Just thought I'd send this along since it seems to be on topic. THIS is what happens when you don't practice your openings!
I'm still doing my 20 Chessmaster qualifying games, working my way down the opponent list, trying to find the sweet spot where games are competitive and am playing a personality who was listed as "ignoring his pawns". Well, he didn't ignore them at all - they won the game for him.
I'm still a little shocked by this loss. 14 moves....8 of them are in the opening book. It's a boring old Piano that I've played tons of times, just played it a little differently than usual this time around. In the database, Black had decent if not great odds upon exiting the opening. Fritz only finds one of my moves onto which to attach the "?". And it was one of the worst losses I've ever had. Never thought that an opponent who is ignoring his pawns would advance them so aggressively - I was banking on getting a tempo every now and then to straighten things out, but it never happened.
Great example of the "control the center" principle.
Wow, never seen a chess PDF before.
That was cool.
I think where you went wrong was by playing [FONT="]Giuoco Piano. :laugh: I never cared for that opening, especially as Black. It always seemed too passive/symmetrical for me. It's like just waiting for White to pounce.
I put your game through CMXI, and it was a bit more critical than Fritz.
White Black
Book Move 8 7
Leave Book 0 1
CMX Agrees 7 2
CMX Disagrees 2 7
Agreement Pct. 78% 22%
Total Error 5.37 21.33
Relevant Error 0.00 1.35
Missed Mate 0 0
Moved Into Mate 0 1
1.e4
{B00 King's Pawn Opening. The King's Pawn opening move is both popular and logical. It controls the center, opens lines for both the Queen and the Bishop, and usually leads to an open game in which tactics, rather than slow maneuvering, predominates.}
1...e5
{C20 King's Pawn Game. Black responds symmetrically, making a direct challenge to the central squares.}
2.Nf3
{C40 King's Knight Opening. With the possible exception of :2. f4, this is the most logical second move against Black's symmetrical answer to the King's Pawn. The Knight attacks e5, clears the way for an eventual castle and rests on its best defensive square.}
2...Nc6
{C44 Queen's Knight Variation. Now, when White plays 3.Nc3 (instead of the Ruy Lopez), it's the Three Knight's Game; a leisurely system.}
3.Bc4
{C44 Queen's Knight Variation.}
3...Bc5
{C50 Italian Game.}
4.c3
{C53 Italian Game / Giuoco Piano. This preparatory move for d4 defines the time-honored Giuoco Piano, literally, 'quiet play.'}
4...Nf6
{C53 Italian Game / Giuoco Piano / Italian Game 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6.}
5.d4
{C53 Italian Game / Giuoco Piano / Italian Game 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4.}
5...exd4
{C54 Italian Game / Giuoco Piano / Greco's Attack.}
6.cxd4
{C54 Italian Game / Giuoco Piano / Italian Game 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4.}
6...Bb6
{C54 Italian Game / Giuoco Piano / Italian Game 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4.}
7.d5
{C54 Italian Game / Giuoco Piano / Italian Game 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4.}
7...Ne7
{C54 Italian Game / Giuoco Piano / Italian Game 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4.}
8.e5
{C54 Italian Game / Giuoco Piano / Italian Game 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4.}
8...Nfg8
{Out of Opening Book. Ng4 would have been in the Italian Game / Giuoco Piano / Italian Game 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.cxd4 book opening. Slightly better is Ng4.}
9.O-O c6
{Leads to 10.d6 Nf5 11.Qd3 Nfh6 12.Nc3 Kf8 13.Bd2 Ba5 14.Rac1 b5 15.Bg5 bxc4 16.Bxd8 cxd3 17.Bxa5, which wins a queen and a bishop for a queen and a bishop. Better is d6, leading to 10.Nc3 Bg4 11.h3 Bf5 12.g4 Bg6 13.Qa4+ c6 14.dxc6 bxc6 15.Bf4, which wins a pawn for a pawn. This error did not immediately put black out of the game, but white was able to eventually mate.}
I agree with Fritz/CM. This probably was the dooming mistake as it allowed White to really hem you in.
10.d6
{Attacks Black's knight at e7.}
10...Ng6
{Slightly better is Nd5.}
11.Qb3 Nh6
{Enables the short castle.}
12.Bg5
{Attacks Black's queen.}
12...f6
{Leads to 13.exf6 Qxf6 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Nc3 Kf8 16.Ne4 Bd8 17.Nd4 b5 18.Qh3 Ng8 19.Be2 Nf4, which wins a bishop and a pawn for a queen and a pawn. Better is Bxf2+, leading to 13.Rxf2 Qb6 14.Nc3 Qxb3 15.Bxb3 Ng4 16.Re2 b6 17.Re4 Nh6 18.Rae1 Ba6 19.Ra4, which wins a queen and a pawn for a queen and a bishop.} --> CM did come up with a clever solution here. Even though it loses material, it manages to wrest back the initiative for black.
13.Bxh6
{Frees Black's pawn at f6 from the pin. Leads to 13...gxh6 14.Bg8 Rxg8 15.Qxg8+ Nf8 16.Qg7 f5 17.Nc3 a6 18.Qxh6 Kf7 19.Qh5+ Kg8 20.Qxf5 Ne6 21.Rad1, which wins a rook, a knight, and two pawns for two bishops. Better is exf6, leading to 13...Qxf6 14.Bxf6 gxf6 15.Nc3 Kf8 16.Ne4 Bd8 17.Nd4 b5 18.Qh3 Ng8 19.Be2 Nf4, which wins a queen and a pawn for a bishop and a pawn.}
13...Nxe5
{Danger! Leads to 14.Bxg7 Bc5 15.Bf7+ Nxf7 16.Re1+ Ne5 17.Nxe5 Qe7 18.dxe7 fxe5 19.Bxh8 d5 20.Bxe5 Bxe7 21.Qf3, which wins a bishop, a knight, and two pawns for a queen, a rook, a knight, and two pawns. Much better is gxh6, leading to 14.Bg8 Rxg8 15.Qxg8+ Nf8 16.Qg7 f5 17.Nc3 a6 18.Qxh6 Kf7 19.Qh5+ Kg8 20.Qxf5 Ne6 21.Rad1, which wins two bishops for a rook and two pawns.}
14.Nxe5
{Pins own pawn at f2. Leads to 14...fxe5 15.Bxg7 Rf8 16.Qg3 Rf5 17.Bh6 Qe7 18.dxe7 d5 19.Bd3, which wins a queen, a knight, and a pawn for a knight. Better is Bxg7, leading to 14...Bc5 15.Bf7+ Nxf7 16.Re1+ Ne5 17.Nxe5 Qe7 18.dxe7 fxe5 19.Bxh8 d5 20.Bxe5 Bxe7 21.Qf3, which wins a queen, a rook, a knight, and two pawns for a bishop, a knight, and a pawn.}
14...gxh6
{Danger! Isolates own pawn at h7, own pawn at f6, and own pawn at h6. Leads to 15.Re1 Qe7 16.Bf7+ Kd8 17.dxe7+ Kc7 18.Bg8 fxe5 19.e8=Q Bd4 20.Rxe5 b5 21.Re7 Rb8. Much better is fxe5, leading to 15.Bxg7 Rf8 16.Qg3 Rf5 17.Bh6 Qe7 18.dxe7 d5 19.Bd3, which gains a queen and loses a bishop and a pawn in comparison.}
15.Qf3
{Frees the pin on White's pawn at f2.}
15...Rf8
{Black moves into a forced mate. Much better is Qe7. Rf8 leads to 16.Qh5+ Rf7 17.Qxf7# and checkmate.}
16.Qh5+
{White will mate next turn. Protects White's knight at e5, forks Black's pawn at h6 and Black's king, and blocks Black's pawn at h6. Leads to 16...Rf7 17.Qxf7# and checkmate.}
16...Rf7
{Forced. Removes the threat on Black's king and threatens White's knight at e5.}
17.Qxf7#
1-0
Don't worry about this, though. I think this is just the killer side of CM coming out regardless of its personality description. It's done this to me, too.
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