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 Elyhim mentoring group B discussion thread |
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Lets get started! |
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Elyhim group B |
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Hi all, To answer Terence question about preferred openings: So far I have not study openings in depth (My current focus is on learning basic checkmate patterns and studying annotated games). However, I would say that I'm more or less a 1.d4 player but occasionally I play 1e4 and 1.b3. The latter may be considered the weakest but so far I did fine with this opening. As black, I defend with the Slave against 1.d4 and the Alekhine or the Caro-Kann against 1.e4 and just develop against other openings. The Alekhine is indeed very surprising to White and gave me good results so far especially in blitz. |
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About opennings |
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elyhim 21-Dec-12, 13:34 |
Deleted by elyhim on 30-Dec-12, 19:28.
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Mastering the Caro-kann |
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@elyhim |
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@elyhim |
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@ stalhandske |
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Caro-Kann Torsten is playing the Caro-Kann against me at the moment, so maybe, when my game with him finishes, I may annotate it in this thread to give both Torsten and Terence's students something to go on. Kind regards Joanne |
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here is a caro-kann Laszlo Polgar"s book;.. Chess 5334 problems-combinations and games. Scaravella-Kirschstein (B14, USA 1949) 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. ed5 cd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nc3 e6 6. Bg5 dc4 7. Bc4 Be7 8. Nf3 a6 9. 0-0 0-0 10. Rc1 Nbd7 11. Qe2 b5 12. Bb3 Bb7 13. Rfd1 Re8 14. Ne5 b4 15. Nf7! Kf7 16. Qe6 Kg6 17. Qf7 Kg5 18. Qg7 Kf5 19. Bc2 Ke6 20. Re1 Kd6 21. Qg3 Kc6 22. Re6, winning. |
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My New Years resolution: achieve greater consistency in my play.Though there are many areas in which a master excels over the 1200-1800 player e.g greater knowledge,better at analysing more creative vision it is their consistency I want to highlight here.I think a master plays to their rating with a +/- 100 points where as the 1200-1800 rating group play to their rating with +/-500 rating points.This is compounded that this happens not only through a tournament but even during an individual game.I'm sure we have all experienced holding our own during a game against a master to then suddenly collapsing to an ignominious loss. My history of rising from 1400 to my current 1750-1800 rating is due in main part to selecting a consistent opening repertoire and sticking with it.In the past I would chop and change after losses in part blaming the opening.I now accept my openings are sound and any losses are due to being outplayed and this would have happened whatever I played.This I found has paid dividends with a gain of 300-400 rating points. What I'm hoping most to achieve from this group is strengthening my play in the transition from the opening into the middle game and beyond. My fellow students I hope you will share your experiences and goals so that we all may learn from them.All the best for the New Year and here's to working hard as a group and reaping the rewards. regards Wolfgang |
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Listening to my members |
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In response to Caveman1980: Fail to plan and you will fail to win! How can you find your way in every situation, even the ones that are completely unfamiliar, and how can you choose the correct order of actions to accomplish the main task? How can you distinguish important features from secondary ones to do this, you need to know how to find the correct plan any position. I must caution that the following tutorial is loaded with all kinds of advanced chess so multiple reading and discussion may be required. |
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Finding The Right Plan crystalized model Step 2: Choosing a plan Step 3: Execution of plan and re-evaluation feedback loop Since the first world champion Emmaul Lasker 7 basic reference points have formed the basis on accurately evaluating a position: 1. Material relationship 2. Presence of direct threats 3. King position and their safety 4. Possession of open lines 5. Pawn structure, weak and strong points 6. The center and space 7. Development and the position of pieces How the reference points work! 1. There is material equality on the board 2. There are no dangerous threats 3. The king positions as of yet don't have a serious impact on the current evaluation, as there is not immediate ways to create an attack against either one of them. 4. There is only one open file in the position, the c-file. No one yet controls it. White does obtain pressure on the half open e-file 5. White has the isolated d5-pawn which traditionally hands the d5 point to the opponent, giving away the e5-square and some initiative on the kingside. 6. Influence in the centre and possession of key squares are equal 7. Piece position of both players are harmonious. Their location doesn't yet give either player an advantage. General conclusion: White is slightly better because he can start his attack on the king side quick. So here is how the game: gameknot.com |
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Finding the Right Plan exercise #1 Your assignment -find the right plan for black. Task #1 complete a 7 point evaluation of the position. Task #2 post your 7 point evaluation to this thread along with your suggested plan for black. Please complete this as soon as you can. Do not hold back your thoughts or opinion everything is valid. |
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On behave of Clippery even though his in not in our mentor club. He is to be commended for trying 1. Material is equal. 2. There are no direct threats to any of the Black pieces. 3. White has committed his h pawn whereas Black's King side pawns are still intact. 4. The d and e files are both half open. Neither side controls the d file. Can the e file be said to be controlled by White in view of the Queen on e2? 5. There are no unsupported pawns, but the White e pawn is defended by the Knight and this Knight is also defending h2. 6. The position, as things stand, look roughly equal to me in the centre although, possibly I am not calculating this correctly. 7. As far as Knights are concerned, The f Knights seem to cancel each other out. Ideally both sides would like to leave these in place. The move options for Black's b knight are rather limited. On the plus side, it is well placed to assist with the defence of d5 and could even occupy this square if threatened by the c pawn. White has the edge when I look at bishops. The adjacent bishop pair lined up against the king side are a concern for Black. I think Black's dark squared Bishop has slightly less options than it's White counterpart. When I look at Rooks, the crucial difference is that lack's Rooks are connected. It would be easy for Black to move a Rook to d8, but which one? The position of the Queens seems to me to be equal as far as move options are concerned. The White Queen is on a central file but the Black Queen occupies an important diagonal. Rfd8 would be my choice for the next move, but what I haven't quite grasped is how to use all of the above, even if correct, to decide the next move and the plan going forward. Anyway, thanks for listening and have a great weekend. Cheers Al. |
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Exercise #1 2- The position is quiet and there are no direct threats. 3- Kings are castled and safe. White's king is a bit weakened by the h-pawn movement but this is minor here. 4-a Files: d-file is half open for black but not controlled. e-file is half open for white and controlled by the queen. -b Diagonals: Both White bishops are sharply pointed toward the black king (reminding of the classical bishop sacrifice except that white has already castled here). The black queen controls the h2-b8 diagonal but this is less important at the moment. 5-Both sides have two intact pawn islands. No major weakness except that g3 is slightly weak for white due to the h3 advancement. 6-White has space advantage with the c,d pawns on the 4th rank. Black is compact with central pawns (d,c) on the 6th rank. 7- Both sides have developed queens and minor pieces (The White bishop on c1 is developed there!) and it remains to develop the rooks (preferably to the semi-open files). White's bishop pair are super well-placed for king-side attack. I think Black should break in the center right away with c5 and later on use the a-rook to control the d-file. The b3 knight needs repositioning towards the king side (for defensive reasons). ************************************** Thanks Terence for composing this interesting exercise! I believe transitioning from opening to middle game is a very critical thing to learn for the ~1700's players. |
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Exercise #1 1. Material relationship The material is equal, but White has the bishop pair. I would give +0.1 for that. 2. Presence of direct threats There are no direct threats. Perhaps the moves that would make Black less comfortable are a4 and then a5, forcing the opponent's Knight to d7 and restricting it further (also blocking the semi-open d file for Black's rook). I can see no such moves for Black. Further +0.05 for White. 3. King position and their safety The bishop pair is dangerously aimed at the Black's kingside. Black's e6 pawn reduces maneuverability of Black pieces, so Queen and Knight from c7 and b6 are unlikely to be of any assistance should White develop a kingside attack. White has many opportunities here, +0.15 from me. 4. Possession of open lines There are two semi-open lines, White controls e file. e5 field has potential to be pivotal in the upcoming attack to the kingside. Black should strive to control d5 square which would help to connect the disjointed flanks. Right now the line possession is slightly better from White, +0.05 here 5. Pawn structure, weak and strong points e5 and c5 are White's strong points, but Black has opportunities to refute it using their dark-square bishop. d5 is contested right now, but should be an easy win for Black once the c4 pawn is attacked. The only real weak point in Black's pawn structure is d6, but White should not play c5 outright, otherwise they cede d5 to Black. White's weak points are c3 and b3 due to over-advancement on the queenside. I would say black has advantage in this aspect of position, -0.1 here. 6. The center and space White certainly has more space here, but they can't extend further without risking overextention. The overall disposition of central squares has already been described; right now White has certainly won the center, but Black has reasonable means to counter it. +0.1 here. 7. Development and the position of pieces Black has all their pieces developed; they also have joined their rooks. The downside is that Black's flanks are disjointed, and the Knight on b6 has yet to be brought into play. -0.05 here. Overall estimation: +0.3 for White, Black's position is uncomfortable and can become dangerous pretty fast. I would say the plan should be developing the queenside attack before White manages to realize their kingside advantage. As for moves my suggestion would be ...a5 - provoking a4 which would weaken b3 pawn further, and then ...c5. Rooks should not be touched at the moment, as it is not quite clear where they will be needed right now; besides, the rook on a8 should stay there for a while to support the advancement of the a pawn, should White give the opportunity. The knight on b6 should be always ready to move on d7 or d5. Na5->Nc3 may also be good, but it should not come unsupported. |
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analyse method This type of analyse in 6 points; is it available just after the developpement or at any moment of the game ? |
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Exercise #1 2.No direct threats yet though white will have first opportunity to implement an attack on the king. 3.As blacks counterplay will be directed at the centre/q-side and whites play centre/k-side his kingis safer at present. 4.White has control of the semi open e file and diagonal highways pointing towards blacks king.Blacks interior lines though lacking as much space still allowmovement for his troops. 5.Blacks p structure still in a solid defensive position crouched ready for the coiunter attack against whites p duo in the centre of which only the c pawn is supported.On the semi open d file whites d pawn can come under attack. 6.White has more space and the centre at present but blacks pawns have yet to have their say. 7.Whites developement is almost completed with his pieces aiming towards blacks king.Black has only to decide on where to put the rooks and is poised to counter attack. My first thought on plan of action was a5 to gain q-side space before c5 counter attacking whites centre but on further reflection I think c5 immediately beginning the counter attack may be best. |
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lets continue! #1 black's knight on b6 is a bit off side #2 All the strong points are currently being contest #3 White's most logical plan is to play Bb2 to support d4 and to fight for control of e5. I was black so I had to find a plan that re-organized my knight, fight for control of the d-file to counter act white's queenside pawn majority, and maintain control of c5, d5, and e5. Which under the current circumstances is not that easy to resolve. To be honest, I was concerned about a3-b4 with a strong initiative on the queen-side. So the three main ideas(which every single one of us mentioned) that I picked as candidates were #1 ...a5!?- I ruled this one out quickly because it is generally unwise to start pawn advances when the majority of your development is not complete. Furthermore, after ...a5 it would make it extremely difficult to contest white's control of d4 with ...c5 because of the weakness on b5. #2 ...c5!? I had thought about this for a while, I had seen a game where black played ...c5 in a very similar position and the game continued 1. ...c5!? 2. Bb2 cxd4 3. Bxd4!? Nbd7! which is fine for black. However, I did not like 3a. Nxd4!? with a very powerful knight on d4 dominating everything on the queenside. In the end I could not find an immediate solid reply to it so I had to reject it. #3 ...Nbd7!? repositioning the knight to support c5 and e5, it does not create any pawn weakness and at the moment white has no immediate sharp reply. So this move is safe, it resolves our bad knight issue but puts us in a very passive position. General conclusion: ...a5!? was rejected because it rules out any ....c5 counter attack in the future because of the weakness created on b5. ...c5 may be playable but I rejected it because it was too risky. ...Nbd7 is solid but passive. |
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Exercise #2: What has changed white to play Step #1: do another 7-point analysis (remember you are now playing white!) and post it here. along with your suggested move for white |
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on behalf of Easy19 1. Material relationship - Material is equal 2. Presence of direct threats - No eminent dangers on the board. for white For black possible thread on the white h7 diagonal later in the game 3. King position and their safety White King is Safe 4. Possession of open lines On half open E file for white Half open D file for Black 5. Pawn structure, weak and strong points Blacks pawn structure is slightly weaker because of better diagonal coverage of white. strong for both is that the lines are still closed 6. The center and space Balanced center and space no real advantage for both sides 7. Development and the position of pieces Development is equal with a tempo advantage for white position of whites pieces slightly more active My move would be Ne5 with the intention to move Queen to h5 for a mating thread. Alternative move for white = Qd3 to open a thread on h7 |
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Exercise #2 1.Material is equal. 2.No direct threats. 3.Both kings are safe 4.Half open d file for black.Half open e file for white and semi open b1/h7 and a1/g7 diagonals for white 5.Blacks P structure is sound and compact though a little cramped and still in defensive mode.Whies d pawn could prove either a weakness as it is unsupported by anothr pawn or a shock trooper with a later d5 push.White has the e5 outpost to utilise. 6.White has slightly grater space in which to manouver. 7.Both sides are fully developed.Blacks re deployment Nd7-f8-g6 has made his k side more secure whilst still keeping e5 under observation. Whites s move Ne5. Other canditate moves considered but rejected Bxg6 and Bb1 |
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Exercise #2 Both sides had retained the equilibrium, and White still has minimal advantage from their two bishops. +0.1 from me. 2. Presence of direct threats 13. ... Nf4, forking queen and bishop. While it is uncertain whether the exchange may yield an immediate tactical advantage for Black, it still contains a possibility to get rid of opponent's bishop pair. -0.05 from me here. 3. King position and their safety Now Black has the majority of pieces on the kingside and their king is safe at the moment. White still have their bishops aimed at the opponent's king, while their pawn structure on the kingside is a bit weaker. This aspect is balanced, no + or - here. 4. Possession of open lines Semi-open d file is controlled by Black, semi-open e file - by White. The differences are: a) White has the Queen, which is a poor attacker, in front or their rook; b) the pawn on d4 is weaker than the pawn on e6. -0.05 here. 5. Pawn structure, weak and strong points Black's pawn structure still has a lot of potential and no real weaknesses. White has begun to regroup their forces in the queenside, and before it is finished there are a lot of weaknesses Black could try to take advantage of. The pawn on d4 is possibly the weakest link in the chain, because there is no other pawn to support it; the pawn on b3 should move to b4 as soon as possible. -0.1 6. The center and space White still commands more space, but compared to the previous exercise, Black has secured more of the kingside for them. Also White needs to advance their pawns on the queenside to develop their position. +0.05 7. Development and the position of pieces The position is fully developed for both sides; the double diagonals a1-h8 and b1-h7 are very good for white, and two black knights on f6 and g6 are in superb position. The d4 pawn is a bit of a hindrance for White as it blocks the central diagonal; the bishop on e7 is on inferior position, but has some potential if White neglects development of their queenside pawns. No advantage for any side. The overall estimation is -0.05, a position that slightly favors Black. White has to make a decision: either reposition their bishops and develop a queenside advance or try to make a kingside attack. 13. Ne5 may be tempting, but in my opinion it leads to nowhere at the moment. 13. b4 may be countered by 13. ... a5. As Nf4 is something to be afraid of (because White should keep their material advantage), my choice is Qd2 - the Queen simply has more options there. Nf4 would no longer be a threat; b4 would be supported by the Queen; e-file is controlled by a rook, not by a Queen, which is also a plus. This move does not commit White to any particular plan, so we would have the chance to see what Black is up to. |
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