Category Archives: COACHING

CHESS PARENTING, COACHING, OPENINGS, TOURNAMENTS

CHESS OPENINGS FOR JUNIORS

In this week's Chess Questions Answered video, I explained that there can be chess openings which are good for juniors. I dug out some lines that I showed my son Sam during our chess project, and these would often take his opponents by surprise.

These were different to the standard fare of aiming for Scholar's mate (1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Qxf7#) or the Fried Liver Attack (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.Nxf7) because those tend to be well studied at junior level. Sam also made considerable progress when he stopped meeting 1.e4 with 1...e5, as that tended to walk into the evil schemes of result orientated junior coaches.

I'm thinking about producing a recommended repertoire for juniors based on some of the lines I suggested to Sam, 1.e4 would certainly be the first move followed by some simple plan based approaches. I won't be giving everything away right now, but the Closed Sicilian would probably be among the recommended choices. For those who can't wait, a decent option is my Positional Play with 1.e4 series, which is discounted this week (see below).

Training Tournaments

Here are the latest scheduled events:

Sunday February 15th, 5pm UK Fort Knox French

Sunday February 15th, 6.15pm UK QGD Exchange

Video Discounts

This week's discount is 40% off Positional Play with 1.e4 using the code 'feb13to21'. 1.e4 is often associated with tactical play and heavy theory, but it can also be played in a positional fashion using lines such as Bishop's Opening, Sicilians with 3.Bb5 and the King's Indian Attack. In this series of videos I outline this method of play and show some wrinkles from my own games.

Last week's discount was 40% off buying The Why and How of Chess Annotations using the code 'feb6to14', which is still valid until close of play tomorrow. Annotating games can be a powerful improvement method if done in the right way. With this video you will learn how to use a reflective process to improve how you play, going beyond computer annotations.

Upcoming Events

I've now signed up for a 4NCL Congress over Easter, and will be playing for the England 50+ first team in the World Senior Team Championships in April. I might look for another weekend event in March.

April 3 - 6: 4NCL Easter Congress, Daventry

I try to make most of the 4NCL Congresses because I like them so much. This one is 7 rounds, and played over Easter weekend.

April 18 - 29: World Senior Team Championships, Durres, Albania
I've had confirmation that I'll be in the 50+ first team for this one.

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

COACHING, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

MAKING NOTES IN TOURNAMENTS

In this week's Webinar I spoke about my training schedule before Nova Gorica, which went quite well. I also made some notes about things I want to do to improve still further, something that has been a long standing habit for me. Taking notes during tournaments tends to keep things realistic, back home in the armchair we can have all kinds of fancy and misguided ideas, particularly with regard to the openings we want to play.

What were my conclusions? One of the main ones was that conserving energy seems like a good idea, I tried to sleep more and prepare much less and I managed to concentrate quite well throughout the event. Daily tactical and endgame puzzles also seemed to work well, my calculation was sharper that it's been in years. What is on my 'to do' list? Basically to know any opennings I play well enough that I don't have to prepare too much.

What should be in your tournament notes? Essentially this is a reflective exercise which is meant to capture your thoughts and feelings when going into games. What are you worried about? Have you noticed any weak points to your game? What would you like to be able to do better? There was a time when I had a special notebook for my reflections, these days I keep the notes online. The don't need to be extensive, quality and relevance is much more important than quantity.

Training Tournaments

There have been some changes since I handed over the organization of these. Here are the ones that are currently scheduled:

Sunday February 8th, 5pm UK Queen's Gambit Declined

Sunday February 8th, 6.15pm UK Time: French Defence

Video Discounts

This week's discount is 40% off The Why and How of Chess Annotations using the code 'feb6to14'. Annotating games can be a powerful improvement method if done in the right way. With this video you will learn how to use a reflective process to improve how you play, going beyond computer annotations.

Last week's discount was 40% off Mastering Key Pawn Structures: ZOOM Formations using the code 'jan30feb7', and this is still available until close of play tomorrow. This video series will consider ZOOM formations, which typically arise from the Gruenfeld Defence and Catalan Opening, and which were covered by Stefan Zeuthen and Bent Larsen in the classic book 'ZOOM 001: Zero Hour for Operative Opening Models'.

Upcoming Events

I've now signed up for a 4NCL Congress over Easter, and will be playing for the England 50+ first team in the World Senior Team Championships in April. I might look for another weekend event in February or March.

April 3 - 6: 4NCL Easter Congress, Daventry

I try to make most of the 4NCL Congresses because I like them so much. This one is 7 rounds, and played over Easter weekend.

April 18 - 29: World Senior Team Championships, Durres, Albania
I've had confirmation that I'll be in the 50+ first team for this one.

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

COACHING, HOW TO, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

KNOW YOURSELF

Working on your chess can involve a lot of naval gazing. The times I've made a giant leap forward, for example in the early 1990s, were built on periods of reflection and then doing things differently.

What did I do differently in the run up to gaining the GM title? Essentially I realized that I had to play in a more classical manner, always playing flank openings, and going 1...g6 as Black, had hobbled my approach to chess in that I had very little space and was always looking for a counter attack. This might have been useful in weekend tournaments, but it was far from optimal in international tournaments. Not only did I change my openings, I also had to change the way I thought about chess strategy in order to interpret them reasonably well.

Playing in a classical style was not altogether new to me, having taught myself largely from books I had a decent foundation in the classics. The problems started when I took the King's Indian Attack from Leonard Barden's Guardian Chess Book and picked up on the 1980s craze for 1...g6. I thought I was saving myself from learning a lot of theory, and this was kind of true. On the other hand I was storing up problems for the future.

Which openings did I switch to? I met 1.e4 with 1...e5, met 1.d4 with the Nimzo-Indian and started playing 1.d4 as White. This cost me a lot of work but the turnaround in my results was remarkable.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments return to the 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) and which was covered in the White 1.d4 Repertoire. There are two main alternatives for Black, 7...a5 and 7...Nbd7:

Sunday June 22nd at 5pm UK Time: KID Petrosian with 7...a5
Sunday June 22nd at 6.15pm UK Time: KID Petrosian with 7...Nbd7 

My Upcoming Events

There's nothing new from last week and I have a new project that I'll start work on from September. I will keep playing, but it will move down my list of priorities for a while Here is how things look now:

June 23-29 2025: 11th Cesme International Open
This strong open event, in Cesme (Izmir province) in Turkey, promises to be a real challenge. I'll be going a couple of days early because I can get a cheap flight.

July 31 - August 10 2025: British Championships
As mentioned I've gone for the Championship itself rather than one of the old folks sections. Obviously this will be full of underrated juniors, I'll just have to play better against them this time! You can find details here.

August 23 - 30 2025: San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife
This looks like a great event and I'm really looking forward to it. Travelling back is a bit tricky because the direct flights were very expensive, finally I found a flight back to Glasgow from where I can take a train!

September 5-7: Hull 4NCL Congress
I'm a big fan of 4NCL Congresses because they are played in nice venues, they're invariably well organized and they offer free entry and accommodation to GMs. You can find details here:

I'll be looking for things after September, not sure when or where!
 

Twitch Channel

My new Twitch channel will have new shows every Monday ('Chess Questions Answered), the Webinar on training tournaments and games is up on Fridays. 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, PSYCHOLOGY, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

TOURNAMENT VENUES

Following on from last week's topic on travel tips, this time I'll address the issue of tournament venues. Chess events are often held in places where there are cheap hotels, for example out of season holiday resorts. Whilst I always recommend that players make chess their focal point, it can often seem as if there's nothing to do if you want a break.

A good way to handle this is to find things of interest, even if it seems to be a hopeless task at first. Every town has some history, famous people that were born there, interesting walks and a good restaurant or two. The odds are that you will only be there for just over a week, so with two decent restaurants you can try at least 4-5 dishes in each.

Asking local players for advice can be a good idea, what should you see and where should you go. You'll almost certainly get some useful tips and possibly even a guided tour. When I played a lot in Eastern Europe, during the 1980s and early 1990s, I got to know a lot of people who were as curious about life in the West as I was about theirs, it can make chess travelling into a great learning and social experience. On the other hand it was noticeable that Westerners who adopted a siege mentality, and stayed in their rooms or only mixed with their compatriots, tended to do badly.

It goes without saying that you should be mindful of local customs and laws, especially if you find yourself somewhere that's very different to where you live. There might well be some forbearance shown towards tourists, but it's better to be clear on what you can and should not do.

Happy travels!

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments are in the French Defence, which is my main recommendation for Black and covered in several of my video courses (The French Defence, Building an Opening Repertoire and The Fort Knox French):

Sunday April 13th at 5pm UK Time: French Defence with 3.Bd3

Sunday April 13th at 6.15pm UK Time: French Rubinstein

My Upcoming Events

The European Senior Team Championship will be over in a couple of days after which I have no foreign trips planned. I'm still hoping to invited to Maia in August but I've yet to hear back.

This is my current schedule:

May 10 - 11 2025: Nottingham Congress

I've entered this one because they offer free entry for GMs, plus if I take a bye in the first round I can get away with one night in a hotel. You can find details here.

June 21-22 2025: Ilkley Congress

As with Nottingham this is just two days, I was given a free entry and I can take a first round bye. So I'll manage to keep my costs down to one night in a hotel and petrol for getting there, this stuff is important. You can find details here.

July 31 - August 10 2025: British Championships
As mentioned above I've entered without an invite. I've also gone for the Championship itself rather than one of the old folks sections. Obviously this will be full of underrated juniors, I'll just have to play better against them this time! You can find details here.

August 21 - 30 2025: Maia Chess Festival (?)

I've played in the last couple of events and I'm hopeful that I'll be asked back. The dates are now out.

September 5-7: Hull 4NCL Congress

I'm a big fan of 4NCL Congresses because they are played in nice venues, they're invariably well organized and they offer free entry and accommodation to GMs. You can find details here:

I'll be looking for things after September, not sure when or where!

Twitch Channel

My new Twitch channel will have new shows every Monday ('Chess Questions Answered), the Webinar on training tournaments and games is up on Fridays. 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, QUEEN'S GAMBIT DECLINED, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING, UPDATES, WHITE 1.d2-d4 REPERTOIRE

PUBLIC RELATIONS

This is not often talked about with regard to chess achievement, but being well thought of can be as important for a chess career as in more orthodox fields. There are countless examples of players being overlooked because they were thought to have the potential to misbehave, for example in the former USSR there were a number of very talented players who never got to play abroad because they indulged in the national passtime of drinking to excess. As a more recent example I think that Hans Niemann's lack of invitations is not because of the false accusations of cheating, it may stem from things he's said and done, for example trashing a hotel room. I think that Christopher Yoo will have similar difficulties when his ban has ended.

It's important, therefore, to present yourself well so as to avoid being thought of as a potential liability. Some players are very good at this and they tend to get a disproportionate number of invites, others are not so good and will tend to get sidelined. Sometimes someone is just so good that they can't be ignored, and Bobby Fischer was a prime example of this. When you're the best in the World at something you can get away with things that mere mortals can not, though even then it's probably better not to test the boundaries too much. 

What should someone do if they have a bad rep? Basically they need to get their act together and then keep it together through thick and thin. If I had to advise Niemann I'd suggest that he should consider learning some form of anger management and then think very carefully about how he interfaces with chess authorities, the media and social media. He's clearly a very talented and passionate player, and his work ethic looks like something that could take him to the top. But it would help him a lot if his PR was better.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments are in the Colle, which features in two of my courses, the White 1.d4 Repertoire and Building an Opening Repertoire. White can basically opt for two different set-ups, the Zukertort set-up (including b2-b3) or the Koltanowski set-up (without b2-b3):

Sunday March 30th at 5pm UK Time: Colle with 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 d5

Sunday March 31st at 6.15pm UK Time: Colle with 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 b6

My Upcoming Events

I try to plan tournaments in advance but sometimes it's difficult.The most recent development is that I've stopped waiting for invitations from the ECF, for example to the British Championships or English Senior Championships. I don't think it's because of poor PR, or that my relations with chess authorities have been bad, it might be more a case that the ECF are strapped for cash. So I've entered the British Championships anyway, as I can travel to Liverpool from home, the English Seniors is not something I want to do without getting the standard GM arrangement of the hotel being paid for.

This is how things look right now:

April 4-14 2025: European Senior Team Championship

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. Hopefully I can continue the good form from the World Senior Team Championships and help the team to one of the top places.

May 10-11 2025: Nottingham Congress

I've entered this one because they offer free entry for GMs, plus if I take a bye in the first round I can get away with one night in a hotel. You can find details here.

June 21-22 2025: Ilkley Congress

As with Nottingham this is just two days, I was given a free entry and I can take a first round bye. So I'll manage to keep my costs down to one night in a hotel and petrol for getting there, this stuff is important. You can find details here.

July 31st - 10th August 2025: British Championships
As mentioned above I've entered without an invite. I've also gone for the Championship itself rather than one of the old folks sections. Obviously this will be full of underrated juniors, I'll just have to play better against them this time! You can find details here.

August 2025: Maia Chess Festival (?)

I've played in the last couple of events and I'm hopeful that I'll be asked back. There are no details as yet, but I'll definitely play if I get invited.

This should be enough to stay 'match fit' through to September, though trying to play seriously also involves quite a lot of time and expense on training.

Twitch Channel

My new Twitch channel will in theory have 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

ARTICLES, COACHING, FRENCH DEFENCE, POSITIONAL PLAY, PSYCHOLOGY, TRAINING

HOW TO BEAT GEN CHESSABLE

One of the most dramatic changes in chess has been the advent of Gen Chessable, by which I mean the generation of players who are learning openings by repeating moves from Chessable courses. For those who have the stomach for this kind of work this can be a fast track to having very good opening play. At the same time I believe it leaves some serious weaknesses in its wake.

The major issue is that rote memorization of computer generated lines does not particularly foster a deep understanding. So if an opponent varies, players relying mainly on memorization may not be able to improvise effectively. This means that their opponents might do well to steer clear of big forcing lines in which there are long series of 'best' moves, instead they might go for less charted territory in which there are plenty of playable options.

There are quite a few suitable vehicles for this approach, mainly closed openings in which manoeuvres take place behind lines of pawns. One good example is the Eastern Clamp Sicilian in which White meets 1.e4 c5 with 2.d3 followed by 3.f4. Another is the Old Indian Defence (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6), which hands White some space but is almost entirely reliant on plans and understanding. Almost all the Flank Openings are eminently suitable, and I would recommend 1.g3, for example.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments return to the Eastern Clamp Sicilian, which is an excellent line for those wishing to avoid theory. The two tournaments feature the following move orders:

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

Sunday March 16th at 6.15pm UK Time: Eastern Clamp 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:

April 4-14 2025: European Senior Team Championship

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. Hopefully I can continue the good form from the World Senior Team Championships and help the team to one of the top places.

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

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

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, 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

BUILDING AN OPENING REPERTOIRE, COACHING, OPENINGS, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING, WHITE 1.d2-d4 REPERTOIRE

HOW TO STUDY CHESS VIDEOS

During this week's webinar I was asked how many times it's good to watch a chess opening video. I would say that the answer is rather nuanced.

To learn openings I recommend a combination of watching videos, training games and playing around with any pgn file to look for alternatives and see what the engine says. The amount of time used on these three approaches will vary from person to person and how much time they have available.

Personally I tend to watch videos, often whilst doing some other activity such as using a stationary exercise bike. I would like to spend time examining the variations with an engine and playing through them on a real chess board, unfortunately it's difficult to find time. As for training games, this tends to be my lowest priority, but I've put it there because I'd need both time and a suitable partner. In the past I've tested openings in correspondence games but tend to lose interest once the opening stage is over.

I would not recommend my approach to anybody else, I think we all have to find our own way. A good way to start is by watching Tiger Chess material and then play in the Tiger Chess training tournaments on Lichess.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments will feature the Colle, which appears in both the Building an Opening Repertoire course and the White 1.d4 Repertoire:

Sunday November 10th at 5pm UK Time: Colle with 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 c5

Sunday November 10th at 6.15pm UK Time: Colle with 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.e3 b6

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! Meanwhile please note that there are discounts on my Vimeo videos listed in my newsletter.

Nigel