Thursday, October 27, 2011

Sifu to Tawau

Sifu is taking a break and taking salt and sugar to Tawau for a week with family and joining son and daughter in law who been posted to Tawau General Hospital.
If meeting chess friends, may be a round or two but its mainly a short break from KL City and missing the DBKL Braille Chess 2011, this coming Sunday.
If free time and availability of internet cafe may be there's chess news from Tawau.

Tawau, Sabah

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Chess Blog


5 Things You Should Know before Entering Your First Chess Tournament

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If you’ve mastered the game of chess, the next natural step is to enter a tournament. Tournaments can be a wonderful way to not only show off your skills, but it’s also a great way to earn scholarships and prize money. Of course, there are a few things you should know before you enter your first chess tournament.
Early Entrants Can Save Money and Time
In many tournaments, chess players can save on the entrance fee by registering early. Not only can you expect a reduced prize, but early registration will also save you time. Players who register before the tournament don’t have to worry about coming early to fill out the paperwork. You simply arrive at the time that your first game is scheduled to begin.
Tournaments Are Evenly Matched
Players don’t have to worry about playing against competitors that are above their skill level. During registration, computer systems and/or directors rank the players based on their skills. This means that the player with the highest score can expect to play against a competitor that is closest to his ranking. As the tournament proceeds, players get one point for each game they win and are then placed against competitors with the same number of points. Players are expected to play through the entire competition and the competitor with the highest score wins.
Withdrawing Is Frowned Upon
It can be upsetting to lose a game in the tournament, but that’s no reason to withdraw. Because players are not eliminated, you should continue to play until the tournament is over. Not only may you succeed in the rest of your games, but you’ll get better by playing against some of the best players.
Open Events Can Be a Wonderful Learning Experience
If your first tournament is an open event, you can stand to learn a lot about the game. While players are grouped by age, children do have the chance to play against adults. Those that want to expand upon their skills should definitely consider playing against more skilled players, but they don’t have to.
Prizes Vary
The exact prizes awarded vary from tournament to tournament. In some cases the top winner receives a part of a large sum of money and the rest of the money is split up among the winners in smaller categories. In other tournaments, winners may receive titles or trophies. Exact details will be given to the competitor upon registration.
As you can see chess tournaments may sound intimidating, but they really aren’t. Not only are players evenly matched, but there are many winners and many prizes. You can also save time and money by registering early. Best of all, you can even increase your skills by choosing to play against competitors with higher skill levels.
About the Author: Celeste Perman is an avid chess player and amateur competitor. When she is not playing, she enjoys studying investments, UFX Markets, and personal finance and she finds it fascinating that at times chess and ufx are no different.

The French Defence by Simon Williams | Chess Blog

The French Defence by Simon Williams | Chess Blog

The French Defence by Simon Williams

Filed under General Chess
Tagged as
If you have ever played against me, you know I love French Defence. Here is a short video by Simon Williams on topic of French Defence.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

French Defense Exchange Variation 4 Nf3 Nc6 C01, 4 Nf3 Bd6 5 c4 C01, 4 Bd3 C01, 4 c4 C01 by IM John Watson

French Defense Exchange Variation 4 Nf3 Nc6 C01, 4 Nf3 Bd6 5 c4 C01, 4 Bd3 C01, 4 c4 C01 by IM John Watson

French Defence
Update October 2011
with IM John Watson
I want to catch up on a neglected variation this month, the Exchange Variation. It's hard to pin down because the play goes in so many directions, but I'll stick with standard Black defences for the most part, concentrating upon lines which top players seem to prefer at the moment.

To download the October '11 French games directly in PGN form, click here: Download Games

Leningrad Dutch 7...e6 A87, 7...c6 A88, 7...Nc6 A89, Grunfeld Defence Exchange Variation - 7.Qa4+, 7.Bg5, 7.Be3 D85 by GM Flear

Leningrad Dutch 7...e6 A87, 7...c6 A88, 7...Nc6 A89, Grunfeld Defence Exchange Variation - 7.Qa4+, 7.Bg5, 7.Be3 D85 by GM Flear

Daring Defences
Update October 2011
with GM Glenn Flear
This month we shall be investigating some ideas in the Leningrad Dutch, as well as recent developments in the Exchange Variation of the Grünfeld Defence.

To download the October '11 games directly in PGN form click here: Download Games

Classical Games Everybody Should Know, Part 8 - Chess.com

Classical Games Everybody Should Know, Part 8 - Chess.com




10

Classical Games Everybody Should Know, Part 8

There are not many games in the chess history as popular as the next one played by the great Emanuel Lasker. You'll be hard pressed to find a book on tactics that doesn't mention this game. The combination was even named after the second World Champion ("Lasker's combination").
(Just like in most of my articles I give you a chance to test your chess skills, so the games are given as a Quiz. Please remember that you can always replay the whole game from the first move if you click "Solution" and then "Move list".)
Emanuel Lasker (?) vs. Johann Hermann Bauer (?)
Amsterdam / Amsterdam
1889
ECO: A03 | 1-0

White to move
14... Nxh5
As we discussed last week, the point of studying classical games is to identify the useful ideas played by great chess players, memorize such ideas and hopefully implement them in your own games when such an opportunity exists.
Just look at the next classical game:
Aron Nimzowitsch (?) vs. Siegbert Tarrasch (?)
St. Petersburg
1914
ECO: D30 | 0-1

Black to move
19. exd4
I have no doubt that Tarrasch knew the Lasker game. By the way, this game wasn't awarded a brilliancy prize only because, as the tournament committee explained, the combination wasn't original. It is difficult to agree with such a decision. First of all, in my opinion a beauty is a beauty and therefore the game definitely deserved a brilliancy prize. But also Tarrasch introduced a very useful idea of a pawn sacrifice (18...d4!), which opens the diagonals for his Bishops. Compare Tarrasch's gem to the next modern game:
Garry Kasparov (?) vs. Lajos Portisch (?)
Niksic / Niksic
Round 4 | 1983
ECO: E12 | 1-0

White to move
16... Na5
(If you are interested in detailed annotations of this game, you can find them in my article from last year: indian-defense )
As you can see Kasparov used both ideas (the center d5 break and the double Bishop sacrifice).
Despite being one of the best-known combinations, the "Lasker sacrifice" from time to time is missed even by Grandmasters:
Anthony Miles (?) vs. Walter Shawn Browne (?)
Lucerne (Switzerland) / Lucerne (Switzerland)
1982
ECO: A04 | 1-0

White to move
17... Rad8??
As the next game shows, even the greatest players sometimes forget about textbook combinations :
Judit Polgar (2722) vs. Anatoli Karpov (2693)
7th Essent / Hoogeveen NED
Round 1 | 12 Oct 2003
ECO: C42 | 1-0

White to move
24... Qc5??
I hope that after you saw these classical games today, you are not going to fall for this combination anymore and also you won't miss an opportunity to punish your opponent if he allows you to unleash the power of Lasker's Bishops.
Good luck!