BUILDING AN OPENING REPERTOIRE, CLINIC

MAY 2020 CLINIC: EVEN MORE LOCKDOWN GAMES

The May clinic is now online here and features another collection of internet games played by Tiger Chess members. As usual there was a mixed group of submissions but one game in particular showing one of my recommendations in action.

The following position came from my Building an Opening Repertoire formula against the King's Indian in which White advances his queenside pawns in order to create a breach which his rooks can exploit. White is the exchange up but the position still looks messy. What should he do (see diagram)?

White to Play

White played the powerful 33.Nc6! regaining the initiative, the point being that 33...Qxc6 allows 34.Qxf7+ followed by mate on h7 and that 33...Rxc6 loses to 34.Rb8!, once again decoying Black's queen from the defence of f7. In the game Black played 33...Bf6 when White consolidated with 34.g3 Kg7 35.Nd4 and won after 35...Be5 36.Nb5 d2 37.Qxd2 Qe6 38.Kg2 h5 39.Rc7 1-0.

Nigel Davies

CLINIC

APRIL 2020 CLINIC: MORE LOCKDOWN GAMES

With most of us still in lockdown, this month's clinic featured more internet games. It's far from certain when terrestrial chess will return, so clinics based on this theme could continue for some time. One of the good things about chess is that it can be played online.

Here's a moment from one of the games covered, in which R. A. was playing White and on the move (see diagram):

White to play

White played the powerful 21.f4!, not worrying about 21...Bg4 because of 22.Qxa6 Bxd1 23.fxe5 Bxe5 24.Bxe5 Qxe5 25.Rxd1, winning material and going on to win the game (1-0). Not bad for a blitz game.

Nigel Davies

CLINIC

MARCH 2020 CLINIC: LOCKDOWN GAMES

With terrestrial chess events on hold most of the chess community has switched to internet chess. It's harder to take internet games seriously because there's always another one waiting if you lose, so why suffer and try to defend a difficult position? But it's a reasonable way to stay in practice.

Until things get back to normal the clinics will be devoted to internet games. Here's a sharp moment from one of them in which K. A. was playing Black and White had just played 29.Nd2 (see diagram below).

Black to play.

This gave Black a chance to decide the game immediately, which he did with 29...Rxc3!. The point is that however White captures on c3, 30...Bxd4 will win the queen. After a few further moves Black won.

Nigel Davies

CLINIC, NEWS

FEBRUARY 2020 CLINIC: BISHOP DIAGONALS

There was a delay to the February clinic due to Covid related issues but better late than never! The next two clinics will be devoted to online games as most of us turn to online games while over-the-board tournaments are suspended.

Bishops can become the dominant minor piece if they have diagonals on which to operate, and especially if the opponent's knights struggle to find an outpost. The position below, with 'A. M.' playing White, is a good illustration. It is White to play:

White to Play

With 25.e6! White opened the long diagonal for his bishop on b2 and threatened mate with 26.Qg7. Black captured with 25...fxe6 but after 26.Rxd8 Rxd8 27.Rxd8 he found that the queen on e7 is being decoyed away from the defence of g7 and therefore resigned (1-0).

Members can access the clinic here.

Nigel Davies

CLINIC, NEWS

JANUARY 2020 CLINIC: KNIGHT MANOEUVRES

The latest clinic looks at knight manoeuvres and can be access by full members here. The knight tends to be a tricky piece to manage because of its short step and need for outposts, and this is why I devote 5 lessons to the knight in the Tiger Chess strategy course.

Here's a position from one of the clinic games in which L. J. had successfully weakened White's kingside with ...Ng4, provoking g2-g3, and now commenced a powerful attack. Here's the position after White's 22nd move, Be2-g4:

NN - LJ. Black to play.

Black uncorked 22... f5!, the point of which is to meet 23.Bxf5 with 23...Rxf5!. Instead the game went 23.Nc7 Qd6 24.Nxa8 fxg4 25.Nb6 Nb4 26.Qd2 Bxe4+ 27.Kh2 Bg1+ 0-1, a nice finish.

Nigel Davies

CLINIC, NEWS

DECEMBER 2019 CLINIC: BEST GAMES

The December 2019 clinic is now online and features members' best games. With 'best' games beauty tends to be in the eye of the beholder, with some liking games which feature ferocious attacks and others preferring strategic performances. Both these types are featured as well as games which combine tactics and strategy.

One of the games featured K. A. as White, and after 19 moves the following position was reached with White to play:

White to play

Here White uncorked the brilliant and crushing 20.Nd5!, and this led to a rapid victory after 20...exd5 21.Rxe8 Ne4 (21...Nxe8 22.Bxd5+ Kf6 23.Qh5! is even more crushing than 23.Qxe8) 22.Rxf8+ Kxf8 23.cxd5. Although White has only won a pawn, his position is so strong that further gains are inevitable.

Nigel Davies

CLINIC, DEFENCE, MIDDLEGAMES

NOVEMBER 2019 CLINIC: GOOD DEFENCE

The November clinic was devoted to the topic of good defence, which tends to be quite rare at amateur level. The top requirements include calculating ability, objectivity and a refusal to give in without making the best possible fight of it. There's also a need to counterattack wherever possible, which is not always easy after having been under pressure.

The following position was reached in one of the submissions, with White having just played 25.Nf3-d4 (see diagram below). What should Black now do?

Black to play

The answer was the brilliant 25...g5!, which undermined White's central wedge and brought the bishop on g7 to life. After 26.Qxe4 gxf4 27.Qxf4 Ng6 28.Qe4 Qxe5 Black had broken the attack and stood better, though he narrowly failed to win.

Nigel Davies

CLINIC, UPDATES

OCTOBER 2019 CLINIC: BEST GAMES

The latest Tiger Chess clinic is now online and devoted to best games. What defines a 'good game' is largely subjective, and as always a variety of submissions was sent in. The following position was taken from the one that I liked most, with White about to play a crushing move:

M. G. vs. N. N. White to play.

White to play uncorked the devastating 23.Nxe6+. Black saw that when he takes the knight he is mated by 24.Qg6+ followed by Qh7 mate, and if he doesn't take the knight he loses his queen. For this reason Black resigned, and nobody could really blame him.

Nigel Davies

CLINIC, ENDGAMES

SEPTEMBER 2019 CLINIC: ENDGAMES

Those who understand my teaching approach will be aware of the emphasis I put on endgames. The September clinic was devoted to this phase of the game and I found the following position particularly interesting (see diagram):

Black to play

In the game Black played 40...Nc5 after which 41.Kd2 Nxa4 42.Kd3 Nc5+ 43.Kc4 a6 44.bxa6 Nxa6 45.Kb5 Nc7+ 46.Kc6 Ne8 47.Kxb6 led to a draw because White can sacrifice his bishop for Black's remaining pawn. Accordingly I think that Black has better chances by trying to keep the queenside pawns on the board and force White's f-pawn to move to a light square; my line is 40...Nc3 after which 41.Kd2 Nd5 42.f5 Nf6 43.Bh3 g5 gives Black definite winning chances.

I should repeat my recommendation that nobody can go far wrong by spending some time studying endgames, and Tiger Chess has a 160 week course on this with many hours of video lessons on the endgame.

Nigel Davies

CLINIC, OPENINGS, UPDATES

AUGUST 2019 CLINIC: BEST GAMES

The August clinic is now out and can be viewed here by current full members. Amongst the games played was one in which a Tiger Chess member played the Colle System, the game starting out with the moves 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.e3 e6 4.Bd3 c5 5.c3 Nc6 6.Nbd2 Bd6 7.O-O O-O 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.e4.

At club level almost nobody seems to know what to do for Black in this position, with many players opting for 9...e5. Instead of this Black played 9...Bd6 10.Re1 e5? and after 11.exd5 Nxd5 12.Nc4 reached the position below:

Position after White's 12.Nc4.

Black is already losing a pawn because 12...f6 loses a piece after 13.Be4. Instead he opted for 12...Be7 (having used a full 40 minutes on the clock), White captured on e5 and eventually won the game.

It is games like this that have convinced me that simple and sound openings, such as the Colle System, are ideal for club players who have relatively little time to study and want to build an opening repertoire. White can also expand out into lines in which he plays c2-c4, and I'm currently working on a new openings course which will demonstrate exactly how to do this.

Nigel Davies

s2Member®