM 10: “Danger! Leads to 35...Qxb3 36.Bb7 Qxa3 37.Re1 a5 38.Bc6 Qb4 39.Rc1 b5 40.Bf3 which loses a queen and a pawn. Much better is Qxd5, leading to 35...Rxd5
36.Re1 Rd7 37.Be8 Rg7 38.Ba4 c5 39.Bc2 Kh8 40.Rf1 f4 41.gxf4 Rxf4, which wins a
queen and a pawn for a queen and a pawn.35...Qd3 [>=35...Qxb3 ends the debate 36.Bb7 Qxa3-+] And this was my biggest mistake! I don’t remember why, but I did not take the proffered queen! Did I miss it due to “chess blindness”? Or was I just too consumed with ratcheting-up the pressure on my enemy’s defenses? I was simply shocked when I discovered this error during the playback. CM 10 says: “Danger! Leads to 35...Qxb3 36.Bb7 Qxa3 37.Re1 a5 38.Bc6 Qb4 39.Rc1 b5 40.Bf3 which loses a queen and a pawn. Much better is Qxd5, leading to 35...Rxd5 36.Re1 Rd7 37.Be8 Rg7 38.Ba4 c5 39.Bc2 Kh8 40.Rf1 f4 41.gxf4 Rxf4, which wins a queen and a pawn for a queen and a pawn.” 36.Qb4 c5 37.Qa4 CM 10: “Leads to 37...Qxf1 38.Qxa7+ Kg6 39.Qxb6+ Rf6 40.Qb3 c4 41.Qe3 Rfd6 42.Qe8+ Kf6 43.Qh8+ Kf7 44.Qh7+ Ke8, which wins two pawns for a rook. Better is Qb1, leading to 37...Qxb1 38.Rxb1 Re8 39.Rb3 c4 40.Rc3 Rc8 41.Bb7 Rc7, which wins a queen for a queen.” 37...Qxf1 Got his other carrier! 38.Qc6 c4 39.Qc7+ Kg8 40.Qe7 CM 10: “White gives Black a forced mate opportunity. Much better is Bd5+. Qe7 leads to 40...Qxf3 41.Qe6+ Rf7 42.Qg6+ Rg7 43.Qe6+ Kh7 44.Qxf5+ Qxf5 45.h4 Qf1 46.Kh3 g4+ 47.Kh2 Rxg2# and mate.” The fatal mistake I’ve been hoping for has arrived. 40...Qxf3 41.Qe6+ Rf7 42.Qe8+ Kg7 43.Qe5+ Kh7 And I have him! CM 10:Black has a mate in 2. Leads to 44.Qxf5+ Rxf5 45.a4 Qxg2# and checkmate.” White resigns. 0-1
THAT was a painstaking victory. Glad its over. :vsign:
Here's the PGN if you want to take a look at the game yourself:
[Event "www.ChessWorld.net server game"]
[Site "www.ChessWorld.net "]
[Date "2006.5.9"]
[Round "NA"]
[White "jamtaylo"]
[Black "Crusader Scott"]
[TimeControl "-"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D06"]
[WhiteELO "1508"]
[BlackELO "1698"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Bf4 Nc6 4.Nf3 e6 5.a3 Bd6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 dxc4 8.Nc3 g5 9.Bg3 Bxg3 10.fxg3 Ng4 11.Qd2 e5 12.d5 Na5 13.h3 Nb3
14.Qd1 Nxa1 15.Qxa1 Ne3 16.Qc1 Nxd5 17.Nxe5 Be6 18.e4 Nxc3 19.Qxc3 f6 20.Nxc4 b6 21.Be2 O-O 22.O-O Kg7 23.Bh5 Bxc4 24.Qxc4 Qe7
25.Qd3 Rad8 26.Qf3 Qc5+ 27.Kh2 Qe5 28.Qe3 Qxb2 29.e5 Qxe5 30.Qb3 Rd2 31.Qb1 f5 32.Qc1 Qd6 33.Qc3+ Kh7 34.Qb3 Qd5 35.Bf3 Qd3
36.Qb4 c5 37.Qa4 Qxf1 38.Qc6 c4 39.Qc7+ Kg8 40.Qe7 Qxf3 41.Qe6+ Rf7 42.Qe8+ Kg7 43.Qe5+ Kh7 0-1
And here is the URL for the game itself: http://www.letsplaychess.com/chessclubs/guest_playchess.asp?chessgame_number_cam=2450226
Now, not to leave my non-chess playing friends in the cold, I do have a wargaming-related observation/question....
One of the really cool features of chess is that not only can you precisely record every game (see PGN above) and effortlessly share it with others, but you also have a wide variety of sophisticated analysis tools that can review each game and provide expert commentary. Wouldn't it be awesome if, someday, you could do the same with your favorite wargame? Say, feed you recent SPMBT battle into an analysis program and find out what you did right and what you did wrong? Do you think that such a day will ever arrive? It would take AI far more powerful than what exists today, but it should, in theory, be possible. We'll just need to take a PC, stuff it full of information concerning every military battle ever fought (just like a BOLO), and then make it play popular wargames as well. In short order, we'll have a program that can analyze a game like above: "You should have moved your armor battalion to the northeast where, like Caesar in Gaul, you would have had the advantage of initiative...." That would be so coool! LOL!
What say you (about my game or the above musings :laugh: )?
Anyway, I just thought I would share one of my recent victories over the board. Lately, I've been locked in a bunch of tough-fought battles that seem to drag on and on, making my rating stagnant over the last month or so. Therefore, when I won this game, it made me feel like I finally making progress (of course, I do have an almost 200-point rating advantage---but I'll take 'em as I can get 'em! :rifle
.The following comments are from me (in italics), Fritz 9, and Chessmaster 10:
(30) jamtaylo (1508) - Crusader Scott (1698) [D06]
www.ChessWorld.net server game www.ChessWorld.net , 27.06.2006
[Fritz 9 (10s)]
White Black
Book Move 2 2
Leave Book 1 0
CMX Agrees 28 33
CMX Disagrees 13 8
Agreement Pct. 68% 80%
Total Error 25.47 19.98
Relevant Error 7.44 6.44
Missed Mate 0 0
Moved Into Mate 2 0
D06: Queen's Gambit: Symmetrical and Baltic Defences
1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6 D06 Queen's Gambit / Marshall Variation.
Chessmaster 10: “Awful is such a strong term. Positionally, this is an awful defense.
Black gives up the center for absolutely nothing! 3.Nc3, 3.cxd5, and 3.Nf3 are the
favorite moves here, all of which extract extreme punishment from Black's
positional transgression, though 3.Nc3 allows Black to transpose to normal
positions with 3...e6.” I don’t know about that. I like this response as, with proper play, I believe black can extract more than his fair share of flesh---which I do.
3.Bf4 Nc6 4.Nf3 e6 5.a3 Consolidates b4 5...Bd6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 dxc4 8.Nc3 g5 9.Bg3 Bxg3 10.fxg3 [10.hxg3!? should be investigated more closely 10...g4 11.Ne5 Qxd4 12.Qxd4 Nxd4 13.0-0-0=] 10...Ng4 11.Qd2? CM 10: “Leads to 11...Na5 12.Qc2 Nb3 13.Rb1 Ne3 14.Qe4 Nxd4 15.Nxd4 Qxd4 16.Qxd4 Nc2+ 17.Kd1 Nxd4, which wins a queen and a knight for a queen, a knight, and a pawn. Better is e4, leading to 11...O-O
12.Qd2 e5 13.O-O-O exd4 14.Nxd4 Nxd4 15.Qxd4 Qxd4 16.Rxd4 Nf2, which wins a
queen, a knight, and a pawn for a queen, a knight, and a pawn. 11...e5 CM 10 disagrees with me too: “Leads to 11...Na5 12.Qc2 Nb3 13.Rb1 Ne3 14.Qe4 Nxd4 15.Nxd4 Qxd4 16.Qxd4 Nc2+ 17.Kd1 Nxd4, which wins a queen and a knight for a queen, a knight, and a pawn. Better is e4, leading to 11...O-O 12.Qd2 e5 13.O-O-O exd4 14.Nxd4 Nxd4
15.Qxd4 Qxd4 16.Rxd4 Nf2, which wins a queen, a knight, and a pawn for a queen,
a knight, and a pawn.” 12.d5 Na5-+ 13.h3?? Fritz: a blunder in a bad position. CM 10: “Leads to 13...Nb3 14.hxg4 Nxd2 15.Nxd2 Bxg4 16.e3 Qf6 17.Bxc4 O-O-O 18.Rf1 Qg6,
which wins two knights and a pawn for a queen and a pawn. Better is Qc2, leading
to 13...Nb3 14.Ra2 c6 15.e4 b5 16.dxc6 Ne3 17.Qf2, which wins a pawn. This was
white's most critical error. Even though the game was within reach here, white
eventually resigned.” I, of course, was very happy to see that my opponent missed my impending attack on the right. Scratch one carrier! 13...Nb3 14.Qd1 [14.hxg4 doesn't improve anything 14...Nxd2 15.Nxd2 Bxg4 16.Nxc4-+] 14... 15.Qxa1? Ne3 16.Qc1 Nxd5 17.Nxe5 Be6 [17...Nb6 might be the shorter path 18.Ne4 Qd4 19.Nf6+ Kf8 20.Qc3 Qxc3+ 21.bxc3-+] 18.e4 19.Qxc3 f6 20.Nxc4 b6?? letting the wind out of his own sails [>=20...Qd7!? 21.Be2 0-0-0-+] CM10 recommends Qe7. 21.Be2 0-0 22.0-0 Kg7 23.Bh5? [23.Ne3 c6=/+] 23...Bxc4 24.Qxc4 Qe7 25.Qd3 Rad8 26.Qf3 Qc5+ 27.Kh2 Qe5 28.Qe3 Qxb2 29.e5? [29.Rf2 Qb5 30.Qc3-+] 29...Qxe5 30.Qb3 Rd2 31.Qb1 f5 32.Qc1 [32.Bf3 does not improve anything 32...g4! the final blow 33.hxg4 fxg4 34.Bxg4 Rb2-+] 32...Qd6 33.Qc3+ Kh7 34.Qd5 35.Bf3 This was my opponents biggest mistake.CM 10: “Danger! Leads to 35...Qxb3 36.Bb7 Qxa3 37.Re1 a5 38.Bc6 Qb4 39.Rc1 b5 40.Bf3 which loses a queen and a pawn. Much better is Qxd5, leading to 35...Rxd5
36.Re1 Rd7 37.Be8 Rg7 38.Ba4 c5 39.Bc2 Kh8 40.Rf1 f4 41.gxf4 Rxf4, which wins a
queen and a pawn for a queen and a pawn.35...Qd3 [>=35...Qxb3 ends the debate 36.Bb7 Qxa3-+] And this was my biggest mistake! I don’t remember why, but I did not take the proffered queen! Did I miss it due to “chess blindness”? Or was I just too consumed with ratcheting-up the pressure on my enemy’s defenses? I was simply shocked when I discovered this error during the playback. CM 10 says: “Danger! Leads to 35...Qxb3 36.Bb7 Qxa3 37.Re1 a5 38.Bc6 Qb4 39.Rc1 b5 40.Bf3 which loses a queen and a pawn. Much better is Qxd5, leading to 35...Rxd5 36.Re1 Rd7 37.Be8 Rg7 38.Ba4 c5 39.Bc2 Kh8 40.Rf1 f4 41.gxf4 Rxf4, which wins a queen and a pawn for a queen and a pawn.” 36.Qb4 c5 37.Qa4 CM 10: “Leads to 37...Qxf1 38.Qxa7+ Kg6 39.Qxb6+ Rf6 40.Qb3 c4 41.Qe3 Rfd6 42.Qe8+ Kf6 43.Qh8+ Kf7 44.Qh7+ Ke8, which wins two pawns for a rook. Better is Qb1, leading to 37...Qxb1 38.Rxb1 Re8 39.Rb3 c4 40.Rc3 Rc8 41.Bb7 Rc7, which wins a queen for a queen.” 37...Qxf1 Got his other carrier! 38.Qc6 c4 39.Qc7+ Kg8 40.Qe7 CM 10: “White gives Black a forced mate opportunity. Much better is Bd5+. Qe7 leads to 40...Qxf3 41.Qe6+ Rf7 42.Qg6+ Rg7 43.Qe6+ Kh7 44.Qxf5+ Qxf5 45.h4 Qf1 46.Kh3 g4+ 47.Kh2 Rxg2# and mate.” The fatal mistake I’ve been hoping for has arrived. 40...Qxf3 41.Qe6+ Rf7 42.Qe8+ Kg7 43.Qe5+ Kh7 And I have him! CM 10:Black has a mate in 2. Leads to 44.Qxf5+ Rxf5 45.a4 Qxg2# and checkmate.” White resigns. 0-1
THAT was a painstaking victory. Glad its over. :vsign:
Here's the PGN if you want to take a look at the game yourself:
[Event "www.ChessWorld.net server game"]
[Site "www.ChessWorld.net "]
[Date "2006.5.9"]
[Round "NA"]
[White "jamtaylo"]
[Black "Crusader Scott"]
[TimeControl "-"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D06"]
[WhiteELO "1508"]
[BlackELO "1698"]
1.d4 d5 2.c4 Nf6 3.Bf4 Nc6 4.Nf3 e6 5.a3 Bd6 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 dxc4 8.Nc3 g5 9.Bg3 Bxg3 10.fxg3 Ng4 11.Qd2 e5 12.d5 Na5 13.h3 Nb3
14.Qd1 Nxa1 15.Qxa1 Ne3 16.Qc1 Nxd5 17.Nxe5 Be6 18.e4 Nxc3 19.Qxc3 f6 20.Nxc4 b6 21.Be2 O-O 22.O-O Kg7 23.Bh5 Bxc4 24.Qxc4 Qe7
25.Qd3 Rad8 26.Qf3 Qc5+ 27.Kh2 Qe5 28.Qe3 Qxb2 29.e5 Qxe5 30.Qb3 Rd2 31.Qb1 f5 32.Qc1 Qd6 33.Qc3+ Kh7 34.Qb3 Qd5 35.Bf3 Qd3
36.Qb4 c5 37.Qa4 Qxf1 38.Qc6 c4 39.Qc7+ Kg8 40.Qe7 Qxf3 41.Qe6+ Rf7 42.Qe8+ Kg7 43.Qe5+ Kh7 0-1
And here is the URL for the game itself: http://www.letsplaychess.com/chessclubs/guest_playchess.asp?chessgame_number_cam=2450226
Now, not to leave my non-chess playing friends in the cold, I do have a wargaming-related observation/question....
One of the really cool features of chess is that not only can you precisely record every game (see PGN above) and effortlessly share it with others, but you also have a wide variety of sophisticated analysis tools that can review each game and provide expert commentary. Wouldn't it be awesome if, someday, you could do the same with your favorite wargame? Say, feed you recent SPMBT battle into an analysis program and find out what you did right and what you did wrong? Do you think that such a day will ever arrive? It would take AI far more powerful than what exists today, but it should, in theory, be possible. We'll just need to take a PC, stuff it full of information concerning every military battle ever fought (just like a BOLO), and then make it play popular wargames as well. In short order, we'll have a program that can analyze a game like above: "You should have moved your armor battalion to the northeast where, like Caesar in Gaul, you would have had the advantage of initiative...." That would be so coool! LOL!
What say you (about my game or the above musings :laugh: )?