ok. i am thinking that mal wil most likely move his knight to f6.
i would respond by moving knight to c3. that way i have two pieces attacking d5.
if he were to go to d6 then i’d probably do the same since i wouldn’t mind a trade that frees up my queen.
and if he were to go to c5 then i just move the queen bishop to e3.
but then i have, once again, this horrible traffic jam in the middle of the board.
because what i really want to accomplish is get the queen’s knight down to c7. and at the same time scare the heck out of his queen with some sort of move like bishop to f4 (which is why to e3 move seems to not be horrible).
but then he has this stinking pawn in the way. but i can get rid of that with a knight sacrifice.
ok he did go to f6.
ok right now i would say neither of us are dicatating. we are both just trying to capture some pieces and establish a presence.
and he is a pawn up so he’s got more material.
and the pawn structure seems similar. sure he’s got one further out but mine is protected by another. although his one further out is protected so i’d probably give him the edge in that regard.
right now i feel like i have more lines open. i’ve got both of my bishops free to move around whereas he doesn’t have any pieces other than his knights available. but he is hogging the center of the board so that’s not good.
i think my pieces are better devoloped than his. but this is real fluid because a pawn move or two by him opens it all up.
both of our kings are safe.
and my first inclination was nc3. but now that you make me type it out i think i will go d4. that way we just get into a couple of trades. and depending on the direction of the trades i potentially get the queen moving and eliminate some of his other pieces that he is trying to develop. i’ll still be a pawn down but i think my position will negate that shortfall.
i’m thinking he will respond with d6 rather than doing the pxp nxp nxn qxn route. but in that case i can still eliminate his queen (at the expense of my own) and against a stronger player getting rid of that sucker makes sense to me.
plus as i have said before, i kind of like trades because it eliminates possibilities that i most often overlook.
the other thing that i am thinking and this is total metagame. is that mal is a damn good player so what seems to makes sense to me is probably what he wants me to do since he knows that will be a screw up. so i kind of need to get out of the box a wee bit.
ok he made the pxp play. not unexpected.
now i am two pawns down. everything else pretty much stays the same. i’d like to trade knights at this point taking with my queen. that way i control the center and can potentially produce some mayhem with my queen. but he will probably play c5 which makes me retreat. the other option is knight to g5 threatening a fork on his quenn and rook. but as has previously been mentioned that is just a disaster in the making against someone who knows what they are doing.
i think at this point i just take the trade and if i need to retreat then i will do so.
btw, my pawn structure really stinks at this point. but then again his isn’t a whole ton better. the only problem is that i have lost both of my center paws which i presume is probably not good.
i think at that point i can dictate some of his other moves by pulling a check if need be.
neta: btw, those durn checks are pesky. they feel good but often let your opponent make a move that they kind of wanted to make anyways.
well crap i guess we are going down this path then. he had a conditional move set up, jeebus.
ok he is up a ton.
i feel compelled to take the knight even if i have to ultimately retreat. but like i alluded to in my last post his counter is what he wants to do anyways, i think.
my pawn structure still stinks, but my diagonals are better developed. but he is still a pawn up which against him may ultimately prove to be fatal.
he’ll probably play c5 which opens up his queen but still leaves that other bishop frozen.
ok, the son of a gun knows exactly what moves i am making.
ok, i am not going to do squat for a second. but what would happen if i move the rook to d1?
Don’t let that bother you. Don’t make bad moves just because your opponent is expecting good moves from you. Good moves are good and bad moves are bad, no matter who you’re playing.
Ask yourself: In what respect are you winning? Initiative? Lines and squares? And what does that tell you about your strategy in this game?
Before moving, post the answers to those questions so I can help you out a bit. Also, how about a up-to-date moves list? I’m pretty lost.
1.e4 e5
2.Nf3 Nc6
3.Bc4 Nf6
4.O-O Nxe4
5.d3 Nf6
6.d4 exd4
7.Nxd4 Nxd4
8.Qxd4 d5
well, i am down a pawn and don’t really have much of squat established. and now he is even taking what little i did by making me retreat. so i think i am getting pretty much clobbered at this point.
the rook to d1 means that he very well can’t take the bishop on his next move.
it feels like moving the bishop back to c3 or d2 gives me all the diagonals on his king’s side of the board.
whoops, didn’t finish that thought.
but i still have those three queenside pieces that are just doing nothing. and my pawns are sitting lined up doing basically nothing other than getting in the way. and while i like the idea of getting one of my rooks involved it makes me extraordinaly nervous to use the king’s rook especially with the pawn structure on that side. i mean one little screw up and he gets an easy mate by just trapping my king in the freaking cave.
also, i guess it tells me that my strategy is very reactive. i’m not really pushing an agenda but merely responding to his.
whoops i meant d3 or e2. otherwise that would be a neat trick. 
Let’s do an example of the current position:
Initiative: =- Black has a slight advantage here, due to the pawn threat.
Material: =- Black is up a central pawn.
Pawns: = Black is up a pawn, yes, but we already counted that above. So besides that, the pawns are mostly unmoved. There aren’t any weak squares yet.
Lines and Squares: += White controls more central squares. Due to the exchanges, d4 belongs to white. Black, of course, owns the dark squares which white can challenge soon. The big thing, though, is the open e file, which white can use sooner than Black.
Officers: = It’s 2Bishops+ Knight for both sides. Each have one piece in the center.
Development: += White is already castled and has a piece out, with the move. This is fleeting, however, which is why it’s near the bottom of the CS Recipe.
King Safety: += Duh. One side is castled and the other is on an open file while exposed to rook checks. That can’t be good, long term.
So there you go, peekercpa. Now you know where you’re winning and where you’re not. Black has the initiative and material. You have time and space. Now your mission should be to increase the areas you’re already winning in. If you can catch up in the other areas, that’s good, but it’s secondary. Better is just to make those factors not as important as yours.
So find moves that develop while increasing your space. Punish him for leaving his king out there. But it’s up to YOU to figure out how to do that. Surely you should get SOMETHING, even if it’s just some more development. I shouldn’t help you any more than those hints, I think.
These things should help you predict what the plan is for both sides of the board. So NOW you can think about what you want to do with that bishop. Think ahead, realizing what Black can do with his position and what you can do with yours.
I’ll give you one closing hint: There’s a simple tactic out there that can help you solve your bishop problem. I’m not going to say it’s winning or anything- just that it’s worthy of thought. Find it and see if it’s good for anything.
ok, apparantly i don’t see things the way i should.
but here is my thought. i move the rook and get a check. that forces his bishop out to someplace where it is kind of pinned until he castles.
but at least for a change i will be forcing him to respond to me rather than vice versa.
plus it gives me the added benefit of getting another piece into play and i can always save the bishop later.
at that point i think
initiative is =
material is still -
position is =+ because i now am threatening a bunch of the center board
lines is =
officers is =
king safety is = because he will probably just follow my move and his response with a castle. but i like this position because it allows me a whole bunch of stuff hammering down on the king side.
so i kind of want to pin him up over there.
ok, that move was not unexpected. but i don’t really mind that much because his diagonals are leading him away from my king.
probably about time to save the bishop. and i certainly don’t want to go to b5 which just helps him develop his pawn structure. and costs me a move to boot.
so i think i default to bishop to d3.
initiatiave is now -=
material is still unchanged
position is probably =+ because i have the center squares covered
lines is =
officers is =
king is still fairly well protected on both sides.
and if he moves his bishop to threaten my rook then i just move the knight and force some sort of trade and that kind of cleans up the slop on the queen’s side.
ok using your formula this is what i think.
initiative is =
material is = -
position is = +
leaders is =
development is = +
kings are well protected.
my pawn structure stinks, btw. but his aren’t frank lloyd wright either.
I think 4. 0-0 was a passive move. Have you done any studies of opening theory at all, Peek? I ask a genuine question, I don’t mean that as a slight. I found them very helpful when I got started in chess, provided you don’t use memorizing opening book as a substitute for learning tactics!
fair enough question antonio107. i read some books back about 35 or so years ago. but that is why i asked the question in the chess thread about “feel”. i play a lot of golf. and although i can write you a book on the correct clubs to play and the optimal strategy you still have to execute. and each shot is going to have a subtle nuance to it. seriously a 7 iron that requires a feather one day may require a little draw the next depending on wind direction and stuff. and crud it could be a 6 or 8 iron the following day.
and i castled because i didn’t have a fracking clue on what to do next, honestly.
and i seriously appreciate the observations. no shit.
initiative is solidly -
material is still =-
position is =-
leaders are still =
development is =-
pawn structure is still =
actually i think i am in recoverable shape. all of my diagonals are going one direction which would seem to make sense from a coordination standpoint. i semi control the middle squares. his bishop on e6 doesn’t seem to be threatening anything at all and really is just blocking my rook from getting the king.
he’s most likely going to castle or play c6, so what do i do about that?
here’s what i am going to do and my thoughts behind it. i’m moving my bishop to d2. that opens up more diagonals for me to play with that piece as well (i.e. it threatens or protects more squares)
and chessic just so you know. suggesting typing out moves and thoughts behind them is genius. i think i had three or four other moves planned but as i typed them out i was like that’s stupid. course that doesn’t mean that this one is genius in any way shape or form.
well he castled, not much of a surprise there.