This article was published originally on The Chess Improver blog on 2016-12-20
I have reposted it here for reference.
Our second to last class for 2016 at the chess club was very exciting. The level 5 group I am coaching this school year explored with enthusiasm more tricks from the QGD Cambridge Springs and followed it with a number of combative games from our club tournament. We play a loose 30+ minutes time control per player with adjournment (like in the good old days) in an effort to slow them down. Way too often games are already heavily one sided after 5 minutes of play and this is quite unpleasant for any coach. It shows a lack of focus and concentration, two major areas of improvement one needs to focus on. Based on personal experience about 10-15% of students in class can focus on the task at hand and increasing their attention span requires a lot of repetitive, hard work and patience!...
Out of the 6 games played, one was adjourned from a previous week and the rest were new games. All finished by the end of the class and outside a couple, the rest were heavily contested. These are students who can play on a level anywhere between 1000 to 1500 rating, depending how they feel in the moment. Very few are truly competitive and that means they enjoy playing at the club, but not an local or provincial tournaments. This is unfortunate because it is not enough to train and practice in familiar surroundings; one needs to go out there and play as many games as possible while facing various opponents. One of the games caught my attention and ended last. It was between a talented girl (as white) and a bright boy (as black) capable of playing both blunders and surprisingly strong moves one after another.
[Event "Golden Knights B33"][Date "2016.12.15"][White "Coco Ruan"][Black "Dheera Nethru"][Result "1-0"][SetUp "1"][FEN "r1bqr1k1/pp1p1pbp/6p1/3Np3/2Pn4/1PN3P1/P4PBP/R1BQK2R b KQ - 0 1"]{I was happy to see white playing the English, an opening we learned together last year. It is a surprise opening and over the years it has brought my students many wins simply because the opponents did not expect it} 1...Qa5 {White is up a piece so you might wonder why do I even bother? Well, Dheera has a knack for attacking and in general for putting up a tough fight no matter the position} 2.b4 ({The simple} 2.O-O {is the best; when facing an aggressive player, it is a very good idea to stay away from complicated play. They strive in those situations! Also for me it was surprising to see the roles reversed as normally Dheera neglects to castle, while Coco always does it}) 2...Qa6 3.Nc7 {Several choices are better here; again white plays into black's hands by complicating the position. Ke1 is still in the center and the white pieces are starting to "float" around individually. Coco could not resist playing this tempting triple fork though...} 3... Qxc4 4.Nxe8 ({Would you play} 4.N3d5 Nc2+ 5.Qxc2 Qxc2 6.Nxe8 {the only playable line to maintain white's advantage as indicated by the engines? We were all at this point in our chess quest when a free Rook was a free Rook afterall...}) 4...Qxc3+ 5.Bd2 Nc2+ {Now the position is all of a sudden in black's favour. The white pieces just sit around with Ke1 in the way and in a lot of trouble. Dheera's approach has given him a complete new life in the game} 6.Kf1 {The best move after a few minutes of careful consideration} (6.Ke2?? {This leads to a surprising mate in 5} 6...Qc4+ 7.Kf3 d5 8.Nf6+ Bxf6 9.Qxc2 Bg4+ 10.Ke3 Qd4# {Beautiful! It is debatable Dheera would have found it; however I am proud to see Coco had a good sense of danger and avoided it}) 6...Qd3+?? {To refrain from giving checks just because they are possible, it is very hard to do. Hope this example will make you think twice in similar situations} ({The simple} 6...Qxa1 {is of course very strong} 7.Qxa1 Nxa1 8.Nxg7 Kxg7 9.Bc3 Nc2 10.Bxe5+ f6 11.Bd6 {Play would now be equal, a huge improvement over the starting position}) 7.Kg1 Nxa1 8.Nxg7 {Girls setup traps as much as boys do. It does not even have to be a complicated one} 8...Kxg7?? 9.Bh6+ Kxh6 10.Qxd3 {The order is restored. Coco further activated her Rh1 by playing h2-h4-h5 and won by checkmate a few moves later}
There are a few important lessons to get out of this one:
1. It is a good idea to castle, especially if you are under 2000 rated.
2. Piece coordination is far more important than material advantage. This is used quite a lot in today's chess by many a player.
3. Play simple when facing an aggressive player. It will take them out of their comfort zone and put you in a favorable position.
4. Never give up as long as there's hope and do that with a purpose. Playing pointless moves does not count. Create threats and mount an attack on the opponent; if you cannot do that, it is better to resign!
5. Learn and practice to refrain from giving checks just because you can. It is not easy to resist the temptation; however the effort you put into it will get you rewarded.
Hope you liked our game. If you have any games and/ or positions you would like me to look at, please do not hesitate to let me know. I will gladly include them in my column for everyone's benefit. Looking forward to your messages!
I have reposted it here for reference.
Our second to last class for 2016 at the chess club was very exciting. The level 5 group I am coaching this school year explored with enthusiasm more tricks from the QGD Cambridge Springs and followed it with a number of combative games from our club tournament. We play a loose 30+ minutes time control per player with adjournment (like in the good old days) in an effort to slow them down. Way too often games are already heavily one sided after 5 minutes of play and this is quite unpleasant for any coach. It shows a lack of focus and concentration, two major areas of improvement one needs to focus on. Based on personal experience about 10-15% of students in class can focus on the task at hand and increasing their attention span requires a lot of repetitive, hard work and patience!...
Out of the 6 games played, one was adjourned from a previous week and the rest were new games. All finished by the end of the class and outside a couple, the rest were heavily contested. These are students who can play on a level anywhere between 1000 to 1500 rating, depending how they feel in the moment. Very few are truly competitive and that means they enjoy playing at the club, but not an local or provincial tournaments. This is unfortunate because it is not enough to train and practice in familiar surroundings; one needs to go out there and play as many games as possible while facing various opponents. One of the games caught my attention and ended last. It was between a talented girl (as white) and a bright boy (as black) capable of playing both blunders and surprisingly strong moves one after another.
[Event "Golden Knights B33"][Date "2016.12.15"][White "Coco Ruan"][Black "Dheera Nethru"][Result "1-0"][SetUp "1"][FEN "r1bqr1k1/pp1p1pbp/6p1/3Np3/2Pn4/1PN3P1/P4PBP/R1BQK2R b KQ - 0 1"]{I was happy to see white playing the English, an opening we learned together last year. It is a surprise opening and over the years it has brought my students many wins simply because the opponents did not expect it} 1...Qa5 {White is up a piece so you might wonder why do I even bother? Well, Dheera has a knack for attacking and in general for putting up a tough fight no matter the position} 2.b4 ({The simple} 2.O-O {is the best; when facing an aggressive player, it is a very good idea to stay away from complicated play. They strive in those situations! Also for me it was surprising to see the roles reversed as normally Dheera neglects to castle, while Coco always does it}) 2...Qa6 3.Nc7 {Several choices are better here; again white plays into black's hands by complicating the position. Ke1 is still in the center and the white pieces are starting to "float" around individually. Coco could not resist playing this tempting triple fork though...} 3... Qxc4 4.Nxe8 ({Would you play} 4.N3d5 Nc2+ 5.Qxc2 Qxc2 6.Nxe8 {the only playable line to maintain white's advantage as indicated by the engines? We were all at this point in our chess quest when a free Rook was a free Rook afterall...}) 4...Qxc3+ 5.Bd2 Nc2+ {Now the position is all of a sudden in black's favour. The white pieces just sit around with Ke1 in the way and in a lot of trouble. Dheera's approach has given him a complete new life in the game} 6.Kf1 {The best move after a few minutes of careful consideration} (6.Ke2?? {This leads to a surprising mate in 5} 6...Qc4+ 7.Kf3 d5 8.Nf6+ Bxf6 9.Qxc2 Bg4+ 10.Ke3 Qd4# {Beautiful! It is debatable Dheera would have found it; however I am proud to see Coco had a good sense of danger and avoided it}) 6...Qd3+?? {To refrain from giving checks just because they are possible, it is very hard to do. Hope this example will make you think twice in similar situations} ({The simple} 6...Qxa1 {is of course very strong} 7.Qxa1 Nxa1 8.Nxg7 Kxg7 9.Bc3 Nc2 10.Bxe5+ f6 11.Bd6 {Play would now be equal, a huge improvement over the starting position}) 7.Kg1 Nxa1 8.Nxg7 {Girls setup traps as much as boys do. It does not even have to be a complicated one} 8...Kxg7?? 9.Bh6+ Kxh6 10.Qxd3 {The order is restored. Coco further activated her Rh1 by playing h2-h4-h5 and won by checkmate a few moves later}
There are a few important lessons to get out of this one:
1. It is a good idea to castle, especially if you are under 2000 rated.
2. Piece coordination is far more important than material advantage. This is used quite a lot in today's chess by many a player.
3. Play simple when facing an aggressive player. It will take them out of their comfort zone and put you in a favorable position.
4. Never give up as long as there's hope and do that with a purpose. Playing pointless moves does not count. Create threats and mount an attack on the opponent; if you cannot do that, it is better to resign!
5. Learn and practice to refrain from giving checks just because you can. It is not easy to resist the temptation; however the effort you put into it will get you rewarded.
Hope you liked our game. If you have any games and/ or positions you would like me to look at, please do not hesitate to let me know. I will gladly include them in my column for everyone's benefit. Looking forward to your messages!