Matt Cornelisen - Chess

Analysis of yesterday's game as Black. I used Stockfish and Chess.com. (Alternate lines are from Stockfish.) The game was 10 minutes per side. I need to play slightly longer games in order to take my time as I work to improve. Blasting through a bunch of short games hasn't helped me much to date, so I need to focus. 1. e4 e6 The French defense. Generally, as Black, I play 1...e6 and see what happens. I tried for a period of time trying to play 1...g6, but never had much success. 2. Nf3 d5 3. exd5 exd5 4. c4?! Inaccuracy. Best move was d4. (4. d4 Nf6 5. Bd3 Bd6 6. O-O O-O 7. Re1 Bg4 8. c3 Nbd7) 4... dxc4? Mistake. Best move was d4. My opening knowledge of the French defense (or any other) is minimal and so I'm lacking any book knowledge already. I liked the look of giving my opponent the isolated d pawn and thought I could try to play against it. (4... d4 5. Bd3 Nf6 6. O-O Be7 7. Re1 O-O 8. Bc2 d3 9. Bxd3) 5. Bxc4 Qe7+ With zero development, I go for the chec...

I found the time to do some puzzles and play a game. I struggled with the puzzles, completing only 17 during my first Puzzle Rush, with a max rating of 1009. My game went better, I played good chess and capitalized on a tactical opportunity to win a game with the French . Analysis to come tomorrow. In the meantime, I'm off to practice more puzzles. This weekend, I'll sit down to some focused tactical study.

I did much better at today's puzzles.  5/5 with good times. 10 right in a row now .

While I hesitate to call this an analysis, this is, at the least, my attempt at reflection and introspection. This is my first game on Chess.com and, thankfully, I didn't blunder my queen. Overall, I played cautiously and failed to recognize some opportunities that could have made my win more decisive. Per usual, I played 1.Nf3. The Réti Opening is the opening that I have played most consistently with over the years. My opponent's rating was 1024, and they played book moves at the beginning. 1. Nf3 e6 2. c4 c5 3. g3 d5 4. cxd5 Qxd5 I was happy my opponent recaptured with their Queen as I knew I could gain tempo while continuing my development. 5. Nc3 Qc6 6. Bg2 c4? My opponent made a push for space that I felt was ill-advised. The pawn is protected, but they had no pieces developed to support this push. 7. O-O Nf6 8. Ne5 I wanted to grab that pawn and hopefully lock in a slight advantage. 8...Qb6?! This move allowed me to grab the pawn with tempo. 9. Nxc4 Qc5 10. N...

Completed 5 puzzles over lunch. I was successful in all of them, but I found myself taking too long. In the first puzzle , I spent way to much time staring at a6 before I even looked to the knight on c6.  An easy puzzle, yet I found myself just not looking thoroughly at the board. It's a similar situation to yesterday's game when I failed to see the fork the would have snagged the bishop late in the game. I have to improve my ability to scan the board.

My name is Matt Cornelisen, and I relish playing chess. I've played since I was a child, but I have never put serious study into the game. As a consequence, four decades later, I remain a glorified beginner. Currently, I play online exclusively. I've played on various sites, with lichess.org being my chess site for the past year. My rating varies, ranging from ~1300 in Blitz to ~1500 in Rapid. I have shied playing games with time controls longer than 10 minutes, but not for any particular or specific reason. Now, I have decided I would like to improve my chess. I play and play without any substantial change in my rating. I have found myself wondering, after playing a dozen Blitz games in a stretch, whether or not I could get better. Well, I'm done wondering. It is time to find out. To that end, I reviewed various online chess sites and have decided to use Chess.com going forward. I've never registered there before, and the idea of starting with a clean slate is ...