In this week's Chess Questions Answered video I looked at how Black can win games in the Rubinstein structure in the French, which is reached after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 and now 4...Nd7 is the Rubinstein and 4...Bd7 is the Fort Knox. How is it done? Basically you need to be good at the endgame, like Uruguayan GM Georg Meier, who formerly represented Germany. Meier is the World's leading specialist in the Rubinstein, and he wins a lot of games in this opening.
Unfortunately this makes it a tough sell for most players, who would much prefer to crush their opponents with a sharp attack, for example in the Sicilian Dragon. Yet studying and playing the endgame is a sure-fire way for players to improve, it offers an extra dimension and way to win, plus the needed attention to detail can improve a player's thinking process.
Interestingly there are endgame options in many openings, without needing too much theoretical knowledge or having to take risks. This can make your chess life considerably less time consuming and stressful, though there is a need to play these endgames out!
Training Tournaments
Here are the latest scheduled events:
Sunday March 22nd, 5pm UK London System
Sunday March 22nd, 6.15pm UK French Wing Gambit
Video Discounts
This week there's a 40% discount off my Endgame Mastery series, using the code 'mar20to28'. In this series I show how you can improve your endgame play and use this stage of the game to notch up valuable points.
Last week's discount was 40% off purchasing Learning from the Greats: Akiba Rubinstein, using the code 'mar13to21'. Rubinstein was probably the best player in the World in 1911, but did not manage to secure a match for the title. Despite this he earned his place in chess history through his elegant games, phenomenal endgame technique and multiple discoveries in the opening. In this video series I examine different aspects of Rubinstein's play and show what can be learned from him
Upcoming Events
This is how things look right now. I'm hoping to get invites to the British Championships (August), European Senior Team Championships (late August) and English Senior Championships (October), but there's nothing definite as yet.
April 3 - 6: 4NCL Easter Congress, Daventry
I try to make most of the 4NCL Congresses because I like them so much. This one is 7 rounds, and played over Easter weekend.
April 18 - 29: World Senior Team Championships, Durres, Albania
I've had confirmation that I'll be in the 50+ first team for this one.
Have a good weekend.
Nigel
