ENDGAMES, OPENINGS, TACTICS, TRAINING

KNOWING YOUR STRENGTHS

One of the most useful bits of information a chess player can have is to know their strengths. These may not always be what you think they are, for example I used to think that the Modern Defence (1...g6 against either 1.e4 or 1.d4) was my friend until I checked my results with it. They were good against opponents who were lower rated than me but horrible against stronger opposition.

A different breakdown was apparent with more classical openings such as the Nimzo-Indian Defence and meeting 1.e4 with 1...e5. This in turn suggested that using the Modern more sparingly, and choosing to play it against particular opponents, would yield better results.

More recently I have been doing tactics and endgame puzzles with a couple of apps from ChessOK and my discovered that my results with the endgame app are markedly better. There are unanswered questions here, for example in how these apps have been calibrated and whether they compare like with like. Assuming they have been, for example by testing them on different users, then my endgame knowledge appears to be a relative strength.

It is important to get an objective measure such as the two I have outlined. It's tempting, for example, for us to imagine being a great attacking players because of a fond memory of a successful attack or deriving pleasure from aggressive play. An objective measure of having a skill for this kind of play might be far more difficult and should probably start with having superior tactical ability and outperforming in openings which lead to the possession of the initiative, even at the cost of material.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments return to the King's Indian Petrosian, which is a great line for learning more about pawn structures with a closed centre:

Sunday January 19th at 5pm UK Time: Queen's Gambit Accepted, Furman Variation

Sunday January 19th at 6.15pm UK Time: Queen's Gambit Accepted, 4...Bg4

My 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 or maybe Torquay? I've heard rumours about both venues, if they're held in Liverpool I'd probably go for the 50+ event.

I'm still waiting to hear about the selections for the European Senior Team Championships (Poland, April 4-14) in which I've said I'll play in any team and on any board. I've been holding these dates open since July last year and have been hoping to hear something definite. Perhaps I will get an offer soon or maybe some other tournaments will come my way.

Meanwhile I missed out on these two events:

January 24-31, 2025: HIT Open in Nova Gorica: Details can be found here.

February 5-10, 2025: Senta, Hotel Fantastico: Details can be found here.

Twitch Channel

My new Twitch channel has new shows every Monday ('Chess Questions Answered) and other weekly coming soon. Please follow it if you'd like to get updates etc, all the shows will be available to Premium members in the Tiger Chess members area, even when they are no longer available on Twitch.

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

COACHING, OPENINGS, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

CHOOSING OPENINGS FOR DIFFERENT OCCASIONS

The issue I want to discuss this week is in choosing openings for different opponents. This tends to be a relatively minor issue for most players because the game is likely to leave the book early on. For stronger players, let's say over 2,000 Elo, it starts to become more problematic. Will an opponent be prepared for your usual choices? Will you be playing into their hands with regard to the type of position you reach? Are you worried that the game will become dull or drawish, when you'd really like to play for a win?

There's no easy or one dimensional answer, but I can offer the following guidelines:

First and foremost it's good to have a decent opening repertoire, something you like and understand, that contains robust lines and gives you plenty of alternative options. If your repertoire depends on a single sharp line, what will you do if you lose confidence in this line? Will you also need to study your openings on an ongoing basis? Do you have time to do this? Most main line openings are suitable, and it's probably best to steer clear of very sharp ones.

Secondly you should consider the relative strength of your opponent. If they are a better player it makes sense to minimize the importance of their improvisational skills by playing as many moves of theory as you can. On the other hand you might want to throw weaker players on their own resources, unless you know that they have poor theoretical knowledge. 

A third consideration is whether an opening should be chosen because it is more likely to produce a desired result, either a win or a draw. This one is a particular minefield because you can end up playing something you don't know. Playing for a draw is dangerous because it can put you in a defensive frame of mind, playing for a win can cause you to throw caution to the wind when that is what is required. The best approach that I know of is to simply keep playing, and hopefully your main repertoire will give you some small imbalances to work with.

The openings I recommend at Tiger Chess tend to be suitable for most amateur players, and a suped up version of these lines should be good enough for most professionals. There are other options too, but I give the best lines I know of in terms of simplicity and economy.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments return to the King's Indian Petrosian, which is a great line for learning more about pawn structures with a closed centre:

Sunday January 12th at 5pm UK Time: King's Indian Petrosian with 7...a5

Sunday January 12th at 6.15pm UK Time: King's Indian Petrosian with 7...Nbd7

My 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 or maybe Torquay? I've heard rumours about both venues, if they're held in Liverpool I'd probably go for the 50+ event.

I've been waiting to hear about the selections for the European Senior Team Championships (Poland, April 4-14) in which I've said I'll play in any team and on any board. I guess I'll find out fairly soon, hopefully I'll be picked as I've been holding these dates open for a long time, in fact since July 23rd 2024!

Regretfully I've had to pass on two events in Slovenia and Serbia:

January 24-31, 2025: HIT Open in Nova Gorica: Details can be found here.

February 5-10, 2025: Senta, Hotel Fantastico: Details can be found here.

Twitch Channel

Last Monday I made the first show for my new Twitch channel in which I gave my view on the Scotch Opening, next Monday I'll be discussing the merits of the English Opening. Please follow it if you'd like to get updates etc, all the shows will be available to Premium members in the Tiger Chess members area even when they are no longer available on Twitch.

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

BUILDING AN OPENING REPERTOIRE, CHESS SOFTWARE, ENDGAMES, EXERCISE, TACTICS, TIGER CHESS THEMED TRAINING TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

MY NEW TRAINING REGIME

Over the last few weeks I decided upon a new training regime to improve my chess. It's been a long time since I did anything that was organized and had to put some thought into it. It would need to have a relatively small footprint with regards to time, have a degree of flexibility and also have more general benefits.

Since my return to chess, a few years ago, I came to understand that my main issue has been a lack of willingness to concentrate and calculate. This probably has something to do with me being in my 60s and there's not much to do about that. On the other hand I figure I can try to make the most of what I've got.

The first essential item had to be calculation training, and getting used to calculating on a daily basis. In my teenage years I did the Alexander Kotov analysis exercise whereby you set up a key position and write down what you see. This may be the ideal approach and I created the Tiger Chess Analysis Course for this purpose; unfortunately I know the positions and would struggle to find time, a chess set and a suitable table and chair. Given these limitations I've decided to take a short cut and purchased a couple of apps on my phone; CT-Art 4.0 and Total Chess Endgames. I'm trying to do at least 30 minutes a day on these apps, which should get me more used to calculating again.

A willingness to sit down and concentrate is more of a non chess matter that relates to overall fitness. I've long felt that the standard Western approach to being fit is too one dimensional because it fails to engage the mind and the breath. After reading Wim Hof's Becoming the Iceman and experimenting with his approach, I realized that I have underestimated the importance of fresh air and deep breathing, so after 30 minutes on the exercise bike (or fast walking if a bike is unavailable) I'm using his recommendation of cold showers combined with deep breathing. This in turn has led me to incorporate better breathing into my qigong practice and I have to say that it's making quite a difference.

I've been doing a couple of other things too, mainly playing some online games with particular openings and doing a bit of research into them. I would say this is a minor part of my overall regime and rightly so, opening preparation has its limits because sooner or later you are on your own.

Overall it looks like this, with 60 minutes of chess and 90 minutes of mind/body exercise:

  1. Calculation training (30 minutes per day).
  2. Qigong with enhanced breathing (60 minutes per day).
  3. Exercise bike/fast walking (30 minutes per day) and cold shower (5 minutes).
  4. Training games and opening study (30 minutes per day).

Wish me luck, I think it should help but the proof of any pudding is when you eat it!

Training Tournaments

The training tournaments this week are in two lines of the French, the Fort Knox and the Rubinstein.

Sunday January 5th at 5pm UK Time: The Fort Knox French with 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc4 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bd7

Sunday January 5th at 6.15pm UK Time: The French Rubinstein with 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc4 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7

My 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 or maybe Torquay? I've heard rumours about both venues, if they're held in Liverpool I'd probably go for the 50+ event.

I am still hoping to play in the European Senior Team Championships (Poland, April 4-14) in which I've said I'll play in any team and on any board. The details have now been confirmed and I understand that selections are to be made shortly.

Regretfully I've recently had to pass on two events in Slovenia and Serbia:

January 24-31, 2025: HIT Open in Nova Gorica: Details can be found here.

February 5-10, 2025: Senta, Hotel Fantastico: Details can be found here.

Twitch Channel

I'm setting up a new Twitch channel to answer viewers' questions and post recordings in the Tiger Chess members areas. Please follow it if you'd like to get updates etc, I'm looking at running the first one on Monday January 6th at 8pm UK time.

Have a good weekend!

Nigel

ARTICLES, BUILDING AN OPENING REPERTOIRE, TRAINING, WHITE 1.d2-d4 REPERTOIRE

RESOLUTIONS

It's that time of year when many of us think about resolutions, what we might do differently in the year to come. Generally speaking I think that periodic renewal is a great idea, though New Year resolutions have a very poor success rate. Why is this and how would they apply to chess?

One major reason is that they are not specific enough, for example someone may resolve to 'improve their chess' but then leave it at this vague level. The improvement process should involve specific actions such as solving a particular number of chess problems every day.

Sometimes a resolution may not be something we really want, so it's important to find things that can be framed positively or tweak existing habits so as to make better ones. If it's something to do with fitness then find a form of exercise that you like. Playing chess online is a great favourite amongst many, but blitzing away with a bottle of whisky by your side may not be a productive way to go about it. Instead it can also be tweaked to make it more valuable, for example by limiting the number of games, setting longer time limits, playing specific openings and reviewing the games afterwards to see what you can learn.

Another issue with New Year resolutions is that the sheer length of the commitment can be daunting. A better way to go about lifestyle changes might be to have a weekly reset, starting on either a Sunday or a Monday. This way you can have a fresh start every week and only a short time in which you are committed. If it works out OK you can try again the next week, or tweak your efforts to make them more doable.

Training Tournaments

The training tournaments this week  are in the Colle System which appears in both the Building an Opening Repertoire course and the White 1.d4 Repertoire courses. It's quite interesting to discover that the Colle has now become quite fashionable at the top level, and especially in blitz and rapid play games. I think this is because it's a solid opening in which an exact knowledge of theory is not that important:

Sunday December 29th at 5pm UK Time: Colle with 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 d5

Sunday December 29th at 6.15pm UK Time: Colle with 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 b6

My 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 or maybe Torquay? I've heard rumours about both venues, if they're held in Liverpool I'd probably go for the 50+ event.

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 weekly shows on viewers' questions and post recordings in the Tiger Chess members areas. Please follow it if you'd like to get updates etc.

It remains for me to wish you a happy and successful 2025!

Nigel

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

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