Lessons From Benidorm VI

MY round-seven game, where I had white against Malaysian junior Taj Prasshad Nambiyar Chanthiran (1518), reached the following position after my 26th move.

I have just played 26.Rbd1

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White has pressure down the f file and a strongly placed knight; Black controls the open file, with pressure against d3.

Stockfish17.1 gives White a slight edge, while Dragon1 reckons White has the upper hand, but the engines agree Black should kick the f5 rook with 26...g6!?, or play 26...Qd8, when the queen covers the d8-h5 diagonal as well as being well-placed to join play on the a file with ...Qa5.

Instead Black doubled up on the a file with 26...Rfa8??, allowing a decisive fork, 27.Nb6.

LESSON: Black's blunder is an example of what happens when a player focuses on the opponent's main threat (in this case, to set up a sacrificial attack against the black king), and omits to check for simple threats elsewhere.