Sunday 23 November 2014

A 'blogworthy' game

One of the juggling acts you have to perform when writing a blog is decide what is content worthy of publishing. It is a little easier writing a chess blog, as chess has a built in ranking system which attaches importance to players, tournaments or games, based on the ratings of the subjects. So news about the World Championship is going to be a big deal no matter what happens, but more local events have to be judged a little more closely.
This also goes for the games I publish on the blog. I usually try and publish at least one game a week, as the front page only keeps the last 7 articles posted. I try and keep the choice fairly broad but I do have 2 distinct biases. One is games from Super GM events and matches, especially from players I like (such as Aronian or Svidler). The other is of course my own games, as essentially this is a blog about what I find interesting in chess.
Apart from what I find myself, I also get helpful suggestions from chess playing friends. Often at Street Chess or the ANU Chess Club a game is finished with a suggestion to 'put it on your blog'. 'Bloggable' or 'blogworthy' are other adjectives attached to games in which the winner is particularly proud. Usually I need to independently confirm that the game is indeed publishable, although I will sacrifice quality for curiosity.
For today's game I am actually choosing one of my own, played on Saturday at Street Chess (G/15m). It was an opening that I usually am on the black side of (The Two Knights) but I decided to try it from the other side of the board. 8.Qf3 is unusual but sound, although 8. ... Rb8 is considered the best reply. The idea behind Nc4-a3 was to try and pick up the exchange, but it left the c pawn unprotected, allowing the tactical shot 15. Nc5 Black thought for quite a while trying to find a way out of the mess, but failed to find a escape route. She decided to resign at that point only to be met with the annoying 'I think I will put that on my blog'


Press,Shaun - Chibnall,Alana [C58]
Street Chess, 22.11.2014



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