Chess Journal                     

Here is a sample of a past Chess Journal newsletter.

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Chess Journal - August 2001

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Contents:

Odds and Ends

Featured Game

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ODDS AND ENDS

World Chess Championship Site

"Let's say you're interested in chess, the royal game, the game of kings.

With chess databases of millions of games on the market and an

extensive literature, where do you start? One excellent place is with

the games of the best players. Who are they? They are the players

who have fought for the title of World Chess Champion, and these

pages chronicle their struggles."

http://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/wcc-indx.htm

Alaska Chess League

The new url of the Alaska Chess League is as follows:

http://home.gci.net/~alaskachessleague/

Knight's Tour

Please check out <http://www.borderschess.org/KnightTour.htm>

for an extremely simple solution to the age old problem of the Knight's Tour.

Feel free to copy the information on that page for your web-page posting or for

any other publication. If you desire more information about my Knight's Tour,

the rule I've devised for solving the tour, or general questions about myself,

please contact me at <mailto:DTHOMASSON@carolina.rr.com> .

Enjoy,

Dan Thomasson

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FEATURED GAME

Analyzed by Master Daniel Waite

Ryan Evans (white) vs. Raleigh Evans

Zebulon, North Carolina 3/16/00

1. Pe2-e4 Pg7-g6 2. Bf1-d3 Pd7-d6 3. Ng1-e2 Pa7-a5

4. Ko-o Pe7-e5 5. Bd3-c4 Qd8-h4 6. Nb1-c3 Ng8-f6

7. Pd2-d3 Ra8-a6 8. Bc4xa6 Pb7xa6 9. Ph2-h3 Qh4-f4

10. Ne2xf4 Pe5xf4 11. Bc1xf4 Ph7-h6 12. Pe4-e5 Bf8-e7

13. Pe5xf6 Be7xf6 14. Nc3-d5 Bf6-d8 15. Rf1-e1+ Ke8-f8

16. Qd1-d2 Bc8-b7 17. Pc2-c4 Bb7-c6 18. Bf4xh6+ Rh8xh6

19. Qd2xh6+ Kf8-g8 20. Pb2-b4 Pa5xb4 21. Nd5xb4 Pa6-a5

22. Nb4xc6 Nb8xc6 23. Re1-e8++

1. Pe2-e4 Pg7-g6 2. Bf1-d3 [This is not a good place for the Bishop.

The idea is to put it someplace where it will be useful. Here it will get

in the way of the d-pawn, which will hinder your development. That means

you will have to move it again to get your Queen Bishop out. The best

places for you King Bishop are c4, b5, e2, and g2 depending on what you

are playing. Here, I like the idea of Bc4 to attack the f7 square early.

In the Opening you have three objectives: 1.) Get pieces to useful places

as quickly as possible. 2.) Create an imbalance (like better placed minor

pieces - Bishop's and Knights) and develop around it.] 3.) Play actively

and aggressively. In other words, in your mind divide the board in half

(the 4/5 ranks), now attack and occupy as much territory on your opponents

half as possible. This will also mean that you will focus most of your

attention and energy on the four squares in the center (e4/d4 and e5/d5).

This may be your easiest route to improvement at this stage of your chess

life. It certainly changed my game when I came understand these principles.]

2… Pd7-d6 3. Ng1-e2 [The natural place for this Knight is on f3. Here

it helps attack opponent's pieces in the center and support your own pieces.

The Knight on f3/f6 is critical to control Dark Squares on the Kingside and

middle. The Knight on f3/f6 is a key to the defense of a Kingside castle.]

3…Pa7-a5 4. Ko-o [Good! While developing make sure you keep an eye on

castling. Castling is actually a developing move. It gets the Rook to the

center and it gets the King out of the way so you can mobilize your forces

in the middle. The middle of the board is stronger because from it you can

control the side of the boards and get to the other King faster than if you

were just playing on the side.]

4…Pe7-e5 [Black puts both of the central pawns on dark squares. Since

the Bishop is behind these pawns the Bishop is "bad." The reason it is

"bad" is because it does not have the ability to join the battle. It is

not mobile and in essence becomes an overgrown pawn. This is like playing

a virtual piece down, or playing football with a broken leg.]

5. Bd3-c4 [Moving the piece as second time. If you had done this on

move 2 then you would have an extra move here. Ever wish you could move

twice? Well you can, legally, by putting the piece on the best square the

first time! This now frees up a move you don't have to make by moving it

again.]

5…Qd8-h4 6. Nb1-c3 Ng8-f6 7. Pd2-d3 [Learn this position. There are

some cool attacking possibilities out of this position. If you start with

f4 (which is the only reason for Ne2) then you can launch a very strong

Kingside attack. The pawn at f4 can go to f5 and completely cut off the

Black pieces from supporting the King (assuming the opponent castles Kingside)

then you get to pick and choose your attack. Or the pawn at f4 can capture

on e5 if you want to crack open the f-file or the middle.]

7… Ra8-a6 8. Bc4xa6 [Good winning material. "Material" is one of the

strongest imbalances (any difference in the position) you could have.]

8… Pb7xa6 [A serious mistake. This doubles the pawn on the a-file. This

is called "double isolated" pawns. They are almost impossible to defend.

It's like giving the opponent two pawns.]

9. Ph2-h3 [Don't weaken the pawns in front of your King! When you learn

more, you will find exceptions to this advice. Typically try not of move

pawns in front of your castled King unless there is a specific reason. Even

at that, the situation should be critical for you to move your pawns. Now

let me confuse you. 9. f4 launches a strong attack. Yes this moves a pawn

in front of the King but you get some solid attacking chances - you know one

of the exceptions…]

9…Qh4-f4 10. Ne2xf4 Pe5xf4 11. Bc1xf4 Ph7-h6 12. Pe4-e5 [Great move!

I have the hardest time teaching my young players to do this. You get to

crack open the center. The opponent's King is in the middle and he is badly

developed.]

12…Bf8-e7 13. Pe5xf6 Be7xf6 14. Nc3-d5 [Sweet! Attacking two pieces

at the same time. Do this as much as you can, especially if it fits your

plan. All combinations are based on a double threat.]

14…Bf6-d8 15. Rf1-e1+ [Good! Always consider check. It is one of the

most powerful moves in chess. With this move you also control the center.

Very nice. You will find that strong players will almost always choose the

forcing move over a "better" lessclear move. The reason for this is that a

clear line that is forced is easier to figure out. While a "better" move

will take more work and might have an unexpected snag someplace.]

15…Ke8-f8 16. Qd1-d2 Bc8-b7 17. Pc2-c4 Bb7-c6 18. Bf4xh6+ Rh8xh6

19. Qd2xh6+ Kf8-g8 20. Pb2-b4 [Missing 20.Re7 Nd7 21.Re8+ Nf8 22.Rxb8#.

You must know your check mating patterns. If you know these then you can

set them up or strike quickly if your opponent makes a mistake.]

20…Pa5xb4 21. Nd5xb4 Pa6-a5 22. Nb4xc6 Nb8xc6 23. Re1-e8++

Coach's Advice: Work on your Opening. Pick one for White and two for Black

(against e4 and d4), any of the major Openings, and learn the ideas, piece

placement, and early traps. Once you get this down you will be a very tough

opponent.

Consider pattern recognition. Learn the various attacking ideas (especially

connected to your chosen Openings). These patterns occur in many ways at

many times. Good places to find these patterns will be in Opening books

(that follow a game to the end), collections of games (pick a favorite player),

and books on "how to" attack. You might even start a "flash card" collection

of these so you can study them in your spare time. If you have friends who

will do this, you can trade and borrow these cards. Since you have only

played for two years (it took me two years to win my first game) you have

great attacking skills. Now sharpen these skills so that you will be a

threat to everyone. You can even save "lost" games with a good tactical shot.

Work on a victory dance - grin. You're going to win a lot of games.

The Chess Journal is sent out to 4788 subscribers as of this issue.

See you in September!

Bob