Alrighty, here's the Angel vs Kismet post game analysis. I'm going to mostly focus on things I picked up on in Angel's gameplay, and how I was able to take advantage of them. I'll also talk a little about my own thought processes for determining my moves. Unless otherwise stated, it is Angel's turn in each screenshot.
1. Here we have the first real committed attack of the game. Angel placed her Knight in position ahead of time, and moved up her Bishop the following turn to threaten my Queen. I responded by moving a Pawn to f6, forcing her to retreat.
Pawns would go on to play a huge role in this game, and this exchange highlights why you can't sleep on the little guys. Even though Angel was sneaky and set up her Knight the previous turn, neither of us had really had the time to deploy our pieces. As such, my Pawns were still in a nice defensive line, and none of Angel's other pieces could support the Bishop's attack.
More than simply preventing the loss of my Queen, however, this exchange cost Angel the initiative. By using a Pawn to directly challenge the Bishop (countering the attack with an attack of my own), two things happened. First, I did not have to move any pieces out of position, and secondly, Angel was forced to use her turn defensively, without applying any pressure. This essentially gave me a free turn to advance my own pieces, forcing her to react to my moves instead of dictating them.
Despite all that, this wasn't a super important exchange all on its own. Its most lasting effect was that it seemingly threw Angel's game off, spooking her into playing defensively. It's also a good demonstration of how I personally try to make my decisions when pressured. If the option exists, I will always try to defend against an attack by attacking myself, for the positional reasons listed above.
2. Here we have my counterstroke. Angel's Bishop has been forced back, and I've advanced my own to threaten her Knight. Her c3 Pawn is also threatened, and is in fact the true target of the attack. This exchange highlights what I think was Angel's biggest weakness this game - getting spooked into moving when she didn't need to.
In response to the threat from my Bishop, Angel moves her Knight to d2, clearing me to take her Pawn and setting up a play on the Queen. However, Angel's Knight was perfectly safe. It is flanked here by both a Rook and the Queen, either of which would have taken my Bishop had I attacked. In fact, had I taken the Knight, Angel's Queen would have been free to advance out from behind her Pawns and wreak havoc on my forward pieces.
3. Here we have one of my moves to consider. The previous moves have led to a scenario where I'm free to take Angel's Queen, but I do not. Instead, I advance a Pawn to g5 and place Angel in a fork. This is probably the most questionable move I made, so I want to explain my thought process a little.
With my c2 Pawn covered by my Bishop, I was fairly certain that Angel would leave it alone, and would be unwilling to sacrifice a Rook or her Queen to take it. By holding its position and not attacking, my Pawn trapped Angel's Queen and Rook behind her own pieces. At the same time, I was able to guarantee the capture of one of Angel's more threatening pieces. It actually took quite a bit of deliberation to determine which one I wanted to take. The Knight was more immediately dangerous and impeding my advancement into the center, but I felt that the Bishop was the more dangerous piece overall. Even tucked away as it was, it could still attack directly down around her Queen and King, so I elected to capture it over the Knight.
4. A few moves later and I'm considering lining my Rooks up behind my Queen and suicide rushing the center. I move my Queen up to prepare for the assault, but Angel perceives it as an attack on her f4 Knight. And in truth, that's the most logical conclusion to reach. Whether she keeps the Knight in place or moves it
at all, I will be able to take the Knight if I want to. Once more though, Angel's piece is actually perfectly safe. With her Pawn protecting the Knight, the only way I could take it would be to sacrifice my Queen - a completely unacceptable trade. Feeling pressured and jittery, she moves her Knight upward and loses it.
5. Here we have the exact same situation, but in reverse. Angel has moved her Bishop up to threaten my Knight, but I know she can't actually attack it while my b7 Pawn protects it. Knowing my Knight is safe, I ignore the threat and move my Pawn to d4, where it will either take Angel's Pawn next turn or be captured. Either scenario will allow me to freely advance my Queen.
5. Here we find Angel in dire straits. My c2 Pawn is still trapping her Queen and Rook, and her Knight is pinned by my Bishop and cannot move. Next turn my e3 Pawn will take her Knight, and force her King to retreat while I capture her Queen
and promote a Pawn.
However, Angel avoids all of this by Castling to the right, saving her Queen, relieving pressure on her King,
and freeing one of her Rooks, all in one move. Not only that, but she now has a Queen and both Rooks lined up on a single Row, with each one covering the other. The amount of things this single move does is absolutely incredible.
6. Here Angel's skittishness gets her again. My second Queen has pinned Angel's Rook, and she cannot move it without exposing her King. However, it can still be made into a fairly strong position by moving the King to f2, thereby covering it with both royal pieces. I only point out this one possible move because Angel consistently responded to pressure by moving the threatened piece, rather than attacking or reinforcing the position.
And that's it! Probably. The biggest suggestion I have for Angel is...relax.
Just because a piece is under threat, doesn't mean it has to be moved. Sometimes it should be, but sometimes it's better to cover it with something else, or just to do nothing at all. And sometimes it's ok to lose pieces! If we end up trading blows and you lose one less piece than me, or less important pieces, that puts you at a positional and numerical advantage.
You got spooked right at the beginning and let it get to your head, but you definitely have the wiles to pull of some sneaky maneuvers and be a super dangerous threat. Breath deep, exhale, and kick some ass. <3
