I'm going to start updating my blog again. I have a lot of games to review. Also, sorry that all the links don't work anymore, I need to find somewhere to host my files and I will have all my old games back online. If anyone knows a good place to do this let me know. Hi again everybody.
Over the last few months I decided I would pursue an MBA in the fall. The good news, I got into the school I want: University of Toronto. The bad news: I have to move before the club championship will be over. Last night my friend came into town and I decided to just concede my match because I will not be able to play in the finals and I wanted to hang out with my friend. I know, very anti-climactic.
I am not really happy with my game from Thursday although it is very very interesting. Basically I closed the position up completely leaving my opponent with one file with which to penetrate which was not enough for him to find an advantage. After 30 moves of trying to get in while I just moved my king back and forth (some other pieces too but in reality I was doing nothing for the last 30 moves of the game). My opponent gave up and agreed to a draw. I set up a fortress and waited for him to give up.
At some point during the day I decided that I would rather try to win with White and take all the pressure off. I'm not sure that this was the best choice and I really wish the match was over already but I lived to fight another day. After butchering the opening I was in no position to make a real fight for the advantage so I just drew and moved on.
Also charging king is back with a new blog just wanted to let everybody know, check it out!
Since LEP asked so nicely, here is the game.
The original pawn sacrifice 13.f4 may be a little worse for White but I wanted to give the position the rather distinct character that I have been achieving good results in lately. After 22...Qxd2 Black forfeits all chances of winning and for the rest of the game I am never worse, there are times Black is able to put up more resistance but in essence I am risking absolutely nothing and playing to win on a mistake from Black. The beauty of the queen trade is that Black is forcing the pawn up endgame he achieves after the exchange of rooks on c3 and this seems to make him an overwhelming favorite, so it is difficult to resist. But once he accomplishes this position he realizes that the ball is really in my court. This was an ideal position for me to be in considering if I lost I would be eliminated. Tonight is the same, if I lose it is over. But... if I win it is over too...
Last night I played a little wild. I ditched the d4 experiment for the time being and went with my beloved e4. I scored the point. I found a pawn down ending that I thought offered me good winning chances. I'm very happy about the result, although to be honest, I all but guaranteed it to several people and all day I knew I would win the game. My friend asked me earlier in the day if I knew how it felt to just know you would get an A on a test, I said that's how I felt about my game. I made pretty good decisions, I took some unnecessary risks, but if there is one thing that I have learned from this match it is that Case does not want to enter a tactical battle. He tries to keep the game very calm. So I livened things up a bit to see how he would react. It was a very interesting game. I had to win though, I hadn't won in three weeks, I was getting anxious about it.... 1.5-1.5 with one game to go, I'm black but I don't think that's going to stop me from playing for the win.
PS Chess? thanks for the support. Also who ever else is out there, thanks.
On Thursday I did not get any real chance for advantage and got frustrated and blundered away the draw. But... I did not give up and I drew the pawn down endgame anyways. Very reminiscent of the games at the Far West Open, I was down a pawn but my opponent was unable to make any progress. Anyways now I am down 1.5-0.5 so not out of this yet but I need a win very badly.
I finished the qualifier with 10/10, I did not end up playing the 11th game (incidentally against the highest rated player). But in spite of this I clinched the top seed from my group and have begun my match with Bill Case. I played 1.d4 in the first game. I also played this opening in the last game of the qualifier and scored a nice win. This game did not go so well for me. He played the Dutch, which I did not expect although I was not altogether unprepared. After an uninspiring opening I reached a roughly equal endgame and played very poorly, giving up my first loss at the Reno Chess Club in 2009. I completely lost the thread. It was a breakdown. I thought it would be pointless to go over the game until I am finished with the matches (or match if I cannot get out of this hole). I already know I can play better, it's stupid to look at how poorly I played, this will just be discouraging. I do not think the opening had much to do with the loss, I just didn't show up. Anyways, Game 2 is coming up tonight and I have the Black pieces. Down 1-0 with the Black pieces is a tough spot, especially considering it is only a 4 game match so I am already running out of time. He played well in the first game and I am just going to have to bring the A game out tonight. If I really believe that I can play at the master level then I need to be able to win games like this. Also if I win this match then in all likelihood I get a match with Garingo which I think everyone at the club has wanted to see (including us). I am very disappointed that I did not just lock down the half point in the first game. I was hallucinating. Anyways this was pretty much just a pity rant but hopefully tomorrow I'll have better news.
Last weekend I decided to play in the Far West Open tournament in Reno. I did not do very well. The first three games I played fine but in the last three games I found trouble keeping up. I think this is a symptom of not playing tournaments for the last 10 months. On Thursday I was in an experimental mood and opted for a position that stirred up some discussion at the club. Here is the game. There is more analysis after the break.
In winning this game I have clinched a spot in the next stage of the Reno Championship. This was not something I was very worried about but it was nice to clinch.
I want to talk about the exchange sacrifice. There are actually several motives behind the move 12.axb4. First as I discussed briefly in the notes I felt that the position after the exchange sacrifice was about equal but I was looking to be the one pressing. In the other lines that do not include the exchange sacrifice I do not get as much pressure on the Black position. Additionally, think about how this sacrifice affects Black. He played an innocent looking move, Bb4, the last thing he expects is for me to snap this bishop off. Although he has not yet equalized, his pieces are well placed and he will soon castle. My move changes the situation dramatically. Now Black must make an escape with his queen and his pieces become somewhat confused. The fact that the queen must spend several moves extracting herself from the queenside convinced me that I would be able to develop play on the kingside in the meantime. So psychologically after this move Black has a very different task and must completely change gears.
There is a factor that contributed more to my decision to play this move than the soundness of the sacrifice however. I believed it to be sound enough to play and I also believed there were alternatives that were strong. But the reason that I played the move is because last weekend at the Far West Open when I played Black I sacrificed a pawn in all three games. And in all three games I found compensation for the pawn quite easily (although I ended up losing two of these games). But the point of all this is that I was interested in the topic of positional compensation and this is why I entered the line in the game. I was just looking for further practice in a game with a material imbalance. These are topics that I have been studying a lot over the last 18 months, the positional pawn and positional exchange sacrifices. And only in the last 10 days or so do I feel that I have really begun to wrap my head around what constitutes positional compensation. So I wanted to show what I learned. I recognized immediately that no matter what happened I would have good drawing chances with the dark squared bishop for the rook so really I was never afraid of losing. And it turns out that I have strong compensation for the exchange and I carry a slight edge for almost the entire game, although the game is very close for some time. It is also interesting to note that at no time does Black have a decisive advantage, while I overlooked several immediate wins and finally managed to force one in time trouble. So in reality there was very little risk in playing 12.axb4, although it appears that this is simply a blunder (how can allowing Black to win the exchange with check be good?). While the upside potential to this move can be seen as soon as Black makes an inaccuracy which is inevitable in the complicated position that arises. I cannot say that I am surprised that White finds compensation in nearly all lines, I was confident when I played the move that it was not horrible. I find this game and the games I played with Black over last weekend to be very encouraging, my quest to understand these tricky positional sacrifices is finally bearing fruit.
The reason that I am so concerned with these sacrifices is because I believe that they are crucial to success at the 2000+ level. The idea is that we must get our opponent to accept a bad variation to get an advantage. One way to do this is by 'leveling' them (a poker term), thinking on the next level. When Black played Bb4, he was counting on the fact that the bishop could not be captured, but I introduced a new idea to the game and took it anyways. Radically changing the position and giving Black a situation that he had not fully evaluated and probably did not feel entirely comfortable in. By finding ways to show that our opponents threats are meaningless we can obtain an advantage even while allowing our opponents to carry out their own plans. The risk when sacrificing material is that either we will not get it back, or that our opponent will be able to counter-sacrifice to regain the initiative. So the key is to find positions where a long, lasting initiative is established. There is no way other than by going through many topical examples to recognize the proper context for this initiative and begin to develop a feel for when a rook is worth less or equal to a bishop. I'm just glad I'm starting to breakthrough this important barrier to advancement.
As I stated in my last post I am 8/8. I played poorly in the first of these three games but I am satisfied with my performance over the last two weeks. Here are the three games I promised.
So I haven't posted in a while but right now I have some downtime and the internet so here goes... I have three new games that I should post this week. This post is a question to readers of this blog.
Is there anyway other than brute force to determine the end scenarios of a round robin in process?
I ask this question because I am playing a 12 player round robin at Reno Chess Club right now. If you click results you can see the cross table. I have a perfect score and I do not intend to start losing next game, however I was wondering if I had clinched a spot in the next stage of this tournament. I was able to find one scenario where I would not finish in the top 4 of my group:
IF:
I lose to Sheryka, Hong, and Alsasua.
Alsasua beats Hong, loses to Rand, and draws Fleming.
Hong and Rand draw.
AND Fleming beats Sheryka.
THEN the standings would look like this:
1.Rand 9
2.Alsasua 9
3.Fleming 8.5
4.Hong 8
5.Gafni 8
and I would be eliminated due to my loss to Hong.
I was wondering if there are any other combinations and just if anyone knows cool things about the math to round robins in general.
In early January when I became really interested in chess again I set a new high 5-minute rating on ICC of 1715. Then I quickly lost 100+ points to go under 1600. Since I crossed back over 1700 I have set a new high almost every day I have played and my rating is 1933. Now I need to work on my standard rating which is lower than I can ever remember it being. Chess is fun again.
Conventional Wisdom says that against much weaker players we should just play a simple game because there is very little risk involved. I wanted to be somewhere 3 hours after this game started so I decided to complicate things. This game was really hard; I had so much fun. I definitely didn't know how to evaluate a lot of the positions, the material swings wildly around and both of our kings are open. My position is fragile and very time sensitive, but I was up to the challenge and I put some great moves together. It's just not my style to play a boring game.
I'm seriously considering switching to 1.d4 with white; also getting rid of 1...c5 and 1...d5 against e4 and d4 respectively. Some of the positions I get into I hate so much. Plus it would give me a good excuse to study chess all the time. Then after I was done I would be able to play 2 openings at any time which would be very nice in the match phase. I think the only reason I didn't switch lines a long time ago (especially the Accelerated Dragon) is that I put so much work into my lines I feel like I have to stick with them now. But that's not true, I really like learning new positions and I think it's the kick I need.
The study plan is a distant goal at this point. Right now I am playing a lot of blitz, you can probably find me on ICC I'll play whoever. I'm having fun.
I won my game on Thursday, the whole thing lasted about 25 minutes. I played the Scotch it was a gametime decision I didn't prepare any lines. If I knew enough theory to just play whatever I wanted every game that would make me very happy. Work, work, work...
I could make a lot of excuses for why I haven't been posting or playing or studying for the last six months but the truth of the matter is I was just bored of chess. I was considering not playing in the club championship but I'm sure I would have regretted it and I am glad that I decided to play. I also found inspiration to play in a very unexpected place and I feel like I am ready for some serious work at this game.
I am not happy with the format of the championship. I do not feel like we should have to play a 15 week round robin to decide who should move forward. I wish that this stage would have been limited to only 16 players, which would have taken half the time. I should not be having to play games with players rated 800 points lower than me. They don't have a chance. I'm glad to eat my words if one of these players moves forward but the chances of this happening are so slim that I feel comfortable saying that they should not be allowed to participate. Or at least should have to qualify in a tournament in December against other lower rated players. What I would suggest is only the top 16 rated players in the club (who want to play) get to play. I understand this is 'unfair' to players who are not rated in the top 16. Get over it, work harder, play next year.
That being said I do not have a really challenging game for 2 months and that gives me plenty of time to get back into the habit of studying. I figured I would lay down a plan since maybe that will make me more accountable.
Openings: I feel like my openings are in relatively good shape. I need to freshen up a few lines and maybe inject a few new ideas into my lines for Black. I don't think I need to change any lines, but if I find something I like I am not opposed to learning it. Also I haven't really been liking the White side of the Ruy lately so maybe I'll play the Scotch. In the past I have been very open about divulging opening choices and secrets on this blog, this year I really want to end that. I don't know if I will be posting games for the next 6 months. I know that's weak, I'll think about it. Anyways for openings I think to start 3-4 hours a week should be alright.
Middlegame: I have felt lost in the middlegame too much, I think the remedy for this is 5-10 games a day in my openings from strong players that I like. This will help me internalize the plans and concepts that stronger players are using in my favorite positions. It will also help me learn my openings, win-win.
Endgame: This is where I'm going to put most of my time. I want to be able to put an hour a day in but I don't know if I'm going to be able to actually do that. Maybe a post every day about my endgame training will keep me focused.
General Ideas: In the past I have read books, I think this year I'm going to move more to my database. I have so many resources on my computer that are untapped. I also want to start playing Fritz on a regular basis just for fun. I have been playing more blitz but my Standard rating on ICC is at what seems like an all-time low. So playing 1-2 Standard games a day should help bring that back up to an acceptable level.
I want to win this championship. I'm really worried about Garingo and Straver but I feel like if I stick to this plan throughout the round robin phase I will be playing at a higher level than I have ever played before. Which is all I can really ask for. I think that I can win I just need to put in the time to make it happen.
It has been a while since I've really written on the subject of chess outside of game annotations. I want to do a series on the skills necessary for success in tournament play. I am not a chess master although I do aspire to be one someday but I have been playing in club tournaments and class tournaments along with fellow bloggers and I have defeated each class in succession through a method that worked for me. I do not think that this method can work for everyone but what I hope to do is inspire readers to develop methods that work for them.
I am mostly going to discuss practical skills that will help WIN games and tournaments. I think a lot of times people are hesitant to judge success by rating because it is true that one can gain a very full understanding of the game without ever playing a tournament game. Also the tournament format is very stressful for many people and they may be able to play much stronger chess when not under the immense pressure that is present in a large tournament hall. A rating is simply a comprehensive, objective, history of a player's performance in rated games. I believe that the goal of study is to increase performance in rated games; my approach reflects this.
Inside my most recent game and a surprise game....
When I got to chess club last Thursday I was not particularly excited, Garingo and I had some good blitz games but then I was slated to play Mike Filipas, a 1500-1600 player. These games with 400-500 point differences or more can be very uninteresting. Mike never really thought he had a chance and gave up shortly into the game after losing some material. Since this game was a disappointment I have also included a game from when I had Mike's rating and I played a very strong expert at the time. It was the first time I beat a player over 2000 in a rated game and the moment I realized that I could be an expert. From this game onward it was no longer if I would become an expert but when. I didn't know it would take over 6 years but hey, that's what happens when you take breaks and don't work that hard. Anyways, check out the games.
The games.
I also want to use this post to introduce what I consider to be a very important tournament skill: What To Do When Everything Is Losing. The point during a game where I feel the most frustrated is when I start to look at all the different moves and every move seems like it is bad. The moment when you realize that this position is not in your favor. It is tempting at this moment to become paranoid that my opponent knew he was winning all along and is going to finish me off in a swift and impressive manner. Alas, this rarely happens and I consider myself to be one of the feircest fighters from behind, definitely at Reno Chess Club, perhaps in the world... ;) hehe...
Hopefully this post and the subsequent posts will help you become more of a fighter when hope is lost. This post will simply open the discussion but in later posts I will introduce examples from my games (one game in particular really comes to mind, I haven't posted it yet but it is a definite favorite of mine) and also from top grandmasters who are put in a tough situation and take the necessary steps to correct the course.
So let's begin with a list of things to do when you fall behind in a chess game (or just feel like you're losing):
1. TAKE YOUR TIME: Obviously if this happens right before the time control and you have not budgeted your time wisely then this may not be an option, but in general on moves that I fall behind or have overlooked something I use much more time than an average move. Oftentimes between 10-20 minutes on a move like this is necessary to recover from the blow that your head will suffer and find the correct course of action. More on this subject in a little bit.
2. FIX YOUR HEAD: This is different for everybody and in time you will learn how to do this at the board. But it is very frustrating to put so much effort into something and 2-3 hours in be (seemingly) hopelessly lost. Your efforts have been fruitless and this is not good for the ego. Get up, look at some other position, go outside and punch the wall or yell out loud, get a drink, get something to eat, do something that is not chess related. If you do not want to look like something is wrong, get up and get a cup of water and return to your seat, this is perfectly normal and legal during your move and should not betray your dismay with your position if you're trying to maintain a poker face. At this point just try to forget the position.
3. REBUILD YOUR ASSUMPTIONS: This is more complicated. At this point in the game your evaluation is based on several assumptions you have made up to this point. However, these assumptions are all wrong. Whatever led you to this position is wrong. I know it's hard to admit, but you need to do it. You have been wrong about this game all along. You don't understand it, that's why you are losing. Accept that and you will free your mind for the coming stages. Look at the board with a fresh eye. You may find some move that is not losing at all, this is of course ideal and you would be surprised how often it actually happens. You started looking at the "normal, obvious" moves and all of them were losing, that's why you got worried, but there may be a line that you didn't think of or that was too complicated that is now beginning to make sense and you may not be in trouble at all. This is why it is very important to NOT MOVE for as long as possible. As long as you don't move you can't make a mistake. Also do not be afraid to spend a very long amount of time on this move.
4. STOP THE BLEEDING: This is where you have to actually start looking at variations again. You are not necessarily looking for a way to level the game. But you do not want to fall behind any further. Playing 80 moves in a losing position is a hard grind and it is not fun, but half a point is half a point. In a tournament setting, especially a large tournament, one loss is enough to get a player out of contention for first so preventing one loss is of the utmost importance if you are trying to WIN a tournament. At this point you have to look for variations that are safe and that release the pressure on your position. Just get your opponent to back off, then you can start to create chances. It is ok to reorganize all your pieces at this point as long as you are not falling further behind.
5. THINK OF AN ENDGAME: It is tempting when we fall behind to lash out and attempt some crazy suicidal mission where more material is sacrificed in the interest of an attack that cannot be sustained with the reduced material. The logic is that the game is lost anyway maybe they will make a mistake and I will win by accident. We do not want to seek points by accident. At this point you need to PLAN. Think of all the things you know about the new relationships on the board. Think of all the endgames you know with this imbalance. If you have lost the exchange, remember that if all the pawns and all the other pieces on the board are gone then you will have a draw, a rook cannot beat a bishop or a knight by itself. It is important to know these things so that you can pose your opponent the most difficulty along the coming stages of the game. If you can keep yourself from getting mated, then you want to give them the most complex middlegame and most difficult endgame you can, really make them earn the point.
I think that these points are a good place to begin a discussion. How do you feel when you fall behind in a game? When is it that you first realize you made a mistake? What steps do you take to try to overcome this challenge?
I know that this is an abstract topic, it is fairly psychological in nature and is not something that can be taught in a book. There is no objective best way to deal with the emotions that are present in a chess game. Every person has to deal with them in their own way. But this does not mean that this is not an aspect of our game that can be improved. And I believe that my dedication to playing the toughest in positions where I am behind has been very good for my rating and for my attitude about chess as a whole. If you think about and address this issue in your game I think that you will show improvement in your rating.
Earlier this week I was reading some blogs and BDK asked me when I was going to post again. Just from looking at all the chess out there I really wanted to play a game. So I took a trip down to the Reno Chess Club where I played yet another insanely fun game of chess. I also included a funny game Grant Fleming played last night. Enjoy.
In my last post I gave you a sneak preview of one of the games in Tonopah. The other one is even more exciting. Both games after the break..
Warning: Do not attempt to learn anything from these games, they are for entertainment purposes only, DO NOT TRY TO PLAY LIKE THIS!
So the conclusion to the first game must be explained, as the final position is certainly not drawn. Around the 85th or 90th move I had 6 and a half minutes on my clock and my phone rang. I quickly turned off the ringer in my pocket and everything continued as normal. Then the TD (who was from the south) waved his hand in the air motioning 5 at me. I could not understand him. Then he said I had to take 5 minutes off my clock. I got up and disagreed with him that they did not provide adequate warning for such a rule and that if he had stated this rule in advance my phone would have been off (it pays to know the rules sometimes). Unfortunately at this time the captain of our team and National TD Jerry Weikel was out of the room so he could not back me up and the director took 5 minutes off my clock which left me with 90 seconds and left me extremely distressed. I ended up allowing myself to get mated unnecessarily and walked out without losing the game, my clock expired. Then when I got back I told Jerry what had happened and in a lengthy arbitration with the other team we agreed on a draw for the game. The rule should not have been enforced so I did not feel like the result of the game was fair. It was controversial for sure.
The second game features a very provocative move that is more like a bluff than anything else. It is not actually sound but it is so amazing to look at I think that it caught my opponent by surprise. Actually it has been played 3 times in my database and won 2/3.
Anyways it was an interesting experience going to Tonopah, I could have played a lot better but that's a different story.
My most recent chesscapade was in Tonopah, NV:
7 Northern Nevada players and 7 Southern Nevada players met there to decide the State Championship and the State Team Championship. Everyone played 2 games against someone of similar strength, a pretty standard team match. I faced Virgilio Reyes, the state champion from last year on board 2 of the teams. His rating is 2092. I have seen him play before and I'm sure we have played blitz games in the past but I don't think he remembered me. When I lived in Vegas we went to the same club for a while but I wasn't around for that long.
The first game I thought things were going pretty well and then we got to this position:
where White unleashed a pretty tactic that wins a piece. It's the first time I've been hit by something like this in a while. I felt like resigning but played on for about 80 more moves before we reached a drawn position and then some crazy stuff happened. Tune in later this week for the game and the dramatic ending.
This was the first tournament I've played since the club championship and also signaled an end to my short hiatus from chess. I lost my game with Weikel, but I feel pretty good about how I played in that game. I played very aggressively in all games and achieved quick wins in the four games I did win. My rating even went up a little bit. Here are all 5 games. They are pretty entertaining but I need to work harder to avoid the stupid mistakes that I made.
I still need to post some games from over the summer but I'm going to try and stay current in the mean time.
