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

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

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

Training Tournaments

Here are the latest scheduled events:

Sunday February 15th, 5pm UK Fort Knox French

Sunday February 15th, 6.15pm UK QGD Exchange

Video Discounts

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

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

Upcoming Events

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

April 3 - 6: 4NCL Easter Congress, Daventry

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

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

Have a good weekend.

Nigel