Crossing 800: Twenty Three Rapid Games in One Afternoon
| Time Control: 10 min Rapid | Games: 23 | Record: 13W / 10L | Rating: 780 to 803 |
Overview
This is a different kind of post. Instead of one game reviewed in depth, here are twenty three rapid games played across an afternoon and evening, with a single paragraph and the final position for each one.
My win rate wasn’t great and I made a lot of mistakes, but somewhere in the middle of the session I could tell I was in with a chance of crossing 800 if I could just avoid blundering my queen as often as my opponents were blundering theirs. I started the day on 780, dropped to 757 after six games, and the last game took me from 795 to 803.
The engine numbers below are Stockfish evaluations in pawns, from my point of view: +3.0 means I’m winning by about three pawns of material, -3.0 means my opponent is. I’ve noted the biggest advantage each side reached before the game was decided, because the pattern of this session is right there. Six of my ten losses came from positions where I was better or completely winning, and four of my thirteen wins came from positions where I was losing.
All Games
| # | Colour | Opponent | Result | Moves | Rating | Reason | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🏳️ | White | tuka2109 (768) | Loss | 19 | 768 | Hung a knight to a pawn on move 8, then left the queen en prise on move 15. |
| 2 | 🏳️ | Black | hix96 (740) | Win | 32 | 780 | Opponent sacrificed a knight on h7 for nothing. Up a piece from move 10. |
| 3 | 🏳️ | Black | ChackmateIn3Sec (767) | Loss | 51 | 767 | A pawn up after the queen trade, then hung a knight on move 13 and got ground down. |
| 4 | 🏳️ | White | aghoriking (746) | Win | 36 | 779 | Queen raid on g7 and h8 won a rook and a knight; the e-pawn promoted. |
| 5 | ⚔️ | Black | UniquePinkie (810) | Loss | 24 | 768 | Winning after their knight check, missed the refutation, mated ten moves later. |
| 6 | 🏳️ | White | omja_za (774) | Loss | 20 | 757 | Opponent hung their queen on e3 and I missed it, losing a bishop instead. |
| 7 | 🏳️ | White | athu00073 (733) | Win | 19 | 768 | Bxh7+ sacrifice won the queen back with interest, then the f8 rook. |
| 8 | ⚔️ | White | borsuki (754) | Loss | 31 | 757 | Up a rook and a piece, walked the king to f2 and got mated in three. |
| 9 | ⚔️ | Black | EggheadEric (743) | Win | 57 | 767 | Was losing to a mating attack, opponent went the wrong way with the king, promoted two queens. |
| 10 | 🏳️ | Black | Oscar1403 (736) | Win | 28 | 776 | Passed d-pawn ran through a rook and a knight to promote. |
| 11 | ⚔️ | White | Sarahdip10 (772) | Win | 23 | 786 | Dead lost after dropping a bishop, opponent gave the queen back and allowed Re8#. |
| 12 | ⚔️ | White | ammar2359 (781) | Win | 28 | 796 | Opponent hung a knight on d5 and then the a8 rook. Mate on g7. |
| 13 | 🏳️ | Black | maknyuskasan (822) | Loss | 14 | 787 | Queen chased around the board and lost to a knight fork on e7. |
| 14 | 🏳️ | Black | rehan433 (759) | Win | 14 | 796 | Opponent's early queen ran out of squares and got trapped on f3. |
| 15 | ⚔️ | Black | mpSA63 (808) | Loss | 41 | 787 | Traded the queen for a knight on h3, then got rolled by the passed c-pawn. |
| 16 | ⚔️ | White | LeoPressleyM (771) | Loss | 25 | 778 | A rook up, castled queenside onto the open e-file and lost the queen to Rxe2. |
| 17 | ⚔️ | White | Kiyasha_sdz (763) | Win | 25 | 786 | Attack, missed win, gave it all back, opponent blundered with Ne3. Rh7#. |
| 18 | 🏳️ | White | xxsidxxxx (782) | Win | 14 | 794 | Opponent could have taken my g5 bishop with the queen, and left it there instead. Abandoned. |
| 19 | 🏳️ | Black | Bricktrix001 (818) | Loss | 25 | 786 | Up the exchange, then took a defended bishop on g5 with the queen. |
| 20 | 🏳️ | Black | mat94pl (816) | Loss | 17 | 779 | Sacrificed a knight on b4 that didn't work, then put the queen on c3 next to a knight. |
| 21 | ⚔️ | White | ubitarte4 (758) | Win | 35 | 787 | Knight raid on c7 and e6, ground out the attack, mate on d6. |
| 22 | ⚔️ | White | huggure (771) | Win | 29 | 795 | Winning, then dropped a bishop on g4 and was lost, then opponent hung the rook. Rh4#. |
| 23 | ⚔️ | Black | thatdedang (796) | Win | 30 | 803 | Sacrificed on h3, attacked for fifteen moves, mate with Rxf2#. The 800 game. |
Game 1: Loss vs tuka2109 (768) as White
An even opening, and then 8. Nc3 which simply hangs the knight to the pawn on d4. The engine had the position at level before that move and at nearly five pawns down after it. Then, having taken on b7 with the queen and let Black attack it with 13…Rb8, I played 15. Rd1 and left the queen where it stood: 15…Rxb7 and the game was over. Two pieces given away in seven moves, and I resigned a queen and a rook down.
Game 2: Win vs hix96 (740) as Black
White went for a kingside attack out of a London setup and then gave the pieces away to make it happen. 9. Bh4 let the e3 pawn go and 10. Nxh7 was a knight sacrifice with nothing behind it: after 10…exf2+ 11. Kxf2 Kxh7 I was a piece and two pawns up and the engine had me at more than six pawns. From there it was just trading down. White kept finding ways to make it worse, including 22. Rh4 which hung the bishop on f6, and by the end I had a queen and rook against a rook. White resigned after 32. Rg4.
Game 3: Loss vs ChackmateIn3Sec (767) as Black
The queens came off on move 6 and I won the e5 pawn, which had me about a pawn and a half better. Then 13…Be6 ignored the fact that the bishop on e3 was attacking my knight on c5, and 14. Bxc5 won a piece. The engine’s suggestion was 13…Nxd3, trading the knight off first. After that White collected the e7 pawn, then c6, then b5, and I spent thirty moves in a lost endgame trying to hold a bishop against a rook and bishop. 41…Kd5 let the g6 pawn go as well. I resigned once the h-pawn promoted.
Game 4: Win vs aghoriking (746) as White
A greedy game that worked. 7. Qxg7 took the g-pawn, 9. Qxh8 took the rook, and 10. Qxg8+ took the knight, by which point I was ten pawns up on the engine’s count. The queen didn’t get out: after 12…Bb7 and 13. Na3 Black played 13…Rxg8 and recovered it, so the queen had gone for a rook, a knight and a pawn and the material was level again. The engine still had me four pawns ahead, and 14. Nb5+ 15. Nxd6 picked up the dark-squared bishop as well. The rest was slow: I pushed the passed e-pawn, got a queen back with 34. e8=Q, and Black resigned after 36. Qxa5+.
Game 5: Loss vs UniquePinkie (810) as Black
This is the first of the “winning and lost anyway” games. I’d already gone wrong with 12…Re7, which left me several pawns worse, but on move 16 White played 16. Nf6+ and handed the whole game back.
16…Bxf6 takes the knight and leaves me four pawns up. I played 16…Kg7 instead, which loses on the spot to 17. Qxd4, and from there White’s queen and knight chased my king from g7 to f5 for a forced sequence ending in 24. g4#.
Game 6: Loss vs omja_za (774) as White
An Advance Caro-Kann where I was slightly better for most of it, and then a few pawns up after Black gave the g7 bishop away with 16…Bxe5. On move 19 Black gave me the game outright. I’d played 19. Bxh6 taking a pawn, and Black replied 19…Qe3+.
20. Bxe3 wins the queen and leaves me ten pawns up. I played 20. Rf2 to block the check, and after 20…Qxh6 I’d given a bishop for a pawn instead. That was the low point of the session: I resigned, and my rating dropped to 757.
Game 7: Win vs athu00073 (733) as White
The bishop sacrifice worked this time. Black’s 14…Qe5 put the queen on the same file as my rook on e1, and 15. Bxh7+ Kxh7 16. Rxe5 won it. Black tried 16…f6 to trap the rook, but 17. Rxg5 fxg5 18. Qxf8 collected the rook as well. Black resigned after 19. Qe7, left with a rook and bishop against my queen, rook and knight.
Game 8: Loss vs borsuki (754) as White
The most painful one. My knight went 8. Ne6 and then 9. Nxc7+ 10. Nxa8, winning a rook, and by move 22 the engine had me more than ten pawns up. Then it unwound: 25. Qb3 let the e4 pawn go with check, 27. Bd7 let the bishop on g5 go, and Black’s queen and rook arrived on the kingside.
29. Kd2 was still winning by nearly six pawns. I played 29. Kf2 and it’s mate in three: 29…Rxc2+ 30. Kf1 Qe2+ 31. Kg1 Qg2#.
Game 9: Win vs EggheadEric (743) as Black
A rollercoaster, and the longest game of the day. I was two pawns better when I took the knight with 21…fxe6, which turns out to be losing: after 22. Qxe6+ Kh8 23. Qxg6 White has a winning attack on the light squares.
24. Kh1 and White mates in three. 24. Kf1 loses, and that’s what was played: 24…Bh4+ 25. Rf7 Rxf7+ 26. Qxf7 traded the rooks off and killed the attack. The queens came off on move 33 and left me a bishop and a pawn up, which in a king and pawn race was plenty. The d-pawn and the a-pawn both promoted, and 57…Qff3# finished it with two queens on the board.
Game 10: Win vs Oscar1403 (736) as Black
Level for twenty moves after an early queen trade, and then White’s 23. Rc1 and 24. f4 let my d-pawn run. 24…d3 25. Nc3 d2 and the pawn was one square from queening with the rook on d1 unable to hold it forever. 26. Rd1 Nxd1 27. Nxd5 Nxf2 28. Kxf2 d1=Q made the new queen and White resigned.
Game 11: Win vs Sarahdip10 (772) as White
I had no business winning this. 8. Bg5 hung the bishop and 9. Qd4 did nothing about it, so 9…Qxg5 left me a piece down. Black kept building and by move 21 the engine had it at twenty pawns, which is to say completely lost for me.
Black had 21…Qf3+ with mate to follow. Instead came 21…Rd4+ 22. Qxd4 cxd4, which takes the rook off the e-file and leaves the back rank bare: 23. Re8#.
Game 12: Win vs ammar2359 (781) as White
Another Scotch-style opening where my opponent’s pieces came forward too fast. 12…b5 dropped the knight on d5, and after 13. Bxd5 the bishop kept going: 14. Bxa8 took the rook. Seven pawns up with the extra rook, I brought the rooks to the d- and g-files, took the e7 bishop with 23. Qxe7, and finished with 28. Qg7#.
Game 13: Loss vs maknyuskasan (822) as Black
Fourteen moves and the shortest loss of the day. After 9. e5 dxe5 10. dxe5 my queen came to e7 and then 11…Qc5, and White chased it with 12. b4 Qc6. The queen had run out of good squares by then: 13. Ne7+ forked the king on g8 and the queen on c6, and after 13…Kh7 14. Nxc6 the queen was gone for a knight. I played 14…b6 and resigned.
Game 14: Win vs rehan433 (759) as Black
The mirror image of Game 13. White brought the queen out on move 2 with 2. Qf3 and it never found a safe home. I built up with 9…Nh5, 11…f5 and 13…Qg5, and after 14. Ndc3 the queen on f3 had nowhere to go: 14…Bg4 attacks it, and the bishop is defended by my queen on g5. White resigned rather than give the queen up for the bishop.
Game 15: Loss vs mpSA63 (808) as Black
I was fine out of the opening and about three pawns better after 10. dxe5, then gave it back with 11…Be6 and 14…g5. The decisive one was 19…Qxh3, taking the knight with my queen when White could just recapture with 20. Qxh3. Queen for a knight, and after that White’s queen took c6, c7 and c4 and the passed c-pawn walked up the board. My rooks got the king to g4 but ran out of checks, and 41. Qh8# ended it with two White queens on the board.
Game 16: Loss vs LeoPressleyM (771) as White
Black gave up the a8 rook with 9…Qd6 10. Bxb7 c6 11. Bxa8, and I was more than eight pawns up on move 14. Then 17. O-O-O put my king on c1, where 18…Bg5+ hits it, and left my queen on e2 with Black’s rook on e8.
17. Qe4 was better by six pawns. After 17. O-O-O Qb6 18. Bc8 Bg5+ 19. Kb1 Rxe2 the queen was gone, and 20. Rhe1 and 24. f4 made it worse. 25…Qg1# finished it.
Game 17: Win vs Kiyasha_sdz (763) as White
A messy one that both of us had winning at different points. My attack was worth twenty pawns after 17. Rg4+ Kh7, and I missed it with 18. Bd3. Then 20. Bxf5+ threw away the rest and left me four pawns down. Black returned the favour immediately with 21…Ne3, which ignores my rook on f1 and the f7 pawn: 22. Rxf7+ Rxf7 23. Qxf7+ Kh8 24. Rg7 Qe8 25. Rh7#.
Game 18: Win vs xxsidxxxx (782) as White
Fourteen moves. My queen wandered with 11. Qd3 and 13. Qe2, both of which cost material on the engine’s count, and I was four pawns worse. The reason was that my bishop on g5 and Black’s queen on d8 were staring straight at each other with nothing in between, and it was Black’s move: 13…Qxg5 just takes it. Black played 13…Bg7 instead, and 14. Bxd8 won the queen. My opponent left the game.
Game 19: Loss vs Bricktrix001 (818) as Black
I won the exchange early with 13…Nd2 14. Qd5 Nxf1, taking the rook, and was four and a half pawns up around move 16. White then offered the bishop with 19. Bg5, attacking my queen on f6. The queen was defended, but so was the bishop: 19…Qxg5 20. Qxg5 and I’d given queen for bishop. 24…Rxe6 dropped the second rook and I resigned after 25. Qxe6.
Game 20: Loss vs mat94pl (816) as Black
White opened with 2. Qh5 and 3. Qf3, which I never punished. My 13…Qc5 walked into 14. b4, and I answered with the knight sacrifice 14…Nxb4 15. cxb4 Qxb4, which just leaves me a piece down for one pawn. Then 16. Rb1 Qc3 put the queen next to the knight on d2, and 17. Nxc3 took it. I resigned there.
Game 21: Win vs ubitarte4 (758) as White
A long grind. I went a pawn up with the knight raid 15. Nxc7+ and 16. Ne6, and spent the middlegame around four pawns ahead while Black pushed the kingside pawns at me. 28. Qxb7 took another pawn. The finish came when Black’s 32…Qd4 and 33…Rc7 left the back rank loose: 34. Qb8+ Rc8 35. Qxd6#.
Game 22: Win vs huggure (771) as White
Nine pawns up after 18. Qxe7+, and then I threw it away in two moves. 20. g4 was already a mistake, and after 20…Bxg4 the correct move was to leave the bishop alone.
21. Bxg4 allows 21…Qxg4+ and the g-file opens onto my own king. That should have been the end of it, but 22…Rg8 let me back to level, and then 24…Qe4+ dropped the queen to 25. Nxe4. From there I had two rooks and a knight against a rook and a knight, and 29. Rh4# mated the king on h6.
Game 23: Win vs thatdedang (796) as Black. The 800 game
The last game of the night, starting from 795. I played 12…Bxh3, giving up the bishop for the h-pawn to open the king, and the engine hated it: 13. gxh3 left me three pawns down, and after 14…Bh4 15. Nxh4 it was closer to six. I kept attacking anyway, bringing the queen to f4, then b4, then h4, and pushing 20…f5 and 22…f4 to open lines.
White’s 26. Bh1 was the move that levelled it, letting me take on h3 with the queen, and then on move 29 came this:
29…Rxf2 is mate in three: 30. Qg7+ Kxg7 31. Ng3 Rg2#. I played 29…Qg4+ instead, which lets White back to equal. White replied 30. Kf1, and the same idea was there again: 30…Rxf2#. The rook on f2 is defended by my other rook on f8, so the king can’t take it, and the queen on g4 covers g1 and g2. That mate took me from 795 to 803.
Reflections
Twenty three games is a lot of data about my own habits, and the pattern is not subtle. Ten losses, and in six of them I had a better or completely winning position first: Games 5, 6, 8, 16, 19 and 20. Four of my wins came from positions where I was losing: Games 11, 17, 22 and 23. At this rating the games are not being decided by opening knowledge or by plans. They are decided by whoever stops giving material away first.
What went well:
- The queen blunders went both ways, and I came out ahead on the count. Games 6, 11, 14 and 18 all turned on my opponent’s queen, and I only had to spot it and take it.
- Finishing the attack. Six of the thirteen wins ended in checkmate rather than resignation, including three in the last seven games.
- Not tilting after the bad run. Losing four of the first six and dropping to 757 could easily have ended the session there.
What to work on:
- The one move check before moving anything. Games 1, 8, 16 and 20 were all one move: a knight next to a pawn, a king to the wrong square, a castle onto an open file, a queen next to a knight.
- Looking at what the opponent just did. Game 6 is the clearest case of the session: 19…Qe3+ put a queen on a square my own bishop was attacking and I saw a check instead of a free queen.
- Converting. Games 8 and 16 were both won on material and both ended in checkmate against me.