Smack my bishop (into shape!) - The training log

cdeb

Lucena wrote: »

Learn a defence to d4 (properly). Yes but when???

I had a similar problem as that for ages. (I guess I still have it now, but nowhere near the same extent as before, hence my post!) Because I didn't really start playing properly until I was 24, I missed out on the absorption phase of the game, where you can read an openings book and it sticks. So I had a huge hole with regards 1. d4 defences.

I gave the KID a try, but as you say, there's so much to it and the ideas can change a lot depending on white's reply (attack on the kingside? But if the little move f3 comes - the Samisch - you're suddenly attacking on the queenside. I think). I got thumped in it a couple of times.

I tried 1. d4 e6 2. c4 Bb4+ after watching a DVD by Nigel Davies. It included a line which the best Davies could say about it was that Ulf Andersson nearly found a way to gain an advantage!

Anyways, after a couple of dire results, I gave that up and watched Simon Williams' DVD on the Classical Dutch instead (also available in book format). It's fun, takes things into slightly offbeat lines for white (the Dutch isn't all that common) and it's fairly logical - e4 is key; if white plays e4 at any stage, you have to be able to reply e5 or f4. If white plays Nc3 in the first four moves, black's bishop develops to b4 and takes the knight; otherwise, it goes to e7. Then launch a kingside attack and go for mate.

That's obviously a huge oversimplification; a chess opening can't ever be that easy. But my results against 1. d4 have improved. Maybe it's worth a try?

Lucena

Hmm...I'll think about it!

The Dutch doesn't appeal to me, at least at first glance, because the pawn structure just seems wrong! At least with the QGD the pawn structure is relatively sane. Having said that, I'd have to play it a bit first to find out. I'm less afraid than I was in the past to sacrifice (structure or material) in exchange for an initiative.

mikhail

Lucena wrote: »

... The Dutch doesn't appeal to me, at least at first glance, because the pawn structure just seems wrong! ...

That's because the pawn structure is wrong.

Valmont

I've played two games against the Dutch (against inferior opposition to what you would all usually face, mind) and played the Staunton Gambit (2. e4). It seems straightforward enough to at least get an open, equal game?

cdeb

I find 1. d4 e6 avoids a few of those awkward lines (and also offers the chance of a transposition into the French)

Certainly it avoids 1. d4 f5 2. Bg5.

Lucena

Also offering an transpo into the exciting world of:

THE EXCHANGE FRENCH :eek::eek::eek:

I've stopped playing the French because of this variation. Not saying I won't come back to it at some stage, but I hate the French exchange. I also hate the fact that I hate it, as there's nothing wrong with the position from Black's point of view. But when I used to play the French, my heart would sink when my opponent swapped pawns, with me thinking 'I'm going to have to spend 3-4 hours of my life playing this muck!'. I also meant my opponent had gained the upper hand psychologically.

mikhail

Lucena wrote: »

Also offering an transpo into the exciting world of:

THE EXCHANGE FRENCH :eek::eek::eek:

I've stopped playing the French because of this variation. Not saying I won't come back to it at some stage, but I hate the French exchange. I also hate the fact that I hate it, as there's nothing wrong with the position from Black's point of view. But when I used to play the French, my heart would sink when my opponent swapped pawns, with me thinking 'I'm going to have to spend 3-4 hours of my life playing this muck!'. I also meant my opponent had gained the upper hand psychologically.

Every French player I've ever met contemplates murder when someone plays the French Exchange against them.

Lucena

Which unfortunately is a good reason for White to exchange. Why deprive yourself of an advantage?

cdeb

There's juniors in Benildus who have taken up playing the French Exchange purely because they know it annoys me.

The line with ... Ne7 and, if white pins with Bg5, ... f6 can be ok. Plan is to castle on opposite sides and then gain tempi on a queenside pawnstorm by kicking the bishop around; if Bh4, ... g5 will follow. Ari Ziegler recommends it in his excellent DVD on the French. It does seem to depend to an extent on unpreparedness from your opponent (i.e. playing Bg5, not expecting f6 in return, or playing Bh4 because psychologically they can't retreat along the same diagonal they just moved along), and it gives a really cramped queenside with a particular weakness on the light-squared diagonal leading to your king (and queen).

Still, worth investigating.

mikhail

Lucena wrote: »

Which unfortunately is a good reason for White to exchange. Why deprive yourself of an advantage?

Because the opening is objectively inferior to the alternatives. People groan at the French Exchange for the same reason they groan at the Colle. Here's Mikhail Tal (World Champion 1960-1) on the subject:

Did you ever head for a draw from the very first move?

TAL: In all my life, only once. In the 1955 USSR Team Championship Semi-final, playing White against Korchnoi, after the moves 1 e4 e6 2 d4 d5, I captured on d5. I was terribly ashamed, and from that time I swore: to play for a draw, at any rate with White, is to some degree a crime against chess.

Valmont

I have my first league game of the season tonight and now I'm hoping to get white against the French!

Lucena

So what are you going to play against the French?

Ciaran

Careful, your opponent might be reading.

Sparks

Ciaran wrote: »

Careful, your opponent might be reading.

But what if he knows his opponent is reading?
And what if his opponent knows that he knows that his opponent is reading?
And what if he knows that his opponent knows that he knows that his opponent is reading?

It's a battle of wits!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sPVEBAtwmg

Lucena

Did some nice work at the weekend, analysed two of my tournament games, just using the board. I haven't run them through the computer yet to check the analysis.

In one of the games, I was on the black side of a c3 Sicilian. I didn't really know how to play against it, but I did ok out of the opening, losing in the end because of being outplayed. Still, I took the opportunity to add an answer to the Alapin to my repertoire, so I'm happy about that. If I can keep adding and/or fine tuning my repertoire after every game (if I get time) I should be a lot stronger by the end of the season!

I also finished the 1800-2000 endgame chapter in Silman's Endgame course. And managed to get most of the end of chapter problems wrong! Despite having studied certain themes only a few weeks earlier.:mad:Ok, some stuff stuck, but not much. I'll have to back over it again. Maybe I'm being unrealistic, as when studying in college, I often had to go through stuff a few times to remember it properly.
I'm going to try something new though, I'm going to enter the positions into Fritz and run through them quickly every now and again instead of farting about with online blitz games. I'll probably enter just the main moves and sub-variations (with evaluation but not the commentary, Silman has a lot to say!) I've also decided that that's enough endgame for now, I'm going to finish his workbook and then move on to Yusupov's course.

In other news, my Fide rating for the month of October is now 1727 (+4 points). Yeah for me! My disastrous tournament won't be counted until November. Strangely enough, knowing I'm going to lose a lot of points, and that I'm not over-rated is kind of a relief! I've nothing to prove, I can just concentrate on improving.

Any ideas of qualifying for the Irish championship in 2015 are definitely out the window though! Even if I was putting in 1950 performances, seeing as I won't be playing enough games between now and next May, I'd never rise quickly enough.

Have stopped doing Chesstempo for the moment, finding it difficult to even find 20 minutes a day. I could've done some tonight, but I think it's important to update this log to keep me motivated.

Am going to get a couple of early nights tonight and tomorrow night so I can get up early Sat and Sunday to work on some chess, as I've other stuff on the rest of the weekend. I'm going to patch up my anti-d4 repertoire by taking the plunge and starting out on learning the QGD. I picked up Sadler's book in London for a fiver a couple of years back, and it looks excellent! Will work on the Tartakower, which is what I'd like to play, and the exchange variation which is probably more likely to appear in my games!

TL;DNR: Got the finger out and actually analysed some of my games.

Myrddin

Just noticed this thread now & have to say, the thread name is inspired

Lucena

Come play myyyyyyyyyy gaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiimmmmmmmmmeeee!

You're the VICTIM!

Myrddin

Lucena wrote: »

Come play myyyyyyyyyy gaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiimmmmmmmmmeeee!

You're the VICTIM!

Who knows, with enough training & practice you could become something of a prodigy...

Lucena

Unfortunately I'm a bit too old to be a prodigy.

reunion

Lucena wrote: »

Any ideas of qualifying for the Irish championship in 2015 are definitely out the window though! Even if I was putting in 1950 performances, seeing as I won't be playing enough games between now and next May, I'd never rise quickly enough.

You could always apply to the ICU to use one of the spots they have that ignore the rating requirement. Doubt you'd get it but I guess it can hurt to apply (that's assuming you don't improve by 70 points between now (and join the ICU (if I did indeed find you on FIDE's website))).

Lucena wrote: »

TL;DNR: Got the finger out and actually analysed some of my games.

Reviewing games can be good but I find it time consuming with little practical value (plus I typically try to go over my game with my opponent after it's played).

I was told by an IM that you should play games of correspondence chess. So my recommendation is, if you're short on time (or struggle to make time), start a game of correspondence chess and research the move you'll play. You can have a week (or more) to move so you can research away in your free time. I find this more practically beneficial, though everyone has their own way of training and improving.

Lucena

Analysing is massively time-consuming, unless I'm doing it wrong! It's funny, you're the first person I've ever heard say that analysing one's own games has little practical value.

I was chatting to Glenn Flear (ah! name dropping!) briefly at a local rapidplay tournament a couple of years back, and the question of improvement came up. His answer "Analyse your games".

To be honest, I'll do it for a while, but if six months down the line I'm not seeing a payback, I'll stop. I do also try to analyse with my opponent, if they want to.

Regarding the non-rating requirement spots, I'd imagine they're being held for improving juniors, and even if I could get one, I'd need to improve drastically, otherwise I'll spend a week getting pummeled!

reunion

Lucena wrote: »

Analysing is massively time-consuming, unless I'm doing it wrong! It's funny, you're the first person I've ever heard say that analysing one's own games has little practical value.

Well you should analyze with your opponent immediately after, win or lose. Of course, there are games that are amazing and going through it can be quite beneficial. Analyzing your games has benefits, but I find a game of correspondence chess has a better reward (enjoyment and learning) versus time inputted ratio (plus you can try out new openings and research them while playing). Granted, I'm not a titled player and I don't commit that much time to studying chess and everyone has a different training preference.

Lucena wrote: »

To be honest, I'll do it for a while, but if six months down the line I'm not seeing a payback, I'll stop. I do also try to analyse with my opponent, if they want to.

Even if your opponent doesn't want to analyze the game, I'd recommend to analyze it yourself. If you are at a tournament and you finish early (say the round is 9 until 1 and you finish at 12), go over the game by yourself and play out different strategies. You'll remember what you were thinking and it's less time consuming (and you've already already committed to playing chess until 1 anyway and essentially have a free hour).

Lucena wrote: »

Regarding the non-rating requirement spots, I'd imagine they're being held for improving juniors, and even if I could get one, I'd need to improve drastically, otherwise I'll spend a week getting pummeled!

There is no set rules on them so in theory anyone can apply but they don't have to be used. You would have to make a good case which is a lot easier for junior players or players representing Ireland.

Tbh, the feedback from high rated players is worthwhile win or lose (or draw). Even the prep for games would improve your chess by quite a bit.

Valmont

Good to hear it's going well, Lucena. I've just moved to another part of the UK, and finally found a club with a free spot on a team. I've been studying Yusupov's first book for the past month but I really didn't know as much as I thought I did. I'm going to take the final test for chapter two tomorrow morning, which is on mating motifs. I had never come across many of them before, and trying to find each of them in different positions has been tough. That said, I've already worked them straight into my game, and my blitz rating has gone +200 on chess.com, some of which I put down to recognising more of these patterns.

My thoughts on chess after one year of playing are that tactics are very, very important. I studied a lot of openings and strategy when I first started but the positions I gained in my games were ultimately useless because I couldn't see the winning combinations, or spot when my opponent was about to unleash one. I played a few rapid games last Thursday over a couple of hours at the club last Thursday; when I went over the games with my opponent (ELO 1825) it was startling to see how many moves he was looking ahead. As we went over the games, I found we spotted the same general risks/opportunities but he simply went further than I did. I think I'm going to have to play more tactics puzzles than I have been to address the shortfall.

ps. I was in a tiny bookshop today and found a first edition copy of Reuben Fine's The Ideas Behind the Chess Openings which I will hopefully have a dip into from time to time.

Lucena

Managed to get up at 6am at spend a couple of hours working on the QGD Tartacover variation on Saturday. Feel I should be ok if it comes up.

Unfortunately forgot we have a guest staying in the house this week, so had to spend this morning cleaning the house (needed to be done anyway). So I haven't much of a clue how to play against the Exchange Variation. Had a quick glance, apparently White plays for a minority attack in this variation, and while I know what the minority attack is, I haven't a clue how to play it, or against it.

We'll see what happens this afternoon (league game), I'm intentionally playing with Black. Chances are though my opponent'll play e4, which I get in possibly two-thirds of my games.

Lucena

He played e4, so no QGD training for Lucena.

Still, got to practice my Sicilian, kind of. He went out of theory on move 7, with a pointless a3, followed by h3 on move 8. I open the centre, stop him from castling and exploit his weak pawn structure. Might stick it up tonight if I get a chance.

Lucena

My rotten tournament results have been calculated by Fide, I've got a whopping -25 points waiting for me on Nov 1st!

It's strange that I underperformed so much, possibly rushing to a tournament isn't ideal preparation.

Especially considering that my results in the last two weeks seem more 'normal' to me, with a draw against a 2020 player and Sunday's win against a 1810, with me having black in both cases.

Ah well, things can only get better.

Valmont

I've been cycling to my new chess club and I don't know what it is exactly, but I think jumping straight off the bike onto the board has done wonders for my game; maybe it's all the blood flowing! I definitely find I need to 'warm up' before a game with some tactics puzzles, otherwise I tend to play my opening moves without really thinking deep enough.

Lucena

I wouldn't mind being able to cycle to my chess club, if it wasn't 20km away!

Lucena

Well looking back over the log since I've started it, I see that I'm really getting very little done. Having said that, not all my fault, lots of other stuff going on in my life.

As of tomorrow, for example, I'll be in Toscany for a few days, having to suffer through the scenery and the local cuisine, and not getting any chess done!! I know, I know, you feel my pain!

I will keep the log going, at least until the end of the season, but I'm definitely starting to see that improvement at my age is very hard, requiring a will of iron to make time to train, such as at 6am on weekends!

Valmont

Don't give in! Post up some of your games so we can kibitz.