Paleface Attack (7), Rooks on open files

Today’s blog entry is from an online tournament game. The Paleface Attack, is usually successful in transposition to the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit. White placed both Rooks on open files and kept all his pieces centralized and active. Black neglected to castle and both his Rooks were out of play. This left White with a superior centralized force and the result was almost inevitable.

 The variations and move symbols are Houdini’s (1.5 w32), diagnosed with ‘Scid vs PC’ at 10 seconds per ply. The verbal comments are my thoughts during the game and my interpretations of the analysis provided by Houdini. The score chart is at the bottom of this entry.

This game shows the advantage of a superior force cooperating against an undeveloped and uncastled opponent.

Indian Defense, a king hunt

Today’s blog entry is from an online tournament game. I played the same first 4 moves as the Philidor and the Old Indian, trying to keep my opening memorization simple. White neglects his development and tries for a simple attack when Black has no weaknesses. I overlooked the first two tactical opportunities, playing for and executing the third opportunity. A simple win against an assumed relative beginner.

 The variations and move symbols are Houdini’s (1.5 w32), diagnosed with ‘Scid vs PC’ at 10 seconds per ply. The verbal comments are my thoughts during the game and my interpretations of the analysis provided by Houdini. The score chart is at the bottom of this entry.

I am planning on going back to games against Chessmaster10 so that the games will be more competitive. Most online games seem to be against beginners or experts (maybe the expertise comes from silicon help). Weekly OTB club tournament games mostly pair me against an opponent that is much higher rated. These games are not helping me improve.

Old Indian Defense, similar to the Philidor

Today’s blog entry is from an online tournament game. It showcases my new defense against d4 openings. Black’s normal first moves are identical to the Philidor Defense, with obvious benefits.

The SWOT thinking pattern is a big time saver. By examining what has changed with the opponent’s move, I no longer need to spend large periods of time looking for possible tactical opportunities. If it wasn’t there before the move, it won’t be there after the move unless there was a change. 

White makes an early well-known blunder, losing a piece. Then he goes Pawn grabbing while his King is still in the center. An early checkmate ends the game.

The variations and move symbols are Houdini’s (1.5 w32), diagnosed with ‘Scid vs PC’ at 10 seconds per ply. The verbal comments are my thoughts during the game and my interpretations of the analysis provided by Houdini. The score chart is at the bottom of this entry.

I have been playing with a new tool called “Guess the Move” and is a free download. It is used to replay Master games, prompting the user to guess which move is better, keeping a running score of how well you guess. I find that using it is an improvement over just replaying the Master game, trying to absorb the patterns. It can be found at:

 https://sites.google.com/site/fredm/

 There is also a youtube demo available and online documentation.

Winning the Won Game (7), using doubled pawns

Next time you see a position that is supposed to be winning: capture the position, transfer it to your favorite chess program, set the program to a higher rating than your own and play the winning position to see how to conclude the game. Then go back and repeat the exercise at an increased rating until you can win against it at full strength.

The ending below is from a drawn game played against Sam, a 1512 rated ChessMaster10 opponent who hates draws. I had previously blown a lead and needed an opportunity (a mistake by my opponent) to salvage the game. Houdini, in my later review, showed me that missed opportunity. This is the replay against Houdini set to full strength.

The variations and move symbols are Houdini’s (1.5 w32), diagnosed with ‘Scid vs PC’ at 10 seconds per ply. The verbal comments are my thoughts during the game and my interpretations of the analysis provided by Houdini. The score chart is at the bottom of this entry.

For the readers who wish to try this exercise, the FEN is:
8/8/2p3b1/8/6P1/1k2K3/2p5/2B5 b - -

In Secrets of a Grandpatzer, Colby reminds us of what ‘the rest is a matter of technique’ means (taken from Mednis in Chess Life and Review):
   (1) Don’t allow counterplay.
   (2) Deep material advantage.
   (3) Establish a clear plan and stick to it.
   (4) Be careful – CAUTION!
   (5) Hurry not.
   (6) Avoid complications.
   (7) Simplify to a known theoretical win.
   (8) Keep working, the game will not play itself.

Philidor Defense (5), SWOT at work

Today’s blog entry is from an online ladder game. It illustrates my new understanding of the typical chess game flow. Moves #1-4 are the theoretical beginning, marked by repeating moves from Master play, usually memorized.

From this point forward, my play is guided by the SWOT analysis, where I look first at my opponent’s move, both the square vacated and the square newly occupied, for Opportunities and Threats. If none, I am free to improve my positional Strengths and Weaknesses.  Implicit in this positional phase is the thrust and parry.  Like two sword fighters, each player tries to set and/or solve problems while improving their position.  Mistakes are made by either a faulty response to a threat or by a blunder.  Without an Opportunity, an attack is premature.

On move #22, the game transitioned from a positional middlegame to a combinational middlegame when White made his first serious mistake (i.e. leaving his Queen without adequate escape squares). This was the Opportunity to launch an attack.

 The variations and move symbols are Houdini’s (1.5 w32), diagnosed with ‘Scid vs PC’ at 10 seconds per ply. The verbal comments are my thoughts during the game and my interpretations of the analysis provided by Houdini. The score chart is at the bottom of this entry.

I am currently reading Secrets of a Grandpatzer. It contains a lot that I disagree with and much that induces me to analyze my approach to the game. Most of the book can be read without a board, but am looking forward to studying in depth the chapter on 132 key patterns that must be known.

One of the major disagreements is that a player should only play openings that are currently in vogue at the grandmaster level and memorize the sequences that get to your favorite variations within those openings.  I believe that all openings are good at the class level and getting out of theory early makes the game more fun ... and less memorization is required.

Philidor Defense (4), a Class A opponent

Today’s blog entry is from Thursday’s tournament game at my chess club. I was paired against the club’s young lion, rated almost 500 points higher than me. Since I recently adopted the Philidor Defense, I was anxious to see how it would fare against a quality opponent. It held up through the opening moves, but I quickly succumbed when the middlegame arrived.

 The variations and move symbols are Houdini’s (1.5 w32), diagnosed with ‘Scid vs PC’ at 10 seconds per ply. The verbal comments are my thoughts during the game and my interpretations of the analysis provided by Houdini. The score chart is at the bottom of this entry.

I believe part of my problem is not playing enough OTB games. Online turn-based games do not adequately simulate the OTB experience. So, I will be re-installing ChessMaster to get more frequent opponents.