PUBLICATION NOTE:
This article was published originally on The Chess Improver blog on 2016-11-08
I have reposted it here for reference.
"Errare humanum est..."
Seneca
Everyone has their fair share of bad ideas over a chess career. It is as they say part of the human nature. Key is to learn from them instead of persisting down that road because:
"... sed in errare (errore) perseverare diabolicum"
It is interesting how some bad ideas leave a big mark and stay with you for a long time or even forever. If you learn your lesson, a game lost by a bad idea can help you improve more than countless games won. The first game below has haunted me for a long time. It is from the University years, some of the best years in anyone's life: no worries, courage, lots of bubbling ideas and most of all fun! In all this vortex of action bad and good ideas pour out of your mind while you try to keep up with them. The bad idea this time came all of a sudden and seemed worth exploring: what is the big deal if my fianchetto-ed Bishop gets trapped in the corner? While he gets busy trapping it, I can gain space and initiative on the Queenside. This can't be so bad, can't it? Let's see how it went:
[Event "University Ch Qualifier"][Site "Timisoara"][Date "1984.11.18"][White "Nagy, Laszlo"][Black "Demian, Valer Eugen"][Result "1-0"] 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.e4 d6 4.g3 Bg7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.Nge2 c5 7.O-O Nc6 8.d3 Nd4 {white was not very ambitious and I decided to be active early} 9.Nxd4 cxd4 10.Ne2 e5 11.f4 Bd7 {the beginning of the Queenside expansion idea} 12.h3 b5 13.b3 Qb6 14.g4 Bc6 15.Ng3 Nd7 {now both sides have shown their hand} 16.f5 Nc5?? {Yup! I decided to burry my own Bishops...} (16... f6 {this first and then continue the Queenside expansion is of course sane and normal}) 17.f6 Bh8 18.g5 {Bh8 is now buried and done} bxc4 19.bxc4 Rfb8 20.Rf2 Qa5 21.Bf1 Qc3 22.Bd2 Qa3 23.Bc1 Qc3 {I guess here I realized I am basically playing down a piece and proposed a draw as long as this smokescreen initiative was still in the air} 24.Bd2 {of course he refused it} Qa3 25.Qc1 Qxc1 26.Rxc1 Rb7 {here is where I stopped recording. Long time has passed since then and I do not remember what happened more than me losing the game rather easily}
This is a game I remember the most when I open the copybook with my games from those years. 15 years from that day having it in the back of my mind came to the rescue in the most unexpected way. I was playing in my first Canadian correspondence chess final; in one of the games I had the opportunity to return the favour on an unsuspected opponent. This time however I got much more than just a Bishop.
[Event "CCCA Final K55"][Site "ICCF"][Date "1999"][White "Demian, Valer Eugen"][Black "Mrugala, Arthur"][TimeControl "Correspondence"][Result "1-0"]1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3 Ba6 5.Qc2 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.g3 Bd6 8.Bg5 O-O 9.Nc3 c6 10.O-O-O {computer engines were still beatable at the time, so one could experiment with "OTB" ideas like this one in correspondence chess} h6 11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.Bg2 Be7 13.e4 dxe4 14.Nxe4 Qf5 15.Ne5 Bb7 16.h4 Qe6 {I guess black got confused right about here} 17.Rhe1 Qf5 18.f4 Bc8 19.Qf2 Be6 20.g4 {white has improved its position move by move while black has stuttered} Qh7 {here is where my blocked Bh8 idea resurfaced and drove the game forward for me} 21.Nc3 Bd6 22.f5 Bb3 23.Rd2 a5 24.Be4 a4 {black did not see it coming and now it is too late} 25.f6 Qh8 26.g5 g6 27.Ng4 h5 {the position of Qh8 makes up for all the years the other game has haunted me} 28.Nh6+ Kh7 29.Qe2
What can we conclude out of this? Do not be afraid of your ideas! Trust your instinct and go for it no matter what. Yes, some are going to be bad and others good. There is no better teacher than your own experience. The good ideas need to become part of your arsenal. The bad ones need to be analysed, remembered and then also used as part of your own arsenal by simply turning the tables on your opposition. It is simple and still rather counter intuitive. Being afraid to experiment or simply forgetting about them handicaps you, so don't do that. Go for it and you will be rewarded!
This article was published originally on The Chess Improver blog on 2016-11-08
I have reposted it here for reference.
"Errare humanum est..."
Seneca
Everyone has their fair share of bad ideas over a chess career. It is as they say part of the human nature. Key is to learn from them instead of persisting down that road because:
"... sed in errare (errore) perseverare diabolicum"
It is interesting how some bad ideas leave a big mark and stay with you for a long time or even forever. If you learn your lesson, a game lost by a bad idea can help you improve more than countless games won. The first game below has haunted me for a long time. It is from the University years, some of the best years in anyone's life: no worries, courage, lots of bubbling ideas and most of all fun! In all this vortex of action bad and good ideas pour out of your mind while you try to keep up with them. The bad idea this time came all of a sudden and seemed worth exploring: what is the big deal if my fianchetto-ed Bishop gets trapped in the corner? While he gets busy trapping it, I can gain space and initiative on the Queenside. This can't be so bad, can't it? Let's see how it went:
[Event "University Ch Qualifier"][Site "Timisoara"][Date "1984.11.18"][White "Nagy, Laszlo"][Black "Demian, Valer Eugen"][Result "1-0"] 1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.e4 d6 4.g3 Bg7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.Nge2 c5 7.O-O Nc6 8.d3 Nd4 {white was not very ambitious and I decided to be active early} 9.Nxd4 cxd4 10.Ne2 e5 11.f4 Bd7 {the beginning of the Queenside expansion idea} 12.h3 b5 13.b3 Qb6 14.g4 Bc6 15.Ng3 Nd7 {now both sides have shown their hand} 16.f5 Nc5?? {Yup! I decided to burry my own Bishops...} (16... f6 {this first and then continue the Queenside expansion is of course sane and normal}) 17.f6 Bh8 18.g5 {Bh8 is now buried and done} bxc4 19.bxc4 Rfb8 20.Rf2 Qa5 21.Bf1 Qc3 22.Bd2 Qa3 23.Bc1 Qc3 {I guess here I realized I am basically playing down a piece and proposed a draw as long as this smokescreen initiative was still in the air} 24.Bd2 {of course he refused it} Qa3 25.Qc1 Qxc1 26.Rxc1 Rb7 {here is where I stopped recording. Long time has passed since then and I do not remember what happened more than me losing the game rather easily}
This is a game I remember the most when I open the copybook with my games from those years. 15 years from that day having it in the back of my mind came to the rescue in the most unexpected way. I was playing in my first Canadian correspondence chess final; in one of the games I had the opportunity to return the favour on an unsuspected opponent. This time however I got much more than just a Bishop.
[Event "CCCA Final K55"][Site "ICCF"][Date "1999"][White "Demian, Valer Eugen"][Black "Mrugala, Arthur"][TimeControl "Correspondence"][Result "1-0"]1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3 Ba6 5.Qc2 d5 6.cxd5 exd5 7.g3 Bd6 8.Bg5 O-O 9.Nc3 c6 10.O-O-O {computer engines were still beatable at the time, so one could experiment with "OTB" ideas like this one in correspondence chess} h6 11.Bxf6 Qxf6 12.Bg2 Be7 13.e4 dxe4 14.Nxe4 Qf5 15.Ne5 Bb7 16.h4 Qe6 {I guess black got confused right about here} 17.Rhe1 Qf5 18.f4 Bc8 19.Qf2 Be6 20.g4 {white has improved its position move by move while black has stuttered} Qh7 {here is where my blocked Bh8 idea resurfaced and drove the game forward for me} 21.Nc3 Bd6 22.f5 Bb3 23.Rd2 a5 24.Be4 a4 {black did not see it coming and now it is too late} 25.f6 Qh8 26.g5 g6 27.Ng4 h5 {the position of Qh8 makes up for all the years the other game has haunted me} 28.Nh6+ Kh7 29.Qe2
What can we conclude out of this? Do not be afraid of your ideas! Trust your instinct and go for it no matter what. Yes, some are going to be bad and others good. There is no better teacher than your own experience. The good ideas need to become part of your arsenal. The bad ones need to be analysed, remembered and then also used as part of your own arsenal by simply turning the tables on your opposition. It is simple and still rather counter intuitive. Being afraid to experiment or simply forgetting about them handicaps you, so don't do that. Go for it and you will be rewarded!