The shorter, more boring draw ever played

[fern]

[Event "60m/40+60m/20+30m"]
[Site "Santiago"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Villegas, Fernando"]
[Black "Jonny 4.00"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[PlyCount "24"]
[TimeControl "40/3600:20/3600:1800"]

{255MB, Fritz12.ctg, FERNANDO-PC} 1. e4 {0} c5 {0} 2. Nf3 {2} d6 {0} 3. d4 {1}
cxd4 {0} 4. Nxd4 {1} Nf6 {0} 5. Nc3 {1} Nc6 {0} 6. Be2 {2} e5 {0} 7. Nb3 {2}
Be7 {0} 8. Be3 {2} Be6 {0} 9. Bf3 {14} Bc4 {108} 10. Be2 {28} Be6 {190} 11. Bf3
{4} Bc4 {179} 12. Be2 {447} Be6 {142} 1/2-1/2

Incredible...what Jonny had in mind?

Fern

[Marek Soszynski]

A Karpov comment on a dull draw is appropriate: "We were only testing the equipment."

[fern]

Very good and in fact the sentence fits with my situation because I had just downloaded Jonny and it was my first game against it.
I suppose that current Jonny is far ahead of this 4.0 version and does not go so amiably to draws.

Fern

[tpoppins]

Incredible...what Jonny had in mind?

It was trying to tell you that 9.Be2?! is a patzer move. ;>

White's plans in the Be2 system are typically based on the f4 push combined with containment strategy on the queenside. An early Bf3 that you seem to favor denies White one of his main weapons, loses time and leaves the queenside under-defended. Black can now play for a queenside expansion with ...b5, or even try an immediate 11...d5 (after 10...Bxe2 11.Qxe2), which he usually has to fight hard to achieve. In short, he has instant equality.

The correct move is 9.0-0, followed by 10.a4, 10.f4 or 10.Qd2.

Perhaps Jonny 4 was programmed to be happy with equality with Black. Try something slightly more ridiculous (like 9.g3) next time and see if you can get a draw just as easily. :D

[fern]

Oh man, I did not know you was Kasparov in disguise...
Your analysis is pretty conventional, almost following to the letter texts for beginners.
My bishop in f3 deny the continuation you mention, but, guess, in chess there are many different lines and plans.
It happens that the line you mention is not of my taste and I prefer to make difficult for blacks to get room for his king bishop because he cannot move d pawn to d5.
But does not matter; now I am testing a different line postponing d4. Perhaps it is also a "patzer line" so Jonny will give me just another draw...
Happy if that happens regards
Fern

[tpoppins]

Oh man, I did not know you was Kasparov in disguise...

Oh man, you done did it now! [Schwarznegger mode ON] You bloo mah covah![Schwarznegger mode OFF] Can any of the mods reading it edit these two posts accordingly? Can't get a little privacy even in an online forum - my genius always gives me away. Almost.

Your analysis is pretty conventional

Well, what did you expect from a 2800-plus-rated patzer? ;)

almost following to the letter texts for beginners.

Ouch, what a sly underhanded blow ... It really hurts, you know ... Wait ... the Najdorf ... for beginners? Yes, I can see it now: "The Najdorf for Dummies", with the back cover blurb promising mastery of all the main lines in 25 expertly written pages, with large, clear diagrams after every move. Kind of reminds me of this amazing thread on chess.com.

My bishop in f3 deny the continuation you mention, but, guess, in chess there are many different lines and plans.

Indeed, and some of the more important of those to consider are the plans your opponent might have. Your bishop on f3 indeed makes the ...d5 advance unadvisable; but look what happens: Black plays the simple ...Bc4 and suddenly the f3 bishop turns out to be misplaced. White cannot castle, so back to e2 the bishop must return. Sure, there's always the option of being original regardless of the position (what with there being many different lines and plans), so why not try castling queenside and strengthening the prophylaxis against ...d5 at the same time? Try it in your next engine game, I'm pretty confident it will anything but boring.

It happens that the line you mention is not of my taste

It happens that I mentioned three lines, not one; if none of them are to your taste why do you play the 6.Be2 system in the first place? There's a reason 9.Bf3 is extremely seldom seen in master practice. Out of 11 games with that funky bishop move in Megabase 2016 where White was master-strength (I'm generously setting 2200 Elo as the lower bound on master strength here) White scored one win, four draws and six losses. To date, no player of IM caliber or above (2400+ Elo) tried that little experiment over the board in a formal tournament. But who knows, perhaps a player's imagination declines as his Elo continues to climb past that magic 2200 boundary?

[fern]

I do not realize which is the source of your interest in teaching me chess, Mr Kasparov, I cannot pay you.
BTW I am NOT a professional chess player, just a professional writer with 16 books in my bag. For me chess is a very lateral thing, an entertaiment, so is not in my mind to worry about a "system", of what master players play or not, learning lines, what this or that guy played, etc, etc, etc.
I cannot care less. If my current Elo -according to a test called Elometer made in a German university is right, I am a patzer of 1973 Elo points in a bad day, which is ok for me. Almost expert, they say? "Almost" is good enough...
Perhaps or even surely you are right and I am playing badly the Sicilian just because some day I tried Bf3 and inertia took me in his arms, but it does not matter and certainly the issue does not deserve the sarcastic tone with which you evaluate my game.
There is almost NO opening that I know well or even bad. I never had interest in learning that, neither endings, which are am enigma to me. I just get my kick in middle game, try to win there and if not I get my kick the same.

Kicking regards
Fern

[S.Taylor]

[Event "60m/40+60m/20+30m"]
[Site "Santiago"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Villegas, Fernando"]
[Black "Jonny 4.00"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[PlyCount "24"]
[TimeControl "40/3600:20/3600:1800"]

{255MB, Fritz12.ctg, FERNANDO-PC} 1. e4 {0} c5 {0} 2. Nf3 {2} d6 {0} 3. d4 {1}
cxd4 {0} 4. Nxd4 {1} Nf6 {0} 5. Nc3 {1} Nc6 {0} 6. Be2 {2} e5 {0} 7. Nb3 {2}
Be7 {0} 8. Be3 {2} Be6 {0} 9. Bf3 {14} Bc4 {108} 10. Be2 {28} Be6 {190} 11. Bf3
{4} Bc4 {179} 12. Be2 {447} Be6 {142} 1/2-1/2

Incredible...what Jonny had in mind?

Fern

VERY GOOOOD!!!!
What did Jonny have in mind?
Nothing!
He was dead scared of your rays!

[tpoppins]

the issue does not deserve the sarcastic tone with which you evaluate my game.

I just like to occasionally poke a little fun at a charming little old curmudgeon like yerself. fern. Your posts are often delightfully idiosyncratic and good entertainment.

Kicking along,
your fellow almost-expert.

[yanquis1972]

jonnys only silicon & objectively, a draw seems like a good result for black here...not sure what the fuss is about??