Category Archives: TOURNAMENTS

CHESS PARENTING, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

COMPETING AGAINST YOUNG PLAYERS

In this week's Chess Questions Answered video I discussed how to beat young players. My thinking on this has evolved over time, mainly in that I no longer believe it's possible for older players to 'use their experience'. A lot of kids play hundreds, if not thousands, of online games, which gives them a LOT of experience. Factor in modern learning platforms and they're more than just a handful.

What can be done? Well I don't think that playing through Capablanca's games with a nice wooden chess set is going to get very far. For sure it can contribute to someone's general understanding, but that's really not going to be enough. Whether we like it or not, I think we have to adapt to modern approaches and get stuck in with online blitz and platforms such as Chessable, which has improved with the availability of a Stockfish powered analysis board and where some of the material is very good and useful.

Just this week I started a project with my son Sam, that we are going to work on a particular course together by comparing notes and playing training games. Sam is a good player with a rating in the mid 2300s on Chess.com where he plays mainly 10 minute games. Yet his openings are still ramshackle at best, and this is what he wants to address.

Vimeo Closing Its Video On Demand

Unfortunately Vimeo is closing its Video On Demand service in November, so I'll no longer be offering any titles through them. Those who have purchased one of my videos on this platform will be able get access to the materials at Tiger Chess by the time Vimeo closes this service. Please send me your receipts which are available here when you are logged onto your Vimeo account.

Sam's Youtube Chanel

My son Sam runs a Youtube channel in which he streams his live games on chess.com. This shows considerably more bravery than I'm able to muster, so please check it out and subscribe. I think he's doing a nice job.

Upcoming Events

This is how things look right now, with nothing in particular planned after November. If I'm invited I'll play in Nova Gorica (Slovenia) in January next year and then Maya (Portugal) in August:

October 23-25: Scarborough Congress
This one starts today. Details can be found here.

November 2-13: European Youth Championships, Crete
I've been appointed as one of the coaches for this event, which basically rules out the English Senior Championships because the two events only have a day's break between them.

December 6: Bolton Rapidplay
I'm thinking about playing in this one to keep my hand in. Details can be found here.

Tiger Chess Themed Training Tournaments are organized on a weekly basis at Lichess, featuring selected opening variations. You can check out what's coming up here.

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

BUILDING AN OPENING REPERTOIRE, QUEEN'S GAMBIT DECLINED, QUEEN'S PAWN GAMES, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

AN ECONOMICAL OPENING REPERTOIRE FOR BLACK

Last week I discussed two London System move orders, either 1.d4 followed by 2.Bf4 or 1.d4 followed by 2.Nf3 and 3.Bf4. Both of these could form the basis for an economical opening repertoire for White, but what about Black? I have frequently recommended the Queen's Gambit Declined (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6) and French (1.e4 e6) for Black, but these are not the only options.

After the Queen's Gambit Declined (QGD) I'd say that the Slav Defence (1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6) is Black's simplest choice. As with the QGD it's a set-up that can be adopted against Flank Openings. There is some theory but it's theory that makes sense, some sharp openings require exponents to play wonderful moves that defy most peoples' attempts to remember them.

What about 1.e4? The Caro-Kann isn't bad, and it features the same two pawn moves as the Slav with 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5. Yet I'd tend towards recommending the Scandinavian instead (1.e4 d5) because White tends to be less well prepared and the Advance Caro (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5) is difficult to handle. 

Vimeo Closing Its Video On Demand

Unfortunately Vimeo is closing its Video On Demand service in November, so I'll no longer be offering any titles through them. Those who have purchased one of my videos on this platform will be able get access to the materials at Tiger Chess by the time Vimeo closes this service. Please send me your receipts which are available here when you are logged onto your Vimeo account.

Sam's Youtube Chanel

My son Sam runs a Youtube channel in which he streams his live games on chess.com. This shows considerably more bravery than I'm able to muster, so please check it out and subscribe. I think he's doing a nice job.

Upcoming Events

This is how things look right now, with nothing in particular planned after November. If I'm invited I'll play in Nova Gorica (Slovenia) in January next year and then Maya (Portugal) in August:

October 23-25: Scarborough Congress
I've now entered this one and booked my hotel. Details can be found here.

November 2-13: European Youth Championships, Crete
I've been appointed as one of the coaches for this event, which basically rules out the English Senior Championships because the two events only have a day's break between them. 

Tiger Chess Themed Training Tournaments are organized on a weekly basis at Lichess, featuring selected opening variations. You can check out what's coming up here.

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

OPENINGS, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

MOVE ORDERS IN THE LONDON SYSTEM

The London System (1.d4 followed by a quick Bc1-f4) is a firm favourite at club level because it seems that White can get a playable middle game without knowing any theory. There is certainly some truth to this, but there is a growing body of theory in the London plus some move order subtleties.

One of the main issues is whether White plays an immediate 1.d4 followed by 2.Bf4 or first develops his knight with 2.Nf3. Both these approaches have their advantages, but it depends what Black is doing meanwhile. Last year I experimented with 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 as I felt that 2...e6 took away some of Black's best responses. On the other hand there's a case for 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bf4 because 2...g6 might be met by 3.Nc3.

I quite like both 2.Bf4 and 2.Nf3, other players have their own preferences. For example I've noticed that Mark Hebden is now playing 1.d4 and meeting 1...d5 with 2.Bf4 and 1...Nf6 with 2.Bg5. This is also quite appealing, the Trompowsky (2.Bg5) contains a great deal of poison, but you would not want to play 2.Bg5 after 1...d5, at least I wouldn't!

Vimeo Closing Its Video On Demand

Unfortunately Vimeo is closing its Video On Demand service in November, so I'll no longer be offering any titles through them. Those who have purchased one of my videos on this platform will be able get access to the materials at Tiger Chess by the time Vimeo closes this service. Please send me your receipts which are available here when you are logged onto your Vimeo account.

Sam's Youtube Chanel

My son Sam runs a Youtube channel in which he streams his live games on chess.com. This shows considerably more bravery than I'm able to muster, so please check it out and subscribe. I think he's doing a nice job.

Upcoming Events

This is how things look right now, with nothing in particular planned after November. If I'm invited I'll play in Nova Gorica (Slovenia) in January next year and then Maya (Portugal) in August:

October 23-25: Scarborough Congress
I've now entered this one and booked my hotel. Details can be found here.

November 2-13: European Youth Championships, Crete
I've been appointed as one of the coaches for this event, which basically rules out the English Senior Championships because the two events only have a day's break between them. 

Tiger Chess Themed Training Tournaments are organized on a weekly basis at Lichess, featuring selected opening variations. You can check out what's coming up here.

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

ITALIAN GAME, OPENINGS, PATTERN RECOGNITION, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

STUDYING HISTORICAL GAMES

I've often seen the recommendation to study historical games in order to understand how certain concepts have developed. Sometimes this can be a good idea, but only if the games concerned contain particular instructional value. Top tournaments in, say, the 19th century had a wide mix of playing strengths with many games being decided by quite elementary mistakes. There were some brilliant and instructive games but these were the exception rather than the rule.

Can historical games help us learn particular openings? The same guidance applies, that some historical games will be useful but certainly not all of them. How do you find the ones that are helpful? One of the jobs of books and video authors is to sort this out for us and the best authors will generally do a good job. Personally speaking I would not want a lot of games included that have purely historical interest, I'd much rather have games that clarified the ideas and concepts.

Are there some good examples of such books and videos? Yes, there certainly are, and I recently acquired The Modernized Italian Game for White by Alexander Kalinin and Nikolai Kalinichenko which is an excellent example. The authors include a large number of examples which illustrate the ideas and plans, many of which come from the strategically similar Ruy Lopez. I'm looking forward to reading it.

Vimeo Closing Its Video On Demand

Unfortunately Vimeo is closing its Video On Demand service in November, so I'll no longer be offering any titles through them. Those who have purchased one of my videos on this platform will be able get access to the materials at Tiger Chess by the time Vimeo closes this service. Please send me your receipts which are available here when you are logged onto your Vimeo account.

Sam's Youtube Chanel

My son Sam runs a Youtube channel in which he streams his live games on chess.com. This shows considerably more bravery than I'm able to muster, so please check it out and subscribe. I think he's doing a nice job.

Upcoming Events

This is how things look right now, with nothing in particular planned after November. If I'm invited I'll play in Nova Gorica (Slovenia) in January next year and then Maya (Portugal) in August:

October 23-25: Scarborough Congress
I've now entered this one and booked my hotel. Details can be found here.

November 2-13: European Youth Championships, Crete
I've been appointed as one of the coaches for this event, which basically rules out the English Senior Championships because the two events only have a day's break between them. 

Tiger Chess Themed Training Tournaments are organized on a weekly basis at Lichess, featuring selected opening variations. You can check out what's coming up here.

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

ENDGAMES, MEMBERS ONLY, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

THE IMPORTANCE OF PAWN ENDGAMES

In this week's Chess Questions Answered video I explained why pawn endgames are so vital and gave a top level example from the Olympiad that is currently taking place in Samarkand. The main reason is that all other endgames can transpose into pawn endgames if pieces get exchanged, so you constantly have to be aware of such exchanges and accurately assess the resulting pawn endgame.

How should someone develop their endgame play? It helps a lot just to play more endgames by not being afraid of the exchange of queens, yet this probably requires more confidence before it starts to happen. In such chicken and egg situations I would suggest an iterative process by which players start showing a greater interest in endgames which in turn will increase their willingness to play them.

It's also possible to embark on a special study of endgames which I was doing at the time I got the GM title in 1993. At that time we were heavily reliant on books and I used Mikhail Shereshevsky's Endgame Strategy. A number of Tiger Chess members have also found the Tiger Chess endgame course very useful, especially when they loaded the positions into a program against which they could test their knowledge by playing the position out. This is available to members who have either Standard or Premium membership.

Vimeo Closing Its Video On Demand

Unfortunately Vimeo is closing its Video On Demand service in November, so I'll no longer be offering any titles through them. Those who have purchased one of my videos on this platform will be able get access to the materials at Tiger Chess by the time Vimeo closes this service. Please send me your receipts which are available here when you are logged onto your Vimeo account.

Sam's Youtube Chanel

My son Sam runs a Youtube channel in which he streams his live games on chess.com. This shows considerably more bravery than I'm able to muster, so please check it out and subscribe. I think he's doing a nice job.

Upcoming Events

This is how things look right now, with nothing in particular planned after November. If I'm invited I'll play in Nova Gorica (Slovenia) in January next year and then Maya (Portugal) in August:

September 25-27: Hull 4NCL
The 4NCL Congresses are always well run, so I'm playing in this one which starts in Hull this evening.

October 23-25: Scarborough Congress
I've now entered this one and booked my hotel. Details can be found here.

November 2-13: European Youth Championships, Crete
I've been appointed as one of the coaches for this event, which basically rules out the English Senior Championships because the two events only have a day's break between them. 

Tiger Chess Themed Training Tournaments are organized on a weekly basis at Lichess, featuring selected opening variations. You can check out what's coming up here.

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

BUILDING AN OPENING REPERTOIRE, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

UNIVERSAL FORMATIONS

The idea of playing a single formation, with both White and Black, is very attractive, and especially if it helps avoid learning a lot of opening theory. I essentially used this approach myself in the 1980s, playing 1...g6 against everything as Black and mainly 1.Nf3 and 2.g3 as White. Certainly it helps with cutting down on study, but it also has its limitations.

Players who want to develop their chess should really be playing a variety of position types as this helps develop a broad understanding of chess strategy. Of particular value are classical openings such as the Ruy Lopez and Queen's Gambit, though all sorts of other openings can be helpful. Playing a single formation is not unthinkable, and the Egyptian star Amin Basseem managed to combine chess with his medical studies by playing King's Indian formations with White and Black. I think in his case it's a question of him being hugely talented.

What are some universal formations? One of the best known ones is the Zoom formation which features d4, c4, Nf3, g3 and Bg2 as White and the same moves as Black, the book 'ZOOM 001: Zero Hour to the Operation of Opening Models' being devoted to this structure. Another is the Philidor and Old Indian formation, which can also be used with White. Finally there's d4 and e3, which equates to ...e6 and ...d5 as Black, though this leads to a wider variety of positions depending on where the other pieces are developed. This is why I chose this formation as the basis for my Building an Opening Repertoire course.

Vimeo Closing Its Video On Demand

Unfortunately Vimeo is closing its Video On Demand service in November, so I'll no longer be offering any titles through them. Those who have purchased one of my videos on this platform will be able get access to the materials at Tiger Chess by the time Vimeo closes this service. Please send me your receipts which are available here when you are logged onto your Vimeo account.

Sam's Youtube Chanel

My son Sam runs a Youtube channel in which he streams his live games on chess.com. This shows considerably more bravery than I'm able to muster, so please check it out and subscribe. I think he's doing a nice job.

Upcoming Events

This is how things look right now, with nothing in particular planned after November. If I'm invited I'll play in Nova Gorica (Slovenia) in January next year and then Maya (Portugal) in August:

September 25-27: Hull 4NCL
The 4NCL Congresses are always well run, so I'll be playing in this one. Details can be found here.

October 23-25: Scarborough Congress
I've now entered this one and booked my hotel. Details can be found here.

November 2-13: European Youth Championships, Crete
I've been appointed as one of the coaches for this event, which basically rules out the English Senior Championships because the two events only have a day's break between them. 

Tiger Chess Themed Training Tournaments are organized on a weekly basis at Lichess, featuring selected opening variations. You can check out what's coming up here.

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

HOW TO, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

IMPROVING WITHOUT A COACH

I often get asked how you can improve without a coach. In this week's Chess Questions Answered video, I gave one foolproof method of doing so, which is to study the endgame. There are others too, the main problem being that you can end up on an inefficient trajectory for much of the time. A good coach can put you on the right path, which can save a lot of effort and frustration, a bad coach can pass on their own bias and bad habits.

I never had a formal coach, which I consider to be a mixed blessing. Most of the strong local players had a strong emphasis on attacking play and tactics, which is all very well up to a point but represents only part of a good chess curriculum. Thinking back I might have derived much benefit from working with Alan Ludgate, an Irish international noted for his solid style of play and good endgame technique.

One of the things I did right was to read a lot of good books, mainly autobiographical games collections of great players. I also solved tactics problems from books, attempted the Kotov Analysis exercise and played blindfold chess. What I could have done more of is an extensive study of endgames and to develop a classical repertoire of openings, and for this some guidance might have made all the difference. As it was I dabbled with some endgames and had a hotpotch of openings that was in constant flux.

Vimeo Closing Its Video On Demand

Unfortunately Vimeo is closing its Video On Demand service in November, so I'll no longer be offering any titles through them. Those who have purchased one of my videos on this platform will be able get access to the materials at Tiger Chess by the time Vimeo closes this service. Please send me your receipts which are available here when you are logged onto your Vimeo account.

Sam's Youtube Chanel

My son Sam runs a Youtube channel in which he streams his live games on chess.com. This shows considerably more bravery than I'm able to muster, so please check it out and subscribe. I think he's doing a nice job.

Upcoming Events

This is how things look right now, with nothing in particular planned after November. If I'm invited I'll play in Nova Gorica (Slovenia) in January next year and then Maya (Portugal) in August:

September 25-27: Hull 4NCL
The 4NCL Congresses are always well run, so I'll be playing in this one. Details can be found here.

October 23-25: Scarborough Congress
I've now entered this one and booked my hotel. Details can be found here.

November 2-13: European Youth Championships, Crete
I've been appointed as one of the coaches for this event, which basically rules out the English Senior Championships because the two events only have a day's break between them. 

Tiger Chess Themed Training Tournaments are organized on a weekly basis at Lichess, featuring selected opening variations. You can check out what's coming up here.

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

BOOKS, OPENINGS, QUEEN'S GAMBIT DECLINED, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

RAKHMANOV’S SECRETS OF OPENING PREPARATION

There are a lot of chess books published and not all of them are very useful. Yet I've found a few of them to be interesting and one in particular that I keep dipping into. This is Aleksandr Rakhmanov's Secrets of Opening Preparation published by Thinker's Publishing in 2021.

Rakhmanov is a very strong GM, but one who gets by with relatively little theoretical knowledge. He tries a variety of things with White including 1.d4, and Flank Openings if there's something he prefers to avoid. With Black his front line defences are the Petroff (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6) and Janowsky Variation of the Queen's Gambit Declined (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 a6), both of which he knows very well. Against lower rated opponents he tries some less classical openings including the Nimzowitsch-Rubinstein Sicilian (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6) and the Old Indian Defence (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 e5).

Rakhmanov explains his approach very clearly and honestly, and although his lines are slighly unusual he prepares them very deeply with strong engines. In many ways it seems quite risky to show so much and in such detail, but his methods could just as easily be applied to other lines. I'd say this book is of most value to players over 2200 who want to further develop their approach to openings, but most chess enthusiasts should find it interesting.
 

Vimeo Closing Its Video On Demand

Unfortunately Vimeo is closing its Video On Demand service in November, so I'll no longer be offering any titles through them. Those who have purchased one of my videos on this platform will be able get access to the materials at Tiger Chess by sending me their receipts, these are available here when you are logged onto your Vimeo account.

Sam's Youtube Chanel

My son Sam runs a Youtube channel in which he streams his live games on chess.com. This shows considerably more bravery than I'm able to muster, so please check it out and subscribe. I think he's doing a nice job.

Upcoming Events

This is how things look right now having withdrawn my availability for the European Senior Team Championships. I might get invited to the English Senior Championships in October, in which case I will probably play:

August 21-23: Manchester Summer Congress, Bolton UK
This is a long standing event which is now run in a nice venue and with good prizes. Details can be found here.

September 25-27: Hull 4NCL
The 4NCL Congresses are always well run, so I'll be playing in this one. Details can be found here.

October 23-25: Scarborough Congress
I've now entered this one and booked my hotel. Details can be found here.

November 2-13: European Youth Championships, Crete
I've been appointed as one of the coaches for this event, which basically rules out the English Senior Championships because the two events only have a day's break between them. 

Tiger Chess Themed Training Tournaments are organized on a weekly basis at Lichess, featuring selected opening variations. You can check out what's coming up here.

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

BUILDING AN OPENING REPERTOIRE, FRENCH DEFENCE, QUEEN'S GAMBIT DECLINED, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING, WHITE 1.d2-d4 REPERTOIRE

ARE PET LINES A GOOD IDEA?

In this week's Chess Questions Answered video I explored whether pet lines are a good idea, citing the example of Alexander Rakhmanov's use of the Nimzowitsch-Rubinstein line of the Sicilian (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6). Certainly they can be but it depends largely on the objective quality of the line and the level at which you intend to use it.

During my own career I had a period in which I played nothing apart from the Modern Defence (1...g6 as Black), and although this was useful from some perspectives it almost certainly hobbled my development as a player. I now believe that it's better to play a varied set of classical openings in order to learn about different position types. I had done something along these lines as a kid but then somehow lost my way.

Playing classical position types would become one of my guiding lights in the creation of Tiger Chess opening repertoires, but I also wanted them to be easy to learn. This is why Queen's Pawn Openings play such a large part in the recommended lines for White, plus the Queen's Gambit Declined and French Defence for Black. If I was to expand this range then I'd want to include the Ruy Lopez, either for White or Black, but playing 1.e4 and meeting 1.e4 with 1...e5 means a lot of work!

Vimeo Closing Its Video On Demand

Unfortunately Vimeo is closing its Video On Demand service in November, so I'll no longer be offering any titles through them. Those who have purchased one of my videos on this platform will be able get access to the materials at Tiger Chess by sending me their receipts, these are available here when you are logged onto your Vimeo account.

Sam's Youtube Chanel

My son Sam runs a Youtube channel in which he streams his live games on chess.com. This shows considerably more bravery than I'm able to muster, so please check it out and subscribe. I think he's doing a nice job.

Upcoming Events

This is how things look right now having withdrawn my availability for the European Senior Team Championships. I might get invited to the English Senior Championships in October, in which case I will probably play:

August 1-9: British Championships, Coventry, UK
I've accepted an invitation to this one (the Championship itself) and look forward to playing.

August 21-23: Manchester Summer Congress, Bolton UK
This is a long standing event which is now run in a nice venue and with good prizes. Details can be found here.

September 25-27: Hull 4NCL
The 4NCL Congresses are always well run, so I'll be playing in this one. Details can be found here.

October 23-25: Scarborough Congress
I'm intending to play in this one if I can. Details are here.

October 26-31: English Senior Championships, Peterborough
This is also up in the air unless and until I get invited. Details can be found here. 

Tiger Chess Themed Training Tournaments are organized on a weekly basis at Lichess, featuring selected opening variations. You can check out what's coming up here.

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

OPENINGS, PSYCHOLOGY, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

SLEEP ISSUES DURING TOURNAMENTS

Something that I've often sruggled with during tournaments is sleep, especially if I've just had a tough game. This is a very big deal because none of us will think as clearly when deprived of sleep. There are a few things that can be tried and hopefully some combination of these will work.

The first is medication, for example Nytol offer a variety of sleep aids which will hopefully bring results. There are a number of similar drugs sold by Tesco and Boots, but your options are quite limited in the UK. Unfortunately we can only get melatonin on prescription, unlike the US where it is sold over the counter.

A second major area is that of sleep routines, for example you might avoid looking at an electronic screen a few hours before going to bed. Avoiding any caffeinated drinks after 2 or 3pm is also a good idea, leaving at least 8-10 hours before going to bed. Keeping your bedroom cool is also supposed to be effective as is having a wind-down routine which might include dimming lights and reading.

Finally there are methods such as those used by the US marines which were developed because of the importance of getting a good night's sleep. Here's a good description of the kind of thing that is involved, and no doubt variations on this are also good. Sweet dreams!

Vimeo Closing Its Video On Demand

Unfortunately Vimeo is closing its Video On Demand service in November, so I'll no longer be offering any titles through them. Those who have purchased one of my videos on this platform will be able get access to the materials at Tiger Chess by sending me their receipts, these are available here when you are logged onto your Vimeo account.

Sam's Youtube Chanel

My son Sam runs a Youtube channel in which he streams his live games on chess.com. This shows considerably more bravery than I'm able to muster, so please check it out and subscribe. I think he's doing a nice job.

Upcoming Events

This is how things look right now having withdrawn my availability for the European Senior Team Championships. I might get invited to the English Senior Championships in October, in which case I will probably play:

August 1-9: British Championships, Coventry, UK
I've accepted an invitation to this one (the Championship itself) and look forward to playing.

August 21-23: Manchester Summer Congress, Bolton UK
This is a long standing event which is now run in a nice venue and with good prizes. Details can be found here.

September 25-27: Hull 4NCL
The 4NCL Congresses are always well run, so I'll be playing in this one. Details can be found here.

October 23-25: Scarborough Congress
I'm intending to play in this one if I can. Details are here.

October 26-31: English Senior Championships, Peterborough
This is also up in the air unless and until I get invited. Details can be found here. 

Tiger Chess Themed Training Tournaments are organized on a weekly basis at Lichess, featuring selected opening variations. You can check out what's coming up here.

Have a good weekend.

Nigel