All posts by NigelD

CLINIC

MARCH 2021 CLINIC

The March clinic is out and is still devoted to online games. With the UK's lockdown gradually being eased there should be a resumption of normal chess activity before too long, which many players are looking forward to.

Here's one episode from this latest clinic in which Black had gained the advantage from one of my opening recommendations and now delivered the killer blow. What did he do here (see diagram)?

NN - MB: Black to play.

Black to play unleashed 29…Rxd4!, the point being that after 30.cxd4 he delivers mate with 30...Qh3+ 31.Kg1 Nf3# (0-1).

The members clinic is one of many features available to standard and premium members, with premium members also getting access to the clinic archive from 2014.

Nigel Davies

BUILDING AN OPENING REPERTOIRE, CLINIC, QUEEN'S GAMBIT DECLINED

FEBRUARY 2021 CLINIC

The February clinic is still on internet games and features Tiger Chess opening recommendations in all of them. One of the Black wins reached the following position in which Black found a nice way to proceed (see diagram):

NN - RB. Black to play.

Black uncorked 16…Bxh3, the idea being that after 17.gxh3 Qxh3 18.Re1 Black can force mate with 18…Bh2+ 19.Kh1 Bg3+ 20.Kg1 Qh2+ 21.Kf1 Qxf2 mate. The game went 17.Qd4 Bg4 18.g3 and now 18…Qg5 (rather than 18…Bxg3, as played in the game) would have left Black a good pawn up.

Nigel Davies

CLINIC, NEWS, TACTICS

JANUARY 2021 CLINIC

The January 2021 clinic is now up and can be accessed by members here. Internet games are still the ones being reviewed though with some over the board events taking place I hope we will have some real games soon.

There were a few nice moments in the games sent in, for example this one that arose after Black had just played 20...Qf6xf5 (see diagram):

White had prepared a stunning reply in 21.Nxd6! after which 21...Qxd3 (21...Qd7 meets with the crushing 22.Nxf7! Qxf7 23.Bc4) 22.Qxf7+ Kh8 23.Nf5 left Black with no other move than 23...Ne6. After 24.Qxe6 White was left with a winning position which he duly converted.

Nigel Davies

CLINIC, FRENCH DEFENCE

DECEMBER 2020 CLINIC

The December clinic was unfortunately delayed, largely due to complications caused by the new UK lockdown. Things will get back on track from here and, with the vaccine rollout steaming ahead, some of us are optimistic about a return to normality.

Most of the games this time featured wins for Black in the French Defence, which remains my top recommendation for Black. One of them featured a nice finish with Black to play in the following position (see diagram):

NN - MB. Black to play.

Black played 28...Nxf2! 29.Kxf2 f4 which wins a pawn. White tried to block the a7-g1 diagonal with 30.Nd4 and should have met 30...fxe3+ with 31.Kf3. Instead there followed 31.Kxe3 e5 when White resigned because of the lost piece (0-1).

Nigel Davies

CLINIC, NEWS

NOVEMBER 2020 CLINIC: INTERNET GAMES

The November clinic is still on internet games, though as the Covid vaccine is now being distributed things should soon be getting back to normal. My personal estimate is that most countries will have OTB tournaments from March and that with suppressed demand they will be well attended.

As usual there were a variety of submissions with this one featuring a nice finish. White has just played 22.Rf1xf5 but has missed the devastating reply (see diagram).

Black to play surprised his opponent with 22...Qe6! and after 23.Qxe6 Rd1+ White resigned (0-1) because of impending mate. There was no salvation in 23.Qf1 because 23...Qxf5 24.Qxf5 Rd1+ would similarly lead to mate.

Nigel Davies

BUILDING AN OPENING REPERTOIRE, CLINIC, QUEEN'S GAMBIT DECLINED, TACTICS

OCTOBER 2020 CLINIC: STILL INTERNET GAMES

The October clinic is now online with another selection of internet games. The signs are that we will have a Covid vaccine before long after which terrestrial tournaments will return.

The following position arose in a game in which R. A. played Black in a Queen's Gambit Declined Exchange Variation and managed to build up a strong attack (see diagram). What should he play here?

NN vs RA: Black to play

Black uncorked the brilliant 21…Bxh3!! after which 22.gxh3 Rg6 23.Ne2 Ne4 was a killer. The game ended 24.f4 Qd8 0-1, though Black could win with 24…Qh4 25.f5 Rg5 26.Qc2 Qf2 etc..

Nigel Davies

CLINIC, OPENINGS, UPDATES, WHITE 1.d2-d4 REPERTOIRE

SEPTEMBER 2020 CLINIC: EVEN MORE INTERNET GAMES

The latest clinic is now online, featuring even more internet games. There are some signs that face to face competitive chess is returning, at least in countries with a low transmission rate. Hopefully this will soon extend to the rest of us.

The highlights this time were the two games sent in by J. P. using the new White d2-d4 Repertoire. He won both games in fine style, one of them featuring a nice tactic at the end. In the position below it is White to play (see diagram):

JP vs. NN

White played 24.Nxd5! which has devastating consequences; if Black captures the knight with 24...exd5 then 25.Bxd5+ followed by capturing on c4 will leave White two pawns up. The knight on c4 is threatened anyway, and so is the rook on c7, so Black chose instead to resign (1-0).

It's good to see this repertoire working for people; founded upon logical plans it aims to minimise the number of variations people have to learn rather than present them with reams of unfathomable computer analysis.

Nigel Davies

CLINIC, OPENINGS, UPDATES, WHITE 1.d2-d4 REPERTOIRE

AUGUST 2020 CLINIC: EVEN MORE INTERNET GAMES

Many of us are still shielding and over-the-board tournaments are only just starting up again. So once again the clinic is devoted largely to internet games, with all their 'variability'. I think that one of the main issues with such games is their low value, if you lose you can easily find another opponent and may have better luck. Inevitably this means that playing standards will be highly variable.

This month's clinic featured a cross section of such games together with some interesting points. It was also gratifying to see a win for White using the White 1.d2-d4 Repertoire Course, a game by M. L. reaching the following position after the moves 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 d5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e4 Nxc3 7. bxc3 O-O 8. Be2 c5 9. O-O Nc6 10. Be3 Bg4:

ML vs. NN; White to Play

Despite the fact that all his moves look 'natural', Black had in fact played inaccurately with the nonchalent 7...0-0 instead of 7...c5 8.Be3 Qa5!. This now gave White the opportunity to play 11. d5 and after 11...Bxf3 12. Bxf3 Ne5 13. Rc1 b6?! 14. Be2 e6 15. c4 exd5 16. cxd5 Re8?! 17. f4 Nd7 18. e5, White had obtained a crushing position and soon went on to win.

This is one of the issues with the Gruenfeld, it needs Black to play very accurately. And this in turn is why I tend to recommend the Queen's Gambit Declined for Black, it's much more forgiving if you play it inaccurately.

Nigel Davies

MIDDLEGAMES, OPENINGS, PAWN LEVERS, QUEEN'S GAMBIT DECLINED, TIGER CHESS STRATEGY COURSE, WHITE 1.d2-d4 REPERTOIRE

THE WHITE 1.d2-d4 REPERTOIRE

The White 1.d2-d4 Repertoire Course is a stand-alone opening course which considerably extends the White lines presented in the Building an Opening Repertoire course. It has over 16 hours of video which explain key games and ideas plus 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 98 games from the videos are also included in pgn format.

As in the Building an Opening Repertoire course, White is still playing 1.d4 followed by 2.Nf3 but will then follow up with 3.c4 against most of Black's defences. The Colle is still to be used after 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 but the ...d7-d5 lines are met with the Rubinstein-Zukertort line and those with 3...b6 are answered with 4.Bd3 Bb7 5.0-0 c5 6.c4, transposing into the 4.e3 line of the Queen's Indian but without allowing annoying lines such as the Bogo-Indian (1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 Bb4+), Modern Benoni (3...c5 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 d6) or Blumenfeld Gambit (3...c5 4.d5 b5).

A particularly important aspect of this course for the developing player is the inclusion of openings which act as touchstones for the understanding of positional play, including the Queen's Gambit Declined Exchange Variation (1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5) and King's Indian Petrosian System (1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 0-0 5.e4 d6 6.Be2 e5 7.d5). These openings are particularly rich in plans and pawn levers, which helps students develop a deeper understanding of the material presented in the Tiger Chess Strategy Course.

Wherever possible the lines have been selected so that important position types can be practiced but without the need to learn a lot of intricate variations. This is in keeping with the Tiger Chess approach of developing core skills, and therefore playing strength, in the most efficient way. The full running order is as follows:

1. Introduction
2. Queen's Gambit Declined, Exchange I
3. Queen's Gambit Declined, Exchange II
4. Slav Exchange
5. Queen's Gambit Accepted
6. Other 1...d5 Lines
7. King's Indian
8. Modern, Old Indian and 1...d6
9. Gruenfeld Defence
10. Queen's Indian via 2...e6 3.e3 b6
11. Rubinstein-Zukertort Colle via 2...e6 3.e3 d5
12. Anti-Benoni
13. Dutch Defence
14. Miscellaneous Defences

This course is suitable for players over 1700 Elo who want a high quality opening repertoire for White that is based on plans and strategy rather than intricate theoretical variations. You need to be a Tiger Chess member to get it and continue to view it, which is why it priced at just $24.95. You can get it at the add-on videos page but need to be a logged on member to see the option to purchase it.

Nigel Davies

CLINIC, TACTICS

JULY 2020 CLINIC: MAINLY INTERNET GAMES

With lock down continuing for many of us, internet chess remains the only game in town. The July Clinic featured another three internet games but also two from those distant days when we would sit opposite people to play, chess and breathe on each other for up to 7 hours.

The following position arose in a game by L. J. in which he allowed Black to give him a potentially weak b5 pawn but one which gave White space and an outpost on c6. Black has just played 17...Nb8 in an attempt to exchange White's well placed knight, but in doing so he has missed something (see diagram):

L.J. vs A. N. Other; White to play

With the rook on a8 having been unprotected White played 18.Ne7+ Bxe7 19.Qxa8 and went on to win in an endgame. Members can see the complete game here.

Nigel Davies