Category Archives: TRAINING

FRENCH DEFENCE, ITALIAN GAME, OPENINGS, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

HOW HARD IS IT TO LEARN 1.e4 e5?

I tend to recommend the French (1.e4 e6) to people who are looking for a defence against 1.e4, partly because it's relatively easy to learn and partly because it can teach a lot about chess strategy via the clear pawn structures it contains. Yet occasionally I get students who like open lines for their pieces, and they find the French too closed and restrictive. They like the sort of game you get after 1.e4 e5, but how hard is it to learn to play like that?

The answer depends on a number of factors, not least of which is the time someone has available for study. White has a lot of options after 1...e5, some being quite quiet and others being wild, for example after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4, White has both razor sharp approaches and quite ones based on d2-d3 and c2-c3. Another factor will be age, there's no doubt that younger players tend to find it easier to learn new things. Then there's the level at which you plan to use 1...e5, playing it in club chess is a very different matter to playing it against IMs and GMs.

At the same time there are exciting ways to play the French, for example after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 there are some very sharp lines in the Winawer (3...Bb4) and MacCutcheon (3...Nf6 4.Bg5 Bb4) variations. This is true of most openings, you have a choice about how sharp you want to make things. Admittedly the potential for early hand to hand combat may not be quite as great as with 1.e4 e5. 

As with many such questions, a good way to proceed is to test the waters before diviing in. Learning a bit about 1.e4 e5, and trying it in online games, will give you valuable feedback about whether it is really for you. If you play it and feel comfortable, it may be worth a bigger time investment. If it turns out that you hate it, there's always the option of walking away.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments return to the Colle System, with Black meeting 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 with 2...g6. The first one will feature the King's Indian style 3.e3 d6 positions and the second the Gruenfeld style 3...d5; both were covered in my Building an Opening Repertoire course:

Sunday September 28th at 5pm UK Time: Colle vs King's Indian 

Sunday September 28th at 6.15pm UK Time: Colle vs Gruenfeld
 

Video Discounts

This week's discount is 40% off buying Mastering Key Pawn: The Classical Centre, using the code 'sep26tooct4'. This video series considers the classical centre, which can arise from a very large variety of chess openings including the Semi-Tarrasch and Gruenfeld Defences, plus many others..

Last week's discount was 40% off buying the Mastering Key Pawn Structures: The Carlsbad Formation, using the code 'sep19to27', and it is valid until close of play tomorrow. This is a key pawn structure which I think can be used as a touchstone for understanding positional play. It occurs in several of my openings courses, this one is devoted fully to the topic.

My Upcoming Events

After Tenerife cancellation, I've accepted an invitation to the Scarborough congress, largely because my wife enjoyed going there last year. This is the only thing I have planeed right now, though I might also play in the Bolton Rapidplay in December.

October 24-26: Scarborough Congress
I played in this last year and it's a popular event. Details can be found here.

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

TIGER CHESS THEMED TRAINING TOURNAMENTS, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING, WHITE 1.d2-d4 REPERTOIRE

THE PROS AND CONS OF TAKING A BREAK

Chess players will sometimes take a break from the game, sometimes because life intervenes and they don't have enough time. Another scenario can be that they have not been doing as well as they hoped, perhaps through feeling stale, tired or unprepared, and they stop playing in tournaments for a while to regroup and refocus. So what are the pros and cons of taking a break?

Curtailing chess activity to focus on other pursuits can have obvious benefits in terms of career and family, so I won't dwell too much on this. On the other hand a break because of staleness can be a more complex issue, on the one hand you have time to learn new things but on the other you can get out of practice.

I took a largely involuntary break after my son was born in 2002. I did not stop all chess activity because I was still active in writing, making videos and coaching, but I stopped playing. Over the next couple of decades I had brief periods of activity, but without studying much for myself. In retrospect I can say that a lot of rust accumulated, I came back much older, and I also didn't keep up with the rate of change with regards computerization.

It's fair to say that this was not good for my standard of play, and it would have been better had I tried to keep a certain preparedness for a return competition by playing online, keeping up to date with new developments and doing some serious training exercises along the lines of Alex Fishbein's post post-mortem. On the other hand I did spend a lot time learning and practicing tai chi and qigong, which brought its own benefits. This outcome was not really planned for, but I can say it turned out reasonably well. On the other hand I might have worked harder on my chess, had I considered the effect of my prolonged absence from competition.

I'd say that breaks are OK, whether chosen or enforced by various life events. At the same time I'd suggest considering why you are taking one, and what you are doing to maintain your chess if one day you think you might return.

Next week I'll discuss what you should do to get back into shape after taking a break.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments are in the 8.Be3 Exchange Variation of the Gruenfeld Defence, with 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 g6 3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 d5 5.cxd5 Nxd5 6.e4 Nxc3 7.bxc3 c5 8.Be3 Qa5 9.Qd2 0-0 and then 9...Nc6 This line is recommended for White in the White 1.d4 Repertoire course. 

Sunday September 7th at 5pm UK Time: Gruenfeld Exchange with 8.Be3 & 9...0-0

Sunday September 7th at 6.15pm UK Time: Gruenfeld Exchange with 8.Be3 & 9...Nc6
 

Video Discounts

This week's discount is 40% off the Learning from the Greats: Akiba Rubinstein, using the code 'sep5to13'. Rubinstein is one of the most influential players in history, largely because of his wonderful endgame play and profound strategic insights. He also came up with many new ideas in the opening.

Last week's discount was 40% off Learning from the Greats: Mikhail Botvinnik, and is still valid until close of play tomorrow. Botvinnik was a major influence on my development as a player and introduced many new ideas into the game. Please use the code 'aug29sep6' if you want to buy this series.
 

My Upcoming Events

In the wake of the Tenerife cancellation, I've accepted an invitation to the Scarborough congress, largely because my wife enjoyed going there last year. By the time you get this I'll have started play in Hull, so now there is just one event on the horizon:

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.

October 24-26: Scarborough Congress
I played in this last year and it's a popular event. Details can be found here.

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

FRENCH DEFENCE, OPENINGS, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING, Uncategorized, UPDATES

BEYOND THE POST POST-MORTEM

In last week's post I discussed Alex Fishbein's post post-mortem that he discussed in a Perpetual Chess Podcast edition. This exercise (trying to find mistakes in the notes of great players from the past) bears similarities to the Kotov analysis exercise that I gleaned from his book, Think Like a Grandmaster. This is something I practiced extensively as a teenager, along with another Fishbein recommendation, trying to guess the moves in Grandmaster games.

There's no doubt in my mind that this form of active study is a very useful one, and it also recalled how Lubosh Kavalek had Nigel Short train during Short's best years, namely by setting up a key opening position and then having him study it without moving the pieces. The Kavalek version seems very interesting to me as essentially you are killing two birds with one stone. Similarly I think that guess the move games might also be chosen from your opening repertoire rather than via other criteria. 

I'm sure there are other variants too, but these strike me as interesting for those who want to train as efficiently as possible. I will be trying them myself before reporting back.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments are in the French Defence, the King's Indian Attack (1.e4 e6 2.d3 c5) and Chigorin (1.e4 e6 2.Qe2 c5) variations. These lines appear in my Building an Opening Repertoire and French Defence courses. 

Sunday August 31st at 5pm UK Time: French KIA

Sunday August 31st at 6.15pm UK Time: French Chigorin
 

Video Discounts

This week's discount is 40% off Learning from the Greats: Mikhail Botvinnik. Botvinnik was a major influence on my development as a player and introduced many new ideas into the game. Please use the code 'aug29sep6' if you want to buy this series.

Last week's discount was 40% off buying any of my four Analysis Training Courses, which provide material for a similar exercise to Fishbein's. The code is 'aug22to30', meaning they are valid until close of play tomorrow, and they can be found at the following links:

Analysis Training 1
Analysis Training 2
Analysis Training 3
Analysis Training 4
 

My Upcoming Events

In the wake of the Tenerife cancellation, I've accepted an invitation to the Scarborough congress, largely because my wife enjoyed going there last year. So now there are two events on the horizon:

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:

October 24-26: Scarborough Congress
I played in this last year and it's a popular event. Details can be found here.

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

NEWS, PSYCHOLOGY, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

ALEX FISHBEIN’S POST POST-MORTEM

This week I came across an interesting variant on a training method I have used in the past, Alex Fishbein's 'post post-mortem'. Fishbein was the surprise winner of the US Senior Championship, so I listened to the podcast on how he did it. He listed a number of things that he felt might have helped him, including giving up his day job and being more active as a player than the other participants. Yet the thing that drew my attention was an analysis exercise he called the 'post post-mortem'.

Essentially this involved using pre-engine books with deep annotations, and then analyzing key positions without moving the pieces and trying to discover flaws in the author's analysis. This is reminiscent of Kotov's analysis exercise which I did extensively as a teenager, but the twist is that you are trying to find an error. With Paul Keres's games collection Fishbein reported finding errors around 50% of the time, with Mikhail Tal it was rather higher.

The first thing to point out that this is a really hard exercise, it's like sitting alongside some of the greatest players in history and trying to critique their thinking. On the other hand this difficulty, and the extent to which it will engage the mind, is exactly why it will be so effective, and especially for older players whose analytical ability may decline. I intend to try it, alongside my other training methods, time permitting. 

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments are in the Queen's Gambit Accepted, featuring the lines with 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 dxc4 4.e3 Bg4 and 4...e6 5.Bxc4 c5 6.Qe2 a6, the Furman Variation. These lines both feature in the White 1.d4 Repertoire:

Sunday August 24th at 5pm UK Time: QGA with 4...Bg4

Sunday August 24th at 6.15pm UK Time: QGA Furman
 

Video Discounts

This week's discount is 40% off buying any of my four Analysis Training Courses, which provide material for a similar exercise to Fishbein's. The code is 'aug22to30', and they can be found at the following links:

Analysis Training 1
Analysis Training 2
Analysis Training 3
Analysis Training 4

Last week's discount was 40% off buying the frequently misunderstood area of Understanding Strategy and Planning, using the code 'aug15to23'. This series presents a systematic way of approaching these areas by learning how to play different pawn structures and the plans and ideas they contain.

My Upcoming Events

Earlier this week I emailed the organizers of the Tenerife tournament I was due to play in, only to find out that it has now been cancelled. It seems it was cancelled back in July, but for some reason I wasn't notified. Hopefully I will be refunded for my air fares, having spent almost £300 on them.

Anyway, my only scheduled event is now the Hull 4NCL Congress, but I'm mindful of continuing to play in order to avoid the reaccumilation of rust.

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: 

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

ENDGAMES, OPENINGS, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

MY BRITISH CHAMPIONSHIP POST MORTEM

I finished the British Championships with 50%, a slight rating game and a lot of lessons. As the tournament went on I became very tired, perhaps partly because of my uncompromising approach and partly because I'm now 65. Several other senior players seemed to struggle with stamina, but not so much Glenn Flear. I know that Glenn is quite careful about what he eats and drinks, and I think there's a lot to be learned from this.

From a technical point of view I felt that the new openings I've been learning needed more time to settle in, I've been changing things around and trying to modernize, so as to incorporate preparation with engines, but this comes at a cost. The preparation itself probably drained me of energy, I did an hour or two before every game because I felt that I needed it, but actually it is rather too much.

I lost two endgames that could be saved, against Michael Adams and Simon Williams. I tend to think that these were more because of tiredness than a lack of technique as I did not calculate out rather easily calculable pawn endgames. In one case, when I played my Kan Sicilian in round 8, I felt that my opponent only went for the main line because I was a bit too predictable.

So what should I work on? A good diet and fitness never goes amiss, my diet is OK but I've increased the amount of aerobic exercise I do. Cutting the amount of preparation during tournaments would be great, but this may need me be more fluent in the openings I am playing and plan to play. I don't think there's a short term solution to this, but by next year I'm hoping to have everything working pretty well.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments are in the Queen's Gambit Declined, featuring the positions after 1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 e6 4.cxd5 exd5 5.Nc3 Bb4 and also 5...c6. These lines both feature in the White 1.d4 Repertoire, so this is an ideal opportunity to practice them:

Sunday August 17th at 5pm UK Time: QGD Ragozin with 5...Bb4

Sunday August 17th at 6.15pm UK Time: QGD Exchange with 5...c6
 

Video Discounts

This week's discount is 40% off buying the frequently misunderstood area of Understanding Strategy and Planning, using the code 'aug15to23'. This series presents a systematic way of approaching these areas by learning how to play different pawn structures and the plans and ideas they contain.

Last week's discount was 40% off buying The Why and How of Chess Annotations series, using the code 'august8to16', and is still valid until close of play tomorrow. This four hour series explains how you can use this reflective process as a powerful improvement tool.

My Upcoming Events

There's still nothing new from last week and I have a new project that I'll be working on from September. I will keep playing, but it will move down my list of priorities for a while.

Here is how things look now:

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

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: 

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

BOOKS, BUILDING AN OPENING REPERTOIRE, FRENCH DEFENCE, TIGER CHESS THEMED TRAINING TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

HOW MANY OPENINGS SHOULD YOU PLAY?

Something that players often wonder is how many openings they should play. Typically they wonder about a switch after a loss with their current choice, sometimes they just fancy something different.

Some very good advice on the matter was given in Alexander Kotov's Think Like a Grandmaster, which suggested knowing something about everything and everything about one thing. These days that is already quite a chore, so for amateur players I would suggest that this one thing is relatively low maintenance. I would also suggest that it's a sound choice, if you only have one opening you don't want it to become a liability and target for your opponents.

I went into more detail on this matter in this week's Chess Questions Answered videa now up on Tiger Chess. Yet these two guidelines of low maintenance yet high quality guided me in my recommendations of the French Defence and Queen's Gambit Declined as Black, plus a simple 1.d4 repertoire as White. From this solid basis it's healthy to experiment with other openings, especially in casual online games, to know something about everything. Yet the solid basis should be in place first.

Have I always followed my own advice? Sadly no, but partly because it's only now that I have achieved a good level of clarity. In the 1980s I was mainly playing the Modern Defence (1...g6 against everything) as Black, and this was not very good for my results. Had I played the French and Queen's Gambit Declined as my main options, and kept the Modern for just occasional outings, I feel I would have done much better.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments are in the Advance Variation of the French, featuring the positions after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 and 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 c5 4.c3 Nc6 5.Nf3 Nge7. These lines feature in both the Building an Opening Repertoire course and French Defence, so this is an ideal opportunity to practice what you have learned:

Sunday August 3rd at 5pm UK Time: French Advance

Sunday August 3rd at 6.15pm UK Time: French Advance with 5...Nge7
 

Video Discounts

This week's discount is 40% off buying my Endgame Mastery series, using the code 'aug1to9'. This four hour series explains how to master this stage of the game, explaining the principles and properties of endgames and showing you how to go about mastering this stage of the game.

Last week's discount is still valid until tomorrow, you get 40% off the purchase of Tiger Chess Strategy Course, part 1 by using the code 'july25august2'. This four part course is designed to provide a thorough education in positional chess. Different aspects of chess strategy are broken down and explained, helping you understand a broad range of concepts that will provide a whole new dimension to your play.

My Upcoming Events

There's still nothing new from last week and I have a new project that I'll be working on from September. I will keep playing, but it will move down my list of priorities for a while.

Here is how things look now, with the British Championship starting tomorrow:

August 2 - 10 2025: British Championships
As mentioned I've gone for the Championship itself rather than one of the old folks sections. Obviously this will be full of underrated juniors, I'll just have to play better against them this time! You can find details here.

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

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

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

ENDGAMES, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

WHAT SHOULD YOU STUDY?

Yesterday evening, at a simultaneous display in Hereford, I got to repeat the advice that studying the endgame tended to the best option for someone trying to improve on their own. Besides developing a deep understanding of the powers of the pieces, endgames can leave us less concerned about simplification in the middlegame and help with other things like calculation technique. It's also hard to study endgames poorly, at least it's harder than with the opening!

At the same time I framed this within several other considerations, the first of which is a student's preferences. If studying something is a chore it will be done without much enthusiasm or full attention, so if endgames bore you there might be better options. I struggled to go through endgame books but I loved many biographical games collections. There were lots of endgames there too, and also every other aspect of chess. Some players are passionate about particular openings, and if that ignites their thinking and creativity it's a good way too proceed.

There have been moments in which I forced myself to go through endgame books, and I found some more readable than others. Mikhail Shereshevsky's Endgame Strategy was one that I got a lot out of, and my copy has handwritten notes of extra references for the different themes. If you're good with English descriptive notation then I warmly recommend Eugene Znosko-Borovsky's How to Play the Chess Endings.

The other way to improve your endgame play is to try to get more of them in your games. Having an opening repertoire which often leads to endgames can be a very good idea, forcing you into endgames which will then require attention. This advice was given to me long ago and I think it's even more valid in today's engine-centric chess World. It certainly works for Magnus Carlsen.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments are in the Rubinstein French, featuring the positions after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 (or 3.Nd2) 3...dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Bg5 h6 and 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 (or 3.Nd2) 3...dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7 5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Nxf6+ Nxf6. The 6.Bg5 line can also be reached via a 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4 5.Nxe4 Nbd7 move order:

Sunday July 27th at 5pm UK Time: French Rubinstein with 6.Bg5 h6

Sunday July 27th at 6.15pm UK Time: French Rubinstein with 6.Nxf6+ Nxf6
 

Video Discounts

This week's discount is on the Tiger Chess Strategy Course, part 1, you get 40% off by using the code 'july25august2'. This four part course is designed to provide a thorough education in positional chess. Different aspects of chess strategy are broken down and explained, helping you understand a broad range of concepts that will provide a whole new dimension to your play.

Last week's discount is still valid until tomorrow, you get 40% off the purchase of the White 1.d4 Repertoire, with the code 'july18to26. The idea behind this course is to help players develop a real 1.d4 repertoire with c2-c4 coming in many lines. At the same time the lines are kept as simple as possible and lead to important position types.
 

My Upcoming Events

There's still nothing new from last week and I have a new project that I'll be working on from September. I will keep playing, but it will move down my list of priorities for a while.

Here is how things look now:

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

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

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

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

Chess Questions Answered

I'll just be posting my Chess Questions Answered videos on Tigerchess from here on, though I might be putting some of them on Youtube in due course. I don't think I'm cut out to be a streamer, for one thing I don't have time and for another I'm not beautiful enough!

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

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

STEPPING UP TO OTB CHESS

The advent of internet chess has led to many players who just playing online. Some of them then want to step up to over the board (OTB) chess and play in clubs and tournaments. This can be harder than it sounds, so let me address some of the issues.

The first thing to understand is that ratings on Chess.com and Lichess tend to be higher than OTB ratings, which can give us the impression of being better than we are. So keep an open mind about where you might stand in the OTB heirarchy, in order to avoid disappointment.

The second major issue is that most of the chess played on the internet has very fast time limits in which fast moves can be more efffective than good moves. It can take some time to adjust to slow time limits, and it might be worth starting out in a halfway house such as rapid play tournaments (typically 30 minutes per player per game).Here you will have a clock to press after each move, if you forget you might lose on time. After a while the process will become automatic, but at first it may seem unfamiliar.

In events with a standard time limit, you will also be required to write down the moves, which sounds easy in theory but can be stressful in practice. I suggest trying a few training games in which you write the moves down and press the clock, in this way you will soon get used to it.

Another major difference is that you will be playing against real people rather than internet accounts, which can be both a blessing and a curse. The chess scene is known for having weird and wonderful people, the likes of which may not have appeared in your life any earlier. I feel fortunate in that I have some lifelong friends in the chess scene, people I've known for half a century. There are also some that I'd prefer to avoid, or at least not have to spend too much time with.

Good luck if you decide to take the plunge, personally I enjoy playing OTB chess and have only played a few training games online.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments are in the Slav Exchange, focussing on the two main moves for Black (after1.d4 d5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.c4 c6 4.cxd5 cxd5 5.Nc3 Nc6 6.Bf4) which are 6...a6 and 6...Bf5:

Sunday July 20th at 5pm UK Time: Slav Exchange, 6...a6

Sunday July 20th at 6.15pm UK Time: Slav Exchange, 6...Bf5
 

Video Discounts

This week's discount is on the White 1.d4 Repertoire, you get 40% off its purchase (not rent) with the code 'july18to26. The idea behind this course is to help players develop a real 1.d4 repertoire with c2-c4 coming in many lines. At the same time the lines are kept as simple as possible and lead to important position types.

Last week's discount is still valid until tomorrow, you get 40% off the purchase of my Crafting Your Own Opening Repertoire series by using the code 'july11to19'. This series covers all aspects of creating an opening repertoire, from opening selection, to choosing sources and assembling your lines.
 

My Upcoming Events

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

Here is how things look now:

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

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

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

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

Chess Questions Answered

I'll just be posting my Chess Questions Answered videos on Tigerchess from here on, though I might be putting some of them on Youtube in due course. I don't think I'm cut out to be a streamer, for one thing I don't have time and for another I'm not beautiful enough!

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

BUILDING AN OPENING REPERTOIRE, CHESS SOFTWARE, OPENINGS, TRAINING

LIFE BEYOND CHESSBASE?

Since the late 1980s, Chessbase has been considered essential software for serious players. Using it, instead of books and magazines, took chess study and preparation to a whole new level. There have been alternatives, such as Chess Assistant and SCID vs PC, but they've never been considered quite as good.

Is Chessbase still so essential today? There are many players who would say that it is, but to my mind there are now some excellent alternative approaches. My favourite chess database is now HIARCS Chess Explorer Pro, which if used with its opening book and a good engine (for example a cloud engine from Chessify) is difficult to beat as far as working out opening lines is concerned. You don't need to include lots of games in your files, you just need to see what's been played and have a powerful engine running. This represents a fundament departure from the old method of studying openings, which was founded on copying the moves of strong players.

As far as preparation is concerned, Chessbase certain gives you access to a lot of games, though these tend to be the games of notable players. Here too there are alternatives such as Yotta Base and Opening Tree, the latter being particularly scary for anyone whose Lichess or Chess.com handles are known. Basically my advice would be to keep them private or have an alternative opening repertoire for your online games, you don't want people knowing exactly what you play, if this can possibly be avoided.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments are in Queen's Pawn Games, the London System (1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bf4 c5) and Torre Attack  (1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.Bg5 c5).

Sunday July 13th at 5pm UK Time: London System

Sunday July 13th at 6.15pm UK Time: Torre Attack
 

Video Discounts

This week's discount is on my Crafting Your Own Opening Repertoire series, you got 40% off its purchase (not rental) by using the code 'july11to19'. This series covers all aspects of creating an opening repertoire, from opening selection, to choosing sources and assembling your lines.

Last week's discount was for the Black Queen's Gambit Declined Repertoire, you got 40% off its purchase (not rental) by using the code 'july4to12'. Based around the Queen's Gambit Declined Tartakower Variation, and the Semi-Tarrasch, it represents a straightforward but high quality repertoire against 1.d4 and Flank Openings.

My Upcoming Events

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

Here is how things look now:

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

August 23 - 30 2025: San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife

This looks like a great event and I'm really looking forward to it. Travelling back is a bit tricky because the direct flights were very expensive, finally I found a flight back to Glasgow from where I can take a train!

September 5-7: Hull 4NCL Congress

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

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

Chess Questions Answered

I'll just be posting my Chess Questions Answered videos on Tigerchess from here on, though I might be putting some of them on Youtube in due course. I don't think I'm cut out to be a streamer, for one thing I don't have time and for another I'm not beautiful enough!

Have a good weekend.

Nigel

PSYCHOLOGY, QUEEN'S GAMBIT DECLINED, TOURNAMENTS, TRAINING

GOOD NUTRITION FOR CHESS

What should chess players eat so as to maximize their performance? This is something that has intrigued strong chess players for many years, can eating well give them an edge?

The area in question is termed nutritional psychiatry, and has been the subject of a lot of research and numerous studies. A growing awareness of the importance of eating well has led to a number of basic guidelines.

The consensus is that refined sugars are not good for your brain, besides impairing the regulation of insulin they can promote inflammation, oxidative stress and worsen symptoms of mood disorders such as depression. As the brain burns through a lot of calories during a chess game, it should therefore derive these from complex carbohydrates that are found in various whole grain foods, legumes, vegetables and fruit.

Such foods also provide a source of tryptophan, which our brains can subsequently convert into the mood hormone serotonin. This then acts on various parts of the brain to promote obviously useful things such as sleep and memory.

This is a field that's well worth looking into, not least because it has real life benefits beyond playing better chess.

Training Tournaments

This week's training tournaments are in the Queen's Gambit Declined (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5), and now the Semi-Tarrasch (4.Nf3 c5 5.cxd5 Nxd5) and the Tartakower Variations (4.Bg5 Be7 5.Nf3 h6 6.Bh4 b6). These lines were covered in my series on the Black Queen's Gambit Declined Repertoire.

Sunday July 6th at 5pm UK Time: QGD Semi-Tarrasch

Sunday July 6th at 6.15pm UK Time: QGD Tartakower
 

Video Discounts

This week's discount is on my Black Queen's Gambit Declined Repertoire, you got 40% off its purchase (not rental) by using the code 'july4to12'. Based around the Queen's Gambit Declined Tartakower Variation, and the Semi-Tarrasch, it represents a straightforward but high quality repertoire against 1.d4 and Flank Openings.

Last week's discount was for Learning from the Greats: Aaron Nimzowitsch. Nimzowitsch was one of the most influential players and thinkers, who contributed new insights towards our understanding of chess strategy. To get 40% off, use the code 'june27july5' when you buy this series.

My Upcoming Events

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

Here is how things look now:

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

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

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

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

Chess Questions Answered

I'll just be posting my Chess Questions Answered videos on Tigerchess from here on, though I might be putting some of them on Youtube in due course. I don't think I'm cut out to be a streamer, for one thing I don't have time and for another I'm not beautiful enough!

Have a good weekend.

Nigel