All posts by NigelD

CLINIC, FRENCH DEFENCE, NEWS, OPENINGS, TIGER CHESS THEMED TRAINING TOURNAMENTS

MARCH 2022 CLINIC

The March Clinic is now out, featuring games with the Exchange Variation of the French Defence (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 exd5) from two of the Tigerchess.com Themed Training team tournaments. Although this line has a drawish reputation both sides have fighting chances, and there are also a number of trappy ideas that both sides can fall into.

The following position shows one of the classic dangers for Black, that he plays ...Bc8-g4 and then has his bishop driven back with h2-h3 and g2-g4. His last move was the natural 13...c6, what did White do next (see diagram)?

Dandanmian - BalthasarII, White to play

White played 14.f4!, which is actually quite devastating because of the threat of 15.f5. Black cannot save his bishop with 14...Be4 because then 15.g5 would undermine the bishop's defender. In the game he tried 14...h6, but as the f-pawn is pinned just 15.Nxg6 won a piece and the game.

Nigel Davies

CLINIC, OPENINGS, TIGER CHESS THEMED TRAINING TOURNAMENTS

FEBRUARY 2022 CLINIC

Several different openings featured in the February clinic, the Semi-Tarrasch (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e3 cxd4 7.exd4 Nxc3 8.bxc3 Qc7), the Queen's Gambit Declined Tartakower Variation .d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Nf3 h6 6.Bh4 0-0 7.e3 b6) and the Zukertort Colle (1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 c5 4.Bd3 d5 5.b3 Nc6 6.Bb2 Bd6). All the games played were from training events between members of the Tigerchess.com Themed Training team.

Here's a spectacular finish from one of the games, with White to play (see diagram):

 

Dandanmian - Borzoi73, White to play

White played 26.Qxc7, essentially forcing resignation (1-0) as after 26...Rxc7 there is mate with 27.Rd8.

The Tigerchess.com Themed Training events are a great opportunity to practice key positions from regular openings, and are open to everyone who joins the Tiger Chess Team. Participating in these events helps players develop real insight into the openings played, above and beyond looking at them in a book or on a video.

Nigel Davies

CLINIC, NEWS, TIGER CHESS THEMED TRAINING TOURNAMENTS

JANUARY 2022 CLINIC

A main line of the Queen's Gambit Declined Exchange Variation (1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 Be7 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.e3 O-O 8.Bd3 c6 9.Qc2 Re8 10.O-O Nf8) features in the January clinic. There were training events in this line between members of the Tigerchess.com Themed Training team which provided the material to be used

Here's a position from one of them in which it was White to play (see diagram):

Dandanmian - Aleksandr Ivanovich. White to play.

White played 19.Rxf6!, which gave him a strong attack after 19...Qxf6 20.Rf1. The game ended with the moves 20...Qg5 21.Rxf7+ Kg8 22.Rxb7 Re6 23.Ne2 Bd6 24.Nf4 Rf6 25.Nexg6 Re8 26.Ne5 Qg3 27.Qh7+ Kf8 28.Qh8+ Qg8 29.Qxf6+ 1-0.

The Tigerchess.com Themed Training events offer a valuable opportunity to practice key positions from my syllabus, and are open to everyone, not just subscribers. Those who participate in them find that the experience helps trigger valuable insights into the topic concerned, much more so than just playing through some lines in a book.

Nigel Davies

CLINIC, NEWS

DECEMBER 2021 CLINIC

The topic for the December Clinic is the 8.Be3 Exchange Gruenfeld (1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 c5 8.Be3 Qa5), the line which Vladimir Kramnik used successfully during his match against Garry Kasparov. There were training events in this line between members of the Tigerchess.com Themed Training team on the 2nd and 5th of January with a good selection of well fought games being played.

Here's a position from one of them in which it was White to play (see diagram):

Dandanmian - NN; White to play

White's move was 22.Bxc5!, which exploits the fact that the b6 pawn is pinned against the rook on b8. Black sportingly resigned at this point (1-0) because his position is hopeless.

The Tigerchess.com Themed Training events offer a valuable opportunity to practice key positions from my syllabus, and are open to everyone, not just subscribers. Those who participate in them find that the experience helps trigger valuable insights into the topic concerned, much more so than just playing through some lines in a book.

Nigel Davies

ARTICLES, NEWS, OPENINGS

Lessons from the World Championship

I did not follow the recent World Championship match very closely but looked in from time to time to see if there was anything useful for myself or my students. I did find some interesting elements from a psychological point of view, particularly the opening choices and Jan Nepomniachtchi's reaction to game six. In the first five games it had looked quite evenly balanced but then the sixth was 7 hour 47 minutes/136 move win for Magnus Carlsen. Carlsen remarked: "I thought I should make the game as long as possible so that we would both be as tired as possible when the critical moment came."

After this there followed three wins for Carlsen and two draws, with Nepomniachtchi playing well below his best. It could reasonable be described as a collapse, and these are the lessons that I think can be learned:

1) Lengthening a game to break an opponent down psychologically is a well known approach. Many players have used it in the past but for Carlsen it appears to be his special weapon.

2) Nepomniachtchi seemed well aware that stamina could be important in long games, coming to the event looking slim and fit. Whether he was psychologically prepared for marathon torture sessions is another matter.

3) Carlsen's opening preparation vs 1.e4 was very astute; Nepomniachtchi loves the initiative which Carlsen denied him by being prepared to sacrifice a pawn with the Marshall Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.c3 d5 9.exd5 Nxd5 10.Nxe5 Nxe5 11.Rxe5 c6). This was probably a big surprise as Carlsen had never played that way before, and indeed the reigning Champion had evidently decided that he should keep the initiative in other positions too.

4) Nepomniachtchi's opening preparation as Black looked very professional on a technical level, but he found himself in positions that suited his opponent more than they suited him. This made me wonder if he should have eschewed his usual choices of the Gruenfeld (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5) and Sicilian (1.e4 c5), notwithstanding the fact that Carlsen would have been ready for them.

5) It could probably have been predicted that Carlsen would have something good ready for the Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5), and this suggests that having an alternative weapon ready might have been useful. Indeed Garry Kasparov sidestepped Anatoly Karpov's preparation for the Ruy by using the Scotch (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4) in a number of their games.

What now for Jan Nepomniachtchi? He certainly gained many supporters with his graceful comportment during defeat, but he will need to do much more if wants to revisit the highest arena. Being able to handle events like game six seem vital when playing against Carlsen, and adding a psychological element to his opening choices would also make sense. Most of all it would make sense for him to work on the technical side of his game, Carlsen evidently felt he was stronger in positions where Nepomniachtchi was deprived of the initiative, and this gave him a clear plan of how to play the match.

Nigel Davies

CLINIC, FRENCH DEFENCE, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

NOVEMBER 2021 CLINIC

The November clinic features more games from the Tiger Chess Themed Training events on Lichess. This time the chosen them was the position arising after the moves 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 in the French Defence.

I have issued frequent warnings about the caution required by Black in ever castling kingside when there is a White pawn on e5. Of course it's always good for people to discover this for themselves, and this is what happened in the following position (see diagram):

HerbertChapman - NN. White to play.

Black's last move was to castle kingside (15...0-0) which White then answered with 16.Nxh5!. Black actually resigned at this point (1-0) which might have been either great vision or a reluctance to continue with his king in such a desperate situation. At first it did not seem that clear to me but then Stockfish indicates that White is winning, for example after 16…gxh5 17.Ng5 Rfc8 18.Qxh5 Qxd4 19.a3 Ba5 20.Bf4 Bd8 21.Rhd1 Qc4 22.b3 Qxb3 23.Qh7+ Kf8 24.Rdb1 Qa4 25.Rxb7 etc..

At the moment these training events are featuring the Petrosian Variation of the King's Indian Defence and take place on Wednesdays (8pm UK time) and Sundays (6pm UK time). Participation is free and you can find them here.

Nigel Davies

CLINIC, TRAINING

OCTOBER 2021 CLINIC

From last month I decided to change the clinic content so that it covers the Tiger Chess Themed Training events on Lichess. This is the second clinic devoted to games from a key position in the Queen's Gambit Declined Exchange Variation, arising after the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.e3 Be7 7.Bd3 O-O 8.Qc2 c6 9.Nf3 Re8 10.O-O Nf8.

One nice moment from these events came from the following position in which it was Dandanmian (White) to play:

Dandanmian - Aleksandr Ivanovich; White to play

White uncorked the powerful 20.Nxf7!, intending 20...Kxf7 21.f5. Black instead tried to counterattack with 21...Qh4 but after 21.Kg2 Kxf7 22.Bg5! found that his queen had been trapped. The game lasted just a few more moves with 22...Qxe1 13.Rxe1 Kg8 14.f5 1-0.

Anyone wanting to take part in these events should join the Tiger Chess Themed Training Team on Lichess. It's free to join in and the events can give you training in specific openings and position types.

Nigel Davies

OPENINGS, PATTERN RECOGNITION, PAWN LEVERS, QUEEN'S GAMBIT DECLINED

The Queen’s Gambit Declined Course

The Tiger Chess Queen's Gambit Declined Course is an advanced, stand-alone opening course based around the Tartakower Variaton (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Nf3 h6 6.Bh4 0-0 7.e3 b6) and the Semi-Tarrasch Defenc (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.bxc3 c5 or 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 c5). It features amost 14 hours of video which explain key games and has a pgn (portable game notation) file of recommended variations that can be built upon, extended and important into software such as Chess Position Trainer. The 94 games presented are also included in pgn format, but without annotations.

The Queen's Gambit Declined has many advantages, not only is it rock solid but it offers prospects of outplaying the opponent in complex middle game positions. Unlike many defenses to 1.d4 it can also be used against the English Opening, 1.Nf3 and 1.c4. The recommended lines differ considerably from the Queen's Gambit Declined presentation in the Building an Opening Repertoire course, here are the different section headings:

1. Introduction
2. Divergences & Move Orders
3. 6.Bxf6 & 6.Bf4
4. Tartakower: 8.cxd5
5. Tartakower: 8.Be2
6. Tartakower: 8.Rc1
7. Tartakower: 7/8.Qc2 Lines
8. Tartakower: 8.Others
9. Tartakower: Early Rc1 Lines
10. Semi-Tarrasch: Auxiliary Lines
11. Semi-Tarrasch: e2-e4 Sidelines
12. Semi-Tarrasch:  11.Bc4 Main Line
13. Queen's Pawn Games
14. Catalan, English & Reti
15. Other Openings

The Tartakower variation has been played by some of the greatest players in history, including World Champions Boris Spassky, Anatoly Karpov, Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Kramnik and Magnus Carlsen. Here is the starting point for this famous line:

The QGD Tartakower

The Semi-Tarrasch complements the Tartakower perfectly as it can be used to recapture on d5 with a knight if White tries to use the Exchange Variation. It can also sidestep White's 5.Bf4 line that arises after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Be7 5.Bf4 because Black will play 4...c5 before this happens. This is a key position from the Semi-Tarrasch that arises after the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.Nc3 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 cxd4 8.cxd4 Bb4+ 9.Bd2 Bxd2+ 10.Qxd2 O-O:

Main Line Semi-Tarrasch

This course is suitable for players over 1700 Elo who want a high quality defence against 1.d4 that is strategy based. You need to be a Tiger Chess member to get it and continue to view it, which is why it priced at just $19.95. You can get it at the add-on videos page but need to be a logged on Standard or Premium member to see the option to purchase it.

Nigel Davies

CLINIC, NEWS, OPENINGS, PATTERN RECOGNITION, QUEEN'S GAMBIT DECLINED, TIGER CHESS WEBINARS, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

SEPTEMBER 2021 CLINIC

I recently took the decision to change the clinic content so that it covers the Tiger Chess Themed Training events on Lichess. I set these events up so that students could practice important position types rather than waste time on the random mayhem that usually occurs in online games. The results have been very promising in that several people have reported increased engagement and interest in the problems after having wrestled with them in a series of games.

The first position to have been played is a key position in the Queen's Gambit Declined Exchange Variation, arising after the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Bg5 Nbd7 6.e3 Be7 7.Bd3 O-O 8.Qc2 c6 9.Nf3 Re8 10.O-O Nf8. This is a very useful position from which to learn strategy because of the clarity of the pawn structure and the ease with which the different plans and ideas can be explained. Nonetheless it can prove very challenging to master as these plans come into conflict, and I am devoting the current series of webinars to its mastery.

Queen's Gambit Declined: Key Position

I will not show any highlights this time but instead list the forthcoming practice events, which are held at 8pm London (UK) time on Wednesdays and 6pm London (UK) time on Sundays:

October 10th (6pm): QGD Exchange Training

October 13th (8pm): QGD Exchange Training

October 17th (6pm): QGD Exchange Training

October 20th (8pm): QGD Exchange Training

October 24th (6pm): QGD Exchange Training

After this series the webinars will cover a new topic and new positions will be used for the training events. It will take more practice than this to get in tune with these position types, but this is at least a start.

Nigel Davies

CLINIC, ENDGAMES, NEWS

AUGUST 2021 CLINIC

Continuing the trend of a return to 'normality', almost all of the August clinic games were played over-the-board. As always there was a lot of variety but it was good to see some excellent results for the strategic themes and openings I recommend.

Here's an example,  the following position arising after White's 28th move in a game of M. B.. Black to play continued with a plan that I use to show the value of pawn levers, the minority attack (see diagram).

NN - MB: Black to play

Black continued with 28... b4!, which leaves White with serious weaknesses regardless of what he does. The game continued 29.axb4 axb4 30.Rac1 Ra2 31.cxb4 Rxc1 32.Rxc1 Rxb2 33.Rd1 Rxb4 34.g3 Kf6! 35.Kg2 Kf5 36.f3 Rb2+ 37.Kg1 g5 38.hxg5 hxg5 39.Rd3 f6 40.Kf1 e5 41.dxe5 Kxe5 42.Kg1 d4 43.Ra3 Kd5 44.Ra5+ Kc4 45.Ra6 d3 0-1.

Although this is a standard plan, being able to implement it with confidence is important, much more so than the rote memorization of opening moves.

Nigel Davies