# Week 97: should I take the b7 pawn with my queen? Two games, two losses

> Week 97 of my chess diary: 1353 → 1337 after two losses. My queen took the b7 pawn, I missed a winning check and got mated on move 16.

- URL: https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2025-w49/
- Updated: 2026-10-22
- Author: Ignacio Soler

Two games, two losses. Between December 2 and December 6, 2025 my rapid rating went from
**1353 to 1337** (−16), two weeks after my peak of 1385. The first game turned on a question every
London-style player meets sooner or later — should I take the b7 pawn with my queen? I did, and on
move 16 I was checkmated. The second game was lost the other way round: I captured something on one
side of the board while one of my own pieces was already attacked on the other.

## The week in numbers

| | |
|---|---|
| Games | 2 |
| Wins / losses / draws | 0 / 2 / 0 |
| Rating | 1353 → 1337 (−16) |
| Average accuracy | 65.0 % |
| Blunders | 4 |
| Openings | Queen's Pawn Opening, Zukertort Chigorin (1) · Modern Defense with 1 e4 (1) |

The 65.0 % average hides two very different games: 48.9 % in the first and 81.2 % in the second.
Four blunders in two games is a lot. One came in the opening and three in the middlegame, and none of
them happened with a low clock — in a 10-minute game I still had more than seven minutes when I made
the worst one.

## Should I take the b7 pawn with my queen? Game 1881

Against **Ulugbekhajiyew11 (1364)** I had White and played my usual setup: d4, Bf4, Nf3, e3, c3.
After nine moves my queen was on b3, looking at the pawn on b7. I took it with 10.Qxb7. The engine calls
that a mistake (+0.20 → −1.22): Black answered 10...Rfb8, a rook landed on the open b-file attacking my
queen, I went to a6, and 11...Rxb2 put a black rook on my second rank. The calm 10.Nxe4 (knight takes
the bishop and attacks Black's queen) kept everything equal. Two moves later came the real blunder.

> **Move 12: only Black's knight on c6 stands between the two queens**
> Position (FEN): `r5k1/p1p2ppp/Q1nqpn2/3p4/3Pb3/2P1PN2/Pr1N1PPP/R3KB1R w KQ - 0 12`
> Played: c4 — c4 — pawn from c3 to c4, ignoring my queen
> Better: Bb5 — Bb5 — bishop attacks the knight on c6

Look along the sixth row: Black's queen on d6, the knight on c6, my queen on a6. If that knight moves,
my queen is attacked. The engine's answer to 12.c4 is exactly that: 12...Nb4 attacks my queen, which
has no defender, and opens the line for Black's queen at the same time. That is a *discovered attack* —
one piece moves and uncovers an attack by the piece behind it. The engine's line (13.Qxd6 cxd6 14.Rd1
Rxa2) ends with Black winning (−5.68). With 12.Bb5 the bishop attacks the knight first and Black is
only slightly better (−1.35). The game is [on Chess.com](https://www.chess.com/game/live/146230456938).

My opponent didn't find 12...Nb4. They played 12...Qb4, I took the knight with 13.Qxc6, and after
13...Bxf3 the evaluation jumped to +8.84 for me. The winning move was 14.Qxa8+, taking the rook with
check. I played 14.Be2, attacking the bishop on f3 instead, and the game ended at once: 14...Qxd2+
15.Kf1 Qxe2+ 16.Kg1 Qxf2#. A checking capture that wins a rook was right there and I chose a quiet move.

## A bishop left hanging: game 1882

Four days later, as Black against **guhan_parthasarathy (1369)**, I played the Modern Defense (1.e4 g6).
On move 15 White pushed 15.d4, attacking my bishop on e5.

> **Move 15: White's d-pawn attacks my bishop on e5**
> Position (FEN): `r2qk2r/1ppn1p1p/p1np2p1/4b3/3PP1b1/1PN3P1/PBPQN1BP/R3K2R b KQkq - 0 15`
> Played: Bxe2 — Bxe2 — my other bishop takes the knight on e2
> Better: Bg7 — Bg7 — the attacked bishop goes back to g7

I took a knight with my other bishop, 15...Bxe2, as if a trade would solve everything. It doesn't:
White doesn't have to take back on e2. The engine's line is 16.dxe5, taking my bishop on e5 first; my
bishop on e2 then has to run and White is a piece up (+4.62). Retreating with 15...Bg7 left White only
slightly better (+1.21). My opponent played 16.Nxe2, and by move 24 the engine had the game level
again (+0.04). Then 24...Nfxe4 gave away a piece for good (+5.84), and Chess.com records the game
as [abandoned on move 34](https://www.chess.com/game/live/146375345900).

## The lesson of the week

Before taking anything, I need to ask what my opponent's last move attacks. In game 1882 the pawn on
d4 attacked my bishop and I looked somewhere else. In game 1881 Black's rook and queen were lined up
against my queen while I pushed a pawn on the other side. And when a capture comes with check, like
14.Qxa8+, I should look at it first, because checks and captures are where the big swings hide. The
b7 pawn itself wasn't the whole problem: taking it sent my queen far away from my king, and Black's
rooks used the open b-file to chase her and to get into my position.

## All games this week

| Game # | Date | Colour | Opponent (rating) | Result | Opening | Accuracy | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1881 | 2025-12-02 | White | Ulugbekhajiyew11 (1364) | Loss | Queen's Pawn, Zukertort Chigorin | 48.9 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/146230456938) |
| 1882 | 2025-12-06 | Black | guhan_parthasarathy (1369) | Loss | Modern Defense with 1 e4 | 81.2 | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/146375345900) |

Previous: [week 96](/journey/week-2025-w48/) · Next: [week 98](/journey/week-2025-w50/) ·
[All weeks of the journey](/journey/) · Want this for your games?
[Review your own games like this](/features/ai-chess-analysis/).

## FAQ

### Should I take the b7 pawn with my queen?

Only after checking what can attack the queen next. In my game 1881, 10.Qxb7 was rated a mistake (+0.20 to −1.22): a black rook came to the b-file, my queen had to run to a6 and Black's rook took my b2 pawn.

### What was better than taking on b7 in that game?

The engine preferred 10.Nxe4, swapping my knight for Black's bishop on e4 while attacking the queen on d6. It kept the game about equal (+0.23).

### How did the b7 game end?

With checkmate on move 16. I had 14.Qxa8+, taking a rook with check and completely winning, but played 14.Be2 and was mated three moves later.

## Related

- [From 631 to 1385: my chess journey in 2,117 games](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey.md)
- [Week 96 (Nov 2025): after the peak, two London lessons](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2025-w48.md)
- [Week 98 (Dec 2025): a rook captured with check](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2025-w50.md)
- [Free AI chess analysis of your games, explained](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/features/ai-chess-analysis.md)