Purely Positional (2006 Category 2 Swiss Tourney)

[perseus]

Purely Positional (2006 Category 2 Swiss Tourney)

www.stansco.com/cgi-bin/nc_game.cgi?359355???


No replies as the game is not over (and I have already made a blunder by my computer error this game).

At move 32, black to move, who wins?
Pieces are exactly even.


What is your initial analysis when you look at the Board? I think it is said that the better chess players can see who wins or loses straight away, but mere mortals like me ..... take at darn sight longer! (I saw it straight away, but it took at least the allotted three minutes and probably longer to work some of the ramifications.)

This is Category 2 standard and there is a big jump to the better players.

[perseus]

White has made his move 33 now. I just got bored waiting for one of two black replies.

If, black had not taken so long, I might have missed Re2 though.

Either side could still win. Who would you put your bets on? Or it could even end in a draw?

[perseus]

39. Re2 is a minor brilliancy at Category 2 at my standard. I don't think it wins against the best defence, but then I am not playing K ........

The game is not finished yet.

Any other minor brilliancies out there in games? Even if they are not completely sound!

I have done a few match winning moves in games on Stan's and OTB, but this innocuous-looking? move, I liked.

[perseus]

Move 36 Black to move: the psychology of chess. black must decide who is winning!

But white anticipated this, which is why I played 35 exd5. Black could see a possible mate but it was a cunning trap, not a cunning trap, but intuition actually. Not capable of seeing that far ahead, but I thought that black's pawns were better placed, and if I did not try to to induce black into a mistake, I thought I would probably lose. Circumstances force drastic action.

I did not see my own 33. Re2 in advance (not good enough for that!). I did not anticipate that black would keep his Rook on white's first rank (hindsight said this was a mistake that lost the game ).

White's play may not actually be sound (can't work it out), but I went for a bit of excitement.

[perseus]

Game finished. It all went awry for black on move 36 ........ Rf1

If he had not made that move, I can't see how I could have won.
After it, I am not sure how I could have lost (except for blunders).

Such are small margins between winning (or drawing) and losing.

In this case the material was equal. Any examples where the losing side is up on material, but the winning side has such a superior position he cannot help but to win?