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| Posted by wschmidt austinfilmfestival.org 5/30/2008 14:34:38 Play online chess |  Subject: Novice Nook #72Message: Here's the link:  www.chesscafe.com | ||||||||
| Posted by ccmcacollister austinfilmfestival.org 5/30/2008 18:21:28 Play online chess | Three most common pawn trade errors, imo ... Message: *** 1) Premature trading of center pawn(s) or the Lever Pawn(s) ,attacking the center, with attendant release of Tension for no purpose. To maximize chances in ones' late-opening thru middle-game phase, tension should be maintained until either being faced with material loss or substantial positional disadvantage such that it is forced to trade; or otherwise not until the pawn trade will produce material or positional advantage or enable creation or pursuit of initiative. These goals being in additional to the generally advantageous (to varied degrees, per position) "side-effect" of creation of open line(s), particularly files for the major pieces. *** The whole point of creating tension to begin with is that one tries to buildup forces behind their file opening pawn(s) in such way that the opponent's position, being more cramped spacewise & less mobile and responsive for piece play (and squares to put them on) during that stage of the game, than it will be after tension is released, may lead to a situation wherein he simply Cannot respond to all your pressure sufficiently to keep safe all your targeted pieces or squares. Thereby you seek to win material, or significant infiltration into the far side of the board. This should be especially true if you have obtained a space advantage for yourself already ... wherein your own pieces have high mobility. **** As analogy, you might chose to think of tension as like a loaded rifle. Before pulling the "trigger" (releasing tension by pawn trade) you want to be sure that it is "loaded" (pressure upon files to be opening), and that you have "taken aim" (selected specific targets for capture or infiltration.) All too often we see a player simply Point at the opponents position and pull the trigger, without having any target in sight ... hoping for a blind hit somewhere meaningful. *** #2) Is quite similar to the above, but even more critical. That is the premature release of pawn tension, or piece trades as well, in a Gambit opening. The Gambiteer Must maintain advantages other than material, or probably lose; Usually having a lead in development & an already present open file due to the pawn(s) gambited (where opp may have none). ........................................ He must make sure to maximize the potential of his advantages during the tension stage, if there is one. His superior mobility, the very thing he has gambit to obtain, must be utilized mercilessly ... unless he decides and has the opportunity to gain back his material. .................................. (aka "wimp-out" ... but admittedly there are those times when the better part of valor, indeed our very survival at the board, will depend upon a good Wimp-Out! Still, a mating attack IS so much more satisfying, don't you agree? :) *** #3) A point of Endgame technique: DO NOT TRADE pawns for opponent pawns that can simply be WON OUTRIGHT. So many times I have seen players turn an easy win into a very slight and tricky win, or even a Draw or worse. Don't even waste time thinking about trading for his pawns if you can just win them. *** The EXCEPTIONS: (A) If you are in a tempo critical situation such as a pawn race to Queen first, then it may be needed to offer to trade rather than win weakened pawn(s), or even to sac some of yours outright for tempo. ..................................... (B) More a case of style: If you are playing for Artistry, such as trying to play a "perfectly played" game on your part, for instance, you may be concerned with completing your win in the shortest number of moves, aor as forcefully as possible, as a matter of displaying precision and accuracy of technique. Trying for the best and sharpest win line throughout. As opposed to the Practical Player, who will take a win as it comes and likely using the technique that will require the least deep analysis and energy expenditure, in order to keep his form and concentration for the length of a tournament. And if This latter IS your situation: Just WIN those pawns! :)) *** Personally, I always tend to go for the sharp and artsy. Perhaps that's why I've been known to fall asleep during the last round !!? Thanks for reading ... But Fair-Warning: if you are not into lengthy posts, you will want to skip this one~! * * * * * * * * * * * }8-D | ||||||||
| Posted by ionadowman austinfilmfestival.org 5/30/2008 21:20:57 Play online chess | An instructive article. Message: How about situations in which you are ahead (or behind) and there are a lot of pieces and few pawns? To reduce the stronger side's attacking chances and/or mobility, the weaker side might well go for piece exchanges. Here's and example - rather "extreme", but it illustrates the point. White is well behind in material. Should he exchange pieces? The 'rule of thumb' says no: w Exchanging pieces in fact goes straight to a "book" draw: 1.Nd3+ Nxd3 2.Kxd3 after which the WK heads for h1 and the surrounding 3 squares, out of which he can not be evicted. The bishop can not control the queening square. ——— Solving Bobby Fischer (book review) — In the summer of 1972, the world’s attention was directed toward Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, to watch a championship chess match. Called “the Match of the Century,” the contest between the Russian chess champion, Boris Spassky, and the American challenger, Bobby Fischer, attracted that attention because of its cold war implications. But people were also fascinated by the mercurial Fischer — a prototypical genius whose incessant demands and unpredictability were more associated with the behavior of a diva than with what one expects from a master of a demanding game of logic. Fischer won the chess match in brilliant style, setting off a wave of enthusiasm for ... Posted by sf115 | austinfilmfestival.org 5/31/2008 03:21:24 Play online chess Message: It's an interesting article but the examples shown seem to be quite extreme. Blocking the whole board with a giant pawn chain or having a rook's pawn and bishop of the wrong colour are rare. Would it be true to say that 90% of the time the rule: "swap pieces when you're ahead, swap pawns if you're losing" is the best ——— Vasily Ivanchuk and Nigel Short produce memorable finish in Gibraltar — Gibraltar, backed by Tradewise Insurance, is the world's strongest open chess event next to Moscow Aeroflot. Its latest edition produced a memorable race as Vasily Ivanchuk and Nigel Short finished clear of the field with 9 and 8.5/10. The Ukrainian won their individual game, both had very high rating performances and Ivanchuk jumped to No5 in the world. Tradewise Gibraltar overlaps with the great Dutch chess event at Wijk and Zee and its dates are close to Aeroflot, yet it continues to gain in popularity due to the Rock's benign January climate, its high prizes and its efficient and friendly organisers. Its awards for women start with £10,000 for first, more than the winning man receives at ... Posted by scarper | austinfilmfestival.org 5/31/2008 13:38:05 Play online chess Message: This is a principle i've heard before but i don't think i fully understand it. I see the logic in not swapping pieces when you're losing but i don't really understand why swapping pawns benefits a losing position. Could someone elaborate? Cheers ——— King Tut in Chess Puzzles — King Tutankhamun, or simply King Tut, is the most famous Egyptian pharaoh. He was called the boy-king since he was only nine-years-old when his 10-year reign began in 1,333 B.C. He died at the age of 19 and his tomb, undisturbed for 3,245 years, was well-preserved when it was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter. King Tut's golden burial mask became the symbol of ancient Egypt. But how did he make it into chess? Protecting a king is vital in every chess game and pawns are best suited to do the job. When the pawns surround the king in chess problems and studies, we see some beautiful and astonishing creations. Entombing the king became a popular theme among chess composers ... Posted by ionadowman | austinfilmfestival.org 5/31/2008 15:53:57 Play online chess Whoops...Message: w scarper: When behind in material, it is usually a good idea to reduce the pawns on the board (i.e. exchanging) in order to reduce the stronger side's chances of promoting, but also to localise his attack. Consider a rook and pawn ending. Speaking very broadly here, K+R+P finds it very difficult to beat K+R. It is in such an endgame where you pretty much know what your drawing chances are. Things are a lot more complicated when there are several pawns a side, say K+R+4P vs K+R+3P. For one thing, much depends on where the pawns are, relative to the board, and relative to each other. Naturally, where the kings and rooks are also makes a difference. By "relative to the board" I mean the question of whether all the pawns lie on one side of the board, on both sides, or are clumped in the centre, and how advanced (i.e how close to promotion) they are. By "relative to each other" I mean whether connected pawns are level or form a diagonal. whether any pawns are backward, isolated, doubled, passed... A position like the following would be very hard for the stronger side to win: w ... provided that the weaker side keeps the rooks on. On the other hand, in this position: w ... the stronger side can really fancy his winning chances. ——— Iranian Claims Chess Record — To the intense rivalry between Israel and Iran add another facet: the game of chess. In a literal game of one-upmanship, an Iranian chess grandmaster played 614 people simultaneously on Tuesday and Wednesday at Shahid Beheshti University in Tehran in an attempt to break a world record set by an Israeli chess grandmaster last October. According to a report in Agence France-Presse, the Iranian, Ehsan Ghaem Maghami, 28, won 590 games, lost 8 and drew 16 in an exhibition that took 25 hours. The Israeli grandmaster, Alik Gershon, 30, played 523 games over 19 hours, beating 454, losing 11 and drawing 58. Mr. Gershon broke the previous record set by ... Posted by scarper | austinfilmfestival.org 6/01/2008 02:21:20 Play online chess Message: ——— World’s Top Chess Players on Hand for Aeroflot Open — The Tradewise Gibraltar Chess Festival, which ended last week, is a popular chess tournament, attracting many strong players. And the World Open, which is held every year in the Philadelphia area around Independence Day, usually has more than 1,000 chess players between all its sections. But for sheer quality of competition, the annual Aeroflot Open, which starts on Tuesday, trumps them all. Sponsored by the Russian airline, the chess tournament is divided in three sections. The A group usually features many of the world’s top chess players, and this year is no different. Twenty-six of the world’s top 100 players are competing, and 73 of the 87 players in the top section are ... |