Hello. Earlier today we played in Hivechess Chess960 Arena Tournament. Chess960 has the same rules as normal chess apart from the initial position of the pieces. Due to this, opening knowledge is somewhat no use as the initial position is random. To play Chess960, I realised I had to go back to the basics in the opening phase.
- Control the center.
- Develop your pieces.
- Secure your kingsafety.
My strategy was to play cautiously and take action when I have completed the above steps.
My first game was against rosmarly where I had the black pieces. Being unfamiliar, I just copied the initial moves of my opponent. We reached a position where I won the exchange and eventually, the game.
Full game:
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In the second game, I played black again versus romeo9612. He blundered a queen but I missed it. Despite that, I still won the game.
Fullgame:
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Third game was against the winner, @samostically. I was crushed under a blistering attack.
Fullgame:
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Fourth game was against migmag as black. As usual I mirrored my opponent's move. Later my opponent made a mistake which I quickly spotted. I found Bxc3 which opens up White's king.
Full game:
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In game 5, I played @stayoutoftherz as White. I was at a disadvantage for most of the game but somehow I managed to simplify the position to eke out a draw.
Full game:
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Game 6 was against samostically again. I had the advantage because of my passed g pawn but the game was eventually drawn.
Full game:
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Game 7 was against rosmarly again where I played White. I found a trick to win a piece owing to his pinned Knight and won the game.
Full game:
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Game 8 was against stayoutoftherz again where I again had the White pieces. The starting position seems close to standard position and I tried to go for a structure I am familiar with: The London System.
Here I made a positional mistake, Bg3. This is playable in standard chess but here, after Nxg3 my light colored Bishop is buried. I'm like playing a piece down.
However, my opponent made a mistake and lost a piece. Realizing that I cannot catch up to the winner, I just offered a draw.
f3 traps Black's Bishop but Ne6 is better according to the engine.
Full game:
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Thank you so much to @stayoutoftherz for organizing. I had much fun playing. 😀
