[Event "Exhibition Game"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2002.07.31"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Jernigan, John/jjinn"]
[Black "Chessmaster 8000, Rusty"]
[Result "1-0"]
[WhiteElo "1351"]
[BlackElo "1941"]
[ECO "B01"]
[Annotator "jjinn, pdunne"]
[PlyCount "111"]

{I have a few questions about this game. 1. Why did I win this game? Black
makes no obvious mistakes, other than neglecting development. 2. Can you
identify major weaknesses? What should I work on? 3. Given my apparent
style, can you recommend any openings? My repotoire is virtually
nothing right now. 4.  Throughout the game I will sometimes show other
possibilities for white that may or may not be better; can you offer your
opinion on these issues? 5. Also, do you think I calculate enough? I
sometimes worry that I focus too much on generalities and abstractions
instead of concrete variations. Although this annotation has a number of
variations, I calculated very few at the board.  6.  What do you think
of the endgame?  I don't have as many variations for that part, but that
may be partly due to white's clear winning method.  Now, on to the game.
pd: OK, some general comments before analysis of the game.  Firstly, yes,
you are right, you do spend too much time on general ideas.  That wouldn't
be so bad, except you do not know how to apply them correctly, nor how
to evaluate a position.  You are trying to run before you can walk.
Don't worry about such stuff as "good Bs v bad Bs".  I'll make this
clearly in the comments to the game.  Secondly, you handled a clearly
better endgame poorly, giving Black counterchance after counterchance.
You still won, but you could have won far more quickly.  Lastly, do
you have no possibility to play against humans?  It's a bit pointless
putting your computer on a low setting and then demostrating that you can
thrash it.  To anwser your questions: 1. You put the computer on so low
a setting that you could hardly avoid winning!  2. Learn the principles
behind the opening.  Play more actively.  Work on your tactics, to give
you the confidence to attack when Black neglects development, as he did
in this game.  3. Don't worry too much about openings.  As White, open
1.e4 as you do; as Black, answer 1.e4 with 1...e5 and contest the centre,
against 1.d4, answer 1...d5 and ditto; against other White moves, once
again, contest the centre.  Remember: play according to the two basic
tenents of the opening: development and central control, and you can't
go far wrong.  4.  I think I have done so below. 5.  How long is a piece
of string?!  6.  Frankly, very badly played by both sides.}

1. e4 1... d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. Nf3 Nf6 (4... Bg4 { seems more
aggressive than the text, pressuring the knight that willeventually
support white's center.}) 5. d4 Bf5 ({This was the end of my book
knowledge. I'm not sure what my plan or goal should be at this point,
so I'm reluctant to develop my bishops--I'm just not sure where they
should go.  Obviously Black's Queen has a strong pin on my Knight, and I
feared the after e6, Black would add pressure with Bb4. So, I play what
is essentially a waiting move while attempting to prevent pressure from
Black. Again,} 5...  Bg4 {seems more accurate. For instance,} 6. h3
Bh5 7. Bd2 7... e6 {which is similar to the game, except that black's
bishop is playing a much more significant role.
pd: There is no book knowledge required in this simple position, just
knowledge of the basic positional principles underlying all opening play.
Core to these is the maxim: develop your pieces with an eye to controling
the centre.  Your suggested counter to Bg4, h3, does not aid in this.
Better would be 5...Bg4 6.Be2 (developing and breaking the pin) and if
6...Ne4 7.  Bd2.})

6. a3 $6 {Too passive. This allows black to take a slight initiative,
and the black pin on the a3-pawn means I'll have to move my c1 bishop in
order to prevent ... Bb4.} (6. Ne5 {seems more active, posting white's
knight on a strong central square and disrupting the coordination of
black's pieces.
pd: 6.a3 is both passive and a waste of time.  The correct course here
is to bring out the KB and then castle, followed by development of the
QB. Your comment on your suggested improvement indicates to me that
you are trying to run before you can walk, taking about "strong central
squares", and "disruption", when you are not handling development in the
opening correctly.})

6... Ne4 $6 ({This may cash in too soon. Black can still pressure the
c3-knight, albeit more carefully.} 6... e6 7. Bd3 Bxd3 8. Qxd3 Bb4 9. Bd2
O-O 10. O-O Bxc3 11. Bxc3 11... Qa6 {and black is better than in the
text. His king is safe and both rooks are ready to enter the game. The
knights are or will soon influence the center, with a potential post
at d5. pd: Obviously the computer is playing on a low setting!  Even after
W's pointless 6th move, Black doesn't have any advantage to justify
this sortie.  This is a premature attack.  Yes, 6...e6 is clearly better.})

7. Bd2 Nxc3 8. Bxc3

{pd: 8. bxc3 was better here.  On c3, your B does nothing, and it's not easy to
get it to a better square.  Were you worried about doubled Ps?  Don't be.
Doubled pawns are a disadvantage in the endgame, and there are positional
techniques (restraint à la Nimzowitsch, etc) which can be used against
them by strong players; but you really don't need to be worrying about
this at your level.}

8... Qd5 {I still haven't formulated a plan, instead simply developing
my pieces to what seemed to be their natural squares.
pd: Which is precisely what you should be doing.  That IS the plan in
the opening!  Development and central control are the two goals that
should be in your mind.}

9. Bd3 ({This may be inaccurate; white does not necessarily need to trade
bishops. Black's bishop just looks imposing, and I played this move without
truly considering any variations that would demonstrate that my light-squared
bishop could be an important piece, while blacks could be made rather harmless.
 For instance,} 9. Be2 9... Nd7 10. O-O O-O-O 11. Nd2 e5 12. Bc4 12... Qd6 {
This position seems unclear; do you think it is superior to the
text?
pd: Offering to trading Bs is fine here, but Black's obvious response 
is 9. Bd3 Bg4, when your B is on the wrong square -- should be on e2.
In view of this, 9. Be2 is better.})

9... Bxd3 $6 ({Black does not need to take--he could focus on
development instead.
For example,} 9... Nc6 10. O-O O-O-O 11. Bxf5+ Qxf5 12. Qe2 e6 13. Rad1 13...
Bd6 {and Black's game is good, better than the game. His pieces are more
active and his development is approimately equal to white's.
pd: this trade does nothing for B.  9...Bg4 was better.})

10. Qxd3 10...  Nd7 
{Why here instead of c6? In prepartion of a possible c5?
pd: I would imagine so, though second-guessing a computer is really not
my forte!  The c5 counter-thrust is a natural one in these positions.
And the N really belongs on f6.}

11. O-O 11... a5 ({This is an interesting move that I overlooked. It
correctly attempts to stifle my queenside expansion, but it delays black's
development even more. However, if black waits and develops along
the lines of} 11... e6 { I will have time for} 12. Bd2 Be7 13. c4 {But
after} 13... Qh5 14. b4 14... a5 {black is probably contesting white's
pawns as much as in the game.
pd: 11...a5 is not interesting, just plain bad.  B should develop and
then counter-attack in the centre.})

12. b3 $6 ({At the board, I didn't
even consider that my queenside expansion can come a move earlier with}
12. Bd2 12... e6 13. c4 Qh5 14. b4 {However, I'm not convinced that the
bishop is better placed on d2 than b2.  On b2 it protects a3, the source
of the pawn chain, and d4, the pawn most likely to advance and one likely
to be challenged after ... Be7-f6.  Also, in the event of d4-d5, a bishop
on b2 would be very strong.  On d2, however, the bishop can move to f4,
getting it outside the pawn chain and pressure black's pawn structure.
The question seems to be: passive and defensive, but solid; or active
but more fragile?
pd: on b2, your B does precisely nothing (except protect a P that should
never have been moved in the first place!)  You do see that c4 is the
move for you here, which should have been prepared with Bd2.  Forget about
"pawn chains".  You are playing far too slowly here, given that B hasn't
castled, will take another 2 moves to do so on the K-side (...e6,...Be7),
and has made Q-side castled unattractive for him by advancing the aP.
In this position, you should play vigorously with the idea of opening
the game.  What did you think wrong with 12. b4?  It threatens to win a P,
and gains a bit of space. 12.b4 a4 13.Bd2 e6 14.c4 and W has the advantage
due to control of the centre.})

12... e6 ({I had feared an immediate} 12... a4 {,
pressuring my queenside pawn structure.  I can split my pawns into islands
and potentially be burdened with an isolani in a position not designed
to exploit it, or play} 13. b4 { , which leaves a gaping hole on c4 that
is easily exploited by ... Nb6-c4.
pd: Your assement here is badly flawed.  Firstly, An immediate a4 does
NOT "pressurise your Q-side P strucutre".  More generally, all this talk
about "pawn islands" and "isolated pawns" and so on is not to the point.
These ideas are useful, but not relevant here.  This indicates, as I said
above, that you are trying to run before you can walk.  By the way, you
have a hole NOW on c3; the "hole" on c4 after b4 could be easily repaired
by c4, so isn't a hole.})

13. Bb2 ({Even here I could have
considered} 13. Bd2 13... Be7 ({If} 13... Bd6 {to prevent Bf4, then} 14. c4
Qh5 15. c5 Be7 16. Qb5) 14. Bf4 O-O 15. c4 15...  Qh5 {The a1-rook is tied
to the weak a3-pawn, but the bishop on f4 is an active participant in the
queenside action.  Ultimately I'm not sure which is better.

pd: The line of action with Bd2 and c4 is correct here, yes.  15. c5 is
an awful move though, handing over d5 for B's N.  The cP controls more
of the centre from c4 that it does from c5.})

13... Be7 14. c4 

{pd: Now you're getting the idea.  But in the meantime, B has developed
and is ready to castle.  Do you see how more powerful this would have
been if you'd played it earlier?}

14... Qf5 $2 ({This hardly seems to be the best location for the
queen.  Although it's been said that the side with less space should trade
pieces, this trade is very disadvantageous for black.  It will leave his
f5-pawn vulnerable and allow tremendous pressure on the e-file, delaying
castling even more. Compare this with:} 14... Qd6 15. Rad1 O-O 16.
Rfe1 16... Qb6 {when Black's king is safe and his pieces are preparing to
find better squares.  Although his position is cramped, it remains solid.

pd: Qf5 is an awful move. Your assessment of the open e-file is correct.
The fP is not really vulnerable, though: it is easily defended by g6 -- W
will find it very difficult to exploit the resulting Blacksquare weakness.
The Q probably belongs on h5.  It can't be attacked there, and there
might be scope for a B K-side attack if W plays passively.})

15. Qxf5 exf5 16. Rfe1 {I want to allow my a1-rook to have flexibility.}
16... a4 ({ Black may have instead wanted to resolve his problems on the
e-file with something like} 16... Kd8 17. d5 a4 18. b4 Bf6 19. Bxf6+ Nxf6
20. Ne5 20... Rf8 {, a position that is still relatively uncomfortable.
Is this better than the text?
pd: 16...a4 is another daft move.  White is now clearly better.})

17. b4 Kf8 18. Re2 $6 ({A little too slow. I could have gone for the
full space grab with} 18. d5 {followed by} 18... Re8 19. c5 Bf6 20. Rxe8+
Kxe8 21. Bd4 Bxd4 22. Nxd4 g6 23. Re1+ Kd8 24. c6 bxc6 25.  Nxc6+ Kc8
26. Re7 {, a long but relatively forced line that leads to a significantly
superior ending.  Perhaps black need not exchange all those pieces, but
I think this ambitious queenside expansion is the proper way to convert
my current advantage.

pd: Yes, I think 18.d5 is best here.  But Re2 is fine too.})

18... Nb6 ({Black could have considered} 18...  Bf6 19. Rc2 Re8 20. Rd1
20... g5 {, where white's pieces are not nearly as coordinated as in the
game and black has counterplay attacking the center and expanding into
the kingside.

pd: 18...Nb6 is a poor move, since after 19.c5 Nd5 20.Re5 B will lose
a P.})

19. c5 ({ I may be in a rush to damage my pawn chain.  White has many other
options:} 19. Rc1 19... Bf6 {and if I want to keep my pawn phalanx intact
(the point of playing Rc1 instead of c5), then I'm forced to play} 20. Ne5
Rd8 21. d5 Bg5 22.  Rcc2) (19. Rc2 $5 19... Bf6 20. Bc1 Re8 21. Bf4 Re7
22. Rd1) {Both of these variations are relatively good for white; what
do you think is best? 
pd: 19.c5 is fine here because although it gives B a good sqaure for
his N, 19...Nd5 loses a P, and 19...Nd7 allows 20.d5.})

19... Nd5 20. Rae1 ({Perhaps an immediate} 20. Re5 {is more accurate.}
20... c6 21. Rxf5 g6 22. Re5 Kg7 23. Rae1 23... Rhe8 { Again, how does
this compare to the game's continuation?
pd: Of course 20. Re5 was better: it wins a P! That the machine didn't
see this when considering Nb6 illustrates how low a setting the computer
is on.  Obviously, 20...g6 is the right move after your failure to play
Re5 at once.})

20... Bf6 

{pd: 20...g6 is better, saving the P.  The B is not threatened, so why
Black moves it is a mystery to me.}

21. Ne5 

{pd: A good move.}

21... Bxe5 ({Any attempt to avoid trading the bishop,
like} 21... g6 { will be met by} 22. Nd7+ {, forcing the exchange.})

22. Rxe5 22... Nf4 $6 ({ Why is black abandoning his strong post in search
of white's bad bishop?}  22... c6 {is stronger.

pd: Why is Black making stupid moves?  Because it's a computer and you
have put it on such a low settting!})

23. Rxf5 Nd3 24. Re2 {I saw all of this after 21. Ne5 and considered
the exchange to be beneficial.  Although Tarrasch said that all rook and
pawn endgames are drawn, the very poor placement and activity of the black
rooks and my control of the only open file made me confident of my ability
to convert my material advantage.

pd: Tarrasch said no such thing.  Besides, this is not a R+P endgame
yet; and anyway, you have an extra P.  The exchange of B for N is good
for Black; his only chance lies in swapping off pieces and pawns in the
slim hope of getting to a R+P ending which *is* drawn despite W's P plus.
White's B was clearly superior to Black's N, even if the latter stayed
on d5.}

24... g6 

({pd: What else? If} 24...Re8 25.Rxe8 Kxe8 26.Bc3 Nc1 {(else the N is trapped)}
27.Re5+ Kd7 28.d5 {and White is winning.})

25. Rf3 Nxb2 26. Rxb2 26...  Re8 ({Both} 26... Kg7 {, attempting to
involve the h8-rook}) ({and} 26... Rd8 { , pressuring the d-pawn, are
viable alternatives.

pd: No.  26...Re8 is best.  Rd8 does not pressure the dP, since it is
simply defended by Rd2: and W wants a R behind the dP anyway.26...Kg7
allows White to take the e-file with Re3 and Rbe2.})

27. Kf1 {I want to bring my king to the center for the endgame, exchange
and pair of rooks, and prevent black from penetrating to the seventh rank
on the open file.

pd: Good reasoning, but simply Re3 is better.  Either 27...Rxe3 28.fxe3
or 27...Kg7 Rbe2 is good for White.  Kf1 is not bad, just slow.}

27... b6 

({pd:?? Appalling.   Black gives W a passed pawn for free.  Clearly,
on the seting used, the program simply cannot play the endgame.

 Stronger is} 27... Rd8 28. Rd3 28... Rd5 {, blockading my potential
passed pawn, although white should be able to make progress by Rb2-e2-e5.})

28. Re2 ( 28. d5 {seems to be a more direct means of creating a passed
pawn.} 28... Kg7 29. cxb6 cxb6 30. d6 Rd8 31. Rd2 {and white is winning.

pd: What did you have against 28.cxb6 cxb6, when you have a PP straight
away?!})

28... Rb8 29. Ke1 { Because my rook is cutting off the black king's
access to the queenside, I'll essentially have an extra piece on the
queenside.} 29... bxc5 30. dxc5 

{pd: letting B make the capture instead is clearly weak.  Black is
still lost, but White's dilatory play (not doubling Rs on the e-file,
not creating a passed pawn) has let him strengthen his position a bit.}

h5 ({ A more aggressive defensive option is} 30... Rd8 {Although there
are certainly many possible resources for both sides, a line might run}
31. Rf6 Rd3 32. Rc6 Rxa3 33. Rxc7 Rb3 34. Ree7 Rxb4 35. Rxf7+ 35... Kg8
{ where both sides have threats.}) 31. Rfe3 h4 

{pd: Black is attempting to complicate matters a bit, but is really only
weakening his K-side Ps.}

32. Kd2 ({ I could have invaded immediately with} 32. Re7 { , but the
text gives me the chance to exchange rooks.

pd: Re7 is clearly stronger.}  32...Rd8+ {is in no way forced.  In any
case, your 2 Rs are clearly much better than B's, so why do you want to
exchange off a pair?})

32... Rd8+ 33. Rd3 Kg7 34. Rxd8 Rxd8+ 35. Kc3 {I'm not sure if black has
a defensive resource in here somewhere--overall it seems rather clear-cut.

pd: still a win for White, but far from clear-cut.  Black has made the
best of the chance afforded him by White's slow play to gain some chances
on the K-side.}

35... c6 36. Re7 Rd5 37. Rc7 Rf5 38. Rxc6 Rxf2 39. Rb6 (39. b5 {was
probably more accurate, although I calculated this line when I played
36. Re7}) 39... h3 

{pd: Awful. 39... Rxg2! was far better, e.g. c6 Rf1 Kd5 (c7? Rc1+ & Rxc7) Rxh2
Kd6 Rc2 and how does White stop the Black hP?  Of course, White has better
lines, and should still win; but he has given Black too many chances.}

40. gxh3 Rxh2 (40... Rf3+ {is quite an interesting defensive try.
Although I certainly haven't analyzed it to exhaustion, the key line
appears to} 41. Kd4 Rxa3 42. b5 Ra1 43. Ra6 f5 44. b6 Kf7 45. c6 Rd1+
46. Ke5 Re1+ 47. Kd6 Rd1+ 48. Kc7)

41. c6 Rxh3+ (41...  Rh1 42. Kc4 f5 43. Rb7+ { All of my computer analysis
recommended this instead of an immediate Rb8.  Why?  } {Here is the
continuation of the win for white:} 43... Kf6 44. Rb8 Rc1+ 45.  Kb5 Ke6
46. Kb6) 42. Kc4 Rh8 43. c7 Rc8 44. Rc6 { This is where my variation ended,
as I concluded this was won for white.} 44...  f5 45. Kb5 Kf7

{pd: waste of time.  Attempting to push fP through with 45...f4 46.Kb6
f3 47.Kb7 f2 48.Rc1 Rf8 49.c8=Q still loses, though.  More interesting
is the attempt to advance both K-side Ps: 46.  g5 47.Kb7 Re8 48.c8=Q Rxc8
49.K/Rxc8 g4; and this would be a draw if White didn't have the Q-side Ps.}

46. Kb6 f4 47. Kb7 Rf8 48. c8=Q Rxc8 49. Kxc8 f3
50. b5 

{pd: pointless.  Why not just 50. Rc3 f2 51. Rf3+ Ke6 52. Rxc2 ?} 

f2 51.  Rc1 Kf6 52. b6 

{pd: again, just 52. Rf1 and 53.Rxf2}.

Kg7 53. b7 g5 54. b8=Q Kg6 55. Rf1 Kf5 56. Rxf2+ {Although the computer
didn't resign, I feel that this is an appropriate place to end.  Black can
offer absolutely no resistance.} 1-0
