MIDDLEGAMES, OPENINGS, POSITIONAL PLAY, TIGER CHESS THEMED TRAINING TOURNAMENTS, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

THE EASTERN CLAMP ANTI-SICILIAN

This week I published a first series of videos on of a new set of 1.e4 openings for White. I had previously balked at the idea of doing so as I felt that 1.e4 was too chaotic to allow the assimilation of positional ideas and too theoretical for amateurs to play with confidence. I changed my mind after discovering 1.e4 c5 2.d3 Nc6 3.f4, which I've dubbed The Eastern Clamp Anti-Sicilian. 

What's the idea behind this line? There are several. In the late 1980s I used to play 1.e4 c5 2.d3 Nc6 3.g3 in order to get a Closed Sicilian but without White's knight on c3. However I struggled against 3...d5 4.Nd2 Nf6 5.Bg2 e5 6.Ngf3 Be7; White's position is playable here but he's certainly not better. Reluctantly I gave it up and started using 1.d4 and Flank Openings instead, but I wish I'd taken a closer look at 3.f4. Yuri Balashov, a Closed Sicilian aficionado, was already playing this in the 1980s and it was also being advocated by Mikhail Shereshevsky, a famous coach. White takes central space, and the onus is on Black to try and offset this somehow.

From an amateur's perspective the advantage of this line is that it does not require a lot of theoretical knowledge, or any updates of such knowledge on an ongoing basis. It can be played mainly with ideas and plans, and the one sharp line looks rather dubious for Black. There are other low maintainance lines with 1.e4 and I will be covering more of these over the coming months. As an example, the Caro-Kann (1.e4 c6 2.d3 d5) can be met with 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3, the strategically clear Exchange Variation.
 

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments feature the Eastern Clamp Anti-Sicilian, with two major branches from Black:

Sunday February 16th at 5pm UK Time: Eastern Clamp Anti-Sicilian with 1.e4 c5 2.d3 Nc6 3.f4 d5

Sunday February 16th at 6.15pm UK Time: Eastern Clamp Anti-Sicilian with 1.e4 c5 2.d3 Nc6 3.f4 g6

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:

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.

April 4-14 2025: European Senior Team Championship

I finally got confirmation that I'll be in the 50+ 1st team, apparently on board 3 of a team that includes Michael Adams, John Emms, myself, Steve Dishman and Graeme Buckley.

April 24-28 2025: English Senior Championships

I'm hoping to be invited to these and may now be eligible for either section. You can find details here. 

July 31st - 10th August 2025: British Championships
These have now been confirmed for Liverpool on these dates, you can find details here. If I get invited to play in the main Championships, I'll probably accept. Otherwise I'm eligible for both the 50+ and 65+ sections, and should have a chance of doing well in either.

There will probably be one or two events between April and the end of July, it's important to keep playing in order to maintain good form.

Twitch Channel

My new Twitch channel has new shows every Monday ('Chess Questions Answered), the Webinar on training tournaments and games is up on Fridays and another 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

OPENINGS, TACTICS, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING, Uncategorized

ENERGY, FOCUS & CALCULATION SKILLS

It was good to see that Arjun Erigaisi recovered somewhat in the Tata Steel Masters, in the process inflicting the first defeat on Gukesh Dommaraju in a classical game, since he became World Champion. I'm quite sure that this will be just a blip on a great career for Erigaisi, that might well include becoming World Champion himself.

I have been looking at some Erigaisi games of late, partially in an attempt to understand the young generation players who almost effortlessly storm the ranks. From what I can tell they bring together a potent combination of energy, focus and calculating skills. If you play against a good calculator you are under tremendous pressure to avoid mistakes, one slip can be the end of you.

One of Erigaisi's interesting choices on the opening has been the ZOOM Scandinavian, and a couple of his games appeared in the webinar devoted to the Tigerchess.com Themed Training Tournaments. I think he sees it as a line that gets White thinking early on, with the pawn structure offering him chances to outplay his opponent. This series is on special offer this week and it also features in the training tournamets.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments feature the French Defence, and the basic positions in the Classical and Tarrasch Variations:

Sunday February 9th at 5pm UK Time: ZOOM Scandinavian with 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 g6

Sunday February 9th at 5pm UK Time: ZOOM Scandinavian with 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.d4 Nc6

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:

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.

April 4-14 2025: European Senior Team Championship

I finally got confirmation that I'll be in the 50+ 1st team, apparently on board 3 of a team that includes Michael Adams, John Emms, myself, Steve Dishman and Graeme Buckley.

July 31st - 10th August 2025: British Championships
These have now been confirmed for Liverpool on these dates, you can find details here. If I get invited to play in the main Championships, I'll probably accept. Otherwise I'm eligible for both the 50+ and 65+ sections, and should have a chance of doing well in either.

There will probably be at least one or two events between April and the end of July, it's important to keep playing in order to maintain good form.

Twitch Channel

My new Twitch channel has new shows every Monday ('Chess Questions Answered), the Webinar on training tournaments and games is up on Fridays and another 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

FRENCH DEFENCE, OPENINGS, PSYCHOLOGY, TRAINING

KEEPING A DIARY

I've seen lots of comment about Arjun Erigaisi's disappointing result in the Tata Steel Masters event. I agree with Magnus Carlsen's comments, that it's probably best not to read too much into it. I might add that having not had much experience of these top level events he might have been a bit disorientated.

This is where keeping a journal can prove its worth, by reflecting upon how you are playing you gain much greater insight than just going from tournament to tournament. Bob Wade advised me to do this back in the 1980s, and had a specific set of protocols for a chess player's tournament diary. I discuss these in A Practical Tournament Guide, which is discounted this week.

I kept a reflective diary, and made notes to my games, in the years leading up to gaining the GM title in 1993. Since then I have downscaled this activity, but I still write down concerns I have during tournaments, and what I might do to address them.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments feature the French Defence, and the basic positions in the Classical and Tarrasch Variations:

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

Sunday February 2nd at 6.15pm UK Time: French Tarrasch with 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 c5

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:

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.

April 4-14 2025: European Senior Team Championship
I finally got confirmation that I'll be in the 50+ 1st team, apparently on board 3 of a team that includes Michael Adams, John Emms, myself, Steve Dishman and Graeme Buckley.

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.

Here's one event which I'd have liked to play in if there was time:

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), the Webinar on training tournaments and games is up on Fridays and another 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

TIGER CHESS THEMED TRAINING TOURNAMENTS, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

Can Shogi Help Your Chess?

I've recently being learning the Japanese game of Shogi, along with my wife. We were given a set as a Christmas present and both found it fascinating. Some of the pieces move similarly to Western chess, but there are also huge differences. I am struggling with fluently recognizing the pieces, but I guess this is a question of time.

One interesting question is whether playing Shogi can help chess players improve? Alexander Nikitin also played Go with the young Garry Kasparov and claimed it played an important role in his understanding of strategy. An interesting analogy is that there are reported benefits to learning a second language, in that it can help improve someone's first language. A second language particularly targets areas such as reading, speaking and expressing ideas, as well as having more general benefits on memory, concentration and problem solving. This would make an interesting case for secondary board games helping your chess, there will be more general benefits as well as some that are specific to board game thinking.

Have I experience any benefit from Shogi as yet? It's too early to say, and learning Shogi has coincided with other measures I've been taking. My concentration seems have improved lately after having had it waver over recent years. It's a work in progress and I'm a self-reporting sample of one, but I think Shogi worth trying.

If you're interested in learning Shogi I suggest joining Lishogi.org, a Shogi version of Lichess.org. I've been diving into the tsume section with unspectacular results, but like everything it's a question of practice.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments feature the Dutch Defence with 3.e3 and then 3...e6 or 3...g6:

Sunday January 26th at 5pm UK Time: Dutch with 1.d4 f5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 e6

Sunday January 26th at 6.15pm UK Time: Dutch with 1.d4 f5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 g6

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 26th: 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 get a firm offer to play in the European Senior Team Championships (Poland, April 4-14). I've heard that I'll be offered a place in the 50+ first time, which I'll take if it happens in the next day or two.

Meanwhile I missed out on these two events, both of which I'd have liked to play in if there was time:

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

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.
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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

s2Member®