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From	Message
sacul219 01-Feb-11, 14:59	Improving my game Hey all, this is just an idea, and the thread can be deleted afterwards by all means, but I was just wondering, I've been around 1100-1200 for awhile now (24 months or so) and I cant seem to just take that next step. I've read alot of material, i spent alot of time analysing my own chess games, and writing down lines, and playing out tactics and so forth, but for some reason, I just get outplayed most of the time, when i start playing those with a rating of 1300+. Therefore I was wondering, if there was anything I'm doing wrong? If someone could give me, maybe somewhere fresh to start, or something new to try, or have a look at my games and see if im predictable, im not sure....just looking for help.. Thanks so much, Lucas
sacul219 01-Feb-11, 15:27	This is the situation I mean: I was just studying, and I cant see why Black resigns. I look a few moves ahead, but he doesnt look in dire danger, enough to resign. Sure he's down a rook, but up a Knight and Bishop, and an advancing pawn on his side...hmm. Here's the notation because I dont know how to send a link to the game, unless its my own game. [WhiteElo "1673"] [BlackElo "1775"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e3 e6 5. Bxc4 c5 6. O-O a6 7. Bb3 Nc6 8. Nc3 cxd4 9. exd4 Be7 10. Re1 O-O 11. a3 Na5 12. Bc2 b5 13. d5 Re8 14. Bg5 Nxd5 15. Nxd5 exd5 16. Bxe7 Rxe7 17. Rxe7 Qxe7 18. a4 Bb7 19. axb5 axb5 20. Qd3 g6 21. Qxb5 Qd8 22. Re1 Ba6 23. Qb4 Rc8 24. Qd2 Qb6 25. Ba4 Bb5 26. Qh6 Bxa4 27. Ng5 Qf6 28. Qxh7+ Kf8 29. Qh3 Re8 30. Nh7+ Kg7 31. Rxe8 Qxb2 32. Re1 Qb4 33. Rf1 Bb5 34. Rc1 Qb2 35. Qc3+ Qxc3 36. Rxc3 Bc4 37. Ng5 d4 38. Rc1 d3 39. Nf3. At this point Black resigned, could someone maybe tell me why?
shamash 01-Feb-11, 15:29	what you see is what you get Lucas, after looking over your games, I will offer this: Your pieces have value, and the value of each deployed piece is a function of its target. Once deployed, don't be so free to trade them off. The ultimate target is your opponent's King. The object of the game, remember, is to checkmate the King. Any credible threat to checkmate that you build in your game, will give you an advantage. Often a winning advantage. Especially with multiple pieces deployed attacking your opponent's King or at least his fortress. (But only if you take and keep the initiative. Sometimes you have to invest in the position, or sacrifice a superfluous piece, so as to gain the initiative -- which you must have to build and carry out an attack.) To give your eyes focus -- since in chess what you see is more important than what you remember -- read a copy of Renaud & Kahn's classic and simple THE ART OF THE CHECKMATE. It will help you see the patterns on the chessboard that are typical of positions you can effortlessly win. .
hityerclock 01-Feb-11, 15:30	Slow down ... Take more time before making your moves, and even if it's an "obvious" move, try to find simple 2-move sequences that result from the move you're thinking of making - so the move you plan to make, your opponent's response, your response after that, and your opponent's response - two moves for each player. Do you still like the resulting position? This is also a good technique for finding "in-between" moves that could cause trouble for one side or the other. Play through as many 2-move sequences as you can before making your actual move. Try to look at everything, not just the moves you think are good. If you see a good "2nd move", analyze it as a "1st move" and see if it still works. In correspondence games like GK, set up a real chessboard and make your moves there, so you can "see" what's happening, especially if you learned the game on a real board. A lot of chess is pattern matching, and if your brain is trained to see patterns involving 3-D pieces, you will miss fairly obvious things on a 2-D board. I know that's a problem for me, at least.
grege79 01-Feb-11, 15:40	I had the same problem for awhile, but I am nudging about a 1450 rating when I play at my best now. Coaching games from really high players can be helpful, but sometimes it can be worth playing someone close to your own level as it helps the transition. One of the things I have been doing at the moment is, while keeping in mind a rough plan, look at places pieces where they are most effective, even if you cannot see immediate benefit. An example may be knights to the center as opposed to the side, or knights enroaching on the opposition squares in an offensive way. Think of each square a piece is attacking as +1 and the effectiveness of the piece is the sum score, you can add a bonus depending on where on the board they are attacking, ie a fianchetto with a bishop pointed at a castled king can be pretty handy. I am happy to play an unrated game and talk it through as we go, I wouldn't be much help, but I may do one or two things differently that may help you?
hityerclock 01-Feb-11, 15:41	Why did black resign? In an OTB game, I'd play on as black. Maybe white will get into time trouble and make a mistake. In a correspondence game against a good opponent, why suffer through another week or two in a totally lost position?
hityerclock 01-Feb-11, 15:51	Thinking on your opponent's time ... If you play OTB, make good use of your opponent's time when it's not your move. When it's your move, calculate - work on those 2-move sequences I mentioned. When it's not your move, don't worry so much about what move your opponent might or might not make. Instead, look at the position, and do some planning. what are the weak squares you can attack? Are there outposts for your minor pieces? Do you have problems in your position that need to be solved? Then when it's your move again, you have some idea of what you're trying to accomplish, and you won't have as many candidate moves to consider.
sacul219 01-Feb-11, 20:28	Thanks everyone for your help! Shamash, i will look up that book, it has come to my attention that during my games, I lose focus on the actual mate, and focus more on gaining position or material, and i need to work on that like you said... Grege79, id love to play an unrated game and chat about it, I'm sure any help and advice I can get from any experienced players will help me (: and Hityerclock, your exactly right, I did learn in 3-D and sometimes it does trip me up and i miss easy moves. This was also suggested I believe by you or someone else earlier to me, and I am now doing this, and it is helping me alot. And i will most certainly take into account your questions to ponder over while I am playing. Really thankful and appreciative of the support from fellow chess lovers. I aspire to one day be the one being able to help people who are struggling to hit the next level like I am. Sincerely, Lucas

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