Dan Heisman's Improve Your Chess
Desperado Errors
National Master Dan Heisman is a name that is synonymous with excellence in chess coaching and teaching. Dan authors the award-winning Novice Nook column (winner of three Chess Journalists of America "Best Instruction" awards), aimed at improving adults, for chesscafe.com that are clearly written and offer very practical advice and tips on how to improve your game . In the new Improve Your Chess series, Dan provides instruction by reviewing amateur games played on ICC and showing where the players went wrong and how to improve.
Today's show: White allows one of those "Bg5 vs Nf6/Be7/Qd8" discoveries with ...Nf6xe4 and both the Bg5 and the Ne4 become desperado pieces. Instead of taking their time in this complicated position, both sides play a little fast (especially White) and make several errors. When the smoke clears Black has a winning endgame. Partway into the endgame Black makes a major, but understandable error, giving White a chance. But White, continuing to play fast, misses his big opportunity and slips into another lost position. Black makes good of his chances but then misses a major tactic to put the game away. White, perhaps sensing that neither side is worthy of continuation, properly resigns.