Middlegame strategy in symmetrical structures · Training Game

Middlegame strategy in positions with two open files and a symmetrical structure.

A very interesting game in a very thematic, seemingly equal middlegame position. It was a Qc2 Nimzo, and my opponent broke the center with d5 early, reaching complete pawn symmetry. I was winning!

#chess

[onniruusunen]

9:00. The queen cannot go to e5 because your bishop sees it after the knight moves

[bluefin.]

As someone else suggested a while back, if you're making coffee with old beans, that could be your problem. At room temperature they go stale and lose flavor pretty quickly, and if yours sat in the cupboard while you were in France, the oils in them would have gone rancid. So if you were using old beans, fresh ones is the first thing to try.

Purists will tell you this ruins coffee, but put them in an airtight container in the freezer next time you go away for an extended period. If freezing coffee changes the flavor at all, I've never noticed, despite my strong sense of taste, and it keeps it fresh. After that, just take out what you need each time and use it quickly, before condensation forms.

[EgoCZ]

Yea the cooling past is good, you can also consider letting a profesional clean it and replace the paste, it's not that expensive.

[brianbanks]

what's wrong with q to f6 check at the end pushing the king back because of the pawn or into mate

[eclecticexplorer]

A bit of a miss on move 14. If Nb5, black cannot play Qe5+, as the bishop now guards the square. It's still not the best move, as the attack is not that strong. Black just moves his queen over to the king's side, creating attacking ideas of his own while improving the defense for his own king.

Moving the light-square bishop is better, but the more active d3 square was a better choice than e2. If black plays Qe5, white can block with the knight on e2 or e4, simultaneously unleashing a discovered attack by the bishop against the queen. This would give white good access to the long diagonal that goes to the heart of black's king's defense.

Move 29 should have been Qg3+ instead of Qg4+. Then, after Kf8, Rd8+, Re8, white has Qd6+, and white is winning. Qg4+ cost him the chance to win. It was a draw from then on.

I see he got the move 29 correction in the analysis.

[igorface]

18. Qe2 allowed ... Qxe2 19. Nxe2 Bxb4 discovery on the undefended knight, losing a pawn. Not a straightforward draw.