1. C2.6 C8.5

2. H2+3 R9+1

3. R1.2 H8+7

4. R2+4 R9.4

5. A6+5 H2+3

6. H8+7 P5+1

7. P7+1 R4.5

8. C6.4

Up to this move both sides are following a text book line.
8.C6.4 is a typical move allowing protection of Red's left
horse after 8. ... R4.3 9.E7+5 usually followed by 10.R9.7
with the potential threat 11.C4+1. Red must not play 8.H7+6?,
since Black can gain material with 8. ... C2+3 pinning the
horse.

8. ... R1+1

9. R2.4?
It's anyway part of Black's plan to play H3+5. Now this move 
can be played with the immediate threat P5+1. Red should
continue with the development, e.g. by 9.E7+5. 9.C4+5 looks
attractive, but Black can protect the horse with R1.3 and
Red's cannon will have to retreat soon.

9. ... H3+5

10. C4+1?
The cannon moves to an unattractive field, where it can not
protect the left horse. Furthermore, the black rook will be
driven to better place at the river bank where it can assist
the pawn on the third file. Red should better move the rook
at once. I'm not sure whether 10.R4+2 or 10.R4.2 is the better
move. 

10. ... R4-2

11. R4+2 P3+1

12. E7+5
Protecting the pawn with an elephant is often a time consuming
plan, since the elephant in most cases has to return to the
central file. However, the alternative 12.P7+1 doesn't look
much better, see e.g. 12.P7+1 R4.3 13.H7+6 R3.4 14.H6+4(?) P5+1
with strong initiative for Black. Red might try 12.C4+2 P5+1
13.C4.7, nut again Black is ahead.

12. ... R1.3

13. C4+2 P5+1

14. P7+1?
Red's chances after 14.C4.7 are not much better, nevertheless
Red had to try it, since 14.C4.7 E3+1 15.C8+4 R3+2 16.C8.5 H7+5
17.R9.8 C2.4 18.H7+8 R3.2 19.C7+1 gives Red some interesting 
tactical chances. However, Black will still have the superior
position  after 14.C4.7 H5+3 15.P7+1 R4.3, but in comparison to
the game continuation at least one black horse was eliminated
and Red's rook can move more freely.

14. ... R4.3

15. H7-6
Unfortunately 15. C4-3 isn't better. Black already has a won position.

15. ... P7+1

16. C4-4 P5+1

17. C8.7 R+.6

18. R4-1 H7+6

19. E5-7(?)
To get some counterplay, Red might consider 19.R9.8 but there is no
real defense.

19. ... H5+4

20. C7.8?
Again 20.R9.8 will hold longer. Now Black will win material.

20. ... H4+2

21. R9+2(?)

To avoid immediate checkmate Red has to play the cruel move 21.H6+7,
it's easy to understand that Red prefers to bring the game to an end.

21. H2+4 checkmate

Summary:
As soon as the players get out of a textbook opening line,
Red plays two weak moves at move 9 and 10. After this, Black's position
is clearly superior and move 14 was probably already Red's last chance
to stay in the game.   

1. H8+7 P3+1

2. C8+4
A very unusual, but probably acceptable move in this position. 
However, if the idea behind this move is to poach among
Black's pawns very early in the game, this is the wrong plan.
A more justified reasoning for 2.C8+4 might be the idea to
block Black's horse after 2. ... H2+3 3.C8.7. Although 2.C8+4
can't be blamed to be a serious error, other moves like 2.C2.4,
2.C2.5, 2.H2+3, 2. P3+1, 2.E3+5, 2.E7+5 or 2.C8.9 look more
reasonable.

2. ... H2+3

3. C8.3?
There is no forced move order which can show that this move is
bad, but it's a violation of basic opening principles. Red's
cannon moves for the second time very early in the game and all
he gets is a mere pawn. Even worse, the new position of the cannon
isn't very safe and it's very likely that the cannon will be molested
very soon by Black's pieces. If Red doesn't move his cannon at move 3,
he has to be prepared for Black's plan H3+4 followed by P3+1. For
that reason, Red might consider 3.C8.7, although this again would
move the cannon for the second time in three moves. Other options
are possibly 3.C2.5 or 3.R9+1

3. ... H8+9

4. R9.8 R1.2

5. H2+3 C8+2

6. C3.9?
By capturing another pawn this cannon will get in deeper trouble.
The strange move 6.C3-1 might have been the best alternative, since
it prevents 6. ... H3+2 and 6. ... E3/7+5 because of 7.C3+2.

6. ... H3+2
Black's other options were 6. ... C2+5 or 6. ... C8.7. In all cases
Red's defence is difficult.

7. C9.8
After 7. C9.1? H9+7 a piece gets lost, but 7. R8.9 could be an
alternative although it's saddening to move one of the few developped
pieces to such passive position. However, after 7.C9.8 Red's pieces
come under strong attack.

7. ... C2.7

8. C8.1
Red captures another pawn, but this time there is no good alternative.

8. ...  C8.5
Black could have played 8. ... H9-7 as well. After the possible continuation
9.C1.3 R8.9 Black's pieces are very active.

9. A4+5
Although this allows Black to win a horse, it's not a bad move, see comments
after Red's move 10 for explanation. The only alternative 9.H3-5 doesn't
look very active but exchange threats may help for Red, e.g. 9.H3-5 R9.8
10.C2.5 C5.9 11.C5.1 C7.2 12.R8.9. In this line Black's pieces still look
very impressive but there is no easy way to victory.

9. ... R9.8

10. P5+1??
A real blunder, Black could win a piece in all lines but now there will be
no active counterplay for Red. Instead, Black's rook will be in a very
active position. Red had to play 10.R1.2 asking for a difficult decision
from Black who could take the horse with 10. ... C7+5. However, after 
11. P5+1 C5.7 12. P3+1 the co-ordination of Black's pieces isn't too good
any more whereas Red's pawns might become a factor good enough to compensate
for the lost horse. Instead of taking the horse Black could play 10. ... R8+6
to preserve his very active position.

10. ... R8+7
This is good enough, but 10. ... C7.2 11.R8.9 R8+7 would have been more accurate.
   
11. P5+1
11.R1+2 is not better, e.g. 11. ... R8.9 12.E3+1 C7.2 13.R8.9 C5.7 14.H3+5 H2+3
with clear advantage for Black.

11. ... R8.7

12. E3+5?
Red's position is difficult, his only chance is a simplification of the position.
He should try to eliminate Black's last pawns and to exchange as many pieces as
possible, in particular Black's rooks and the cannon. Therefore, 12.H7+5 is the
better alternative, since after 12. ... R7-1 13.H5+4 R7-2 14.H4+3 R7-1 15.P5+1  
Red has managed to exchange the cannon and a pawn and after 12. ... R7+2? 
13.R1.3 C7+7 14.P5+1 Black has already problems to stop Red's pawn avalanche.

12. ... P5+1

13. P3+1 R7-1

14. P7+1(?)
Now Black will win an important elephant, but unfortunarely there are no good 
alternatives. Perhaps Red should try to activate his rook bei 14.R1.4 R7.3
15.C1.7

14. ... P3+1

15. E5+7 R7.3

16. R1+2 R3-1
16. ... C7.3 would have been a very interesting line. On a first glance one
might come to the conclusion that this is a bad move because of 17.C1.7 R3-1
18.R8+5 R2+4 19.C7+3 A4+5 20.C7-5, but that conclusion is wrong for two reasons.
Firstly, in the final position Black still has a clear lead after 20. ... R2+3, since
the horse can't dodge. Secondly, Black has an improvement in move 18, he can play
18. ... R3-2 19.R8+4 R3.2!

17. H7+5 R3-1
With a piece more and the central pawn still alive, Black has a clearly won
position.

18. R1.8
Red won't be able to get any advantage from the pin on the horse. Although it's
a quite hopeless case, he should still try to exchange rooks, thus 18. R1.7
might be marginally better.

18. ... P5+1

19. H5-6
Not a very attractive field for the horse, but 19. H5-7 C7.3 doesn't look any better.

19. ...  R2+3

20. C1-2 C7.5
Black sacrifices his central pawn to attack his opponent's king.

21. C1.5 A6+5

22. P9+1?
22. H6+5 might hold longer.

22. ... R2.8

23. K5.4
Of cause Red didn't have the time for 23. R++3 since 23. R8+6 would yield
immediate checkmate. However, 23.R+.4 was a better defence, although as
hopeless as the game continuation.

23. ... R8+6

24. K4+1 H9+8

25. R+.3
Again, R++3 would allow a checkmate, this time by 25. ... H8+7 26.K4+1 R8-2

25. ... R3.6

26. A5+4
or 26.R3.4 H8+7 checkmate

26. ... R8-1

27. K4-1 R8.4
The game is practically over.

28. P3+1 H8+9
To delay the end Red should have tried 28.R8+3.

29. P3.4 H9+7 checkmate
Red could have delayed the checkmate for another move but the position
was totally hopeless, e.g.29.R3.1 R6+3! 30.R1.4 H9+8. 


Summary:
Red's early attempts to win as many pawns as possible left him
behind in the development. At move 9 this lead to a position where Red had 
the choice between a passive position or loss of a horse. In my opinion,
it wasn't a bad idea to sacrifice the horse for counterplay but at move 10
Red chose the wrong way to give the piece. In a practical game Red still
had some vague drawing chances but he missed the chance to exchange a piece
and a pawn at move 12. From there on Black had a clearly won position.

Thanks to Bill Brydon for providing this game. He has played
it against his strong Vietnamese teacher Lo Ban in July 1995.
Frankly, the errors seen in this game are not typical blunders
of beginners, you need to look much more carefully to find
the errors in this game. I wouldn't be surprised if my analysis
would spark an interesting discussion, since I have some doubts
about it myself ;-)


1. C2.5 C8.5
2. H2+3 R9+1
3. R1.2 H8+7
4. R2+6 R9.4
5. R2.3

Although this move can be seen in many old master games,
it seems to me that it can't be recommended for beginners
playing against a stronger opponent. I don't want to mark
this move as a mistake, but Red has to be aware that he
has to pay a price for the pawn he just captured. Black
will have more active pieces for some time and Red's rook 
may be harrassed very soon.

5. ... H2+3

6. A4+5 C5-1
7. H8+9 P3+1

8. C8.6 (?)
So far we have been following a line mentioned in opening
books. However, my literature doesn't tell anything about
8. C8.6, the only move I could find is 8. C8.7. It's difficult
to see why C8.6 might be inferior. The game will show that
Black can create some pressure on his third file. In particular,
the Ec0 is a potential weakness of Red's position. C8.7 may
be a better way to prevent trouble on Red's seventh file.

8. ... R4+1

9. R9.8 R1+2
Black's last move looks a bit strange, since the rook doesn't
occupy a very active position, but it will allow C5.2 at one
of the following moves. 

10. R8+4?
If you have realized, that this move was problematic because
of Black's reply you are definetely not a beginner! However,
what are the alternatives? If Red does not go forward with
his rook, he has to face C5.2. 10.R8+1 doesn't look very
attractive, if Red wants to develop his rook on the narrow
second rank, he should have played R9+1 in the previous move.
The last remaining move is 10. R8+6. Thereafter, the position
is very complicated but I didn't find a clear advantage for
Black. May be, somebody else disagrees and can show a winning
continuation for Black. If that's the case, please send me
a note or start a discussion in the Forum. Just one line
from me: 10.R8+6 C5.2 11.R8.7 C2.3 12.R7.8 P3+1?! 13.C5+4

10. ... P3+1!
I can imagine that this move was an unpleasant surprise for Red.

11. R8-3
Quite passive, but there are no good alternatives. Red might
try 11. R8+2, which also gives Black the edge, e.g. 11.R8+2 C5.2
12.R8.7 C5.3 13.R7.8 P3+1
Red cannot afford to capture the pawn, see:
A) 11.P7+1? C5.2 12.R8.9 P1+1
B) 11.R8.7 C5.7 12.R3.2 C7.3 13.R7.3 H3+2 and Black's attack is strong.

11. ... C5.7

12. R3.4 C7.2

13. R8.7 C-.3

14. C6.7?
Now Red is lost. It seems to me, that Red had to try 14.C5+4 with practical
chances to hold the game. The line below is a funny example, but of cause
there are many alternatives for both sides:
14.C5+4 H7+5 15.R4.5 A4+5 16.R5.8 R4+4 17.E3+5 P3+1 18.H9+7 E7+5
19.R8.1 P1+1 20.H7+8 C3+7 21.H8+9 E3+1 22.R1.8 C2-2 23.R8+1 E1+3
24.C6.7 R4.3 25.C7.9 R3.1 26.C9.7 R1.3 27.C7.9 R3.1 28.C9.7 draw

14. ... C2+1

15. R4-3 P3+1

16. C7+5
Good alternatives are lacking.

16. ... R1.3

17. R7.8?
Now Black can will immediately, Red had to find something to rescue
his king, but moves like A5-4 won't help much.

17. ... P3.2

Red resigned, since there is no defense against the threats 18. ... C2+5
and 18. ... C3+8


Summary:
Red chose to capture one of Black's pawns very early in the opening.
Although playable, this plan is dubious, since Black's pieces become quite
active. 8. C8.6 is probably a first mistake, although not an obvious one.
Move 10 of Red looks reasonable, but Black's reply shows that it was indeed
a bad move wasting time. With move 14 Red missed the last chance to stay in
the game.