Category Archives: PSYCHOLOGY

NEWS, PSYCHOLOGY, QUEEN'S GAMBIT DECLINED, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

TEAM EVENTS

I came home from Poland last Monday, after my team won Gold in the European Senior Championships. I also got a silver for my board with 3 wins and 4 draws, 3 of the draws being against the German Grandmaster Raj Tischbierek. The 50+ event only attracted 8 teams, which led to there being an unusual schedule of an 8 team all-play all followed by a 2 round play-off in which the first two teams played each other, then 3 and 4, 5 and 6 etc.

This may be my last outing in Senior Teams chess as there might not be funding and I might not be selected. If so then I'll leave it with a solid track record of 15 wins, 20 draws and no losses. When I've played for the first team we always won a medal and I was always in the top 3 for my board.

Team events are not for everyone but I seem to do quite well in them. There's additional pressure, especially if you represent your country, and some players struggle to cope with this. You also need to play for the team, rather than yourself, and this may include forgoing personal ambitions in order to ensure the team does well. In the 2024 European Senior Championships I offered a draw vs Chris Duncan in a winning position so as to bring the team gold, and this time I saw my job as just to neutralise Tischbierek when beating him would have given me gold for my board. This too helped ensure that England won gold as the Germans needed to beat us heavily in order to snatch the title.

There are also some positive aspects of playing for a team in the camararderie and shared purpose. When I was pursuing the Grandmaster title in the 1990s, I often found myself eating alone for the entire tournament.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments return to the Exchange Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined, which is my main recommendation for White in the White 1.d4 Repertoire course

Sunday April 20th at 5pm UK Time: QGD Exchange with 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 c6

Sunday April 20th at 6.15pm UK Time: QGD Exchange with 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 c6 6.Qc2 Be7 7.Bg5 Nbd7 8.e3 0-0 9.Bd3 Re8

My Upcoming Events

I've now received an invitation to the English Senior Championships, which is something I wanted to play in. I'm still hoping to invited to Maia in August but I've yet to hear back.

Here is how things look right now:

April 24-28 2025: English Senior Championships

I've been invited to these and will play in the 50+ event. You can find details here. 

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, 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

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

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

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

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

COACHING, OPENINGS, PSYCHOLOGY, TRAINING

The Role of Father Random

Players sometimes wonder about changes in form, how can they play well in one game and badly in another? There are many reasons this can be the case, for example in one game they may get a position they understand whereas in the next one they do not. Or someone can simply blunder every now and then, and sometimes it happens in consecutive games. What's going on? I think it's mainly father random at work.

Why is the belief in 'form' so strong? It's because of a human tendency to find patterns where none exist (apophenia). This tendency is rooted in our past, when it was essential to spot things like predator behaviour and edible plans. This pattern recognition has been perpetuated throughout history via mechanisms such as cultural norms, claims of 'poor form' are quite common and then likely to be perpetuated.

Why is this a bad thing? It's because the perception of 'poor form' can lower expectations and self confidence. Once someone believes that they are not going to play well it can become a self fulfilling prophecy.

Training Tournaments
 

This week's training tournaments are in the Queen's Gambit Declined Exchange Variation, a popular and important topic that is reached throughout my opening repertoires. This is because of the didactic value of this line and Carlsbad pawn structure. There's a slight but important difference between the two events, they will start from the positions after 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 c6 and then 5...Be7.

Sunday October 27th at 5pm UK Time: QGD Exchange with 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 c6 

Sunday October 27th at 6.15pm UK Time: QGD Exchange with 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 Be7

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.

October 25-27, 2024: Scarborough Congress

This one of the UK's most prestigious congresses, the sections include a 'foundation' tournament and a junior event. Click here for details.

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.

February 16-27, 2025: World Senior Team Championship

I finally got a place in the 50+ second team. This means that I'll play a much stonger field than on bottom board of the first team, so in many ways it's quite welcome.

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.

I offer discounts on some of my video series on Vimeo for which my catalogue is here. To get the discount codes please sign up for my weekly newsletter via the form on the right.

Nigel

COACHING, PSYCHOLOGY, TRAINING

FINDING THE NEXT MOVE

This last week has seen a couple of incidents in which notable players did themselves a disservice. I'm not going to comment on the incidents themselves, but rather on the mindset required to avoid sabotaging yourself. In short it's a question of focusing on the board and making this the most important thing.

I learned this lesson the hard way after letting things distract me. In one incident, before computerized pairings, my opponent complained to the arbiter that he was Black against me instead of White and the colours were changed. I only found out about this when I came to play and lost a really horrible game. I've also played badly because of thinking about the outcome, for example in games in which I've played for a norm or a decent prize. Another good way to lose is to carry forward negative emotions from the previous game or go in overconfident.

Eventually I decided to limit my focus to one simple thing, finding the next move. And it works.

Training Tournaments
 

This week's training tournaments are in the Queen's Gambit Accepted. They will include my repertoire recommendation of the Furman Variation of 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.Qe2 a6 plus 4...Bg4 which seems to be an interesting and underrated line: 

Sunday October 20th at 5pm UK Time: Queen's Gambit Accepted with 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.e3 e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.Qe2 a6 

Sunday October 20th at 6.15pm UK Time: Queen's Gambit Accepted with 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.e3 Bg4

Here's my approximate schedule over the coming months, subject to change! I often don't know until fairly late in the day.

Upcoming Events

October 25-27, 2024: Scarborough Congress

This one of the UK's most prestigious congresses, the sections include a 'foundation' tournament and a junior event. Click here for details.

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.

February 18-23, 2025: Isle of Wight International

I've been invited to play in this one but will have to pull out if I get invited to the World Senior Teams. It's a new event but the organizers seem to be on the ball. You can find details here.

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've not been selected for the England 50+ team for the World Senior Team Championships (Prague, February 16 to 27, 2025), but I'm still hopeful that I'll get in the 65+ team (I'm 64, but you become eligible the year you turn 65). There are also 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. I'm hopeful that clarification will be forthcoming quite soon.

I offer discounts on some of my video series on Vimeo for which my catalogue is here. To get the discount codes please sign up for my weekly newsletter via the form on the right.

See you next week!

Nigel Davies