January 2010 - CHESSKIDZ

Learn to Lose Well

Posted on January 21, 2024 by ChessKidz Administrator

I recently read an old book titled Bringing Out the Best in People by Alan Loy McGinnis and it made me think a lot about what motivated me to want to spend a lifetime digging into analysis and research on a topic so obscure as chess. Being that I am a student and practitioner of business management, I was cruising along enjoying a book on how to better motivate people around me and my eyes were immediately halted from coasting mode when I saw the word chess. The paragraph that engulfed my attention is the following:

“Watch to see where a child’s innate skills or talents lie… then gently lead or coax him or her into those areas. It may be difficult for a father who was a crack athlete to understand a son who would rather play chess than football. But chess, not football, is what such a boy needs if confidence is to grow in him. If he does one thing well he will come to believe that he can do other things well.”

The last sentence reminded me that the main motivating factor avalanching into the force that drives my subsistence is the belief that I can accomplish goals that I set for myself. If you find that you can do something and that the result is better than satisfactory, you may be inclined to give your best effort for other tasks. When I found that one of my favorite things in the world is to play a game of chess well, I found that it was also possible to finish high school and move on to higher education with decent grades. Goal after goal has been set and attained and the inspiration to live life better was found in a complicated game designed to exercise the mind.

Another very interesting section of the book discusses the art of failure. Recently I examined this same issue in another book titled What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20 by Tina Seelig. I had never considered the power that failure can have on a person or questioned what drives someone to seek more punishment with another failure before smashing through the barricades on the path to success until these two books had maneuvered their way into my library. Some people get a taste of failure and choose paths in life to avoid the possibility of future failures as much as possible. On the other hand, some of the most successful people have actively sought the paths that are difficult, failed to reach their goal, learned from their mistakes and eventually trudged onward to the spotlight of victory and triumph. It all depends on attitude and the ability to cope with failure. This short video on success through failure gives some examples of success in the bay area by startups and internet companies.

The truth is that failures make us much stronger in so many ways. It can help us sharpen a skill, teach us the importance of determination or make us reminiscent of some needed humility. The best advice that chess coaches give on a regular basis is to analyze ones games to clear up any incorrect thinking or blunders to help refrain from future failures and chess players experience failure on a constant basis! In business, life or chess, will you flee from past and possible failure or will you show good will for the learning process by learning from your mistakes with the intent to accumulate and realize more failures? One of my favorite quotes comes from Vinnie in the movie Searching for Bobby Fischer “He didn't teach you how to win, he taught you how not to lose. That's nothing to be proud of. You're playing not to lose, Josh. You've got to risk losing. You've got to risk everything. You've got to go to the edge of defeat. That's where you want to be, boy - on the edge of defeat.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnZObWCz0as&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

Think Like a Grandmaster

Posted on January 12, 2024 by ChessKidz Administrator

Alexander Kotov said in his book Think Like a Grandmaster, a grandmaster must:

1: Be well up in modern opening theory.

2: He must know and keep in his memory the principles behind typical middle game positions learned from both games of his own and from those of other players. The more you know and remember, the easier it is to strike upon the correct plan. Learn variations and calculate candidate moves.

3: A grandmaster must be able to assess a position accurately and correctly.

4: A grandmaster must hit upon the correct plan in any given position.

5: A grandmaster must be able to calculate accurately and quickly all the significant variations that may arise.

TIPS: Find candidate moves, analyse, and learn speed of analysis to achieve your greatest potential/opportunities.

Think about moves from a static (body at rest) and then dynamic (body in motion). At a glance know the pieces and pawns on the board. Which opening has this position arisen?

Work on pawn structure, open files, diagonals, and outposts.

Have I ever reached this position before? Have I ever seen similar positions? Hit upon the correct plan.

Solve the problem of who stands better.

Find the strengths and weaknesses of both respective positions.

What is the influence of the center? Who will defend and who will attack? The best answer to a flank attack is a blow in the center.

If the position is quiet or equal, you must maneuver quietly to provoke weaknesses in the enemy camp.

Cross your opponent’s plans if possible. Monkey wrench his plans.

Pro Chess DVD

Posted on January 12, 2024 by ChessKidz Administrator

About three years ago I was analyzing the Pro Chess DVD by GM Yasser Seirawan and decided to create an outline for myself and others to follow along with. It helps to see each idea visually on paper while watching the video and interpreting the information from your TV or PC screen. Follow along and enjoy!

Tactics List

1. Pins (relative, absolute, and cross pin)
2. Double Attacks
3. Battery (double battery)
4. Remove the Defender
5. Interference
6. Fork
7. Zwichenzug
8. Discovery
9. Double Check
10. Skewer
11. Under Promotion
12. Windmill Attack
13. Clearance
14. Overworked Piece
15. X-Ray Attack and Defense
16. Zugzwang

Rules of Attack

1. Don’t exchange attackers for defenders unnecessarily
2. You must have an advantage in order to attack
3. Attack to provoke a pawn weakness
4. Apply the force count – including King

Rules of Defense (Steinitz)

1. Use an economic defense (number of pieces)
2. Avoid pawn weaknesses

Time, Space (whites area and blacks area space count), Force (force count in piece value), and Pawn Structure determine the attacker from the defender and vice versa.

Rules of Time

Ahead in Time
1. Don’t close the position
2. Force pawn exchanges for open lines
3. Look for sacrifices

Behind in Time
1. Exchange pieces
2. Look for sacrifices
3. Counter Attack

Rules of Space

Ahead in Space
1. Don’t exchange pieces
2. Force pawn exchanges

Behind in Space
1. Place each piece effectively
2. Avoid pawn weaknesses
3. Exchange or defend weak pawns
4. Sacrifice for counter play
Exchange pieces

Pawn Structures

1. Weak – islands, isolated, doubled, backward (restrain, blockade, destroy)
2. Balanced – quiet (pieces are not very active), locked (use pawn storms), solid (systems like the stonewall and pawn triangle)
3. Dynamic – passed pawn (protected? split?), majority (create passers), minority attack (create weaknesses for the opponent), hanging pawns

Closed Position = all pawns remain on the board

Half Open Position = one pair of pawns have been exchanged

Open Position = Two or more pairs of pawns have been exchanged

Silman’s Reassess Your Chess and Choosing Candidate Moves

Posted on January 12, 2024 by ChessKidz Administrator

Here is an outline I drew up for myself when I was studying the Reassess Your Chess Workbook by Jeremy Silman. Silman writes in a very easy to understand style and provides information for players who long to escape the constraints of Class E - Expert. He is the author of other great books such as The Complete Book of Chess Strategy and The Amatuer's Mind. I highly recommend his books for anyone who is under the expert class.

1. Rules of the Combination

Open or weakened King position (stalemated King)
Undefended Pieces
Inadequately Defended Pieces (stretched/overloaded pieces)

2. Rules of the Minor pieces

Bishop: Good, Bad, Active – Bad Bishops must be solved by trading it, making it good by getting it outside the pawn chain or opening lines, or making it active and useful.
Bishops love open positions and are better in endgames with pawns on both sides of the board.

Knights: Need advanced support points to be effective. Knights are useful in closed positions. Knights are the best blockaders of passes pawns. Knights are usually superior to the bishop in an ending with pawns on one side of the board.

The Anti Knight Technique: Take away advanced support points for enemy Knights. Is the position open or closed and which piece will be superior? Are their support points for the minor pieces? Can his pieces get there? Does it matter if they do? Plan around these questions.

Two Bishops: The Bishop pair can be amazingly strong. To combat, create a blocked position, create advanced support points for your Knights to triumph, trade off one or both of the opponents Bishops to obtain a more manageable ending.

3. Rules of Space Advantage

The side with less space should initiate exchanges. The side with more space should avoid exchanges. If you have more space, find good outposts for your pieces, find a target and exploit it, or plan a possible breakthrough.

4. Rules of Pawn Structure

Doubled Pawns: Gives you an open file for Rooks, if they are central pawns you get central control, they can be used as backup control for squares, or can be battering rams against the enemy structure. These pawns have the tendency to be weak if they become targets.

Isolated Pawns: Gives you two open files for Rooks, the square in front of these pawns are most important, can be used as a post for pieces, can also be battering rams against the enemy structure, and can make pieces very active with open lines. These pawns also have the tendency to be weak if they become targets. Retain a Rook and a Queen to battle and win the pawn.

Backward Pawns: Is it on an open file? How well is it defended? Is the square in front of it defended? Is it serving a useful purpose (defending pawns, squares, pieces, etc.)? Can it successfully advance? These pawns also have the tendency to be weak if they become targets.

Passed Pawns: If it can be blockaded it is weak unless there is other play on the board. The most important square is the square directly in front of the passer. These pawns should be used as endgame insurance and should be pushed when possible! Knights are the best blockaders of these pawns.

5. Rules of Open Files

Is a penetration along the file possible for either player? Would it even be worth attempting to control or penetrate the file? Can I afford to take the time to control the file or is there more important play elsewhere? If I penetrate the open file does it work with the rest of my pieces and imbalances? Do certain factors in the position call for me to retain at least one Rook? If so, I might want to avoid the heavy exchanges and the file.

6. Rules of Material

Rule One: If you have a material advantage, find a plan that allows you to use the extra wood (trading, attacks, etc.). Don’t forget to play the rest of the game just because you won some material.

Rule Two: When you make a successful strike into the opponents camp and win material, you must often pull your forces back out towards the center reorganize. The reason is that after you fulfill a plan your pieces can often find themselves out of balance and no longer working together. If your pieces stay out of balance, the opponent may be able to launch a successful counter-attack. Material advantage usually proves decisive. Go to rule one.

Rule Three: Take material if you cannot see a reason not to. This puts pressure on your opponent to justify his sacrifice. This induces a certain element of panic sometimes that can send your opponents brain spinning!

Rule Four: When material up, you have the added defensive resource of giving it back if needed to stop an attack. While the opponent scrambles to get the material back, you can often quietly improve your position. You can equalize a difficult position this way, grab the initiative, or gain another advantage such positional plusses.

7. Three Keys to Success

1. Learn to recognize the imbalances and acquire a sense of which will be the dominant imbalance to hold.
2. Strive to prevent the enemy’s counter-play.
3. Never give up! Defend as if your life were hanging in the balance. Fight back with counter strikes!

By acknowledging these concepts and storing them in our long-term memory / subconscious its possible to find accurate plans. Imbalances can help our understanding of a majority of a position's key nuances and recognize the available options quicker. Candidate moves are the key to choosing our path in any given game and finding these moves to decide which is the optimal idea for our personal goal is where a players style can emerge. Silman has a systematic approach to finding each move. If you need a system of "thinking" about chess moves then I recommend his book Reassess Your Chess.

De Legal’s Mate

Posted on January 12, 2024 by ChessKidz Administrator

A famous chess game that was recorded back in 1750 in Paris France and played by Kermur Sire De Legal is a short game that shows the importance of bringing out pieces instead of making too many pawn moves at the wrong time. This games tactical pattern can be seen in other openings and games and stems from the idea of unpinning or "breaking" the pin of a piece.

It is interesting to note that De Legal was possibly the first professional chess player and frequented the very famous Cafe De La Regence in France. One of his students was the very famous Francois Andre Philidor who said at one point that "pawns are the soul of chess".

For a little more detailed write-up and some variations on the famous attack you can visit Legal's Sacrifice on the chess wiki.

The first recorded occurrence of De Legal's trap stems from these moves:

1. e4 e5
2. Nf3 d6
3. Bc4 Bg4
4. Nc3 g6
5. Nxe5 Bxd1 (5... dxe5 6. Qxg4)
6. Bxf7+ Ke7
7. Nd5#

Sit back relax and enjoy my first video lesson!

I plan on producing several short games like this to start assembling YouTube content. My hope is that these videos will find the eyes of fresh players who are looking to build an interest in chess!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8z6qJRPkLJA&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

Rapid Chess Improvement

Posted on January 12, 2024 by ChessKidz Administrator

Back in 2005 I picked up a book at the local Borders book store titled Rapid Chess Improvement by Michael de la Maza. After using the program and integrating a study time to solve puzzles into my schedule, a rapid chess improvement was attained. I believe that the system Michael proposes with the chess vision drills and the seven circles program is comparable to the work that the Polgar sisters participated in at an early age with their father, Laszlo. The idea is to increase your pattern recognition and memory chunking skills to help the chessplayer’s eye catch tactical opportunities quickly. The video My Brilliant Brain reminds us that new connections are physically formed inside the brain to help us recall information faster and to create these connections we must intake new information. In other words, we must continually learn. When we see a position in chess that we have seen before, depending on how much exercise we have put into the process, we should be able to recover the information instantaneously. A position that arises may also be similar to another position you have seen that may involve the same tactical nuance. Having knowledge of these tactics and positions can lead you to the right move or plan in a current game.

Having done the seven circles twice, I can’t tell you exactly how many rating points have been acquired specifically from the program because I am not very active on the tournament level and my studies have been tainted by other outside materials. I have read numerous books that are not merely focused on tactics alone, yet I do agree with Rapid Chess Improvement. You can spend three hours of your time trying to secure a stronger position in a tournament game using opening knowledge and middle game principles just to “drop the ball” and have your game tossed out like refuse when you miss a tactical motif. It is important to set up a proper foundation with tactics and a study plan that contains advice on time management and offers a real focused goal is perfect for adult players. Michael de la Maza achieves this with his method and any Class E – Class A player can benefit from his advice.

There are some things to keep in mind when reviewing his material. Michael did not reach his 400 or 600 (and some sources say 750) rating points only from the seven circles and the method he recommends. He mentions that he “reviewed hundreds of book reviews and dozens of books” and this is part of any players need to achieve results. Most books are tailored to specific openings, a specific collection of games, or some other specific idea. The fact is that there is no true single encyclopedia of chess as a system to improve a player from the bottom to the top of competition levels. Each person looking to improve his or her play must take on the role of self agent or manager and learn to dedicate time and resources to learning, unless they have the benefit of a parent who will participate in that role for them and support them on the path to accomplishment. And the key point is that learning the correct information for your level of play will save you time and heartache. It is true that tactical misses are the most common errors and are the decisive turning point in lower level players’ games. So work on tactics the most until you reach the expert level.

My personal favorite part of the book and the system is that it emphasizes hard work. So many reviews have been ranting that de la Maza is swindling the chess world with this book and that players can’t reach that kind of achievement so quickly only with tactics and that its too hard to do the puzzles and you might have to quit your day job just to study with this method. {LOL!!} Bunch of whining. If you like to eat food you have to work to get money to buy food or grow it yourself. Is there anyone out there who has actually done the seven circles with true effort, analyzing each position to the best of their ability to try to really understand why the tactic works or gets busted and actually became a worse player? The truth is that this system requires a good amount of work and that is the best part! Chess, like anything in life takes hard work if you want to improve. People like Kasparov, Carlsen, Anand, Kramnik, Topolov and all the top players live and breathe chess. They study their own games, they are up to date with the latest theory, they follow the results of other players, they write about chess and teach occasionally, and they are constantly gathering and acknowledging chess data. That’s on a daily basis. We must allocate some time to chess if we want to get results, though we may not have all day every day.

What might be most important here is WHAT you study and I agree with de la Maza’s analysis that tactics can be the heart of your study plan if you are not yet an expert strength player. If you can solve a majority of tactical puzzles that you encounter and do it rather quickly, maybe you don’t need to worry about any tactics lessons. However, it could not hurt to try out the program or skip to the end if you are a real hotshot and dedicate a Saturday to see if you can solve 1200 tactical problems. It is possible, though you may not solve every single one perfectly. Mistakes and inaccuracies are part of the learning process. As a system I would include Reassess Your Chess or the Reassess Your Chess Workbook, alongside the seven circles. This can provide a very well rounded study method for adults. I would also include an endgame book such as Silman’s Complete Endgame Course and suggest finding a few key openings that fit your style of play for completing your study plan. But in all actuality, it is not a bad idea to stick to only tactics if you want to improve your game.

Larry Evans, a Simultaneous Game

Posted on January 12, 2024 by ChessKidz Administrator

I tried everything to post this in some of the cool new technology available out there, but that battle got the best of me tonight. Next time I will try to provide a pgn viewer to make it easier for your benefit. On the other hand I did include some diagrams and the annotation for a game that I played with GM Larry Evans who is the only resident grandmaster in Reno NV where I currently live.

This game was played before the Far West Open at the Sands Regency in Reno 2006. GM Evans was giving a 23 board simultaneous exhibition and I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to play with the legend who befriended Bobby Fischer and was U.S. Champion five times over. Before the game I had recalled seeing a game in the Dutch Stonewall that held Larry to a draw, so I decided to use the opening for my game.

1. c4 f5 2. Nc3 e6 3. d4 Nf6 4. g3 c6 5. Bg2 d5 6. Qd3 Bd6 7. Nh3 O-O
8. O-O Bd7 9. Bf4

White’s move #7 made the game a little more interesting because I expected Nf3. For black to capture the bishop is not a good idea because that would help the knight maneuver to better squares with a threat and make time to fix the knight situation for white.

Be8 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. Rac1 a6 12. f3 Bc6 13. Rfe1 Nh5 14. Bxd6 Qxd6 15. f4

15. e4 changes the game drastically and really proves that the Bc6 will act like a pawn for most of the game. The actual move that was played in the game makes it easier for black to remain in a locked Stonewall.

Nf6 16. e3 Nbd7 17. Nf2 Ne4 18. Nfxe4 dxe4 19. Qe2 Nf6 20. Rc2 Nd5

Doubling rooks on the c-file was a better immediate idea. Blacks mentality here is to keep the locked structure and trade anything that makes a threat. If white ever plans to make any chipping moves at the queenside pawns, he would either still be forced to trade rooks or concede control of the open file. Black is looking for ways to get rid of all the pieces on the board so assume a draw.

21. a3 Qd7 22. Nxd5 Bxd5 23. Rec1 Rac8 24. Bf1 b5 25. Qd2 Bb7 26. Qb4 Rxc2 27. Rxc2 Rc8 28. Rxc8+ Qxc8 29. Qe7 Bd5 30. b4 h6 31. Qc5 Qc6 32. Kf2 Kf7 33. Ke1 g5 1/2-1/2

The final position, as well as others that led to this, show the importance of pawn structure and how to use it to formulate plans. I believe that GM Evans would have preferred a much more open game where he could try to outplay me with pieces, so my idea was to keep a very locked game. However, everything would have been quite different with 15. e4.

A Master’s Drive

Posted on January 12, 2024 by ChessKidz Administrator

In December of 2004 I had the pleasure of teaching a winter-break chess program at the Saint John’s Presbyterian Church in San Francisco for two weeks. During this time is when I met Nicholas Nip who became the youngest USCF Master in history shortly after in 2008. I remember thinking about how intently he looked at the board with focus and patience and this is memorable because only very serious children have the traits to take chess so seriously as young as he was. Nicholas was 6 and approaching 7 years old during our lessons.

This recently brought up a question in my mind. How old do you have to be to guarantee your place in chess history? Nicholas made chess history by achieving the master title at the young age of 9 years and 11 months old beating out Hikaru Nakamura and Bobby Fischer’s records. Most of us will not have the chance to accomplish such a task and our future may seem a bit dimmer than that of young masters, but it is the passion to progress that drives each of us to pursue dreams. I now believe that it is very important to recognize talent at an early age, but the amount of time that one spends alive on the planet earth is not the only factor to achieving greatness. There is always the U.S. Championship and other spectacular events to claim your fame!

Hard work through the proper use of time management is one of the key factors to improving at chess. Some enthusiasts reflect on stories of the greats who studied for long hours of the day (Fischer – 14 hours or more) and learned the game at ripe ages of 3, 4 and 5 years old. The main point is that learning at an early age allows more time for accumulated knowledge over a larger span. It may be more natural to amass experience slowly over time, but I also believe that you can force feed it. Fischer had the benefit of learning young, but his relentless need to study would have carried him to top levels whether he learned at age 6 or 23. Children have the luxury to spend their spare time on things such as chess and adults may have less time, but depending on the environment surrounding someone who wants to excel, the person in question will shape their environment to meet their needs. If your need is to become a master of chess or anything else, I encourage you to continue shaping your surroundings and yourself to reach that goal!

As soon as the instructors of the Academic Chess Institute (an instructional program in California) recognized how strong Nicholas Nip was becoming at the game, they had to quickly find a titled player to provide grandmaster caliber tips and systems. This can become a key turning point in the life of a player. GM Boris Kreiman became young Nip’s coach. I asked him if this was a case of “Searching for Bobby Fischer” such as the story of Josh Waitzkin, not knowing that at one point Boris and Josh were archrivals at a young age! He replied that Waitzkin no longer played very much if at all and that Nicholas will be a very strong player in a short time. I find it interesting that Nip has not played a recorded USCF game in a over a year now since gaining the title, but I do know that he put in a lot of effort studying, more-so than many people are willing to. Most days I have the opportunity to learn from my students and them from me, and Nicholas gave me a great lesson. Continue to strive for what is important to you and never give up on your dreams.