A game I won where I combined tactics and strategy for a win I always prefer open games especially in e4 openings and I am careful not to make mistakes but am always on the lookout for a knockout blow in the form of a winning tactic....
Here I saw him preparing something so I thought I would beat him to it with something of my own..
A average players attempt to achieve a better level of chess play...After rediscovering the game in adulthood.
Tuesday 6 December 2011
Monday 21 November 2011
A two way attack!
One of the most difficult things in a chess game is to calculate both a attack by your own pieces and a defence against a opponents attack at the same time.
Its double the normal calculation then I am used to doing normally I am either attacking or defending but here both combined,so it takes careful study to correctly figure out the move.
It also doesn't help that they're no immediate tactics but rather ones that will show fruition in four or five moves,which adds to the complications.
Its double the normal calculation then I am used to doing normally I am either attacking or defending but here both combined,so it takes careful study to correctly figure out the move.
It also doesn't help that they're no immediate tactics but rather ones that will show fruition in four or five moves,which adds to the complications.
Sunday 30 October 2011
Calculation
Although I managed to win I could've won a lot easier and the amount of tactical combinations which I failed to see in this game could fill a tactics puzzle book.
Just a little calculation could've made the game so much easier,thinking about it I find these can of tactics the hardest the get right the sort where you are forced to allow your opponent a tempo during the attack.
You then have to calculate not just the effectiveness of your own combination his defence to it,
but also wheather or not he can start a attack of his own with the tempo you have given him!
So its three factors which you have to consider instead of the normal two!!
Here queen to d4 presents all sorts of threats and is by for the best move and really gives life to the possibility of a discovered attack against the king 17. Qd4 b6 18. Bxb6 Qc6 19. Bc5 Bd7 20. Bb5 Qd5 21. Qxd5 exd5 22. Bxd7 Ke7
In this position for example a simple winning move would have been Rf2...trapping the queen ..
In this position bishop d7 with the following 27. Bd7 f5 28. Bxe6+ Kxe6 29. Qb6+ Kf7 30. Qf6+ Ke8 31. Qxh8 Qd7 32. Qxh7 Qxa4 33. Bxe7 Qd4+ 34. Rf2 Bxe7 35.
I also missed mating combinations on moves 32 33 34 and 36 although in my defence they were complicated and long combinations...
Just a little calculation could've made the game so much easier,thinking about it I find these can of tactics the hardest the get right the sort where you are forced to allow your opponent a tempo during the attack.
You then have to calculate not just the effectiveness of your own combination his defence to it,
but also wheather or not he can start a attack of his own with the tempo you have given him!
So its three factors which you have to consider instead of the normal two!!
Here queen to d4 presents all sorts of threats and is by for the best move and really gives life to the possibility of a discovered attack against the king 17. Qd4 b6 18. Bxb6 Qc6 19. Bc5 Bd7 20. Bb5 Qd5 21. Qxd5 exd5 22. Bxd7 Ke7
In this position for example a simple winning move would have been Rf2...trapping the queen ..
In this position bishop d7 with the following 27. Bd7 f5 28. Bxe6+ Kxe6 29. Qb6+ Kf7 30. Qf6+ Ke8 31. Qxh8 Qd7 32. Qxh7 Qxa4 33. Bxe7 Qd4+ 34. Rf2 Bxe7 35.
I also missed mating combinations on moves 32 33 34 and 36 although in my defence they were complicated and long combinations...
Wednesday 26 October 2011
What a 1500-1800 player should know.
As a player who is within this rating range I thought I would give a quick overview of my playing style and what a middle rated player should be able to do and their general style of play.
In the opening I will more often then not, at a minimum try to get out of the opening with a fairly equal position I am pretty confident I can get a fairly equal position even against a strong chess engine like Rykba.
A 1500-1800 player should know a few opening very well for example I particulary like playing the Ruy Lopez,The Italian game,The Fork Trick Attack and the Ulvestad Variation of the two Knights Defence.
He should also know how to cease upon any mistakes generally when a opponent neglects making central moves in the beginning and then fails to castle early,and of course the typical beginners mistake of bringing the queen out on the third move.
So in the game above I play against Rykba and can get to move 12 and still have a playable position and could probably carried on for a few more moves the score in the game above is -0.33 after 12 moves.
However this is the opening I am most familar with,the point is that if I could do it against Rykba I can do it against most online opponent,needless to say Rykba has a incredibly high ELO rating.
Once a player stops being crushed in the openning it gives him a increased amount of confidence which can really take his game forward then it all becomes about the tactics of the middle and endgames.
IN THE SICILIAN
The position above is one I managed to attain in the Sicilian opening which is a opening I rarely play,the whole point is that if you can attain playable positions against Rykba 2.2 you can almost certainly attain them against human opponents.
In the opening I will more often then not, at a minimum try to get out of the opening with a fairly equal position I am pretty confident I can get a fairly equal position even against a strong chess engine like Rykba.
A 1500-1800 player should know a few opening very well for example I particulary like playing the Ruy Lopez,The Italian game,The Fork Trick Attack and the Ulvestad Variation of the two Knights Defence.
He should also know how to cease upon any mistakes generally when a opponent neglects making central moves in the beginning and then fails to castle early,and of course the typical beginners mistake of bringing the queen out on the third move.
So in the game above I play against Rykba and can get to move 12 and still have a playable position and could probably carried on for a few more moves the score in the game above is -0.33 after 12 moves.
However this is the opening I am most familar with,the point is that if I could do it against Rykba I can do it against most online opponent,needless to say Rykba has a incredibly high ELO rating.
Once a player stops being crushed in the openning it gives him a increased amount of confidence which can really take his game forward then it all becomes about the tactics of the middle and endgames.
IN THE SICILIAN
The position above is one I managed to attain in the Sicilian opening which is a opening I rarely play,the whole point is that if you can attain playable positions against Rykba 2.2 you can almost certainly attain them against human opponents.
Sunday 16 October 2011
Two Quick Wins!!
In the first game I played white and in the second black..I always love winning minitures and studying them can be highly instuctive..
It always feels rewarding after much concentration to see a move that has such power,a couple of days before I was viewing the famous legal trap opening whose theme has a similar pattern to the winning combination I played in this game and I think I'll make a point of running a eye over the creative offerings of the masters more often.
It always feels rewarding after much concentration to see a move that has such power,a couple of days before I was viewing the famous legal trap opening whose theme has a similar pattern to the winning combination I played in this game and I think I'll make a point of running a eye over the creative offerings of the masters more often.
Wednesday 12 October 2011
Anastasia's Mate
Here's a little tactic I played which proved to be winning just goes to show you never know when these tactical sequences you memorize will come in handy and that you should always play with some kind of plan or scheme in mind.
A bad plan is better then no plan as they say not that it was a bad plan but just a simple one which proved effective.
1.STARTING POSITION
3.SEE IF YOU CAN SPOT THE MOVE
I GIVE A CHECK
4.CHECKING WITH THE KNIGHT
5.INTO A CORNER
HE COULD TAKE WITH HIS QUEEN BUT THIS WOULD END UP LOSING THE QUEEN
6.TIME FOR SACRIFICE
7.ONLY MOVE
CHECKMATE
A bad plan is better then no plan as they say not that it was a bad plan but just a simple one which proved effective.
1.STARTING POSITION
3.SEE IF YOU CAN SPOT THE MOVE
I GIVE A CHECK
4.CHECKING WITH THE KNIGHT
5.INTO A CORNER
HE COULD TAKE WITH HIS QUEEN BUT THIS WOULD END UP LOSING THE QUEEN
6.TIME FOR SACRIFICE
7.ONLY MOVE
CHECKMATE
Saturday 8 October 2011
Friday 7 October 2011
IF THERES ONE ENDGAME YOU LEARN MAKE IT THIS ONE!!
THE LUCENA POSITION
The whole point about this position is that you get to learn how to win a position which is king and rook v king and rook plus one pawn ,the deal is to be able to convert your extra into a queen or force your opponent to trade his rook for your passed pawn thus winning.
As you can see from the diagram the black pawn is one move away from queening so how to finish this position of important to remember this technique can be used even if the pawn is further away from the queening square.
1..FIRST FORCE THE WHITE KING AWAY FROM THE PAWN..
2..NOW BRING THE BLACK ROOK TO THE FOUTH RANK
Very important to remember to bring the rook to the fourth rank as we plan to swap rooks off and
this is a essential component of the plan
3..After the white rook plays g8 to place itself behind the black pawn you simply play kf2 ,white will check on f8 then the king goes to g4 if g8 check then the black rook comes across the block the check.
Ideally you should end up in a position like this ....were the if the rooks are exchanged the white king will not be able to stop the black pawn from becoming a queen.
Its important to remember that your opponent can not easily deviate from the standard moves and if you practice this endgame against a engine you will be surprised at how good you become at it
and how much easier it becomes to understand some of the easier principles of chess,also you will be surprised at how many people do not know how to play a endgame like this properly
The whole point about this position is that you get to learn how to win a position which is king and rook v king and rook plus one pawn ,the deal is to be able to convert your extra into a queen or force your opponent to trade his rook for your passed pawn thus winning.
As you can see from the diagram the black pawn is one move away from queening so how to finish this position of important to remember this technique can be used even if the pawn is further away from the queening square.
1..FIRST FORCE THE WHITE KING AWAY FROM THE PAWN..
2..NOW BRING THE BLACK ROOK TO THE FOUTH RANK
Very important to remember to bring the rook to the fourth rank as we plan to swap rooks off and
this is a essential component of the plan
3..After the white rook plays g8 to place itself behind the black pawn you simply play kf2 ,white will check on f8 then the king goes to g4 if g8 check then the black rook comes across the block the check.
Ideally you should end up in a position like this ....were the if the rooks are exchanged the white king will not be able to stop the black pawn from becoming a queen.
Its important to remember that your opponent can not easily deviate from the standard moves and if you practice this endgame against a engine you will be surprised at how good you become at it
and how much easier it becomes to understand some of the easier principles of chess,also you will be surprised at how many people do not know how to play a endgame like this properly
Monday 3 October 2011
Grinding out a king and pawns endgame
I was playing white in this games and I was happy with the way I played I have included annotations with this game.
IMPORTANT POINTS
Lately like a lot of us who try to improve our chess I have started to try and understand one of silmans ideas where he said when you 're looking for tactics look for double attacks
I think all tactics are essentially double attacks of one kind or another and I think I did this when I move my queen down his side of the board on move 26 and with the following move by bringing my rook down also ...perhaps I should correct myself move a double threat then a double attack but the principle still applies I think...if you make two threats at once often times only one will be able to be defended adequately
IMPORTANT POINTS
Lately like a lot of us who try to improve our chess I have started to try and understand one of silmans ideas where he said when you 're looking for tactics look for double attacks
I think all tactics are essentially double attacks of one kind or another and I think I did this when I move my queen down his side of the board on move 26 and with the following move by bringing my rook down also ...perhaps I should correct myself move a double threat then a double attack but the principle still applies I think...if you make two threats at once often times only one will be able to be defended adequately
Saturday 1 October 2011
Understanding Basics Ideas
These are a list of terms with examples given to better help beginners understand simple strategic
concepts that beginners are always told that they should be aware of.
I try to keep it simple you will understand hopefully after seeing them how to naturally strengthen your position in games..
1...THE ESCAPE SQUARE...
IN THE POSITION IN THE PICTURE THE WHITE BISHOP IS ON A GOOD SQUARE POINTING IN THE DIRECTION OF THE OPPOSING KING.
HOWEVER THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY THAT IT COULD COME UNDER ATTACK FROM THE ADVANCING PAWNS ON THE A AND B FILES SO TO CREATE A ESCAPE SQUARE YOU WOULD NEED TO PLAY C3 A SIMPLE PAWN MORE THAT ALLOWS THE BISHOP TO TUCK IN TO THE C2 SQUARE IF NEED BE .
2...THE KNIGHT OUTPOST...
IN THIS PICTURE THE BLACK KNIGHT IS ON A SQUARE WHICH IS A PERFECT OUTPOST FOR IT BECAUSE IS SIMPLY CAN NOT BE MOVED FROM WHERE IT IS.
NOTICE THAT THE SQUARE IT IS ON IS A SQUARE THAT NO WHITE PAWN CAN ATTACK AND IS DEFENDED BY ONE OF BLACKS OWN PAWNS AND NEITHER CAN THE OPPOSING BISHOP IN THIS CASE ATTACK THE KNIGHT ALTHOUGH ITS THE SITUATION WITH THE PAWNS THAT DECIDES IF ITS A OUTPOST OR NOT.
THIS KIND OF SQUARE IS CALLED A OUTPOST .
NOTICE ALSO THAT IT DEEP INSIDE WHITES HALF IN A CENTRAL POSIION WHICH IS JUST PERFECT POSITIONING.
GOOD OUTPOSTS ARE IN CENTRAL POSITIONS AND IN THE OPPOSING HALF OF THE BOARD IN THIS PICTURE THE KNIGHT IS ON THE 5TH RANK FROM BLACKS VIEW POINT WHICH IS THE BEST RANK FOR IT TO BE ON.
ALTHOUGH 4TH AND 6TH RANK POSITIONING IS ALSO GOOD.
3...THE ISOLATED PAWN...
THE ISOLATED PAWN IS SOMETHING THAT IS BEST AVOIDED AS WELL AS ITS HARD TO DEFEND BECAUSE AS CAN BE SEEN FROM THE DIAGRAM IT HAS NO PAWNS EITHER SIDE OF IT ALSO IT CAN SOMETIMES TAKE A WHOLE PIECE TO DEFEND IT.
A PIECE THAT COULD BE BETTER OF DOING SOMETHING ELSE LIKE ATTACKING
4...HANGING PIECES
concepts that beginners are always told that they should be aware of.
I try to keep it simple you will understand hopefully after seeing them how to naturally strengthen your position in games..
1...THE ESCAPE SQUARE...
IN THE POSITION IN THE PICTURE THE WHITE BISHOP IS ON A GOOD SQUARE POINTING IN THE DIRECTION OF THE OPPOSING KING.
HOWEVER THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY THAT IT COULD COME UNDER ATTACK FROM THE ADVANCING PAWNS ON THE A AND B FILES SO TO CREATE A ESCAPE SQUARE YOU WOULD NEED TO PLAY C3 A SIMPLE PAWN MORE THAT ALLOWS THE BISHOP TO TUCK IN TO THE C2 SQUARE IF NEED BE .
2...THE KNIGHT OUTPOST...
IN THIS PICTURE THE BLACK KNIGHT IS ON A SQUARE WHICH IS A PERFECT OUTPOST FOR IT BECAUSE IS SIMPLY CAN NOT BE MOVED FROM WHERE IT IS.
NOTICE THAT THE SQUARE IT IS ON IS A SQUARE THAT NO WHITE PAWN CAN ATTACK AND IS DEFENDED BY ONE OF BLACKS OWN PAWNS AND NEITHER CAN THE OPPOSING BISHOP IN THIS CASE ATTACK THE KNIGHT ALTHOUGH ITS THE SITUATION WITH THE PAWNS THAT DECIDES IF ITS A OUTPOST OR NOT.
THIS KIND OF SQUARE IS CALLED A OUTPOST .
NOTICE ALSO THAT IT DEEP INSIDE WHITES HALF IN A CENTRAL POSIION WHICH IS JUST PERFECT POSITIONING.
GOOD OUTPOSTS ARE IN CENTRAL POSITIONS AND IN THE OPPOSING HALF OF THE BOARD IN THIS PICTURE THE KNIGHT IS ON THE 5TH RANK FROM BLACKS VIEW POINT WHICH IS THE BEST RANK FOR IT TO BE ON.
ALTHOUGH 4TH AND 6TH RANK POSITIONING IS ALSO GOOD.
3...THE ISOLATED PAWN...
THE ISOLATED PAWN IS SOMETHING THAT IS BEST AVOIDED AS WELL AS ITS HARD TO DEFEND BECAUSE AS CAN BE SEEN FROM THE DIAGRAM IT HAS NO PAWNS EITHER SIDE OF IT ALSO IT CAN SOMETIMES TAKE A WHOLE PIECE TO DEFEND IT.
A PIECE THAT COULD BE BETTER OF DOING SOMETHING ELSE LIKE ATTACKING
4...HANGING PIECES
My game against a beginner!
This is one of my games against a beginner on chess.com we started the game from the standard Ruy Lopez just after the white pieces have castled after the you view the game I will give some tips to beginners on how to improve beware that it can be a long process.
For example it took me about 3 years to go from the level he is now to my level of play today,so the tips I will give are intended to speed this process up somewhat,thats what am hoping anyway.
WHAT CAN BE LEARNT FROM THIS GAME?
1...TRY TO PLAY SENSIBLE OPENINGS NOT A WEIRD BEGIINERS OPENING WHERE YOU MOVE THE KNIGHT 3 TIMES AND DON'T GET TO CASTLE AND STUFF. CHOOSE A OPENING TO PLAY AS WHITE AND STICK TO IT.
LEARN ABOUT IT AND OFCOURSE THE MOVE YOU PLAY IT THE MORE ACCOMPLISHED AT IT YOU WILL BECOME.
2...TRY TO CHOOSE A OPENING THAT IS EASY TO UNDERSTAND AND WHICH OCCURS REASONABLY FREQUENTLY
3...WHEN YOU PLAY A ATTACK LOOK TO SEE IF YOUR OPPONENT CAN PREVENT IT BY SIMPLE COUNTING OF HOW MANY MOVES IT TAKES TO ENFORCE THE PLAN AND HOW MANY MOVES YOUR OPPONENT NEEDS TO PREVENT IT.
4...WHEN YOU ARE A PIECE DOWN DO NOT SWAP OFF FURTHER PIECES BECAUSE NEEDLESS TO SAY YOU WILL BE THE ONE TO RUN OUT OF PIECES FIRST AND BE LEFT WITH ONLY PAWNS,WHILE YOUR OPPONENT WILL STILL HAVE ONE PIECE...ALTERNITIVLEY IF YOU ARE A PIECE UP SWAP OFF UNTIL YOUR OPPONENT HAS ONLY PAWNS LEFT.THIS IS THE EASIEST WAY TO WIN A GAME THAT YOU ARE ALREADY WINNING.
5...MAKE SURE THAT IF ONE OF YOUR PIECES IS ATTACKED IT CAN RETREAT TO A SAFE SQUARE THESE ARE CALLED "ESCAPE SQUARES".
For example it took me about 3 years to go from the level he is now to my level of play today,so the tips I will give are intended to speed this process up somewhat,thats what am hoping anyway.
WHAT CAN BE LEARNT FROM THIS GAME?
1...TRY TO PLAY SENSIBLE OPENINGS NOT A WEIRD BEGIINERS OPENING WHERE YOU MOVE THE KNIGHT 3 TIMES AND DON'T GET TO CASTLE AND STUFF. CHOOSE A OPENING TO PLAY AS WHITE AND STICK TO IT.
LEARN ABOUT IT AND OFCOURSE THE MOVE YOU PLAY IT THE MORE ACCOMPLISHED AT IT YOU WILL BECOME.
2...TRY TO CHOOSE A OPENING THAT IS EASY TO UNDERSTAND AND WHICH OCCURS REASONABLY FREQUENTLY
3...WHEN YOU PLAY A ATTACK LOOK TO SEE IF YOUR OPPONENT CAN PREVENT IT BY SIMPLE COUNTING OF HOW MANY MOVES IT TAKES TO ENFORCE THE PLAN AND HOW MANY MOVES YOUR OPPONENT NEEDS TO PREVENT IT.
4...WHEN YOU ARE A PIECE DOWN DO NOT SWAP OFF FURTHER PIECES BECAUSE NEEDLESS TO SAY YOU WILL BE THE ONE TO RUN OUT OF PIECES FIRST AND BE LEFT WITH ONLY PAWNS,WHILE YOUR OPPONENT WILL STILL HAVE ONE PIECE...ALTERNITIVLEY IF YOU ARE A PIECE UP SWAP OFF UNTIL YOUR OPPONENT HAS ONLY PAWNS LEFT.THIS IS THE EASIEST WAY TO WIN A GAME THAT YOU ARE ALREADY WINNING.
5...MAKE SURE THAT IF ONE OF YOUR PIECES IS ATTACKED IT CAN RETREAT TO A SAFE SQUARE THESE ARE CALLED "ESCAPE SQUARES".
Wednesday 28 September 2011
Opening tricks and tips!
A few tricks and traps in the opening are always something that can make the game a lot more exciting and interesting .
Its not always possible to play them against everybody because your opponents will most likely to prepared in many cases.
The point is however that if you know them then other players can't play them against you!!
1.The Fork Trick...A opening that gives you wining chances based on quick castling queen and bishops attacking like mad!Theres a very good videos online by someone called Brian Wall about this opening .One of the good things about it is that not too may people know it.
2.The classic Fishing Pole knight sacrifice leads to winning attack down the h file again great video by Brian Wall somewhere online.
Its not always possible to play them against everybody because your opponents will most likely to prepared in many cases.
The point is however that if you know them then other players can't play them against you!!
1.The Fork Trick...A opening that gives you wining chances based on quick castling queen and bishops attacking like mad!Theres a very good videos online by someone called Brian Wall about this opening .One of the good things about it is that not too may people know it.
2.The classic Fishing Pole knight sacrifice leads to winning attack down the h file again great video by Brian Wall somewhere online.
Monday 26 September 2011
TACTICS STUDY
This is the section of my blog where I talk about tactics and there is a chess viewer underneath
with various tactics puzzles just look at the little rectangle at the bottom right of the viewer to see if its white or black move and try to see if you can guess the next move.
As we all should know tactics are the single most important way of improving chess play and that
means solving puzzles.
Recognizing these patterns is the key to improving and I play to include 2-3 hundred puzzles on this blog eventually .
The chess tactics tab at the top of the web page contains a viewer which has the all the puzzles I have added so far.
THE IMPORTANCE OF REPETITIVE TACTIC CYCLES
One of the best ways to ingrain tactics and tactical themes into your mind is to continuously go
over the same tactics over and over again until you have them firmly established in your mind.
Lets just say you have a set of 300 tactical puzzles you would go through over and over again until you have these patterns ingrained I plan to include 300 puzzles in the viewer for people to go through eventually.
Click on the tactics tab at the top to see all the puzzles I have collected so far
with various tactics puzzles just look at the little rectangle at the bottom right of the viewer to see if its white or black move and try to see if you can guess the next move.
As we all should know tactics are the single most important way of improving chess play and that
means solving puzzles.
Recognizing these patterns is the key to improving and I play to include 2-3 hundred puzzles on this blog eventually .
The chess tactics tab at the top of the web page contains a viewer which has the all the puzzles I have added so far.
THE IMPORTANCE OF REPETITIVE TACTIC CYCLES
One of the best ways to ingrain tactics and tactical themes into your mind is to continuously go
over the same tactics over and over again until you have them firmly established in your mind.
Lets just say you have a set of 300 tactical puzzles you would go through over and over again until you have these patterns ingrained I plan to include 300 puzzles in the viewer for people to go through eventually.
Click on the tactics tab at the top to see all the puzzles I have collected so far
Thursday 15 September 2011
A BEGINNERS TALE
As a beginner I spent many games attempting to improve and get better at this fascinating game of Chess.
Gradually and with after overcoming many obstacles I managed to attain a more intermediate level of play at least on the FICS server and at Chess.com.
Am here to chronicle my attempt to get from where I am now to a 2000 level which will not be easy ,and am here to share what I have learnt up this blog which I have entitled chessbeginner2expert with people who are still struggling even to attain a moderate level of playing skill.
Below is a my most recent game that I played on the FICS server see if you can spot my winning tactics I was playing white.
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