tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21979316343724608262011-11-27T16:28:11.354-08:00<center>A father and son's journey through chess mastery</center>hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.comBlogger771100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-57053818673556779272007-09-04T10:08:00.001-07:002007-09-04T14:13:15.797-07:00

Earlier this summer checkers had been solved. This was solved using what is known as a "weak" solve. It was not a complete tablebase of all the positions, which would be a strong solve. But rather, using a combination of an opening database, deep enough searching to get to the tablebases and significant enough tablebases, they could essentially guarantee a draw in every game.The process of how

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-42746068879069738862007-09-02T09:43:00.000-07:002007-09-02T09:51:08.662-07:00

Andy Soltis published an article today, titled: "Many Teachers, Masters of Deceit"It is very short, but it reads like a crazed page from time to time here in the Errant's Arena.It actually gives me hope about tactics training, it puts openings back on the table, (which I suspect, is probably correct), and still doesn't provide any path towards "understanding". The salient points...September 2,

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-17727548915284419812007-08-31T07:39:00.000-07:002007-08-31T08:02:20.006-07:00

I just love Searching for Bobby Fischer.  While ostensibly it is the Josh Waitzkin story, it does a remarkable job of capturing many many of the arguments and sentimentalities of scholastic chess and even chess in general.   More so than any other chess movie that I have seen.   Unfortunately, I have not read the book, but I think that I must at this point.I have read, mostly,  Josh Waitzkin's

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-9068502131571632452007-08-29T16:15:00.000-07:002007-08-29T21:32:11.706-07:00

Pawn Shaman has tagged me...1. How long have you been playing chess? Have you played it consistently since you started, or were there lulls in your play? How did these lulls affect your performance?I have been playing for about 35 years.   As a kid I knew nothing, and pretty much nothing stuck.  Somewhere in about 10th grade I learned scholars mate, and was starting to get good enough to beat my

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-78183267677422788712007-08-23T09:05:00.000-07:002007-08-23T13:05:32.516-07:00

All of this stuff about openings, and specifically chessloser's game that he won recently against an 1. f3 opener reminded me of a story that had happened about 6 years ago on ICC.It was prior to 9/11 and the world that we now know.  In that innocent time, when we didn't know just how big a prick Bobby Fischer was.  Just how good a computer program could be.  Many of us were still in the midst of

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-79654073209100757962007-08-21T08:50:00.000-07:002007-08-21T09:23:25.419-07:00

I don't think I am giving too much away here that hasn't already been said in the past, but I am old.Back when I first started playing really competitive chess, we had just gotten Commodore Pets in the computer lab.  hmmm... chiclet keyboards in that fancy ABCDE layout!It would be years before we had Battle Chess, and we could enjoy kicking the crap out of our computers.   I was no David Levy,

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-81528524355454189422007-08-18T07:03:00.000-07:002007-08-18T07:25:26.755-07:00

There was a very interesting story that was posted on the Rybka forum yesterday and it was a bit relevant to some of the current memes being tossed around on the Knight's blogs lately.Namely there is a wide held belief that openings simply don't matter much for class play.  This belief was core to de La Maza's central plans. But, it conflicts with both the reality of more opening books are

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-35335426117930259932007-08-11T13:00:00.006-07:002007-08-11T13:05:49.918-07:00

The newly elected Chairman of the USCF, was the subject of an English TV show that discussed why she was such a good chess player.Many people here know the story of the Polgar Sisters, and some of her father's theories.   But this is an interesting take and takes you right into the actual brain programming of templating and such.It has not been shown in the US yet, but may make it to BBC America,

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-52376628735829286862007-08-10T11:30:00.001-07:002007-08-10T12:10:06.620-07:00

One of the best parts of my vacation was playing chess from time to time with my son.   There was nothing better than sitting outside prior to the blistering heat, enjoying a cup of stove-top coffee and enjoying a game of chess.And I learned some stuff that I think is relevant to the folks here on the list.I am going to talk about openings last...He was quite tenacious in all of the games.  There

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-74615357966193047682007-08-07T19:03:00.000-07:002007-08-08T15:54:40.771-07:00

From the woods, canyons and mountains of north-eastern Washington, family and I have returned.  Triumphant.  Or at least our son has.   He nailed a 17" wild rainbow trout with flesh as orange as an Alaskan salmon from that metallic stream up there.So, fishing worked for Josh from time-to-time, and while we don't have a sea worthy boat, nor a mom that can fight off sharks, we do have a Kia Amanti,

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-90024671509939576922007-07-19T15:34:00.000-07:002007-07-19T15:44:33.506-07:00

From Tic Tac Toe, to Connect 4, onto Checkers, Chess then Go. Checkers has fallen. 24 Piece Tablebases have been created, and wired into an unbeatable game.And currently we are of the belief that chess, while not solved, on standard laptop computers are of a strength that may be beyond any human play over the board. It may well never be solved because of storage problems. But it sure doesn't

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-42830987449781309282007-07-17T09:44:00.000-07:002007-07-17T09:52:02.592-07:00

First, do no harm.Tactics training has been taking a time off. While the tactics training and thinking had been working, it was clear that there was a blockage happening for him and me, and sometimes it seems the only way to let the blockage clear is to let your brain rest for a bit.He has just taken his first chess camp of the summer. His instructor was GM Emil Anka. It is actually very rare

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-76854914269543265392007-07-07T13:56:00.000-07:002007-07-07T14:05:43.448-07:00

In what I think was a relatively little noticed match, where the fans put up the money if a GM could beat their favorite engine, Rybka, even with it's arms tied behind its back (the program could only have an opening book 3 moves deep, was always black, had no table bases and only had 1/2 as much time to play as the GM).Granted the GM was sub-2700, and in the bottom half of the top 10 in the US.

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-28551928158355760772007-07-04T08:57:00.001-07:002007-07-04T09:16:01.989-07:00

One of the common tactics happens when the C pawn is put in play. This obviously happens in the Sicilian Defense, but also happens in the Queen's Gambit, The English, Reti Systems, The Caro-Kann, and The Slav. And I am sure a bunch more.The Key to the tactic is to remember that your Queen starts on the same color as your opponents King. And that when the Queen moves diagonally to either the

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-82190041624964847992007-07-03T10:32:00.001-07:002007-07-04T09:14:48.482-07:00

This was a position from what has been reported to be what I think is the first round of the world open. Black to move.This is a high class tactical shot, that led to a direct checkmate of his unwitting opponent! A beautiful, beautiful play.From the Chess Drum Blog...After Bonin’s 1.Rc1-c4, Paragua took a few moments and then started a seven move mating sequence starting with 1…Bh2+!! On 2.Qxh2

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-53807922211317741622007-07-03T09:47:00.001-07:002007-07-03T09:50:59.860-07:00

Well, the folks at blogger have given us this great new feature... Polls. As you can see over there on the sidebar, is the question, how do you do your tactics training? Vote early, vote often. And if you maintain absolute loyalty, maybe we will find a way to commute your sentence.

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-33006331977741199382007-07-02T14:09:00.000-07:002007-07-02T14:13:49.385-07:00

In honor of this very important day... This tom-foolery...

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-84168163667361494532007-07-01T10:02:00.000-07:002007-07-01T10:21:41.475-07:00

At this point we are moving to 1.d4 openings and the positions that are generally available. If I have missed any positions that should have been included earlier, please comment so that I know and correct it.One of the truths about Queen's pawn openings is that they are quieter, more positional, less tactical. As you can see from the diagram, and that should be obvious, is that there is only a

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-49480573292447988882007-06-30T11:11:00.000-07:002007-06-30T11:14:17.647-07:00

Proof that algebraic notation is just too hard for the average guy to understand.

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-80801232128678273112007-06-29T12:15:00.000-07:002007-06-29T12:18:24.354-07:00

A leisure suit on the beach and the truth of youth, intertwined with the future of blogging...  Enjoy.

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-54504795325692513392007-06-28T18:40:00.000-07:002007-06-28T18:56:49.851-07:00

This is in response to an interesting article by Hard Days Knight.I had planned to write a comment on his blog about this, but it became bigger than just a comment, a topic was required.Beware that I am not a trained Game Theorist. Though I play one on the Internet. All conclusions and basis and actual game theory is purely a coincidence. Though I would appreciate any thoughts you might have.

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-59772320832410331932007-06-27T21:48:00.000-07:002007-06-27T23:01:14.527-07:00

I received a letter from the Author of Engaging Pieces. He had an expectation of it being posted, so I am going to make it a full post, and I will answer his questions after the letter. Here goes...June 27, 2007HisBestFriend,I appreciate your purchase of my book, and I appreciate your comments. A number of newspaper columnists (Worcester Telegram, Washington Post) have reviewed Engaging

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-52084378956728372492007-06-27T06:25:00.001-07:002007-06-27T13:30:02.642-07:00

According to this site, you should not be likely able to solve the second of these problems unless you have had a frontal lobotomy.   Of course, I gave it a try.  The first problem took me a little bit of time, probably about 50 seconds or so.  The second one, took about 3 seconds.   Crap, I had been wondering what my wife has been up to at night. I have turned off commenting for a little bit,

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-10595475008638555872007-06-26T08:53:00.000-07:002007-06-27T07:20:35.087-07:00

For the person that has been grabbed by an opening trap, central in the Fried Liver, the Traxler, or the Poisoned Pawn version of the Najdorf, it doesn't matter how good you are, or what your principles are, Some things you know, and some you don't. That is one of the reasons to study openings.In the last World Chess Championship, held in Amsterdam earlier this month, the ultimate game came down

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-89392137452999008552007-06-25T19:17:00.000-07:002007-06-25T19:20:02.072-07:00

Bonus...This is what I really worry about when I try to explain stuff to my son.   That I will sound like this.

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-69222644214802971442007-06-24T21:35:00.000-07:002007-06-27T22:54:52.417-07:00

I pre-ordered this book largely based on this pre-launch page on the Mother Ship. I am again entirely conflicted about this book. I show no mercy, world champion under the bus with you. Smiley faces under the bus. Idiots guide on the mantle. DVD about a dicey opening on the mantle, general opening work under the bus. I simply call them as I see them.The only sane thing I can say is: You have

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-52344852364772996812007-06-24T12:59:00.001-07:002007-06-24T13:21:35.057-07:00

It may just be a harmonic convergence of the universe and it may just be blind luck.   But I was not thinking of the book Engaging Pieces when I was writing the last piece about chasing the line.   Just noticing how it was happening in real life when my kid was playing.However, here we are.  The very first article/chapter (more on this in the next column), is a conversation with Michael de la

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-72890317309461367162007-06-23T08:00:00.000-07:002007-06-22T19:43:30.484-07:00

Hey, I think I am beating BDK here on a book review!!!!I just received my copy of Engaging Pieces by Howard Goldowsky. It apparently was just released by Amazon earlier this week. I just wanted to get some light non-chessy chess reading, and it looked like it would fill the bill.There will be a fuller review later (I am about half-way through), but the killer news, is that the Knights are

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-64382443613493902792007-06-22T08:00:00.000-07:002007-06-21T22:36:31.918-07:00

"It's all about wins and losses.  Not what's important." That movie to me, is so right on.  And every time I think I am over it, I get dragged back in.It was last weekend's tournament and my bestfriend is in second place rating wise.  And just like any of the tournaments it is full of tears when things don't go well.And not going well, of course,  means losing.   Regardless of what I tell my son,

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-82252168529799952742007-06-21T08:00:00.000-07:002007-06-21T10:15:28.651-07:00

Ok, this is me speaking.  But this doesn't seem like bad news at this point.  I am rather encouraged.My best friend came in 3rd overall this weekend.  It was only a 3/5 score, but he lost to the 1 and 2 players.  Each of them from the significant jaws of victory.  He claims it was because he did not get enough rest each round as his was the last game each round. This says way more about the

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-66276942995801183422007-06-20T10:24:00.000-07:002007-06-20T10:35:29.286-07:00

This position is so common that in the database of over 1 million games that it appears in about 10% of the games. Now it doesn't win, but it is often the most powerful move on the board, and it often generates the central point of the opening.In many king pawn openings, there is a half open, or fully open file from King to King. Often the best way to leverage the power that is created by this

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-24935842285337299442007-06-18T13:22:00.000-07:002007-06-19T23:01:05.148-07:00

Ok, so I was trolling the blogosphere, as we do. And I came upon this very interesting dutch blog, chesshere.com.Here the author has put up several videos on You Tube that are from the very instructive video about the Lucena position, to a very interesting and informative endgame in the Carlsen V Aronian candidate match. Plus, now I know how to imbed video!

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-1577759904411614812007-06-16T07:45:00.000-07:002007-06-16T08:04:18.107-07:00

Things have taken an interesting turn since we have started this thing.Primarily, it has worked better than expected, we have both gotten much stronger. He mostly through doing exercises through PCT. For now I am going to assume that it is the actual exercise that is helping. But I suspect that there is something to be said for just actual chess brain engagement that is helping.I have also

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-65850008517525489232007-06-13T08:00:00.000-07:002007-06-12T22:39:20.564-07:00

Part of the problem with scholastic chess, especially in the wild far west, where we just don't seem to have many if any chess tournaments, is that it is hard to keep playing through the summer time.Now, yes, summer is supposed to be about swimming, hiking, and watching hours of it on television. And is hardly supposed to be about anything involving brain activity, it is difficult for those that

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-17533891267940838472007-06-12T08:00:00.000-07:002007-06-11T21:40:11.725-07:00

This position can come from a number of different openings. It is quite natural for the King Side Bishop to rest on c4 or c5 bearing down on the nearly unprotected F-pawn. It can capture with check, which in many positions will either draw the King out in the open, or result in a royal demise.I have chosen three positions to show what is going on. A Sicilian, A Kings Opening miniature by my

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-66273333412033284832007-06-11T09:22:00.001-07:002007-06-11T09:29:14.764-07:00

This is actually interesting, because for the most part, it doesn't result in what you think it might result in.If you do a search on any reasonable database the positional fragment of the knight on f7, the King on e8 the Queen on d8 and the rook on h8, you will find a number of games, a large, large quantity of those games are not a simple fork of the Queen and Rook, but the beginning of a

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-9071368472759136322007-06-10T10:32:00.001-07:002007-06-10T10:46:59.735-07:00

Thus begins the Mother of all Positional Tactics. It is arguable in any system, that this should be considered position 1. Many open kings pawn games (1. e4 e5) have this either as a central part of their opening or an underlying threat to the opening. This is the weakness of the f-pawn as it sits in it's starting position. It is only protected by the King. This leads to the fundamental

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-21380004195270391412007-06-09T16:17:00.000-07:002007-07-04T09:17:23.004-07:00

Many of these early positions are actually tough to pull off in games. That doesn't mean they aren't important. They are important because they help decide what happens in the opening by preventing you or your opponent from doing things. They can also come back in the middle of the game if the opponent has not taken care to deal with the questions these positions ask.This second position also

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-76268008156575049252007-06-08T07:08:00.000-07:002007-06-08T07:13:40.961-07:00

I have yet to find a list of specific positional tactics. Especially, the tactics that are generally available based on the starting position of the pieces.This is strange, however, because they are key positions to moving from Beginner, to Intermediate, to Master. They are core to openings, and often the point of gambits or the traps of the openings. They are key to many middle game

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-64665784641671675132007-06-07T08:00:00.001-07:002007-06-07T15:17:47.407-07:00

I have been watching Blunderprone's games against Cindy Loo with a bit of interest. His last game had a very interesting tactic that was going to be my next topic.But the whole game got me thinking. The end of that game just didn't seem to be jiving with the rating of the player, and the whole advantage of booking up just came clear. I had always believed it was so that you could ride on the

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-21511901336053338752007-06-06T14:18:00.000-07:002007-06-06T14:37:32.881-07:00

Pawns are the soul of chess -- François-André Danican PhilidorBut gambits are the windex -- His Best Friend.One of the outcomes of this last month or so of playing with my best friend is that I have come to have a deep appreciation of the gambit. Not for their tactics, surprise or aggression. But for the clarity that they bring to a position.It is not the game per se that is interesting, it is

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-62256203618991079352007-06-05T12:27:00.000-07:002007-06-05T12:34:15.210-07:00

A couple of quickie items that hit me today...First, I got a comment for Chess Teacher. Thanks for looking! While he is not a knight, his blog seems to have a lot of useful postings for the knights. Check it out!Second, this posting seems to be right up the alley of a couple of the knights on the sidebar. The mechanics of learning seems to be at least one of the topics of discussion. And hits

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-31063119291681631642007-06-05T09:49:00.000-07:002007-06-05T15:20:07.166-07:00

Blue Devil Knight asked me an interesting question about my last post.I wonder how harmful such inaccuracies are to the patzer (e.g., me) reading the book to improve at chess. -- Blue Devil KnightI have no idea if there is research on a question like this. I certainly know of none. But it is an interesting question nonetheless, and I have some guesses...I have had an interesting relationship

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-10494693292934188082007-06-04T17:42:00.000-07:002007-06-05T08:20:12.543-07:00

Ok, I am certainly not a world champion, but I do operate a computer program that beat one. And with the last game out of Euwe's book Chess Master v. Chess Amateur, I simply have to continue. I had been playing gambits against my son in order to sharpen up the games and give him more to think about. This has also made my game more aggressive as I beat the 1700 player at the mall (heh). So what

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-75040726503790314122007-06-03T20:35:00.001-07:002007-06-04T09:19:51.135-07:00

Well, having discovered the fact that chess books probably make a whole lot more sense if you have a chess set handy, I took a look at the index of Euwe's book and decided to take a look at the Blackmar gambit. Of course by the time that I get there I find it is a classic screed against the Scandinavian.Oh well, I will give it a shot. What I do is that I put Fritz into infinite analysis and

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-38064525029336816742007-06-02T07:27:00.000-07:002007-06-02T08:18:14.723-07:00

In Washington State, the scholastic tournaments are one day, five round swiss events. Stamina and energy use are key for most players that play in these events. If you happen to be at one end of the spectrum or the other (statistically you should win 1 or 0 games, or all 5 games pretty easily), this will tend to mean less to you. Your diet and stamina, will not mean as much.But for many

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-48610025824463936302007-06-01T11:53:00.001-07:002007-06-01T12:13:04.831-07:00

Max Euwe wrote an interesting and difficult to read book called the Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur. As you know this book doesn't make it on my recommended list, but I keep getting called back to it by very helpful folk. So I go back.Game 7 deals with the concept of the Premature Attack. And is the Patzer's Attack. But ECO has a code for it nontheless. Interestingly enough, this concept of

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-10610424698807856082007-06-01T00:11:00.000-07:002007-06-01T00:50:17.675-07:00

I have been running around like a chicken with it's neck cut off, trying to find the "right" things to study.Lamenting about the poor educational materials out there. Wondering how anyone, gets anywhere at all. It finally dawned on me that the only way to read a book, is with a board. You cannot read it independently. (Like printing costs are through the roof). Why print any images if I am

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-27172048514079318182007-05-31T08:54:00.000-07:002007-05-31T09:01:04.388-07:00

What are your favorite plans in the opening. How do you plan on tricking your opponents? It is a well placed check by the Queen on the A file. Is it taking off the B7 pawn by your white bishop. Maybe it is dropping a Knight down on C7 to fork the Queen and Rook.I am trying to compile a list of cheapies. Those tactics that are always there for the taking, if your opponent is going to leave

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-59054597235399177602007-05-29T14:11:00.001-07:002007-05-29T14:31:42.415-07:00

There seems to be some lack of clarity as to what we are doing, so I am going to pass on what we are doing.This is the summer of being a chess mom. I am going to organize, and initiate the training, even when it sucks for him. We talked about it and agreed before this started, and we both signed up for only the summer. Whether or not he wants to continue with any sort of intensity after the

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-17719701564233352252007-05-27T22:50:00.000-07:002007-05-27T23:12:08.606-07:00

Well, he has done it again. He has pulled hardware in his last three tournaments, and this time, he placed in the top 8 with 3 1/2 points in the State Scholastic Open tournament. Wee haw.Now the plea for help.So interestingly enough, even with his loses to the Fried Liver Attack, he is compelled to play e5 as black. (He does not play open games as white). And I generally play against him

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-33894175989329401772007-05-25T20:43:00.001-07:002007-05-29T14:32:12.687-07:00

Dang it, he let an 1800 player off the hook and he had him. Me I would have voted to give him the perpetual check. But no, my best friend wanted to kill, and got slightly disheartened. He saw it, and went for it, and just didn't get it.Can you see the perpetual?Wow.The game continued... Rc8Rd1 Rc5Qb7 ... And ????So sad, he had his man...

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-66965519865829933632007-05-25T14:48:00.001-07:002007-05-25T15:15:28.387-07:00

He's me. Or maybe, I am him. I don't know, maybe it is just Deja Vu. One of the most respected documents on the Web is by Dan Heisman, and it is about Real Chess. There is a link on the sidebar to that document, and most of you have read it. If you haven't and you are here, because of your desire to do better at chess, read it.Now, I had dismissed off hand his book, Everyone's 2nd Chessbook

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-17026705921535017732007-05-24T06:45:00.000-07:002007-05-24T06:50:04.600-07:00

I have a couple of books on the way. Heisman's second book of chess for everyone. I had been confused that it was mostly a rehash of Novice Nook articles, which seem to be rehashes of the don't lose mantra of Real Chess. Don't get me wrong. I think that Real Chess is Real Important. But after reading a bit deeper using the search inside feature I have sent off for a real copy. (He actually

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-53149071598649431002007-05-23T08:32:00.001-07:002007-05-23T08:37:52.252-07:00

There is a huge math problem in my state. The state has been attempting to provide required math testing requirements. But they found that almost half of the kids would fail at every level, and they don't know why. I have my suspicions.These are two questions that were taken from my kids homework over the last month. Both required you to show your work. I am not making this up. These are

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-83140986739148561352007-05-22T13:20:00.001-07:002007-05-22T13:31:03.694-07:00

My best friend thanks y'all for the compliments. It was a good tournament, and I actually have some other games that are interesting as well. However, even that short game showed some interesting things. It showed how not to play, it also showed how to take someone out, by attacking your opponent's KB2 square. Sometimes descriptive is better than algebraic. However, he made the Ne4 play, not

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-78777415386525950862007-05-20T11:09:00.001-07:002007-05-20T11:22:19.993-07:00

Thanks for the input on the Maxims. I have a lovely little railing piece (as I do), but I was interrupted slightly by my best friend.First, he tied for first in the scholastic tournament he played in yesterday!! Wee Haw! Actually he would have won, I believe, except for some software difficulties by the director, but we made our case, lost gracefully, and took home the third overall trophy.It

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-35920111750143792802007-05-18T09:32:00.001-07:002007-05-18T09:52:06.421-07:00

Gary Kasparov is writing a book that will discuss the computer era. It was supposed to be part of his great predecessors series, and now it will apparently be a part of the revolution series. I am looking forward to it.But one of the things that happened during the computer era, which I dropped out of chess like many people do, when forced between a life of cheeto's and a life of cheese, is

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-34902353939206519682007-05-17T11:39:00.000-07:002007-05-17T11:44:28.345-07:00

This should be extremely obvious to the Knights. Those that use computers in one of the most breakthrough methods of education and discussion. The Blog-o-sphere. This has happened in several ways for chess. One is that you can have all of your own games at least initially reviewed by computers of grandmaster strength. The ability to narrow your play to key decisions while the silicon

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-22065533039113951542007-05-15T09:50:00.000-07:002007-05-15T18:18:04.730-07:00

The second book that was recommended to me was Patrick Wolff's The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess.I had high hopes for the book from the recommendations and the reviews at Amazon. And, as cranky as I am, I liked it. However... The unfortunate thing, is that it generally is written to a lower level. This is not a bad thing though. One of the big problems in scholastic chess, is that the vast

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-29322509355361413482007-05-14T16:31:00.000-07:002007-05-15T15:09:26.556-07:00

Well over the weekend I have received both Max Euwe's (which I found out via the other book is pronounced "U-Vay". Eall-ray) Chess Master Vs. Chess Amateur. I also received Patrick Wolff's The Complete Idiot's Guide to Chess. I purchased both of these on the recommendations and readings I have done the past few weeks. I had little hope for the first and high hopes for the second. The

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-13336209496400628342007-05-12T14:03:00.000-07:002007-05-12T14:04:42.968-07:00

This is from my best friends game last night. WTM.

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-36367093056064206852007-05-12T08:28:00.000-07:002007-05-12T08:33:59.162-07:00

Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.- Sun Tzu And computers may have proven Sun wrong. I am nearly 100 percent sure that tactics is by far where most strength is to be gained at my level. It is why I am a knight, it is why my child is a knightlet. If you know nothing except tactics, you can avoid bad situations, and

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-54962780841955777502007-05-11T08:01:00.000-07:002007-05-11T08:26:34.511-07:00

Enough dilly-dalling, it is time for me to let you know what I think is one of the best all time documentation available for the non-expert player.The title is the The Scandinavian the Easy Way, by IM Andrew Martin. Published by Chessbase. It sells for about 29.99 and you can find it at many places including Wholesalechess.com. Chessbase has a review as well.I also ordered the ABC's of Chess

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-47348265673187229962007-05-10T08:20:00.001-07:002007-05-10T08:35:59.694-07:00

There is in general a second documentation gap. That is for that group of players that have just "learned" to play chess. And that can include all if us.This group of people are dying for the helping hand. The pathway of information that will help them improve their game. You have tons and tons of literature, but it is written for grandmasters by grandmasters. It is some sort of bizarre

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-4564424012830965252007-05-09T09:48:00.000-07:002007-05-09T10:01:09.561-07:00

I cannot think of anything quite like a scholastic chess tournament. Is there any other kind of competitive event where fully half the people there have no idea what they are doing? And when they do poorly they will never return again?It creates all sorts of interesting problems. First is for the parents of kids that are hoping that their childres will learn chess so that they can do better

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-32171273520028845382007-05-08T13:09:00.000-07:002007-05-08T17:09:46.946-07:00

Most of the time, chess instruction is like learning how to eat dinner in a French restaraunt by reading a French dictionary. Seriously.The very people that would find the most use for a given topic of chess instruction, are inhibited from learning it, because they simply do not have any idea how to read it yet. This is a classic communication problem. And it comes from not having well

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-71742893227248004102007-05-04T08:14:00.000-07:002007-05-04T08:29:50.634-07:00

Alas, scholastic chess. This unfortunately never came up in our training. We used avoidance in our training at the advice of Yasser in his openings book. He has been trained in the Reti and Pirc.But we are now at the god stage, and with that, I can play anything. And actually his school coach has been telling him that the pirc is not so strong?!?Ultimately, this is probably a good thing. He

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-29309998530717213342007-05-03T09:29:00.000-07:002007-05-03T12:31:45.692-07:00

Winning and losing is what they are all about. It's not chess, chess is art.- Searching for Bobby FischerI got to tell you, I love this movie. It is a good movie, exciting, and moves me as a parent. But more importantly, the author/screenwriter/director has done an amazing job of actually capturing many of the struggles of chess, that have nothing to do with the actual moving of the pieces.One

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-41174116502350449112007-05-02T14:26:00.000-07:002007-05-02T16:05:57.687-07:00

One of the difficulties I have in teaching my son how to play the game, is that I don't have a good enough sense of the absurd. I can't teach him unsound openings, because well they are unsound. And if I can't teach him, then how is he going to get those all to precious wins. How will he learn to beat them?There is clearly a category of books that are missing. Andrew Martin has a wonderful

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-35067320114076900302007-05-01T11:03:00.000-07:002007-05-01T11:18:34.536-07:00

One of the common complaints for the Knights can be summed: "Yeah, so what."What about positions, openings, reasoning. Like I am going to be playing and a giant light will come on saying "Tactic Ahead! Sac your queen NOW!" A young scholastic player doesn't know what he doesn't know. Just has a desire to beat the crap out of his opponent, and is willing to do whatever it takes. So no self

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-5084104745798817332007-04-30T20:39:00.000-07:002007-04-30T20:45:52.278-07:00

It took me until 9th grade to beat my father at chess. Even then I don't think I could consistently beat him until I was a senior.My son, in the 3rd grade has now taken that torch. I am both delighted and saddened. My father, "Big Daddy" to the grandkids is now not as excited to play his grandson. My hope is that I will enjoy getting my ass eventually whoomped by the kid when he is no longer

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-31211181343892188872007-04-29T11:58:00.000-07:002007-04-29T12:02:56.900-07:00

A great big thank you to Blue Devil, and hello to the Knights that have arrived. I hope that you enjoy our adventure, and that y'all get at least a little bit of entertainment and edification out of this. But I think the Knights understand that comradery and process are key parts of chess mastery. So as Minnie says HOOOOWWWDY!

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-44279352823906603772007-04-28T08:22:00.000-07:002007-05-01T11:23:37.786-07:00

Friday night is one of the regular times you can actually get some chess in around here. They hold quads at the Chess4Life center. A local organization that started in the last year, that is both a result of the local chess boom, and will also help drive it.You can also play at the local mall crossroads, quads at Eckstein middle school. And the University of Washington has an informal

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-40899447320158831852007-04-27T11:43:00.000-07:002007-04-28T08:16:21.995-07:00

Our goal this summer is to jam pack our knowledge. Just like any good stage dad. However, the only thing I am signed up for here, and the only thing he signed up for, is one summer. This summer. Hopefully he gains enough chess mastery in this one summer, that with little other work, except exposure, he can choose to play chess competively for the rest of his scholastic career. Without feeling

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-1780125049731345362007-04-26T15:58:00.001-07:002007-04-28T08:18:31.359-07:00

Seattle in 1980. This was an interesting year. The Seattle Chess explosion is just about to end. Yasser Sierawan and John Donaldson are about to leave town. There was still chess at the Last Exit on Brooklyn, and even still happening a bit at the Pizza Haven on the Ave. But at Garfield High School, there is no one left. I am your typical non-performing, overly qualified senior. Nobody

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2197931634372460826.post-73788108098183145652007-04-25T14:41:00.000-07:002007-05-14T20:41:07.037-07:00

Welcome all to my and my son's chess log. Hopefully this blog will be useful to y'all as we vicariously participate in the chess learning process. We have a decent wealth of experience behind us. This was my son's first anniversery of chess. He plays in the advanced chess club at his school. An award winning participant of Elena's Donaldson's chess camp last summer. He is 4/0 in an 8 round

hisbestfriendhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06713960560378854865noreply@blogger.com0