Another complex position, c/o my a4 opening.
In this one I am down the full value of a piece, uncastled, iirc, and with a king pinned to the back rank by my enemy's night; if he can get a Queen or rook down there uncontested, the game is over.
But the advantage is deceptive; one of his own rooks is pinned by my Queen, and, though his king-defending knight could technically move, he dare not
-- my follow up move with that h-file thus cleared, rook to h8, would instantly win me the match. A problem my opponent could not solve in time; I won because my opponent's clock ran out.
More a4 action. This time against a lower ranked player; nearly everyone I've showed till now was ranked higher than me, often much higher.
Still a challenge because this is about the worst starting sequence a player can go with. Does allow almost unparalleled ability to chase people away/ bulldoze them around, though. No one wants to trade off a piece for a "mere" pawn.
Trade off is that it leaves gaps in defense on MY side, too. For instance, except for the defense of my center pawns, my opponent would be able to "double team" me, Queen and bishop taking pieces as if they were not there.
Strange to me: Nearly every time I've won with the a4 opening against higher ranked opponents, it's partly been because they castled and I didn't, and I was able, from a quasi-developed "starting" position, to essentially trap them once they did. Here, though against a presumably less experienced and skillful player, I'M all but forced to castle for safety ...
