Game 4: Nivolet vs. Me - 6/18/13 on iggamecenter.com

This is the 2nd of the 2 games played with Nivolet at iggamecenter. I sucked in this one too, just like the first.

1. b1-b3 a3-c5?
(...a2-c2 would be better)

2. c8xc5 a5-c3?
(Maybe ...h2-f2

3. e1xc3 a4-c4?

Three bad moves in a row. Black has limited the movement of white's pieces in column A. This is not going to go well.

4. g8xc4 a2-c2
5. b8-b6 a6-b7
6. f8-d6 a7-d7

Trying to walk around.

7. g1-d4
Black's last 5 moves have all connected.

...b7-e7
8. b3-d5
Enables d1xd7

...c2-e4
9. d1xd7 e4-g6
10. f1-d3

...h6xd6.
A hopeless attempt at defense.

11. d5-c6 e7-e5
12. c1-b2#

Lesson learned? Besides the horrible opening, my pieces in column H were totally useless in the endgame. Nivolet kept his pieces just out of reach of any counterattack.

Game 3: Me vs. Nivolet - 6/18/13 on iggamecenter.com

This is the first of 2 games I played with French competitor Nivolet at iggamecenter.

1. c8-c6 h7-f7
2. f8xh6 a4-c2
3. b1-b3 a2-d2

4. d1-f3
Better to be captured than blocked in.

...h5xf3
So far, the opening has been about white trying to block black in, and black escaping, either by moving out, or capturing pieces at the edge of the board. White is in a better position to start connecting.

5. c1xa3 f7-f4
6. f1-d3 h2-e2
7. e1-g3
The only move to avoid being trapped by 7. ...h4-f2 or f4-f2. But black soon uses this move to his advantage.

…a6xd3
(...e2-g4? 8. g8xg4)

8. g1-g4 a5-c3
9. g8-g5

Black tries to separate the 2 pieces on the h file, but he'll have trouble moving the rest of his pieces eastward.

...a7-a5
10. a3-b4 a5-c5
11. b8-e5 c5-d4
12. d8xd4 h3-g2

13. h6-f6??
c6xf3 or e5xe2 would have kept black in the game.

...h4-h3#

I was trounced. Nivolet forced me to make escape moves, and those moves put me in a bad position to connect.