Let me start by saying: blessed be he who made chess.
I obsess over this game for so many reasons. With chess, you learn most lessons about life: patience being the most important. Then there's confidence, relaxation in times of distress... It also teaches you not to be overambitious.
Let's start from here. You know one of those games where you feel like you just did very badly in terms of opening, and you kind of start panicking when you see you're sorta vulnerable?
You usually have two options at this point: be confident enough that you're still in control, or panic and lose the game before you even lose.
So it was like that at this point, and Mother Queen was sorta furious. But who's a queen if not confident and powerful? (Again, God bless the maker of chess.)
Naturally, f4 should have been unalived, but as I said, Queen Mother is in mode: total annihilation. One thing they don't tell you about confidence is there's actually no line between confidence and overconfidence... it's very much subjective. So you could decide to call it whatever.
In an attempt to intimidate, she did this instead.
Then this happened...
I usually don't like pawns getting this close. It always feels scary, it gives them some kind of power, either to destroy your defense or take a powerful piece. Was that a negative effect of the queen's overambition?
Watch how this funnily played out.
Queen Mother still reluctant to leave.
It felt insanely scary at this point.
A sacrifice had to be made 🥺
It went on and on...
I just discovered something I've come to like, there's so much satisfaction that comes from the fact that a supposed groundwork for an ultimate attack now somehow indirectly prevents your king from being captured. The pawn can't move as it likes, so of course the Queen regained confidence.
Take a look at this move:
Who gives away a rook willingly? What was the plan? I couldn't quite figure it out.
Well, why not set a red line too...
OMG!! f3 in target. That looks like a checkmate in the making.
Had to take the (supposed??) bait.
Too powerful a piece to leave playing around.
Now, I spoke about confidence from the perspective of a seemingly losing party. But the lesson of this post is actually for the other side of the board.
When we're winning (seemingly), we don't relax. In fact, you fight more, like you're on the losing side, so your brain doesn't get too relaxed and you blunder.
And who's a better catcher of blunders than a person desperate to win?
Why the hell was the king going for a kill when a powerful piece like the Queen is close by??
One beautiful thing about chess is that people play with emotions well invested (myself included)... and that, at times, clouds our sight. Especially when people receive consecutive checks on their kings, they start to panic and forget that they're supposed to still take their time and watch out for possible moves. But the emotions flow in and most are like, "oh my God, hide the king, hide the king!"
B@d5 simply had to block the Queen, and the Queen wouldn't dare take it since N@d7.
But watch this weak response:
And that was how Queen Mother took control. The game was clearly over at this point.
Long story short, of course the battle was won against the enemy.
Play more chess, you all. There's a lot to it.
Bye for nowww... I'm gonna go continue obsessing.