I have made an observation while solving puzzles, that I feel will improve my tactical puzzle solving skills, and might have direct application during actual games. When solving a tactical puzzle of intermediate to advanced level I either: 1. Have no clue how to go about solving it and get it wrong. 2. Have multiple ideas that…
GM Dorfman, has suggested that every game has 5 or 6 critical junctures “forks” at which important decisions need to be made. By understanding that the game has reached a critical moment, you can take extra time in analyzing and evaluating your moves. These critical moments are where games are won or lost, and identifying these milestones in a…
White wins this position by creating a passed pawn on the Kingside. Note that if the Black pawn would be on d3 instead of c3, the game would be a theoretical draw. Copy the FEN position 4k3/1pp2ppp/p1p5/8/4P3/8/PPP2PPP/4K3 w – – 0 0 and play this position against an engine. NOTE: There was an issue with…
Before we get started let’s define what a ply is in chess: A ply is a half move and a move is equivalent to 2 ply or a turn by each player. For example, 1. e4 is one ply and 1…e5 would be the 2nd ply, together these two plys make one move. Getting close to the truth of…
White to move from Spielmann – Tartakower, 1925 Highlight for answer: 1.Qh6! Qxe1+ 2.Bf1 (2.Kg2? Ne3+), and Black must give away his Queen with 2. …Qe#+
1. Practising tactics – I cannot stress enough the importance of tactics at the sub 1800 level. If your time is limited, tactics training would be the one thing that would give you the greatest return on investment. 2. Playing and reviewing my games – This allows you to learn from your mistakes, and to…
Secrets of Zen Chess During my chess break, I ran into a friend of mine who loves chess and who had been in Japan doing a 4 week Seshin at a Japanese Zen Monestary.I asked him if he had time to practice his chess while at the monestary, and he told me that he had…
Chess is temporarily taking a backseat to new hobbies I am currently exploring…so my posting frequency will somewhat diminish. I am adjusting my chess training so that I will continue to spend 30 minutes per day doing chess tempo puzzles. In the meantime, I have compiled the most popular posts for your enjoyment: Key Squares Chess…
This is my first progress report on the chess goals and resolutions I made back on December 21st. While I haven’t had the time or inclination to update my blog, I have been active in my training averaging one hour per day of training. During the last two months, I have continously tweaked my training…
According to Mark Dvoretsky the analysis of one’s own games is the main means of self-improvement. In Secrets of Chess Training Dvoretsky offers the following guidelines: Find the turning points – Decide where mistakes were made, where the evaluation of the position changed or an opportunity was missed. Seek the reasons for your own mistakes…