Chess Training

For many players, the study of openings, besides the lengthy arguments for and against, is a difficult item in our study program to address. Before we get into this discussion, let's be sure we know at least one thing: what opening we want to study. This is not an article about opening repertoire selection. That is a personal choice and is highly stylistic. We simply want to try and articulate proven, efficient methods of how to study the opening of your choice. What that opening is will make virtually no difference here. Part I Phase 1: General Ideas/Specific Goals I have always believed that when you decide to play a certain opening, it should correlate well with your personal ideas of how the fight should be conducted. Not everyone feels comfortable on the black side of the Sveshnikov Sicilian, or the White side of the King's Gambit. But what you do feel comfortable in is an understanding of the basic ideas for that particular opening. Here I am talking about opening-specifi...

I have added a new link to an interesting article on Blitz Chess Theory under Useful Links to the right.

Here is yet another excellent example of corresponding squares from Dvortesky's Endgame Manual and the process one must use to figure them out. f4(w) and f6(b) are in obvious correspondence, for if 1...Kg6 2.e7 Kf7 3.Kxf5 Kxe7 4.Kg6 wins. When White's king is on h4, Black's king must be on g6, and not f6, because of Kh5. So h4(w) and g6(b) correspond. Using these pairs or corresponding squares, we can surmise a third pair by the adjoining squares principle: White: f4 and h4 adjoin g3 Black: f6 and g6 adjoin g7 Therefore, g3(w) and g7(b) correspond. Let's examine f3: f3 Adjoins f4 and g3, whose corresponding squares are f6 and g7. f6 and g7 adjoin to g6, therefore f3(w) and g6(b) correspond. Let's examine h3: h3 adjoins h4(g6 corresponds) and g3(g7 corresponds), and it's corresponding square is f6, which adjoins g6 and g7. Therefore, h3(w) and f6(b) correspond. So far each square we have examined has a single corresponding square for black. Let's go fur...

White to move and win [ 1.Rd8+ Kf7 2.Bc6 Rec7 [ 2...Rbc7 3.Be8++-] 3.Rdd1! 1-0 and Black loses the exchange. ]

Everyone has done it - dropped a 'Chess Turkey' during a tournament, or been the recipient of a 'Chess Turkey'. A Chess Turkey is a game where you or your opponent played terrible and got blown off the board handily, usually in under 20 moves. Do you have a chess Turkey you want to share? Post the pgn here so everyone can enjoy your 'Chess Turkey' for Thanksgiving Day! Be SURE it is properly formatted so others can simply cut and paste it into their chess readers and enjoy! I'll start it off with a classic from my library of 'Chess Turkeys'. The names are changed to protect the guilty and the innocent alike: White: Turkey Reuben Black: Sausage N. Pepper 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 e6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Qb6 5.Nb3 Qc7 6.Bd3 a6 7.Nc3 b5 8.0-0 Bb7 9.Be3 Nf6 10.f4 b4 11.e5 [ 11.Na4 Bxe4 12.Bxe4 Nxe4 13.Qd4 f5 14.Nb6+/=] 11...bxc3 12.exf6 cxb2 13.Rb1 gxf6 14.Bd4 Ke7 [ 14...Rg8 15.Rf2 f5 16.Qe2 Nc6 17.Bxb2=/+] 15.Qg4 [ better is 15.Nc5+/-] 15...d6?? [ 15...h6 16.Nc5 Bd...

Here is a brief synopsis on how I am using the GCTS detailed at ChessOk and summarized here on the blog, modified and altered to fit our needs. I'd also like the readers to post comments on how they use the GCTS and what thier experiences have been so far. Time Being a full-time employee for a non-chess company, my 'chess day' is broken into two parts: My pre-work routine and my evening routine. Between these two study segments I try to get as much done as possible, and on occasion I cannot do anything during my Post-work Routine because of other prior commitments. So my pre-work routine is essential in keeping myself fresh with regards to chess. Originally I had tried getting in 4 time units a day, as called for my the breakdown, by shortening the time unit itself. For example, if I had 2 hours of study time available for the day, my time unit would equal 30 minutes that day. If I had 1 hour, then it would equal 15 minutes. After a while, I found that this resulting in a ...

Here is a classic example of Corresponding Squares and Triangulation: Pairs of Reciprocal Zuzwang exist: d6(w) and d8(b) c5(w) and c7(b) The black zugzwang squares, d8 and c7, border c8. The white zugzwang squares, d6 and c5, border d5. Therefore, d5(w) and c8(b) are also corresponding squares in this position. This essentially means: If White moves his King to c5, Black must be able to play Kc7 If White moves his King to d6, Black must be able to play Kd8 If White moves his King to d5, Black must be able to play Kc8 The sets of squares are said to be in correspondence. Black must avoid moving into a corresponding square without white already occupying the other square in correspondence: If Black plays Kc7, White can win with Kc5 If Black plays Kc8, White can win with Kd5 If Black plays Kd8, White can win with Kd6 So, the goal for white is to force Black to move in the current position, because c8(b) and d5(w) are in correspondence. Unfortunately, it is White's move. White must los...

Check ou the Corus 2007 tournament here.

Black to move and win:

White to move and Draw

Black to move and win

White to move and win

Instructive Endgame Here is a very instructive endgame from the U.S. Chess League Wildcard Round. Thanks to NM Arun Sharma for the analysis. The entire article can be seen at the U.S. Chess League site. Black to move: Can you hold the draw? Highlight below for solution: [ Mikhailuk - Kuljasevic [A29], U.S. Chess League, 2006: 65...Kd7? Black made a big mistake with 65... Kd7? as will later be shown, 65... Ke7 was much better.[ 65...Ke7! 66.Kd5 Kd7 opposition 67.a5 bxa5 68.Kxc5 Ke7! 69.b6 ( 69.Kb6 a4=; 69.Kd4 Kd6 70.c5+ Kc7 71.Kc4 b6 72.c6 Kd6=) 69...a4 70.Kb4 Kd6 71.Kxa4 Kc5 72.Kb3 Kxb6=] 66.Kd5 Ke7 67.a5 bxa5 68.Kxc5 After 68. Kxc5 as shown by the game itself, it appears that Black may be lost since the moving of his King to the d-file allows 69. Kb6 followed by Kxb7 and the advancing of the c-pawn where, due to the location of the Black King, White Queens right after Black and because of his extra b-pawn and better King placement, the ending is then winning for White. However, de...

An excellent example of outflanking and opposition - White to move and win: Highlight below to see solution [ 1.Ka6 Kb8 [ 1...f4 2.b6+-] 2.g3! [ 2.b6? Kc8 3.b7+ Kb8 4.g3 c5 5.Kb5 Kxb7 6.Kxc5 Kc7 7.Kd5 f4! 8.gxf4 Kd7= siezing the opposition] 2...Ka8 [ 2...Kc8 3.Ka7 Kd8 4.Kb8! opposition 4...Kd7 5.Kb7 Kd8 ( 5...Kd6 6.Kc8+-) 6.Kc6 outflanking 6...Kc8 7.Kd5 Kb7 8.Ke5 Kb6 9.Kxf5 Kxb5 10.g4 c5 11.g5 c4 12.Ke4 decoy 12...Kb4 13.g6 c3 14.Kd3 Kb3 15.g7 c2 16.g8Q++-] 3.b6 Kb8 4.Kb5! [ 4.b7? c5 5.Kb5 Kxb7=] 4...Kb7 5.bxc7 Kxc7 6.Kc5 Kd7 7.Kd5+- because White has the opposition, f4 does not work. ]

Chess Corps is having an Ice Cream Chess event at a local mall in the Boston area this Sunday.

I have added a link to an Amazon Book List I will maintain for this blog. Books on this list I will consider as 'must have' books to properly implement the GCTS we articulate here. Again, I encourage everyone to post comments, suggestions, and criticism of the system here at the blog. Your participation is what drives this blog and the user feedback of the GCTS will make it more efficient and better for all!

Item 4 in our GCTS training framework (See "Theory , Theory and More Theory" ) calls for the "evaluation, plan of play and standard tactical methods for approximately 250 endgame positions". Keeping this in mind, where can we get these 250 or so positions? Are they documented? do they even exist? I introduce GM Mark Dvoretsky... Precise Positions In his book " Dvoretsky's Endgame Manual ", the author states that "one should study relatively few positions, the most important and most probable, but study and understand them perfectly...Our basic theoretical knowledge must be easy to remember and comprehend." Dvoretsky calls these Precise Positions . In this great book, there sits 213 Precise Positions, indicated by being printed in blue ink. Dvoretsky goes on to say that " these positions should be memorized and which will serve as guideposts again and again in your games". This practical view, enumerating the positions and supplying ...

White to move and win: Highlight to see solution[ Rozentalis (2565) - Terreaux (2300), Biel (open), 1990 1.Nhxf5!! gxf5 [ 1...Bxf5 2.Qxe7+ Kxe7 3.Bxf5+-] 2.Bxf5 Qf6 [ 2...Bxf5 3.Qxe7+ Kxe7 4.Nxf5++-] 3.Qh5+ Ke7 4.Bxe6 Kxe6 5.Re1+ Kd7 6.Bxd6 Kxd6 7.Qxh6! Ng6 [ 7...Qxh6 8.Nf5++-] 8.Qh2! 1-0 ]

What Is Chess Theory and why is it important? As outlined in a previous post, the GCTS ("Generic Chess Training System") that we are trying to develop here attempts to outline useful self-training methods for each stage of the game as a student progresses. In a recent post, a blogger commented on the lack of Endgame Theory included in the program. Opening and Middlegame 'studies', as opposed to solving problems, make up a fair portion of the program, but there was a lack of endgame study-time alloted. We further went on to elaborate on this missing piece to our chess training puzzle, defending it as being 'included' in the generic Endgame portion of the program. But that does not answer our question: What is Chess Theory? Let's try and define this simply by defining it's components. We all know what 'Chess' is, so: the‧o‧ry   Pronunciation[thee-uh-ree, theer-ee] –noun, plural -ries. 1. a coherent group of general propositions used as principles...

It has happened to everybody. You play a seemingly beautiful move and your opponent drops a capture, check, pin or fork on you that you overlooked. Your first reaction is "$%#^&%!" and your second reaction is "how in the world did I miss that?". This is a frequent occurrence for many lower class players and occasionally happens to upper class (B/A/Expert) players. Here is an exercise to get your mind used to looking for these kinds of moves right off the bat (after all, they are basic tactics and you need to see these first and foremost in a position): Take any GM game and pick a side. Begin to replay the game one move at a time. After each move, write down all the captures, checks, pins and forks that can be made as a next move. Record: Captures: Bxc5 Checks: Bb5+ Pins: Bf5/R/Q (Bishop to f5 pinning Rook to Queen) Forks: Nf5/K/Q (Knight to f5 forking King and Queen) Usually you will be amazed how many of these moves need to be accounted for. The benefit of this...

White to move and win: Keep in mind Botvinnik's Rule of Knight endings: "Knight endings are really pawn endings". If you could win this with knights removed, you should be able to win this with the knights on the board. Highlight below to see solution:[ Bagirov (2475) - Simic,R (2505) Dieren, 1990 - 1.Nc5 Nb5 2.a4 Nd4 3.Kg2 Ke7 4.Kf2 Kd6 [ 4...f5 5.Nd3 -- idea 6.Ne5 Xg6] 5.Ne4+ Kd5 6.Nxf6+ Kc4 7.b5 Kb4 8.Nd5+! Ka5 [ 8...Kxa4 9.b6 axb6 ( 9...a6 10.Ne7! idea b7 ) 10.Nxb6+ Kb5 11.Nd7 Ne6 12.Ne5+-] 9.g4! idea 10.f5 gf5 11.gh5 [ 9.Ke3 Nf5+ 10.Kf3 Nd4+ 11.Ke4 Nf5 12.Ke5 Nxg3 13.Kf6 Nf5 14.Kxg6 Nxh4+ 15.Kxh5 Nf5] 9...hxg4 10.Kg3 Nf5+ 11.Kxg4 Nd6 12.Kg5 Nf5 [ 12...Kxa4 13.Nc7 Nxb5 14.Nxb5 Kxb5 15.Kxg6 a5 16.h5] 13.h5 1-0 ]

Middlegame training focus is primary to improving one's understanding of chess. Components of middlegame training include tactics, pawn formations, minority attacks, IQP positions, how to handle the center and flanks, and pretty much everything you'll find in any chess strategy book. Today we want to talk about how you actually train and exercise your middlegame brain in chess. Hopefully you do not lack the social skills to enlist a similar or stronger strength chess-playing friend. Otherwise, a competent computer opponent (Fritz 8 or better, perhaps) will work just as well. Freebies like Crafty also are usable. Focus To be consistent, we will select middlegames that occur out of our opening repertoire. For example, let's assume you play the Caro-Kann, Nd7 variation as black. You are going to want to get the game to a position where one side has several decent choices to make, and set the position there. This will be your starting position for this training session. Trainin...

"Tal octayotsa Tal." - "Tal is Tal." The Tal Memorial begins tomorrow as a single Round Robin tournament in Moscow, Russia. The lineup includes: # 4 - GM Peter Svidler (Russia 2750) # 5 - GM Alexander Morozevich (Russia 2747) # 7 - GM Levon Aronian(Armenia 2741) # 8 - GM Peter Leko (Hungary 2741) #10 - GM Boris Gelfand (Israel 2733) #12 - GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (Azerbaijan 2728) #14 - GM Alexei Shirov (Spain 2720) #17 - GM Alexander Grischuk (Russia 2710) #20 - GM Ruslan Ponomariov (Ukraine 2703) #21 - GM Magnus Carlsen (Norway 2698) Quite the alignment of players! We look forward to some exciting chess. The time limit is 40/100 G15+30. Mikhail (Misha) Nekhemievich Tal was born in Riga, November 9th, 1936. Tal won the Soviet Championship 6 times (1957, 1958, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978). At the age of 23 in 1960, Tal defeated Botvinnik for the World Chess Championship Title, then a record for youngest champion. In 1988, at the age of 52, he became World Champion in Bli...

Black to move and win: Highlight below to see answer [ Cernin,A (2600) - Polgar,J (2540) New Delhi, 1990 22...Rxg2+!! 23.Rxg2 Bxh3 24.Ne4 [ 24.Bf5 Bxf5+ 25.Kg1 Bh3-+; 24.Kg1 Bxg2 25.Kxg2 Bxc3-+] 24...Ne5! 25.Nxe5 [ 25.Nxf6 Bg4+ 26.Kg1 Nxf3+ 27.Kf1 Qh1+ 28.Ke2 Nd4+-+] 25...Bxe5 26.Ng5 [ 26.f3 Bxg2+ 27.Kxg2 Rg8+ 28.Kf1 Qh1+ 29.Ke2 Rg2+ 30.Nf2 Rxf2+! 31.Kxf2 Bd4+ 32.Ke2 Qg2+ 33.Ke1 Qf2#] 26...Bxg2+ 27.Kxg2 Qxg5+ 28.Kf3 [ 28.Kf1 f3-+] 28...Rg8 29.Ke2 [ 29.Ke4 Qg6+ 30.Kf3 Qg4+ 31.Ke4 f3+ 32.Ke3 Qf4#] 29...f3+ [ 29...f3+ 30.Ke1 Bf4] 0-1 ]

Note: I have been outed! :) Not really, as I was never 'in', but there was a rumor going about that this blogger was the English GM Mark Hebden. I wish. Well, at least the GM part... Sorry to say, I am not him, but simply a USCF Class A player coming out of chess retirement using this blog as a vehicle to help other class players organize their thoughts on how to self-train in chess. I am probably the worst blitz player in the history of the game so take that for what it is worth. But, I am working on that as well... I am making these various ideas available to the public in one place within an environment of free-exchanging ideas so we can bounce these ideas off one another to improve our methods of self-training and to be more productive with the time spent studying chess. This is truly a chess-utopian environment! Thrashing Some of you might know what the term 'thrashing' means. Being a software engineer by trade, I certainly know what the act of thrashing is when do...

Layachi Hamidouche - Les Joueurs d'échecs Training your middlegame play is probably the most difficult aspect of training in chess. Opening training has been reduced to copious amounts of variations and even a simple opening book will suffice to get you through this stage of the game. Endings, in contrast, are very specific and require the knowledge of a few hundred key positions to play well (according to GM's; what those positions are...). However, the elusive middlegame is the place in chess where creativity, original ideas, brilliancies and mistakes take the stage. Here is my take on how to train your middlegame in chess. First, let's define what the middlegame is: Wikipedia says "the middlegame refers to the portion of the game that happens immediately after the opening (usually the first move after the procession of moves that make up a standard opening) and blends somewhat with the endgame. During this time, players will attempt to strengthen their positions whi...

I had a few questions I thought would be useful to answer here from a famous reader known as 'Anonymous': Do you think fast games are better than slow for beginners? No. My belief is that you need to separate blitz from your slow play, meaning that playing too much blitz is detrimental to your slow play because you get into the habit of moving too fast and looking at the position superficially. A good rule is to not play blitz on the same day you are playing a tournament. Period. On off days, play a G10 or G15 game instead of several G5 games as described in the training schedule as "PL" . You'll get a better quality of games and it will translate better to your slow play thinking process. Did you have more intermediate players in mind when formulating the training schedule? This self-training guide - in fact, the entire blog - is devoted to players rated under 2200. All of it applies to players that range from rank beginners to Experts. This particular guide was ...

It will be beneficial to discuss the Generic Training Schedule in more detail here, so let's take a look at the 4-day rotational schedule: Day1 - SO2, VT1 , SG1 Day2 - VE2, PL1, VT1 Day3 - SG1, VG1, PL1, VT1 Day4 - SO2, VE1, VT1 Key: S = Study V = Solve G= Strategy E = Endings T = Tactics O = Openings PL= Play (4x 5min, 3x 10min, 2x 15min games) # = Units of Time You'll notice here that Solving Tactics (VT1) is something that is included in each days schedule. The reasons for this are obvious: Missed tactics result in over 90% of losses at the class level ( AMATEURS PRACTICE UNTIL THEY GET IT RIGHT PROFESSIONALS PRACTICE UNTIL THEY CAN'T GET IT WRONG Further, lets break down the schedule by game phase: Opening: Day1 - SO2; Day4 - SO2; TOTAL: 4 Units Strategy/Middlegame: Day1 - SG1; Day3 - SG1, VG1; TOTAL: 3 Units Endings: Day2 - VE2; Day4 - VE1; TOTAL: 3 Units Tactics: Day1,2,3,4 - VT1; TOTAL: 4 Units One could surmise from this information that Openings and Tactics seem ...

White to move and win: Highlight below to see answer: [ White errored badly here with 51.c5?? [ 51.a4+- a5 52.b5 Kd6 ( 52...Kf6 53.c5+-) 53.Kxf5 Kc5 54.Ke5 Kxc4 55.Kd6 Kb3 56.Kc6 Kxa4 57.Kxb6 Kb4 58.Kc6 a4 59.b6 a3 60.b7+-; 51.Kg5 also wins: 51...Ke5 52.c5 bxc5 53.bxc5 Kd5 54.Kxh5 a5 55.Kg5 Kxc5 56.Kxf5 Kb5 57.g4 Ka4 58.g5 Kxa3 59.g6 Kb4 60.g7+-] 51...bxc5 52.bxc5 52...a5! 53.c6 [ 53.Kg5 Kd5 54.Kxh5 Kxc5 55.Kg6 Kc4 56.Kxf5 Kb3 57.g4 Kxa3 58.g5 a4 59.g6 Kb2 60.g7 a3 61.g8Q a2=; 53.a4 Kd5 54.Kxf5 Kxc5 55.Kg5 Kb4 56.Kxh5 Kxa4 57.g4 Kb4 58.g5 a4 59.g6 a3 60.g7 a2 61.g8Q a1Q=] 53...Kd6 54.Kxf5 Kxc6 55.Kg5 Kb5 56.Kxh5 Ka4 57.g4 Kxa3 58.g5 a4 59.g6 Kb2 60.g7 a3 61.g8Q a2 (90) Game drawn by mutual agreement 1/2-1/2 ]