Attitude Adjustment

Endless online play can affect one's mental health. Playing mostly game 10 arena on chessdotcom, I become suspicious that many of my opponents are cheating. Some are. Over a period of several years, 15% of those I lost to had their accounts closed. Nonetheless, it is clear from the games that many of them did not cheat when they played me. It is also quite clear that some occasional cheats remain on the site. One player, currently rated in the 900s, was just under 1200 when he destroyed me with subtle bishop maneuvers and less than .06% inaccuracy (think of Magnus Carlsen on a good day). I've found no evidence that he has cheated in other games. 

My suspicions of one frequent opponent appear unfounded on closer examination. Since 2024, we have played 11 games. I won seven of the first eight. The one loss resulted from my terrible blunder on move three on the White side of a King's Gambit. Three of our four games in 2025 were 50 moves or more and every one was a victory for me. These were hard fought games.

He won the first game we played in 2026, which was 6 October, having played a far better game than I expected (94% accuracy on the website's postgame analysis). When I faced him again on 15 October, I assumed that I was facing a cheater and felt a sense of despair throughout the game. My suspicions interfered with my focus on the position. He won.

Postgame analysis revealed that neither of us played particularly well, but my play was far worse.

An hour later, we were paired again and my suspicions still lurked in my thinking. But, I knew that he was capable of error. I resolved to play my best and the battle seemed close to equal until late in the game. Maybe I had some initiative.

After my 32nd move, his clock stood at 4:59 and mine at 5:41 (it was game 10).

Black to move

32...b6

This move complicates the contacts among our forces where the battle is taking place on the queenside. According to Stockfish 19, 32...Qg4 was the only move that maintained equality. My opponent used 23 seconds for his move.

33.cxb6

I did not consider 33.Ba4, which is Stockfish's alternate choice. Both moves have approximately the same evaluation. My move took less than 8 seconds. His reply came quickly.

33...Rxb6

Here I felt the need to calculate and thought that I was in serious trouble. My former suspicions lingered in the back of my mind as I tried to find the correct move. I found the only move that doesn't lose after 1:46, but I didn't yet perceive that I had any sort of advantage.

34.Bxc6

Black to move

34...Qc7??

This move loses to the combination that I found. I expected 34...Rxb4 35.Bxd7 when White has an extra piece.

34...Rxc6 was necessary. I would have played 35.Ra8+ when 35...Kh7 loses to the same combination played in the game. 35...Kf7 is more challenging.

35.Ra8+

Played quickly in under ten seconds.

35...Kh7

35...Kf7 holds out longer

36.Qxe7!

I saw the move instantly, but spent 47 seconds verifying that I wasn't missing anything.

36...Qxe7 37.Ng6 and Black resigned.

After this game, I reviewed all eleven games that I've played against this particular opponent. I should be happy when we are paired and should approach the game with attention and confidence. I have eight wins and three losses against him. Two of those losses were this month. I also reviewed his overall performance during twelve years on the site. Like me he has been over 2000 in rapid and has dropped from there into the 1600s, and sometimes lower. During our games two years ago, his rating ranged from 1543 to 1703. When he beat me 6 October this year, he was 1927.

His graph shows that his lows drop lower than mine, but also that he was rated consistently higher than in the time we have been playing.

Fears of cheating greatly exceed instances of foul play. Of course I will face cheaters if I play game 10 arena daily. The website will close some of these accounts, and a few will escape consequences. My suspicions should not be permitted to affect my play.

Problems in the Evans Gambit

Three Thompson -- Morphy Games

Following the First American Chess Congress, which Paul Morphy won, Morphy played a number of casual games against the other participants. Against James Thompson, whom Morphy defeated in the first round of the tournament, Morphy had Black in the three games that have been preserved.

The first two in the order presented in Geza Maroczy, Paul Morphy: A Collection of His Games with Detailed Notes, trans. Robert Sherwood* began 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.d4 exd4 7.Qb3 Qf6 8.O-O d6

White to move

A few games have continued as did game 53 in Maroczy.

9.cxd4 Bb6 10.e5 dxe5

White to move

White has scored poorly. Stockfish sees an advantage for White after 11.Nc3. This move does not appear in the ChessBase databases. Lichess, however, has 18 games with a 78% score for White.

An interesting game that ChessBase does have was won by Samuel Mieses against his teacher, Adolf Anderssen in 1862. According to the engine, White was losing until Black's error on move 22.

That game continued 11.Re1, a move that has not been repeated as far as I can tell, 11...Nxd4 12.Rxe5+ Ne7 13.Bxf7+ Qxf7 14.Nxd4 Bxd4 15.Qa4+ Bd7 16.Qxd4 O-O-O 17.Qxa7 Nc6 18.Qa8+ Nb8 19.Be3 Bc6 20.Nc3 b6 21.Qa7 Qg6 22.Rg5 Qc2 (22...Qf6 maintains Black's advantage) and White went on to win.

Thompson -- Morphy continued 11.dxe5 Qg6 12.Ba3 Be6 13.Nbd2 Nge7 14.Bxe6 fxe7

White to move

Black is already somewhat better and here Thompson seizes upon a plan that Morphy quickly refutes decisively.

15.Rae1

15.Bxe7 seems White's only chance to stay in the game.

15...O-O 16.Ne4

Maroczy comments that Nc4 would have been "somewhat better" (59). Stockfish prefers Nh4, which I briefly considered this morning, but then decided to look for improvements earlier in the game and found 15.Bxe7.

16...Rad8 17.Neg5

Black to move

17...Rxf3!

The game lasted another 25 moves, but Morphy was in full control.

The Next Game

In game 54, White deviated on move 9 from the previous page (see diagram at the top of the page).

9.e5 dxe5

White to move

10.cxd4

The year after this game, Morphy had White's position in a blindfold simul. He played the best move: 10.Re1 Nge7 (10...Nh6 was better) 11.Bg5 Qg6 12.Bxe7! Nxe7 13.Nxe5+- and Morphy won in 29 moves.

10...exd4 11.Nbd2 Nge7 12.Bb2 O-O 13.Ne4 Qg6

Black is in full control.

As I am going through Morphy's games using the database offered some years ago on Tim Krabbe's site,** my first time through each game is often very fast. I don't always look at the players and seeing White's aggression thought Morphy was White. However, as the attack proved to be going nowhere and Black began to counterattack, I looked at the players

Several moves later, White fatally weakened the e3 square with f2-f4 and Morphy demonstrated how to exploit such a weakness.

The Third Game

The third Evans Gambit battle with James Thompson as White against Paul Morphy began with more conventional moves to reach a standard position that previously appeared on Chess Skills in 2019 (see "A New Book and a Morphy Game").

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4 Bxb4 5.c3 Ba5 6.O-O d6 7.d4 exd4

Maroczy's move order differs from what I find in the database, but reaches the same position. Maroczy has 6.d4 exd4 7.O-O d6

8.cxd4 Bb6

White to move

This is position number 1 in Thomas Engqvist, 300 Most Important Chess Positions, as discussed in the 2019 link mentioned above.

9.d5

Engqvist prefers 9.Nc3 and I am increasingly convinced that he is correct that the knight move is a better developing move. It is more flexible and dynamic.

9...Nce7

9...Na5 is far more common.

10.e5 Ng6

Four moves have been played here. As White, Morphy faced 10...exd5 in 1859.

White to move

11.Ng5?

Maroczy calls this a "senseless attacking move" (61).

Morphy had White at least three times in this position, played 11.e6! each time, and the results were a win, loss, and draw. His win was in a blindfold simul. The other two games proceeded for a few moves as a later game Merian,A--Mason,J. 1870, which Merian won. 11...fxe6 12.dxe6 N8e7 13.Ng5 (Nc3 is probably better) 13...O-O 14.Qh5 h6 15.Nf7

Black to move

White's pieces appear actively placed, but with correct defense, Black should be better. Merian also won a game with 11.Bb2

After Thompson's premature Ng5, Morphy quickly seized the initiative.

11...N8e7 12.Re1?

12.e6 is White's best chance for advantage, likely transposing into the line given above after 11.e6

12...O-O

12...Nxe5 and Black is already clearly better with two more pawns and no exploitable weaknesses.

13.Qh5 h6

Had the pawn advanced to e6 first, this attack might appear stronger.

14.Ne4 Nxe5-+

White to move

Morphy went on to win in 26 moves.

Morphy was fond of the Evans Gambit and did well playing it. From the Black side, he also had several instructive victories that show how Black should defend.

.

*Sherwood's translation was published in 2012 by Caissa Editions and then in 2026 by Russell Enterprises. I have the latter.

**A better PGN database was offered later, twenty years ago, via Batgirl's blog. It is better, containing fewer corrupted games as well as some notes on sources. Perhaps chessgames.comchessgames.com is the best generally available source.

What a Mess

I had White in this position with the move in a three minute online blitz game yesterday. We had each used just over a minute getting here.

White to move

Black has two extra pawns, both passed, but perhaps White's piece activity balances matters somewhat.

27.Bxf8??

Simplification into a major piece ending does not help when two pawns down, but what else was White to do?

The immediate 27.f5! was a consideration, but the optics of an exchange on d6 gave me pause.
Attacking the queen with 27.Rc7 was also worth considering.

27...Rxf8-+ 28.f5 gxf5?

28...exf5 was best

29.gxf5 Qg5+ 30.Kf1??

Here, simplification into a rook ending was the correct idea. 30.Qg3 Qxg3 31.Kxg3 and Black's extra pawns have little prospect of advancing.

Black to move

30...Qc1+??

Black does not perceive that he has the advantage. 30...Rfc8 shows that White's king lacks protection. After the subsequent 31.Rg2 Rc1+ 32.Kf2 Rc2+ 33.Kg1 Qxg2+ 34.Qxg2+ Rxg2+ 35.Kxg2. Black's extra pawns are decisive.

31.Kg2 Qg5 32.Kh1 Qc1+ 33.Kh2 Qh6+ 34.Qh3 Qxh3+ 35.Kxh3

Black to move

Are rook endings ever simple?

35...a4??

35...exf5 36.Rxf5 a4=

36.f6??

White thinks that this move helps confine the king when, in fact, it allows Black to pursue an attack with Rab8. 36.Rg2+ leads to checkmate.

36...Kh7= 37.Rb4 Rh8??

Black must think that his king escapes check with a discovered check.

37...Rab8 and White's only recourse is a perpetual. 38.Rh4+

38.Rg2!

Cutting off the king. 

Black resigns

A few of the positions in this game and in the analysis should prove useful for the young players whose after school chess club begins this afternoon.

Blown Opportunities

On Saturday I played the first three rounds of the Eastern Washington Open in Spokane with no intention of playing on Sunday as I had told my wife we could watch football together while I smoked some ribs. All of my games were against youth players, presumably underrated. I won two and lost one, causing my rating to go down 12. In every game, the losing player had a decisive advantage at least once during the game. Those blown opportunities are presented below.

My first round opponent finished the event in seventh place with 3.0. He had a draw and win against the other two A Class players whom he faced. Our game was his only loss.

White to move

21.f5!?

Liam played a forcing sequence, although 21.e5 or 21.Ng5 would have offered a more sure route to advantage.

21...Nxe4 22.Nxe4 Qxd2??

22...Nxf5 is equal

White to move

There are four ways to capture the queen.

23.Rxd2??

23.Bxd2 and White has a clear advantage.

The move played allowed me counterplay and a few moves later I had three pawns for a knight. In a minor piece ending with six pawns to three, my opponent erred again and gave up another pawn, then traded one of his bishops for my last piece, giving me an easy four pawns vs. bishop ending.

My second round opponent, Declan Pham, finished in third place with 3.5 and gained 141 rating points, lifting him over 1500, still well below his playing strength. The others with 3.5 were two A Class players and an expert. He beat another A Class player in round three and drew one in the final round. His only loss was to strong A Class player Michael Cambareri in round four.

He took advantage of my passive opening play to seize the initiative with Black, then he won a pawn. Things were looking grim for me, but he overestimated his control of the long diagonal when he snatched a second pawn.

White to move

19.Bb2??

I also overestimated his control of the diagonal. He went on to win a long endgame where I never had a chance except throwing up some smokescreens that obscured his advantage.

19.Qxc3 was a winning move in light of of 19...e4 20.Qe1 Bxa1 (the move that I feared) 21.Bf4! Qe7 22.Qxa1

A bishop and knight for a rook and two pawns is still a material deficit, but Stockfish insists that I would have had a clear advantage. What I might have been able to perceive was that White also gains domination of the dark squares and that makes the Black king somewhat vulnerable.

My third round opponent, John, played a strong game against me in the Inland Classic last February, but I was able to get some initiative against his uncastled king. He remembered that loss and told me before our game, "I learned to castle." "Oh," I said, "so, you are better?" "Yes", he said. "So, you'll beat me?" "Yes." "Good to know."

He had several opportunities to do so.

White to move

My opponent offered a draw. I informed him that the rules required that he make his move first and that I would record the draw offer on my scoresheet.

22.Qc5

22.Bxa6+- wins a pawn and severely weakens my queenside.

He also missed some opportunities earlier in the game to disrupt the coordination of my pieces and pick up some material.

Beginning at move 29 we had a knight ending. The game lasted 83 moves. Along the way, I missed a clear advantage here.

Black to move

40...Kg8

I considered 40...exf5, but neither looked beyond nor accurately assessed the position after 41.Kf4 h4. Black would have had a decisive advantage. The game went on with me pressing for a win without a real advantage. John's last chance to hold the draw came with his 60th move.

White to move

60.Nc5??

Both 60.Nb4 and Kd4 allow White to extinguish Black's remaining pawns with a knight sacrifice.

After 60...Nc4+ 61.Kd4 Nxa5, Black's win is only a matter of time, as White will eventually be forced to give up the knight for one pawn. John's rating also dropped in this event, but he will bounce back. He's getting good experience playing adults and learning from his errors.

Queen vs. Two Rooks

White sees an opportunity to force an exchange of Black’s queen.

White to move

21.Ra8??

This forcing sequence of exchanges was the losing idea. Until then, White was doing well against a much higher opponent.

21.Nb5 would have been sensible.

21...Qxa8 22.Rxa8 Rxa8-+ 23.f4

23.Nd1 seems more stubborn but still loses after 23...Ra1 24.Kf1 Rbb1 25.Ke2 Rxd1 26.Qxd1 Rxd1 27.Kxd1 and Black has a bishop with both sides having an equal number of pawns.

23.Bxc3 24.Qxc3 Raa2

White to move

White spent a few minutes on the next move, apparently sensing how desperate the position had become.

25.e4 Rxg2+ 26.Kh1 Rgb2 27.e5 Ra1+ 0-1

I have never agreed with the statement that a bad plan is better than no plan. A bad plan was White's undoing in this game.

Decisions

I had Black and the sense that I was winning.

Black to move

48...Rxg3??=

This failure threw away the win. 

48...f4! was the key move. Black also could have played 48...Kg7 with a later f5-f4.

49.Kf6 Kh7 50.Rc7+ Kh6 51.Rc8 Kh7 52.Rc7+ Kg8

To avoid the repetition, Black's king must go on a journey. Black still believes that he is winning.

53.Kxg6

Black to move

White has a passed pawn and threatens checkmate. Black has three passed pawns. Are they enough?

53...Kf8=

Only move

54.h5 Rh3 55.h6 g3 56.Rf7+

Only move

56...Ke8

Only move

57.Rxf5 g2

White to move

58.Rg5

58.Re5+ was the other possibility, but then Rg5 would be necessary.

58...Rh2 59.h7 b4 60.Kg7

Now, I had the suspicion that I was about to lose. After some thought and feelings of desperation, I reasoned that two pawns on the seventh rank would be a lot of trouble for White's rook and I saw that the b-pawn was close enough.

60...b3

A draw could be had with 60...Kd7 61.h8Q Rxh8 62.Kxh8 Kc6 63.Rxg2 Kb5 and White's king is too far away to help the rook against Black's last pawn.

61.h8Q+ Rxh8 62.Kxh8 b2

White to move

Two connected passed pawns one square from promotion are more than a rook can handle, but these pawns are separated.

63.Rg8+??

63.Re5+ Kd7 64.Re1 and White holds

63...Kf7-+ 64.Rg7+ Kf6 65.Rxg2 b1Q

White to move

66.Kg8?!

White steps into an elementary checkmate in four.

66.Rf2+ makes a game of it. Queen vs. rook is a technical win, but often a very difficult win.

66...Qb3+ 67.Kh7 Qh3+ 68.Kg8 Qxg2+ 69.Kh8 Qg7#

There are some lessons here for both sides.

Queen vs. Advanced Pawn

White played an excellent game to reach a simple win and then made two consecutive moves that made it appear that everything prior to that was a fluke. Time was not a factor with 4:19 remaining in a 10-minute game.

White to move

53.b4??=

53.g6 wins quickly.

53...Kxg5 54.Kb5??

Now, Black is winning. Perhaps White saw that both players would promote and failed to anticipate who would have the first check for if Black did, the check would lead to a skewer. Otherwise, this move looks like an effort to lose.

54...h4 55.Ka6 h3 56.b5 h2 57.b6 h1Q 58.b7

Black to move

The technique here is simple, but Black's execution was a bit clumsy. The simple idea that every student should learn is to drive the White king in front of its pawn, then step the king closer. Eventually, there will be an opportunity for checkmate.

With the advanced pawn on the b-file (or g-file), checkmate opportunities come sooner. Black was oblivious to this fact.

58...Qa1+ 59.Kb6 Qb2+

59...Qe5 is better, controlling the promotion square, another element of the basic technique of battling a pawn one square from promotion. To prevent Black from occupying b8 with the queen, 60.Ka7 is forced. Now, 60...Qa5 61.Kb8 Kf6 brings checkmate closer.

60.Kc7 Qg7+ 61.Kb8 Kf6

61.Kf5 was better, stepping closer without restricting the queen's mobility.

62.Ka7 Qg1+

62...Qc7 lead to a more rapid checkmate. Pinning the pawn is a third element of the basic technique.

63.Ka8

Black to move

63...Qg2

Although this move works towards eventual checkmate, less clumsy would have been the simple checkmate in five. 63...Qa1 64.Kb8 Qc3 65.Ka7 Qa5+ 66.Kb8 Ke7 67.Kc8 Qd8#

64.Ka7 Qa2+ 65.Kb6 Qb3+ 66.Kc7 Qc4+ 67.Kd7 Qb5+ 68.Kc7 Qc5+ 69Kd7 Qb6 70.Kc8 Qc6+ 71.Kb8

Black to move

71...Ke7

Black, who has spent many hours teaching the elementary checking technique to young students, could show more finesse and attention to opportunities in the position.

Here, for example, 71...Qc5! forces 72.Ka8 and a mate in three identical to that found in the mate in five above at move 63.

72.Ka7 Qa4+

Better was 72...Qc5+ 73.Ka6 Qb4 (controlling the promotion square via X-Ray) 74.Ka7 and again mate in three.

73.Kb6 Qb4+ 74.Kc7 Qc5+ 75.Kb8

Black to move

75...Kd7

Black knows this checkmate well, but should know also the pattern of mate in two that has presented itself several times earlier in the game. 75...Qa5 76.Kc8 Qd8#

76.Ka8 Qa5+ 77.Kb8 Kc6 78.Kc8 Qc7#

Black was relieved that his opponent threw the game through two consecutive blunders, converting a win to a draw, and then a draw to a loss.

Black showed a simple winning technique, but missed opportunities to end matters more quickly offer some learning opportunities and some positions that might be beneficial teaching young students this fall.

The basic element of this endgame is simple: check until there is an opportunity to move the king closer without allowing the advanced pawn to promote. Prevention includes checks, pins, and controlling the promotion square. Be alert to possible checkmates to show better technique.

Rook vs. Two Minor Pieces

An unexpected win this morning motivated some study of rook and pawns vs. knight, bishop, and pawns. Errors characterized the game, but the ending interests me.

I was slightly better early in the middle game when I blundered into a slightly worse position, and then blundered again into a lost position, but I played on. My opponent blundered away the win to reach an ending that had strong drawing chances despite a dynamic imbalance. He missed an idea that gave him a slight advantage at one point, and then dropped a piece to give me a winning advantage.

White to move

33.Rxh7+??

Had White played 33.Rxb7, I might have decided that it was time to respect my opponent's superior position (as well as a rating 300 higher than mine) and gracefully resign.

33...Qxh7 34.Rxh7+ Kxh7

The position is equal. ChessBase's "Report" feature is useful for studying this sort of ending. A quick glance through the nearly 300 games that are found in MegaDatabase seem to indicate that the minor pieces prevail more often than the rook. Searching my personal database for this material turns up three previous games and I'm always the side with the rook. I have a win, draw, and loss in the three games.

Later in the game, after a pair of pawns are exchanged, the same search mechanism turns up 22 games, most of which were decided by such tactical errors as the rook and king walking into a fork by the bishop or the knight.

We continued.

35.h4 Kg6 36.hxg5 fxg5

White to move

With mobile pawns and each side having a majority, anything is possible. The rook's greater mobility seems promising, but White also could develop an advantage to play for a win. More than likely, good play on both sides should lead to a draw.

37.Ne5 Kf5 38.Nf7 Re7 39.Nd6+ Kg6 40.Nc8

A fork!

Black to move

40...Rh7+ 41.Kg1 a6

Both pieces escape.

42.Nd6 Rd7 43.Kf1 Kf6?!

43...Rc7 44.Ke2 Rc3 45.Nxb7 Rxa3=

The position is easier to draw, but Black was oblivious to the dangers.

44.Ke2 Ke6 45Ne4 Kf5 46.Nd6+ Ke6 47.Ne4 Kf5

Black is anticipating a repetition.

White to move

48.Ke3!?

Activating the king is the right idea, but there is a better way.

48.Nc5! Rh7 49.Kd3 and we see that White intends to dispose of Black's pawn majority. White missed an opportunity to gain a clear advantage. Even so, White is better.

48...Re7 49.f3 g4 50.Bh4

50.Kd4 was the right idea.

50...Re6 51.Bg3 gxf3 52.gxf3 Rb6

Black activates his rook for counterplay.

White to move

53.Nd6+ Kg6?

53...Ke6 was needed.

54.Nc4?

54.Ke4 and White again has a clear advantage. In this case, the f-pawn will work its way up the board with the help of the two minor pieces and the king until Black is forced to give up the rook.

54...Rb3+ 55.Ke4 b5 56.Ne5+ Kg7

White to move

57.f4??

Inexplicable.

Play might have continued 57.Nc6 Rxa3 58.Bd6 Ra2 59.Nd4 and neither Black pawn can advance.

57...Rxg3-+ 58.Nd3 Kf7 59.f5 Rg4+ 60.Ke5 Ra4 61.Kd5 Rxa3 62.Ne5= Kf6 63.Nc6 Kf6 63.Nc6 Kxf5 64.Kc5 Rc3+ 65.Kb6 Rxc6 and White resigned.

After the game, I spent some time looking through endgame books to see who had written about this material imbalance. Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual has four pages.

This position from Beliavsky,A. -- Dolmatov,S., Minsk 1979 shows a creative idea worth remembering.

Black to move

38...c4!! 39.Bxc4 Rc8 40.Bd3 a3! and the game continued another 16 moves. Both the game and Dvorersky's analysis are worthy of study.