Category Archives: TRAINING

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

TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING, UPDATES, WHITE 1.d2-d4 REPERTOIRE

TRAVEL TIPS

How you get to a tournament or match can be a key factor in how well you do. Accordingly, I thought I would share some travel tips that I've picked up and/or developed over the years. The key factor is that you should start play as well rested and relaxed as you can be.

My first tip is to reduce the number of legs involved with your trip, one plane and one bus being far better than two planes, a train and two buses. This may sound obvious but it's amazing what people will sometimes put themselves through in order to make a small saving. I should add that if you have to fly, use a reliable airline. Some of the budget airlines have been known to cancel flights, which can spell disaster. It also makes sense to leave a LOT of time between connecting flights, way more than you think you will need. Flights are often delayed.

A habit that I've adopted over time is to travel light and only with cabin luggage. Suitcases regularly get delayed or lost and you never know when you might end up having to carry them. I will take travel wash if I can't pack enough clean clothes, alternatively I'll get them laundered at the hotel.

Do you need a laptop to prepare? I do, but I will only take a cheap second hand one when I travel. I would not want to leave an expensive one in my room or even risk damaging it in transit. If you want a powerful engine running then I suggest using a cloud based engine, these will give you way more power than even a top of the range machine.

Finally I suggest taking some essential medicines along, something for colds and flu and something to help you sleep. The tension of chess games can play havoc with sleep, so it's good to have something that can help. Nytol can work well as can melatonin, and melatonin can also help adjust your sleep cycle if you are playing in a different time zone.

Happy travels!

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments are in the King's Indian Petrosian Variation, which is my recommendation in the White 1.d4 Repertoire. This creates a very important type of position which is one of the touchstones to learning plans and pawn levers:

Sunday April 6th at 5pm UK Time: King's Indian Petrosian with 7...a5

Sunday April 6th at 6.15pm UK Time: King's Indian Petrosian with 7...Nbd7

My Upcoming Events

By the time you read this I should be in Poland for the European Senior Team Championships. Meanwhile I've added another event to my schedule, I'm going to play in the 4NCL Congress in Hull in September where GMs get free entry and two nights hotel accommodation. I'm still hoping to invited to Maia in August.

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 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

QUEEN'S GAMBIT DECLINED, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

HOW MUCH WILL YOU COMMIT?

One of the biggest factors in chess success is the extent to which someone is willing to commit. To be the best you can be at something you need to dedicate your life to it. With lower levels of commitment it's possible to become a good amateur, but you can then run this alongside having a job and family.

In my own case I managed to commit myself to chess enough to become an International Master in my early 20s, though I did not then commit to getting the Grandmaster title until my early 30s. After that I started looking for some of the normal things in life, turned to chess coaching as my main activity and had something like a normal life. Other people I know went for the job and family option much earlier, others never did! There are pros and cons to all of these options and everyone has to decide what they want for themselves.

Is there a best option? If someone has the ability to make it as a professional, there's a case for being fully committed until, say, your early 30s, and then think about alternatives after that. If you haven't made it by your 30s, the odds are against becoming a lot stronger. Some might argue that players today go downhill after their teens!

If someone doesn't have the kind of ability to become a top professional, there can still be a case for heavy chess involvement. I've been fortunate enough to visit many different countries and experience many different cultures. This would never have happened without chess, and for that I am truly grateful.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments feature positions from the Black Queen's Gambit Declined Repertoire, which is a very high quality repertoire played by champions:

Sunday March 23rd at 5pm UK Time: QGD Tartakower with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Bg5 Be7 5.Nf3 h6 6.Bh4 0-0 7.e3 b6

Sunday March 23rd at 6.15pm UK Time: QGD Semi-Tarrasch with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 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:

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 still 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
I decided not to wait for an invite and just enter, and 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.

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

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

ARTICLES, FRENCH DEFENCE, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

YOUR ONLY JOB WHEN PLAYING CHESS

Students often ask me about chess psychology and how to handle various tournament situations. Actually I have a very simple answer, but it seems so simple that nobody quite believes it. I tell them that they only have one job, which is to find the next move, and they should focus on that rather than anything else.

I came to this conclusion after decades of playing myself and watching others overcomplicate matters. People go into games thinking about their rating, prizes, norms and glory, in fact everything except what really matters. Even top players manage to do this and distract themselves during key games.

There was a great example of this in the Candidates Tournament in 2013. Going into the last round Magnus Carlsen and Vladimir Kramnik were tied for first, yet they both lost their games. In the end it was Carlsen who qualified on tie break, going on to become World Champion by defeating Vishwanathan Anand. Yet it could all have ended very differrently had Kramnik not been distracted too.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments feature lines from the French Defence, which are give both in the French Defence course and Building an Opening Repertoire:

Sunday March 9th at 5pm UK Time: French Advance with 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Nge7

Sunday March 9th at 6.15pm UK Time: Colle vs Gruenfeld with 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.e3 d5

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

BUILDING AN OPENING REPERTOIRE, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

WHAT MAKES A GOOD TEAM?

At the time of writing I'm at the World Senior Team Championships in Prague, playing top board for the England 50+ second team. We don't have a realistic chance of a medal, so there's a more relaxed atmosphere than in the first team. The event is also becoming stronger, newcomers this time round being a Kazakhstan men's and women's team.

What makes a good team? First off it's having good players, all other things being equal the best team will have the best chance of winning. Above and beyond that it does help to have players who get on with each other and are motivated to get the best possible result for the team. I think this explains how Kazakhstan and India have outperformed in recent Olympiads, they were teams of young players who were highly motivated, and this can offset minor differences in strength.

Who will win this year's Senior 50+ Championship? I think that the powerful US team has to be the favourite, but the Kazakhstan men's team is also in with a shot. They seem highly motivated and well prepared, which goes a very long way. This time next week we'll know if I am right.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments return to a couple of lines from the Building an Opening Repertoire Course:

Sunday February 23rd at 5pm UK Time: QGD Meran with 5.e3 Bd6

Sunday February 23rd at 6.15pm UK Time: QGD with 5.Bg5 Be7

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

April 24-28 2025: English Senior Championships

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

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

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

Twitch Channel

My new Twitch channel has new shows every Monday ('Chess Questions Answered), the Webinar on training tournaments and games is up on Fridays and another weekly coming soon. Please follow it if you'd like to get updates etc, all the shows will be available to Premium members in the Tiger Chess members area, even when they are no longer available on Twitch.

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

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

THE EASTERN CLAMP ANTI-SICILIAN

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

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

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

Training Tournaments

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

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

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

My Upcoming Events

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

February 16-27, 2025: World Senior Team Championship
I've accepted a place in the 50+ second team which means I'll play a much stronger field than on bottom board of the first team. Although this diminishes my chances of winning a medal I'm looking forward to the challenge.

April 4-14 2025: European Senior Team Championship

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

April 24-28 2025: English Senior Championships

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

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

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

Twitch Channel

My new Twitch channel has new shows every Monday ('Chess Questions Answered), the Webinar on training tournaments and games is up on Fridays and another weekly coming soon. Please follow it if you'd like to get updates etc, all the shows will be available to Premium members in the Tiger Chess members area, even when they are no longer available on Twitch.

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

OPENINGS, TACTICS, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING, Uncategorized

ENERGY, FOCUS & CALCULATION SKILLS

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

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

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

Training Tournaments

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

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

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

My Upcoming Events

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

February 16-27, 2025: World Senior Team Championship
I've accepted a place in the 50+ second team which means I'll play a much stronger field than on bottom board of the first team. Although this diminishes my chances of winning a medal I'm looking forward to the challenge.

April 4-14 2025: European Senior Team Championship

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

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

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

Twitch Channel

My new Twitch channel has new shows every Monday ('Chess Questions Answered), the Webinar on training tournaments and games is up on Fridays and another weekly coming soon. Please follow it if you'd like to get updates etc, all the shows will be available to Premium members in the Tiger Chess members area, even when they are no longer available on Twitch.

Have a good weekend.

Nigel