Move Method--B.1.Absorb Suprises

I added this phase recently to my move method, because of a game I played in the Sept 11 2010 Rochester Chess Club tournament. My opponent made a move that I had not analyzed, and I panicked. This will happen, and when it does, I need to take a breath, calm down, and take some extra time to reset.

So the first thing to do when it is my move is to take time and absorb any surprise move, and reassess the position, including my expectations and plans.

Paulik vs Newshutz



1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. Nf3 c5 6. Be3 cxd4 7. Nxd4 O-O 8. Be2

With Nc6 I can go into a classical Dragon. It is possible that my opponent has preparation in this line, but it is more likely that any white player would have prepared a Yugoslav variation against a Sicillian Dragon.  I had not yet prepared anything in this line yet, but I had played over a number of Classical Sicilian Dragon games in my youth.    In fact, it was the first opening I ever studied, from the first book I read on chess, Reuben Fine's Chess the Easy Way. OTOH, if you are a Dragon player, this is a good line against the Pirc, because you are more likely to be familiar with this.

Instead, I decided to play a little more Pirc-ish, but I think it would be better to prepare  something against the Classical Dragon and just dive in next time this presents itself. 8...a6 9. Bf3 Nbd7 Fritz thinks this is a novelty. (9... Qc7 has been played before and white got an advantage with 10. Nd5 Nxd5 11. exd5 b5) 10. Qd2 Nb6 11. Be2 Bg4

I am looking to trade off the light square bishops, then chase the dark square bishop off the long diagonal, or trade it for a knight. This move also vacates c8, so I can place a rook there. Fritz says that 11...Qc7 12. f5 is equal.12. O-O-O Bxe2 13. Qxe2 Qc7 14. Nb3  Nc4 15.Bd4 e5 16.fxe5

Here I should have taken on e5 with my knight and after 17.Bxe5 dxe5 white would have a small advantage, but I really wanted to drive away that bishop. 16... dxe5 17. Bc5 is the suprise! I did not see this move as possible in my lookahead, probably because I had a pawn at d6 when I moved e5. This move attacks my rook and blocks the guard of my Nc4. This is where I should have absorbed the suprise, re-evaluated and made new plans, after 17... Rfd8 18. Qxc4 b6 I could regain the piece for a pawn and fight on, but I paniced and just went for "complications", which Paulik quckly demolished  17...Bh6+  18. Kb1 Nd2+  19. Rxd2 Bxd2 20. Qxd2 Rfd8 21. Qf2 Nd7 22. Nd5 Qb8 23. Rf1 f5 24. Be7 0-1


In Chess Master at Any Age, Wetzell talks about developing mental toughness. His prime example is developing the courage to not make excuses, to clearly analyze the errors one makes in games, and to delve into why you made the errors. Missing 17.Bc5 is an error of visualization, and practicing visualization will help with that. My response of 17...Bh6+ shows a lack of mental toughness over the board, and I intend to recognize surprises in the future and absorb them.