Game 12 - Me vs. Mortenand 12/5/14 on iggamecenter.com

A little light on the opening commentary, as halfway through the game, Mortenand admitted “I don’t know what I’m doing.” I figure it was his/her first game.

1.c8-c6 a7-c5

2 c1-c4 h7-f5

3. g1-g3 h2-f2

4. g8-d5

Starting to create a base.

…a2-c2

5. b1-b3 h4-e4

6. e1xe4 a5-c7

7. d1-d4

Base is a little stronger

…a3-d6

A good move, connecting the c5 & c7 pieces and allowing potential connectivity with the eastern pieces. It also prevents 8. f8xc5 and 8. g3-d6

8. b3-b5 a6-b7

Trying to isolate the b8 piece.

9. b8-a7 a4-a6

10. e8-e6 f2-f6?

Allows the next move. h3xe6 or c2-d1 are options, but even better is c7-f4, preventing the winning move of the game. At this point, red should be trying to establish a base in the east, especially on the f file.

11. f1xf5 f6xd4

A good effort, but black has a devastating next move. This position reminds me of a standard ko shape in Go. Is this a balanced position for both sides, or is one side more fragile than the other? this might depend on the counterattacking abilities of the pieces towards the edge of the board.

12. g3xd6! b7xb5

Another good effort, but it allows black to connect his isolated a7 piece, with at least 5 checkmate threats. 

13. a7xc7 b5-b4

14. d8-e7#