Zukertort Chigorin in-between knight check: game 1383
In game 1383 I missed a Zukertort Chigorin in-between knight check: on move 15 Stockfish wanted my knight to take Black's knight on e7 with check before my queen took back a pawn on b5. I recaptured straight away, Black's knight took mine, and the evaluation went from +1.24 to -5.47. I later fought back to a winning position against Fooxxx122 (1295) and still lost.
The recorded game
I played this game on March 14, 2025 as White, on my Chess.com account nacsol3. My recorded rating was 1258. It was a ten-minute rapid game without increment, one of the games in the From 631 to 1385 journey.
| Detail | Saved record |
|---|---|
| Game | 1383 |
| Opening | Queen's Pawn Opening, Zukertort Chigorin Variation (D02) |
| Result | Loss (0-1), the record says "Fooxxx122 won - game abandoned" |
| My accuracy | 68.7% (Black 62.0%) |
| My blunders / mistakes / inaccuracies | 7 / 0 / 4 |
| Accuracy by phase | Opening 92.2%, middlegame 62.1% |
| My best winning chance in the game | 91.6% |
| Original score | Chess.com game |
It started at 23:21 UTC, three minutes after I had beaten Rajasonu (1244) in the same opening in game 1382. That week I played the Zukertort Chigorin four times. The weekly diary for that week has the full list; this page is only about the move that turned this game.
How the opening went
The moves were 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 Bf5 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.e3 Nb4. Black's knight jumped forward to b4, eyeing my c2 pawn. I answered 5.Na3, guarding c2 (the engine preferred a bishop check on b5). After 5...e6 6.c3 Nc6 7.Nb5 Bd6 8.Nxd6+ cxd6, my knight had traded itself for Black's dark-squared bishop. The checker notes that 8.Nxd6+ was Stockfish's own choice: a capture with check that also hit the bishop on f5 and the pawn on b7.
Then 9.Qb3 Na5 10.Qa4+ Nc6. Black's knight move to a5 is marked as a mistake by Black (+0.61 to +1.81). I was slightly better and my opening accuracy was fine. The problem started with a natural-looking bishop move.
Position 1: move 11, the bishop goes to b5
I liked 11.Bb5 because it pinned the knight on c6 to the king. A pin is when a piece can't move without exposing a more valuable piece behind it. The saved analysis calls it an inaccuracy (+1.48 to +0.63). The engine's quiet queen move to a3 looks dull to me even now, but it kept the queen on a better diagonal and kept the bishop at home.
The bishop on b5 matters later. It became the piece Black could attack with a pawn, and that is how the trouble on move 15 began.
Position 2: move 15, the check I didn't play
After 11...Ne7 12.O-O O-O 13.Nh4 a6, Black's pawn attacked my bishop. I played 14.Nxf5, taking Black's bishop instead of saving mine. That part was fine; Stockfish agreed. Black then played 14...axb5, taking my bishop (an inaccuracy; the engine preferred taking my knight on f5). Now both sides had something hanging: my knight on f5, and Black's pawn on b5.
I took the pawn with my queen. It felt automatic: they took my bishop, I take back. But my knight on f5 was still attacked by the knight on e7 and the pawn on e6, and Black simply took it. The analysis marks 15.Qxb5 as a blunder and the turning point of the game: +1.24 to -5.47.
The checker describes Stockfish's move plainly: knight takes the knight on e7, check, and they can take the knight back (a trade). Its line is 15.Nxe7+ Nxe7 16.Qxb5. First my knight leaves the danger square by taking something, with check, so Black has no time to do anything else. Then my queen takes the pawn anyway. That is what an in-between move is: you insert a forcing move before the recapture you were always going to make.
What I felt at the board, honestly, was relief at getting my piece back. I didn't count what was still hanging.
Position 3: move 34, back in the game
A piece down, I kept playing. Black made several blunders of their own, and by move 34 Stockfish had me at +2.22. My rooks were on a8 and c1.
My rook went to c7 to attack the undefended knight on b7. The engine wanted the rook on c8 instead, doubling on the back rank against the knight on e8 and the king behind it. After 34.Rc7, Black's rook checked my king from e1 and the evaluation fell to -2.57. I had about two minutes left.
Position 4: move 42, the queen move
The swings didn't stop. Black's 36...Re3 handed me the advantage again, and on move 39 I was at +6.49 with 66 seconds on my clock. I played 39.Rxe8, taking a knight, and the evaluation dropped to +0.08; the engine preferred a queen move to f4. Black's rook then checked my king back and forth, which the engine scored as equal.
With 48 seconds left I put my queen on e1 to block the checks and attack the rook. The checker says it in five words: the queen can now be captured. Black's rook took it with check (42...Rxe1+), and the evaluation went from 0.00 to -7.26. The engine's move was just a king step to f2, which keeps the checks going and the game level. After the queens and rooks came off, Black had a rook and I had only pawns. The game ended after Black's 46th move by abandonment, with 36 seconds left on my clock after my last move.
The lesson of game 1383
The opening lesson is narrow and very concrete. When a capture sequence starts and two of my pieces are involved, I have to count everything that is hanging before I recapture. On move 15 there were two loose things on the board, and a forcing move (a check with the knight) solved both. My automatic recapture solved only one.
The second lesson is about the end of the game, and it connects to the first. Move 42 was again a move made without asking "what can take this?". If you hang your queen in moves like that, the answer on why queens get blundered goes through the usual causes.
What came after
The recorded ratings go 1265 after game 1382, 1258 after this game, and 1266 after game 1384, a short win in the same Zukertort Chigorin against ahmadkordi12 (1190). The week ended at 1283. Those numbers describe what happened next; they don't prove this review changed anything.
Earlier the same day I had a painful draw with Black, described in game 1381. My other Zukertort Chigorin lesson, about a knight move I kept skipping, is a different problem in the same opening. If you want your own games reviewed this way, Chess Coach in Claude or ChatGPT shows the same boards and arrows. The journey hub has the rest of the series.
Frequently asked questions
What is an in-between move?
It is a move you play before the obvious recapture, usually a check or a capture, that the opponent must answer first. In game 1383 the engine wanted my knight to take on e7 with check before my queen took back on b5.
What did 15.Qxb5 cost in game 1383?
A whole knight. Black's knight on e7 took my knight on f5, and Stockfish's evaluation went from +1.24 to -5.47, winning for Black.
Did I come back in the game?
Yes. After several Black blunders the evaluation reached +6.49 for me on move 39, but 39.Rxe8 brought it back to +0.08 and 42.Qe1 lost the queen.
How did game 1383 end?
I lost to Fooxxx122 (1295). The record says Fooxxx122 won by abandonment after Black's 46th move, in an endgame where Black had a rook and I had only pawns.