Week 119: the Zukertort Chigorin Variation, two clean Pirc wins and +15
May 18 to 23, 2026 was my best week in a while: 6 rapid games, 1215 → 1230, four wins and two losses, and an average accuracy of 85.6%, the highest of any week from April through May. One of the wins was a Zukertort Chigorin Variation that ended in checkmate on move 22, and it has the most instructive opening moment of the week. The split is the striking part: my four wins had zero blunders between them. All ten of my blunders came in the two losses.
The week in numbers
| Games | 6 |
| Wins / losses / draws | 4 / 2 / 0 |
| Rating | 1215 → 1230 (+15) |
| Average accuracy | 85.6% |
| My blunders | 10 (all in the two losses) |
| With White / with Black | 2–1 / 2–1 |
| Openings | Zukertort Chigorin, Zukertort, Accelerated London, King's Indian Sämisch, Pirc Byrne, Pirc |
With Black, two Pirc games went exactly the way I want the Pirc to go. Against shpetimsadiku (1217) in the Byrne Variation I played 93.6% and my opponent resigned on move 23; against Remember_Hind_Rajab (1235) I played 92.7% and won on move 28. With White, game 2100 against zqueen23 (1221) lasted eight moves: Black blundered on move 7 and the game ended on move 8.
The Zukertort Chigorin game
Game 2095, White against auditorylobby (1190). The game started 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 d5 3.Nf3 Nc6, and after an early trade of dark-squared bishops my h-pawn had recaptured on g3, opening the h-file for my rook. On move 8 Black put a knight on e4. I was clearly better (+2.21).
Bishop to d3 attacks the knight, which looks right. But Black can simply defend it with a pawn on f5, and the engine's evaluation drops. The engine prefers trading knights at once: after the pawn takes back on e4, my other knight goes to d2 and attacks that pawn, which has no defender, and the queen check on h5 comes next. That keeps +2.01; my move gave +0.92.
My opponent didn't defend; they traded on d2, I took back with my king, and Black castled into my open h-file. On move 11 I had a forced mate in six starting with bishop takes on h7 with check. I took on h7 with the rook instead, which was still winning, and delivered checkmate eleven moves later (game 2095).
Where the ten blunders came from
Game 2096: a check that offered a way out
Black against hun2610 (1222), King's Indian Defense, Sämisch Variation. On move 15 I was clearly better (−2.44). White had just pushed a pawn to g4.
The check looks forcing, but it gives White a good answer: block with the queen on d2, which attacks my queen and offers a trade. In the engine's line the queens come off and the position is about equal (−0.50 after my move). Knight to e5 instead attacks two things and keeps all the pressure. In the game White blocked with a knight, and I kept an advantage for a long time: on move 32 the engine had me at −11.26. My king move then turned it into +1.21, and the game was recorded as a loss on move 33 (game 2096).
Game 2099: taking back with a pawn instead of a knight
White against HaWk1626 (1215), Accelerated London, Steinitz Countergambit. Black had just taken a pawn on c4, and I was clearly better (+1.71).
Knight takes back is the move with two jobs: it attacks Black's queen on b6, and moving the knight uncovers my queen's line down the d-file to Black's rook on d8. The pawn recapture does neither, and the engine's line has Black's queen landing on b2, attacking my rook in the corner and the knight on d2. It went from +1.71 to −0.26, and my next move, a pawn to a3, made it −5.18. I lost on move 39 (game 2099).
The lesson of the week
When my opponent makes a mistake, the best reply is usually the one that makes a new threat. In game 2096 that was the knight hitting a bishop and a pawn, not a check that let White offer a queen trade. In game 2099 it was the recapture that attacked the queen, not the one that only restored material. And in game 2095 it was the knight trade that left Black with an undefended pawn on e4. Three times this week, the "natural" move was a little worse than the threatening one.
All games this week
| Game # | Date | Colour | Opponent (rating) | Result | Opening | Accuracy | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2095 | May 18 | White | auditorylobby (1190) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening, Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 92.8% | game |
| 2096 | May 18 | Black | hun2610 (1222) | Loss | King's Indian Defense, Sämisch Variation | 66.5% | game |
| 2097 | May 18 | Black | shpetimsadiku (1217) | Win | Pirc Defense, Main Line, Byrne Variation | 93.6% | game |
| 2098 | May 21 | Black | Remember_Hind_Rajab (1235) | Win | Pirc Defense | 92.7% | game |
| 2099 | May 21 | White | HaWk1626 (1215) | Loss | Queen's Pawn Opening, Accelerated London, Steinitz Countergambit | 71.5% | game |
| 2100 | May 23 | White | zqueen23 (1221) | Win | Queen's Pawn Opening, Zukertort Variation | 96.3% | game |
Previous week: week 118. Following week: week 120. Everything else is on the journey hub, and Chess Coach's AI chess analysis can find moments like these in your own games.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Zukertort Chigorin Variation?
It's the name Chess.com gave my game 2095, which started 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 d5 3.Nf3 Nc6: a queen's pawn opening where Black's knight goes to c6 early. I won it by checkmate on move 22 with 92.8% accuracy.
Is the Zukertort Chigorin good for White at club level?
It worked for me this week, but my record in it is mixed. In weeks 118 and 119 I played it three times: a 97.6% win, an 18-move loss and this 92.8% win.
Do games without blunders really decide your rating?
In my week 119 they did. The four games with zero blunders were all wins; the two games with five blunders each were both losses, even though I had been winning in both of them.