Saturday, March 29, 2014
Friday, March 28, 2014
Our top player's Round 1 game.
Our 4.5 game winner faced the Caro-Kann defense in the first round. Two very good players.
1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 (d4 is recommended) d5 Black is trying to exchange her c-pawn for our e-pawn
Click here for a good Caro-Kahn video
3. Bd3 dxe4 4. Bxe4 Nf6 (developing and attacking) 5. Nc3 (developing and defending) Nxe4 6. Nxe4 Bf5 7. Ng5 (a precarious place for the knight - I prefer g3) e6 8. 0-0 Bg4
What's the best move? a) d3 b) Qe2 c) Ne5
The correct answer is d3 guarding the unguarded g5 knight with our bishop.
I said "unguarded" because our knight on g5 is no longer protected. Do you see why?
The knight on f3 is pinned to our queen. Her queen could take our knight, we'd take her queen, but she'd get our queen. Our player made the mistake 9. Qe2?? Qxg5! 10. Qe4 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 Qg6 12. d3 Nd7 13. Qf4 Qf6 14. Qe4 Ba3?! What in the world? Is there a catch?
What's best? a) bxa3 b) Rb1 c) Bg5
Of course there was a catch - good player's don't give away bishops for nothing! Rb1 is best, and though Bg5 is interesting, I think we come out a pawn down after Qxb2 or even if Qxg5 bxa3
The game continued 15. bxa3? Qxa1 And now I think our player had a chance at a comeback.
Do you see the trap he could easily set?
16. Qb4! Sets two traps, so even if he sees one he might not see the other. If he defends b7, we play Bg5 threatening the queen and checkmate. The only good reply is if she plays 0-0-0 getting out of mate and protecting b7. But we have a few more surprises.
Surprise #1: Qa5 Now if her queen does not move once again we play Bf4 threatening both mate and RxQ. If she plays Qxa2, we can play Qxa7 with fighting chances for a mate on b8 with Q and B or mate on b7 with Q and R.
Surprise #2: Qb3 threatens Bb2 trapping the queen!
Surprise #3 c4 threatens Bb2 Qxa2 Ra1 trapping her majesty once again!
Unfortunately there are good ways out of all these traps, but at this stage of the game, we've got to try for something a little sneaky.
Our player continued from the diagram above with 16. Qg4 Qxa2 17. Qxg5 (although the pawn looks free it comes at the cost of opening up the g-file for her rooks.) Rf8 18. Qd4 Qd5 19. Qb4 Qb5 20. Qh4 (he wisely refuses to trade queens) Qf5 21. g4 Qg6 22. g5 f6 23. Qg4 e5 24. Qe6+ Kd8 25. Qd6 fxg5 26. Qb4 b6 27. Qg4 Qf5 28. Bxg5+ Kc8 29. Qg2 Rg8 30. Qxc6+ Kb8 31. h4 Qg4+ 32. Qg2 Qxg2 33. Kxg2 h6 and it's over.
SUMMARY
Notice that 18 of white's last 25 moves were with the Queen. He never got his bishop and rook into the action. Isolated threats do no good. You threaten a pawn, she guards it. You threaten a bishop she moves it. To get good double threats going usually requires two or three pieces working together.
1. e4 c6 2. Nf3 (d4 is recommended) d5 Black is trying to exchange her c-pawn for our e-pawn
Click here for a good Caro-Kahn video
3. Bd3 dxe4 4. Bxe4 Nf6 (developing and attacking) 5. Nc3 (developing and defending) Nxe4 6. Nxe4 Bf5 7. Ng5 (a precarious place for the knight - I prefer g3) e6 8. 0-0 Bg4
The correct answer is d3 guarding the unguarded g5 knight with our bishop.
I said "unguarded" because our knight on g5 is no longer protected. Do you see why?
The knight on f3 is pinned to our queen. Her queen could take our knight, we'd take her queen, but she'd get our queen. Our player made the mistake 9. Qe2?? Qxg5! 10. Qe4 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 Qg6 12. d3 Nd7 13. Qf4 Qf6 14. Qe4 Ba3?! What in the world? Is there a catch?
Of course there was a catch - good player's don't give away bishops for nothing! Rb1 is best, and though Bg5 is interesting, I think we come out a pawn down after Qxb2 or even if Qxg5 bxa3
The game continued 15. bxa3? Qxa1 And now I think our player had a chance at a comeback.
Do you see the trap he could easily set?
Surprise #1: Qa5 Now if her queen does not move once again we play Bf4 threatening both mate and RxQ. If she plays Qxa2, we can play Qxa7 with fighting chances for a mate on b8 with Q and B or mate on b7 with Q and R.
Surprise #2: Qb3 threatens Bb2 trapping the queen!
Surprise #3 c4 threatens Bb2 Qxa2 Ra1 trapping her majesty once again!
Unfortunately there are good ways out of all these traps, but at this stage of the game, we've got to try for something a little sneaky.
Our player continued from the diagram above with 16. Qg4 Qxa2 17. Qxg5 (although the pawn looks free it comes at the cost of opening up the g-file for her rooks.) Rf8 18. Qd4 Qd5 19. Qb4 Qb5 20. Qh4 (he wisely refuses to trade queens) Qf5 21. g4 Qg6 22. g5 f6 23. Qg4 e5 24. Qe6+ Kd8 25. Qd6 fxg5 26. Qb4 b6 27. Qg4 Qf5 28. Bxg5+ Kc8 29. Qg2 Rg8 30. Qxc6+ Kb8 31. h4 Qg4+ 32. Qg2 Qxg2 33. Kxg2 h6 and it's over.
SUMMARY
Notice that 18 of white's last 25 moves were with the Queen. He never got his bishop and rook into the action. Isolated threats do no good. You threaten a pawn, she guards it. You threaten a bishop she moves it. To get good double threats going usually requires two or three pieces working together.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
New rules for this blog
I can't use names on this blog until I have your parent or legal guardian give written permission.
So that means no more ratings until that happens. Sorry - school rules. And you all know you have to play by the rules.
So that means no more ratings until that happens. Sorry - school rules. And you all know you have to play by the rules.
Exciting 7th game
The 6th grader had a nice assault against his opponent's King but had lost a knight and a rook in the process. She began an assault of her own and he switched to defense when he needn't. I don't think he can win if she plays perfectly, but I think he had a chance if he just said to himself "I'm down two pieces and if we make it to an end game, I'm going to lose. So what have I got to fear - I might as well keep up my attack and see if I can checkmate her."
What move could he make to keep up the the attack against her king?
If you said Nxg3 or Bxg3, you are an attacker!
Let's try it Nxg3 20. hxg3 Bxg3 (Now she has to be careful! Kg2 or Ng2 and it's mate!) 21.Qg2 Be5 22. Rd1 g3 23. Qh1 (avoid the skewer and desperately trying to trade queens - not many other choices) Qg5 24. Ng3 (White has to stop the pawn and guard e3 lest he play d4 which would lead to checkmate exd4 Qe3+ Rf2 Qxf2#) Bg4
25. Qxh7? Rh8 26. Qf7 Rh1+ 27. Kxh1 Qh6+ 28. Kg1 Qg2# and he wins!
How about 25. Rb1 Rd6 26. Qh4 (the only move that saves the game) Qg7 27. Nf4! (This was a hard to find defense - it interferes with with bishop's protection of g3! If she doesn't find this, Rh6 wins for our player.) g2 with still some interesting possibilities.
Now let's try Bxg3 20. hxg3 Nxg3 21. Qg2 Nxf1 22. Qxf1 Rg8 23. Qf4 (with double threat Qb8 and Qxh6) This didn't work as well. Two bishops are better than a bishop and a knight. We had control of two important diagonals in the first example.
What move could he make to keep up the the attack against her king?
Let's try it Nxg3 20. hxg3 Bxg3 (Now she has to be careful! Kg2 or Ng2 and it's mate!) 21.Qg2 Be5 22. Rd1 g3 23. Qh1 (avoid the skewer and desperately trying to trade queens - not many other choices) Qg5 24. Ng3 (White has to stop the pawn and guard e3 lest he play d4 which would lead to checkmate exd4 Qe3+ Rf2 Qxf2#) Bg4
25. Qxh7? Rh8 26. Qf7 Rh1+ 27. Kxh1 Qh6+ 28. Kg1 Qg2# and he wins!
How about 25. Rb1 Rd6 26. Qh4 (the only move that saves the game) Qg7 27. Nf4! (This was a hard to find defense - it interferes with with bishop's protection of g3! If she doesn't find this, Rh6 wins for our player.) g2 with still some interesting possibilities.
Now let's try Bxg3 20. hxg3 Nxg3 21. Qg2 Nxf1 22. Qxf1 Rg8 23. Qf4 (with double threat Qb8 and Qxh6) This didn't work as well. Two bishops are better than a bishop and a knight. We had control of two important diagonals in the first example.
A 6th grade girl's game
Both of her (Black) bishops are hanging. Is there a way for this 6th grader to save them?
Yes! Move one with a threat. 13. ... Bxc3+ 14. bxc3 Nxe4 15. Nxe4 Bxe4 Not only did we save our Bishop, we came out a pawn ahead and traded off a few pieces leaving us with a three pawn advantage.
Here's the same game a few moves later. She is now up three pawns and although she lost her bishop she got his rook with a fork. Her last move was h6 and Richard replied with an odd move - he moved his queen from g3 to h3. What is her best move?
a) hxg5 b) Nb3 c) d5 d) c6
If it's White's turn, he has no good attack.
If you said b) very good! Let's save that knight while we still can
If you said c) very good! You're castled and your opponent isn't so open up that d-file for your queen and rooks!
If you said d) that's good too - it gains time while repelling his bishop while supporting the center and the d4 push while opening a possible path for your queen.
If you said a) hxg5 you just lost the game like she did. The game continued 20. hxg5 Nh5! 21. Qxh5 f6! 22. g6!! Rf7! 23. Qh8#!! I liked the way she fought after making the mistake to try to get away. But if she didn't take the poisoned knight, she could have won this game.
Here's the same game a few moves later. She is now up three pawns and although she lost her bishop she got his rook with a fork. Her last move was h6 and Richard replied with an odd move - he moved his queen from g3 to h3. What is her best move?
a) hxg5 b) Nb3 c) d5 d) c6
If you said b) very good! Let's save that knight while we still can
If you said c) very good! You're castled and your opponent isn't so open up that d-file for your queen and rooks!
If you said d) that's good too - it gains time while repelling his bishop while supporting the center and the d4 push while opening a possible path for your queen.
If you said a) hxg5 you just lost the game like she did. The game continued 20. hxg5 Nh5! 21. Qxh5 f6! 22. g6!! Rf7! 23. Qh8#!! I liked the way she fought after making the mistake to try to get away. But if she didn't take the poisoned knight, she could have won this game.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
A 5th grade girl's game 5
I think this is the position our 5th grader faced. Her opponent has just moved Bc3 attacking her rook.
What is her best move and how should she follow up?
a) Ra2 b) Rb1 c) Rxa3 d) Ne7+ e) Nh7+ f) Rxg7+
Work this out on a board.
I hope when faced with a position like this you look at all the choices. This was difficult because there are so many choices and the move looks a little dangerous, but if you think ahead several moves you might be able to figure it out. Even if you figure one move at a time, I think you'll come up with 22. Rxg7+! Kh8 23. Ng5!! The beauty of this is that it adds pressure on h7 and f7. So if they play Rg7 we have Nf7#. So instead they play Bxa1 24. (not Qh5?? trying to deflecting the knight because Qxf5 ruins our plans - we get his Queen but he gets ours and there's no mate and we're down) So instead Rxh7+ and he has two bad choices. 24. ... Kg8 25. Nh6#! so he must play 24. ... Nxh7 25. Qh5 pinning the knight and threatening an almost unstoppable mate. Qxf5 (his only hope, but even after giving up his queen black is still ahead in material because we gave up two rooks) 26. Bxf5 Kg7 (trying to escape via f6) 27. (figure out what your opponent wants to do and then DON'T LET 'EM DO IT! Nxh7 threatening Qg5+ then Qh6 with discovered mate Ng6# to follow. So Black must play defense and cannot play a2. 27. ... Ne7 28. Bxa3 (before it queens) Rxa3 29. Nxf8 Kxf8 30. Qh8+ Ng8 31. Bh7 attacking the pinned knight. White will be up a queen to a rook and a pawn. The queen will glide around the board issuing checks and eventually a fork to pick up a rook or bishop, plucking off pawns on the way.
I hope when faced with a position like this you look at all the choices. This was difficult because there are so many choices and the move looks a little dangerous, but if you think ahead several moves you might be able to figure it out. Even if you figure one move at a time, I think you'll come up with 22. Rxg7+! Kh8 23. Ng5!! The beauty of this is that it adds pressure on h7 and f7. So if they play Rg7 we have Nf7#. So instead they play Bxa1 24. (not Qh5?? trying to deflecting the knight because Qxf5 ruins our plans - we get his Queen but he gets ours and there's no mate and we're down) So instead Rxh7+ and he has two bad choices. 24. ... Kg8 25. Nh6#! so he must play 24. ... Nxh7 25. Qh5 pinning the knight and threatening an almost unstoppable mate. Qxf5 (his only hope, but even after giving up his queen black is still ahead in material because we gave up two rooks) 26. Bxf5 Kg7 (trying to escape via f6) 27. (figure out what your opponent wants to do and then DON'T LET 'EM DO IT! Nxh7 threatening Qg5+ then Qh6 with discovered mate Ng6# to follow. So Black must play defense and cannot play a2. 27. ... Ne7 28. Bxa3 (before it queens) Rxa3 29. Nxf8 Kxf8 30. Qh8+ Ng8 31. Bh7 attacking the pinned knight. White will be up a queen to a rook and a pawn. The queen will glide around the board issuing checks and eventually a fork to pick up a rook or bishop, plucking off pawns on the way.
So yes, this was difficult, it was dangerous, but I saw the possibilities and could resist the excitement! In any case the first move was safe and then we could have moved our rook. She chose the more conservative Ra2! A good move.
Now obviously you can't see all the moves from the beginning, but if the next few moves look promising and your opponent has few choices because he is either in check or checkmate is threatened, go ahead and start the attack.
Two chess lessons
In order to get us where we need to be to win next year, we need some additional lessons.
I'll post them on this blog periodically. Ready to begin your quest for excellence? Let's start now.
Just looked at one of our top player's games. Several of you are moving your Queen out too soon. You're also moving your queen too much. He moved his queen 18 times in a game that lasted 32 moves, so over half his moves were with one piece. You seldom can win that way.
I'd recommend that you all watch this video by Susan Polgar
And this 15 minute video on planning.
I'll post them on this blog periodically. Ready to begin your quest for excellence? Let's start now.
Just looked at one of our top player's games. Several of you are moving your Queen out too soon. You're also moving your queen too much. He moved his queen 18 times in a game that lasted 32 moves, so over half his moves were with one piece. You seldom can win that way.
I'd recommend that you all watch this video by Susan Polgar
And this 15 minute video on planning.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Pictures from the Statewide Chess Champioinships
Just click on the caption below to see the photo.
#30 Our player demonstrates excellent opening ideas.
#30 Our player demonstrates excellent opening ideas.
Farnsworth team with coach Bill Heinemann
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