Lessons From Prague

IN round one I had white against a junior rated more than 400 elo higher.

Nevertheless I soon achieved what Stockfish15.1 and Komodo14.1 reckon is a winning position.

Black to make his 16th move

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White is a pawn up and has a promising attack against the exposed black king.

I think many club players would try to defend on the kingside, while hoping the presence of queens would later give chances of complications that a much lower-rated opponent could go wrong in.

However, Black presumably reasoned that being a pawn down is not his major problem - the possibility of getting mated is.

Accordingly he played 16...Qe8!?, which the engines agree is the best move.

There followed 17.Qxe8 Rfxe8 18.Bxg7 Kxg7,  after which the position is transformed.

Black remains a pawn down and is still losing, according to the engines, but there is no longer any danger of a mating attack

Not only is the black king safe, but it is slightly better placed than the white king for central action. Black also has the only active rook.

The game carried on for another 23 moves, but Black achieved a draw, something that I suspect not many people would have been willing to bet on from the position in the first diagram.

LESSON: seeking complications is not the only way to save a lost game. It is more important to identify the main problem with a position, and to rectify that.