Philidor Defense (2), another intermezzo

Today’s blog entry is from an online turn-based ladder game. This game has comments on the beginning and end, as the middle is typical of trade-of-mistake play common to class players. Black relinquishes the center tension early and loses a couple of pawns. Black won (or White lost) with another intermezzo/zwischenzug move similar to that in my previous post. Then an absolute pin against the King sealed the victory.

The variations and move symbols are Houdini’s (1.5 w32), diagnosed with ‘Scid vs PC’ at 10 seconds per ply. The opening book reference is Stockfish. The verbal comments are my thoughts during the game and my interpretations of the analysis provided by Houdini. The score chart is at the bottom of this entry.

This game features a second example of the epiphany for me: When pieces on both sides are being attacked, first look for a way to move out of danger while simultaneously attacking your opponent. See move 36...Rb1+. This is the second intermezzo / zwischenzug in consecutive games and is a tactic I need to keep aware of.