All posts by NigelD

BUILDING AN OPENING REPERTOIRE, FRENCH DEFENCE, TRAINING

FINDING TIME TO TRAIN

One of the biggest issues many players face is finding time to train. With the festive period upon us, and a large number of bank holidays, is an opportunity suddenly presenting itself? Frankly I don't think so. Maybe there's a chance for a little bit more, but the key is to incorporate any training (chess or otherwise) into your regular lifestyle. For many this may not be possible at all.

When I was first doing qigong (chi kung) I managed to train for a couple of hours a day, but there were sacrifices. I got up well before I had to wake my son up and take him to school, and normally managed an hour. Then in the evening I usually managed another hour after putting him to bed. This went on for day after day, week after week and year after year.

I would say that qigong is easier to practice than chess, mainly because it calls for relaxed attention rather than fierce concentration. If I had been learning chess instead then an hour would have been the most I could do without being completely exhausted. Many people are lucky if they can find a fraction of that amount of time.

What should you study with very little time? It's essential to prioritize things that will give you most bang for your buck. Tactics practice should take priority unless you hit a point of diminishing returns, then endgames might take priority. This is why openings should be kept simple and logical, there just isn't time for complexity and having to stay up to date in highly theoretical lines.

Making time is an answer for some, for example by pruning back some activities and pursuits. I went through a period of trying to learn Russian, but then stopped when I realized it wasn't that important for me. I still practice qigong, but have pruned that back to around an hour a day.

Training Tournaments

The training tournaments this week are in positions from the ZOOM Scandinavian course as follows:

Sunday December 22nd at 5pm UK Time: The ZOOM Scandinavian with 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 g6

Sunday December 22nd at 6.15pm UK Time: The Scandinavian with 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.d4 Nc6

Upcoming Events

Here's my schedule over the coming months, though it is subject to change. I often don't know until fairly late in the day:

January 17-19: Huddersfield 4NCL Congress
I really enjoy the 4NCL Congresses as they're played under excellent conditions in nice hotels. This is the first one in Huddersfield, you can find details here.

January 27th: Stockport Rapidplay
I've played in this event with some regularity, so probably I'll go for it again. You can find details here.
.
February 16-27, 2025: World Senior Team Championship
I've accepted a place in the 50+ second team which means I'll play a much stronger field than on bottom board of the first team. Although this diminishes my chances of winning a medal I'm looking forward to the challenge.

July/August 2025: British Championships
Will these be held in Liverpool next year? There's a rumour on Tim Spanton's blog that they would be. I think I might go for the 50+ event if this is the case.

I am still hoping to play in the European Senior Team Championships (Walbrzych, Poland, April 4-14) in which I've said I'll play in any team and on any board. The details have yet to be confirmed, but when they are the teams will be selected.

Twitch Channel

I'm setting up a new Twitch channel on which I'm planning to run shows a couple of times a week. Please follow it if you'd like to get updates etc.

Have a great time over the festive period, if you're celebrating.

Nigel

PSYCHOLOGY, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

HOW TO HANDLE PRESSURE

The finish to the Ding - Gukesh match brought this topic to mind, Ding blundered horribly to lose a 'drawn' endgame. He was under massive pressure, representing his country and with the eyes of the World upon him, and it has become apparent that he is a psychologically delicate individual. How can we handle such pressure and should we even want to?

Several of the greatest champions in history have struggle with pressure, for example Magnus Carlsen decided he had had enough and simply bowed out of his World Championship defence. Fischer too seemed unwilling to defend the title, suggesting conditions that nobody would agree to. Other players have also wilted under the strain of competitive chess, let alone playing a World Championship match under the watchful gaze of millions of people.

How can you handle such pressure? I think it's significant that Gukesh has mentioned that he practices yoga and meditation as part of his daily routine, and he also brought a mental coach (Paddy Upton) along as part of his team. I have long believed in such practices and would credit chi kung, tai chi and meditation as having saved me during a difficult period of my life. There are many different forms of mental conditioning available which would likely suit different people. I strongly recommend looking around for one that you like and building a regular practice.

Training Tournaments

The training tournaments this week are in positions from the French Defence and Building an Opening Repertoire courses as follows:

Sunday December 15th at 5pm UK Time: French Advance with 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5

Sunday December 15th at 6.15pm UK Time: French Exchange with 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5

Upcoming Events

Here's my schedule over the coming months, though it is subject to change. I often don't know until fairly late in the day. It's with some regret that I won't be playing in the HIT Open this coming year (January 24th to 31st 2025) but my schedule is already quite busy. It's a really good and well organized event that I warmly recommend.

January 17-19: Huddersfield 4NCL Congress
I really enjoy the 4NCL Congresses as they're played under excellent conditions in nice hotels. This is the first one in Huddersfield, you can find details here.

January 27th: Stockport Rapidplay
I've played in this event with some regularity, so probably I'll go for it again. You can find details here.

February 16-27, 2025: World Senior Team Championship
I've accepted a place in the 50+ second team which means I'll play a much stronger field than on bottom board of the first team. Although this diminishes my chances of winning a medal I'm looking forward to the challenge.

July/August 2025: British Championships
Will these be held in Liverpool next year? There's a rumour on Tim Spanton's blog that they would be. I think I might go for the 50+ event if this is the case.

I am still hoping to play in the European Senior Team Championships (Walbrzych, Poland, April 4-14) in which I've said I'll play in any team and on any board. The details have yet to be confirmed, but when they are the teams will be selected.

Twitch Channel

I'm setting up a new Twitch channel on which I'm planning to run shows a couple of times a week. Please follow it if you'd like to get updates etc.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Nigel

CHESS SOFTWARE, OPENINGS

WHICH CHESS DATABASE SOFTWARE?

Players often wonder whether they need some chess database software to take their opening preparation to a new level, but what should they choose? There are a number of options to be considered, many of which I know little about. So today I'll talk about those I use on a regular basis, namely Chessbase, HIARCS Chess Explorer and the Lichess study feature. All of them have pros and cons that suit different needs and budgets.

Starting with Chessbase, for many years this has been an industry leader and the features are ideal for professional players. The main reference database can be updated with a few mouse clicks which makes it easy to search for different players and prepare for them. I have version 17, which I find very useful for preparing opening material. The main con is that it is expensive kit, and you might not need all the features offered, to learn more about it you can go here.

I'm a big fan of HIARCS Chess Explorer, largely because of its simplicity and the fact that you can have opening books, engines and the game notation right in front of you. It's also very easy to play training games against an engine and from any position. There's a MAC version and it's a lot less expensive than Chessbase, all of which makes it very appealing. If I didn't have to produce various chess material, for which Chessbase is useful, I would probably just use this.

There's also a pro version of HIARCS Chess Explorer, which I haven't managed to get on with quite as well as the non pro version. I imagine this is because I haven't taken the time to examine all its features.

Finally we come to the Lichess study feature, which in my view is just great. There have been other attempts to create online chess databases, but this is the first I've seen that works really well. As with Chessbase and HIARCS Chess Explorer there's an engine and database facility, what is unique is that its online and free. This means that you can access your databases with ANY web browser and on ANY device, making it ultra-convenient.

For those interested in a chess database I'd recommend trying the Lichess study feature as a first step and get a feel for what it can offer you. If you need more then you can decide between Chessbase, HIARCS or perhaps some other chess software such as Chess Assistant. They all have their fans.

Training Tournaments

The training tournaments this week  are in the Queen's Gambit Declined Repertoire, two lines that appear in my Black QGD Repertoire.

Sunday December 8th at 5pm UK Time: QGD Tartakower with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Nf3 h6 6.Bh4 0-0 7.e3 b6

Sunday December 8th at 6.15pm UK Time: QGD Semi-Tarrasch with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c6 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5

Upcoming Events

Here's my schedule over the coming months, though it is subject to change. I often don't know until fairly late in the day.

December 8, 2024: Huddersfield Chess Club Seminar
This coming Sunday I'm giving a seminar at this club. Their website is here.

January 17-19: Huddersfield 4NCL Congress
I really enjoy the 4NCL Congresses as they're played under excellent conditions in nice hotels. This is the first one in Huddersfield, you can find details here.

January 27th: Stockport Rapidplay
I've played in this event with some regularity, so probably I'll go for it again. You can find details here.

February 16-27, 2025: World Senior Team Championship
I've accepted a place in the 50+ second team which means I'll play a much stronger field than on bottom board of the first team. Although this diminishes my chances of winning a medal I'm looking forward to the challenge.

July/August 2025: British Championships
Will these be held in Liverpool next year? There's a rumour on Tim Spanton's blog that they would be. I think I might go for the 50+ event if this is the case.

I am hoping to play in the European Senior Team Championships (Walbrzych, Poland, April 4-14) in which I've said I'll play in any team and on any board. The details have yet to be confirmed, but when they are the teams will be selected.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Nigel

COACHING, PSYCHOLOGY, TIGER CHESS THEMED TRAINING TOURNAMENTS

PLAYING WHEN YOU’RE HUNGRY

One of my golden rules is to only try to play when I'm hungry for chess. Going through the motions when feeling unmotivated is a sure-fire recipe for getting lacklustre results, mainly because you won't concentrate and fight as you should.

How do you recognize a lack of hunger? Basically you need to listen to your inner voice. Maybe you think that you hear it encouraging you because this is a rare opportunity, but are you really truly hungry?

I experienced this just recently when thinking about the Bolton Rapidplay. In theory I wanted to play to keep my hand in, but in reality I lacked the hunger. Just lately there have been some serious distractions, and these have completely overshadowed the importance of playing chess. I'm hoping that the distractions will recede into the background before very long, but until that time comes it seems better that I stay on the sidelines.

What are the most distracting things? I'd say that a potential house move is pretty high on the list, especially if you are caught in a chain of buyers and sellers. Problems at work (or school) will probably play havoc with your focus, as will anything to do with romance, illness or money.

Of course professional players may not have the luxury of sitting on the sidelines, and this may account for apparent swings of form. Amateurs have a different problem, they can play when they choose to but their lives outside chess might be a source of more distracting events!

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments feature openings from the Ding - Gukesh World Championshiip match, which happen to be included in several Tiger Chess Opening Repertoires. The first one is in the French Defence course while the second is in both the White 1.d4 Repertoire and the Building an Opening Repertoire courses:

Sunday December 1st at 5pm UK Time: French 6.Ncd2 with 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e5 Nfd7 5.f4 c5 6.Nce2 Nc6

Sunday December 1st at 6.15pm UK Time: Queen's Gambit Declined Exchange Variation with 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 c6

Upcoming Events

Here's my schedule over the coming months, though it is subject to change. I often don't know until fairly late in the day.

December 7, 2024: Huddersfield Chess Club Seminar
I've run a number of seminars at this great club, this is the first since before COVID. Their website is here.

January 17-19: Huddersfield 4NCL Congress
I really enjoy the 4NCL Congresses as they're played under excellent conditions in nice hotels. This is the first one in Huddersfield, you can find details here.

January 27th: Stockport Rapidplay
I've played in this event with some regularity, so probably I'll go for it again. You can find details here.

February 16-27, 2025: World Senior Team Championship
I've accepted a place in the 50+ second team which means I'll play a much stronger field than on bottom board of the first team. Although this diminishes my chances of winning a medal I'm looking forward to the challenge.

July/August 2025: British Championships
Will these be held in Liverpool next year? There's a rumour on Tim Spanton's blog that they would be. I think I might go for the 50+ event if this is the case.

I'm still hopeful that I'll get to play in the European Senior Team Championships (Walbrzych, Poland, April 4-14) in which I've said I'll play in any team and on any board. It hopefully won't be long before the teams are picked.

Have a great weekend!

Nigel

BUILDING AN OPENING REPERTOIRE, OPENINGS, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

HOW MANY OPENINGS SHOULD YOU PLAY?

Something I've often thought about is the width of an opening repertoire. At amateur level it's unusual to find anyone who knows anything really well, top players seem to know and play almost everything.

Should we try to emulate what top players do? Frankly I don't think so because we don't need to. Being too predictable can be fatal at the top level where your opponents can be armed with super-computers and seconds. It's different for amateurs because we will not be facing such a high level of preparation and will be able to win quite drawish positions.

So for most of us I think that having a single set of openings is plenty, assuming that we know them really well. It's important that they should be sound and yet have enough scope to outplay our opponents. Preparing more openings than that is an unproductive use of time which might be better spent on endgames.

What about older GMs who frequently play in weekend events? In my case I think that a single set of openings with White is fine but with Black I tend to think that I need two. One would be for sheer solidity when meeting players of a similar or higher rating to mine, a second would be for when I play lower rated players and really need to avoid early simplification.

One final thought is to always consider the Flank Openings when choosing your defence against 1.d4. The Gruenfeld (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5) and Nimzo (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4) are great until your opponent avoids them with 1.c4 or 1.Nf3. In such cases you need something extra, which can mean a lot more work.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments feature more lines from the Building an Opening Repertoire course, this time from White's perspective:

Sunday November 24th at 5pm UK Time: Colle vs KID with 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.e3 Bg7

Sunday November 24th at 6.15pm UK Time: Colle vs Gruenfeld with 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.e3 d5

Upcoming Events

Here's my schedule over the coming months, though it is subject to change. I often don't know until fairly late in the day.

December 1, 2024: Bolton Rapid Play
A fairly local event for me, so I'll be playing to to get some practice. Details can be found here.

December 7, 2024: Huddersfield Chess Club Seminar
I've run a number of seminars at this great club, this is the first since before COVID. Their website is here.

January 17-19: Huddersfield 4NCL Congress
 I really enjoy the 4NCL Congresses as they're played under excellent conditions in nice hotels. This is the first one in Huddersfield, you can find details here.

January 27th: Stockport Rapidplay
I've played in this event with some regularity, so probably I'll go for it again. You can find details here.

February 16-27, 2025: World Senior Team Championship
I've accepted a place in the 50+ second team which means I'll play a much stronger field than on bottom board of the first team. Although this diminishes my chances of winning a medal I'm looking forward to the challenge.

July/August 2025: British Championships
Will these be held in Liverpool next year? There's a rumour on Tim Spanton's blog that they would be. I think I might go for the 50+ event if this is the case.

I'm hopeful that I'll get to play in the European Senior Team Championships (Walbrzych, Poland, April 4-14) in which I've said I'll play in any team and on any board.

Have a great weekend!

Nigel

BUILDING AN OPENING REPERTOIRE, COACHING, PSYCHOLOGY, QUEEN'S GAMBIT DECLINED, TRAINING

CARBS AND CONCENTRATION

I recently went on a very low carb diet (for health reasons) and noticed that there was a very different feel about how my brain was working when I played chess. The difference was marked enough to want to investigate the relationship between carbs and concentration.

The evidence appears to be complex, on the one hand this 2008 study found that taking carbs out of the diet negatively affected cognition with regard to memory, visual-spatial memory and reaction time. Brain cells appear to require a continuous supply via the blood stream to work properly, take the supply away and they won't work as well.

On the other hand this recent study showed a number of benefits to ketogenic diets, they helped with general mood (calmness, reducing anxiety etc.) and improved alertness.

There is no conflict between these findings but what is clear is that what we eat has very different effects on the brain. I would say that chess players, for the most part, should have enough carbs in their blood stream when playing their games. A possible exception might be those who tend towards anxiety, for them their may be more advantages to very low carb consumption.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments feature the Queen's Gambit Declined lines which appear in both the Building an Opening Repertoire course.

Sunday November 17th at 5pm UK Time: QGD with 5.Bg5 Be7

Sunday November 17th at 6.15pm UK Time: QGD with 5.e3 Bd6

Upcoming Events

Here's my approximate schedule over the coming months, subject to change! I often don't know until fairly late in the day.

December 1, 2024: Bolton Rapid Play
A fairly local event for me, so I'll be playing to to get some practice. Details can be found here.

December 7, 2024: Huddersfield Chess Club Seminar
I've run a number of seminars at this great club, this is the first since before COVID. Their website is here.

January 17-19: Huddersfield 4NCL Congress
I really enjoy the 4NCL Congresses as they're played under excellent conditions in nice hotels. This is the first one in Huddersfield, you can find details here.

January 27th: Stockport Rapidplay
I've played in this event with some regularity, so probably I'll go for it again. You can find details here.

February 16-27, 2025: World Senior Team Championship
I've accepted a place in the 50+ second team which means I'll play a much stronger field than on bottom board of the first team. Although this diminishes my chances of winning a medal I'm looking forward to the challenge.

July/August 2025: British Championships
Will these be held in Liverpool next year? There's a rumour on Tim Spanton's blog that they would be. I think I might go for the 50+ event if this is the case.

I'm hopeful that I'll get to play in the European Senior Team Championships (Walbrzych, Poland, April 4-14) in which I've said I'll play in any team and on any board.

Hope you have a great weekend!

Nigel

BUILDING AN OPENING REPERTOIRE, COACHING, OPENINGS, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING, WHITE 1.d2-d4 REPERTOIRE

HOW TO STUDY CHESS VIDEOS

During this week's webinar I was asked how many times it's good to watch a chess opening video. I would say that the answer is rather nuanced.

To learn openings I recommend a combination of watching videos, training games and playing around with any pgn file to look for alternatives and see what the engine says. The amount of time used on these three approaches will vary from person to person and how much time they have available.

Personally I tend to watch videos, often whilst doing some other activity such as using a stationary exercise bike. I would like to spend time examining the variations with an engine and playing through them on a real chess board, unfortunately it's difficult to find time. As for training games, this tends to be my lowest priority, but I've put it there because I'd need both time and a suitable partner. In the past I've tested openings in correspondence games but tend to lose interest once the opening stage is over.

I would not recommend my approach to anybody else, I think we all have to find our own way. A good way to start is by watching Tiger Chess material and then play in the Tiger Chess training tournaments on Lichess.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments will feature the Colle, which appears in both the Building an Opening Repertoire course and the White 1.d4 Repertoire:

Sunday November 10th at 5pm UK Time: Colle with 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 c5

Sunday November 10th at 6.15pm UK Time: Colle with 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 b6

Upcoming Events

Here's my approximate schedule over the coming months, subject to change! I often don't know until fairly late in the day.

December 1, 2024: Bolton Rapid Play
A fairly local event for me, so I'll be playing to to get some practice. Details can be found here.

December 7, 2024: Huddersfield Chess Club Seminar
I've run a number of seminars at this great club, this is the first since before COVID. Their website is here.

January 17-19: Huddersfield 4NCL Congress
I really enjoy the 4NCL Congresses as they're played under excellent conditions in nice hotels. This is the first one in Huddersfield, you can find details here.

January 27th: Stockport Rapidplay
I've played in this event with some regularity, so probably I'll go for it again. You can find details here.

February 16-27, 2025: World Senior Team Championship
I've accepted a place in the 50+ second team which means I'll play a much stronger field than on bottom board of the first team. Although this diminishes my chances of winning a medal I'm looking forward to the challenge.

July/August 2025: British Championships
Will these be held in Liverpool next year? There's a rumour on Tim Spanton's blog that they would be. I think I might go for the 50+ event if this is the case.

I'm hopeful that I'll get to play in the European Senior Team Championships (Walbrzych, Poland, April 4-14) in which I've said I'll play in any team and on any board.

Hope you have a great weekend! Meanwhile please note that there are discounts on my Vimeo videos listed in my newsletter.

Nigel

COACHING, HOW TO, TIGER CHESS THEMED TRAINING TOURNAMENTS, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

HOW MUCH CHESS SHOULD YOU PLAY

A question I'm often asked is how much chess someone should play in order to stay in practice. Generally speaking I suggest trying to play at least 50 classical games per annum, though for many amateurs even this many is going to be difficult to achieve.

Can you substitute online blitz and rapid play events for these classical games? To some extent you can, but I would suggest rationing faster games if being good at longer time limits is the goal. If winning on time is just as good as forcing your opponent's resignation, it can lead to playing fast/tricky moves rather than good ones.

The top players in the World are good at every time limit because their high level of skill will always be relevant. It's the development of such skill that the issue arises, it's important to learn to do things well before doing them faster.

Training Tournaments
 

This week's training tournaments will feature the French Defence, which is a mainstay of my opening recommendations because of its quality, teaching value and the ease with which it can be learned. The variations featured are the Classical (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6) and the Tarrasch with 3...c5 (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5):

Sunday November 3rd at 5pm UK Time: French Classical with 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Nf6 

Sunday November 3rd at 6.15pm French Tarrasch with 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5

Upcoming Events

Here's my approximate schedule over the coming months, subject to change! I often don't know until fairly late in the day.

December 1, 2024: Bolton Rapid Play

A fairly local event for me, so I'll be playing to to get some practice. Details can be found here.

December 7, 2024: Huddersfield Chess Club Seminar

I've run a number of seminars at this great club, this is the first since before COVID. Their website is here.

January 17-19: Huddersfield 4NCL Congress

I really enjoy the 4NCL Congresses as they're played under excellent conditions in nice hotels. This is the first one in Huddersfield, you can find details here.

January 27th: Stockport Rapidplay

I've played in this event with some regularity, so probably I'll go for it again. You can find details here.

February 16-27, 2025: World Senior Team Championship

I've accepted a place in the 50+ second team which means I'll play a much stronger field than on bottom board of the first team. Although this diminishes my chances of winning a medal I'm looking forward to the challenge.

July/August 2025: British Championships

Will these be held in Liverpool next year? There's a rumour on Tim Spanton's blog that they would be. I think I might go for the 50+ event if this is the case.

I'm hopeful that I'll get to play in the European Senior Team Championships (Walbrzych, Poland, April 4-14) in which I've said I'll play in any team and on any board.


Hope you have a great weekend!

Nigel

COACHING, OPENINGS, PSYCHOLOGY, TRAINING

The Role of Father Random

Players sometimes wonder about changes in form, how can they play well in one game and badly in another? There are many reasons this can be the case, for example in one game they may get a position they understand whereas in the next one they do not. Or someone can simply blunder every now and then, and sometimes it happens in consecutive games. What's going on? I think it's mainly father random at work.

Why is the belief in 'form' so strong? It's because of a human tendency to find patterns where none exist (apophenia). This tendency is rooted in our past, when it was essential to spot things like predator behaviour and edible plans. This pattern recognition has been perpetuated throughout history via mechanisms such as cultural norms, claims of 'poor form' are quite common and then likely to be perpetuated.

Why is this a bad thing? It's because the perception of 'poor form' can lower expectations and self confidence. Once someone believes that they are not going to play well it can become a self fulfilling prophecy.

Training Tournaments
 

This week's training tournaments are in the Queen's Gambit Declined Exchange Variation, a popular and important topic that is reached throughout my opening repertoires. This is because of the didactic value of this line and Carlsbad pawn structure. There's a slight but important difference between the two events, they will start from the positions after 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 c6 and then 5...Be7.

Sunday October 27th at 5pm UK Time: QGD Exchange with 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 c6 

Sunday October 27th at 6.15pm UK Time: QGD Exchange with 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 Be7

Upcoming Events

Here's my approximate schedule over the coming months, subject to change! I often don't know until fairly late in the day.

October 25-27, 2024: Scarborough Congress

This one of the UK's most prestigious congresses, the sections include a 'foundation' tournament and a junior event. Click here for details.

December 1, 2024: Bolton Rapid Play

A fairly local event for me, so I'll be playing to to get some practice. Details can be found here.

December 7, 2024: Huddersfield Chess Club Seminar

I've run a number of seminars at this great club, this is the first since before COVID. Their website is here.

February 16-27, 2025: World Senior Team Championship

I finally got a place in the 50+ second team. This means that I'll play a much stonger field than on bottom board of the first team, so in many ways it's quite welcome.

July/August 2025: British Championships

Will these be held in Liverpool next year? There's a rumour on Tim Spanton's blog that they would be. I think I might go for the 50+ event if this is the case.

I'm hopeful that I'll get to play in the European Senior Team Championships (Walbrzych, Poland, April 4-14) in which I've said I'll play in any team and on any board.

I offer discounts on some of my video series on Vimeo for which my catalogue is here. To get the discount codes please sign up for my weekly newsletter via the form on the right.

Nigel

COACHING, PSYCHOLOGY, TRAINING

FINDING THE NEXT MOVE

This last week has seen a couple of incidents in which notable players did themselves a disservice. I'm not going to comment on the incidents themselves, but rather on the mindset required to avoid sabotaging yourself. In short it's a question of focusing on the board and making this the most important thing.

I learned this lesson the hard way after letting things distract me. In one incident, before computerized pairings, my opponent complained to the arbiter that he was Black against me instead of White and the colours were changed. I only found out about this when I came to play and lost a really horrible game. I've also played badly because of thinking about the outcome, for example in games in which I've played for a norm or a decent prize. Another good way to lose is to carry forward negative emotions from the previous game or go in overconfident.

Eventually I decided to limit my focus to one simple thing, finding the next move. And it works.

Training Tournaments
 

This week's training tournaments are in the Queen's Gambit Accepted. They will include my repertoire recommendation of the Furman Variation of 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.Qe2 a6 plus 4...Bg4 which seems to be an interesting and underrated line: 

Sunday October 20th at 5pm UK Time: Queen's Gambit Accepted with 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.Qe2 a6 

Sunday October 20th at 6.15pm UK Time: Queen's Gambit Accepted with 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.e3 Bg4

Here's my approximate schedule over the coming months, subject to change! I often don't know until fairly late in the day.

Upcoming Events

October 25-27, 2024: Scarborough Congress

This one of the UK's most prestigious congresses, the sections include a 'foundation' tournament and a junior event. Click here for details.

December 1, 2024: Bolton Rapid Play

A fairly local event for me, so I'll be playing to to get some practice. Details can be found here.

December 7, 2024: Huddersfield Chess Club Seminar

I've run a number of seminars at this great club, this is the first since before COVID. Their website is here.

February 18-23, 2025: Isle of Wight International

I've been invited to play in this one but will have to pull out if I get invited to the World Senior Teams. It's a new event but the organizers seem to be on the ball. You can find details here.

July/August 2025: British Championships

Will these be held in Liverpool next year? There's a rumour on Tim Spanton's blog that they would be. I think I might go for the 50+ event if this is the case.

I've not been selected for the England 50+ team for the World Senior Team Championships (Prague, February 16 to 27, 2025), but I'm still hopeful that I'll get in the 65+ team (I'm 64, but you become eligible the year you turn 65). There are also the European Senior Team Championships (Walbrzych, Poland, April 4-14) in which I've said I'll play in any team and on any board. I'm hopeful that clarification will be forthcoming quite soon.

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See you next week!

Nigel Davies