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| Posted by roblear schoolfundingservices.org 8/09/2008 10:55:49 Play online chess |  Subject: am i right?Message: i've noticed that higher rated players don't seem to play pawn moves such as a3 to prevent Nb4 or Bb4, or conversely h3 to attack the g4 square. i've often used these kinds of moves in the past, but i don't see them much from better players. maybe it's a reflection on my poor development? | ||||||||
| Posted by tim_b schoolfundingservices.org 8/09/2008 13:15:45 Play online chess | Message: | ||||||||
| Posted by ionadowman schoolfundingservices.org 8/09/2008 16:13:49 Play online chess | Possibly... Message: When making the piece move, the mover ought already to have planned a response to an attack by a flank pawn: an exchange on the c-file (if it's a bishop); a sac on f7 (if you've just played Ng5); a retreat - and where to? Sometimes it's not a bad idea fort White, say, to develop a bishop at d2 via g5, losing a tempo, but inducing a small but exploitable weakness in Black's K-side. I've done that myself. On the Black side of a Sicilian Defence, ...a6 is often useful even if it doesn't hit a bishop, partly as apreparation for a central thrust, but also because Q-side expansion is on Black's agenda anyway. So 1.e4 c5. 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxc4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6, the Najdorf Variation, is a very popular line. That little move hides a good deal of aggression. The Sicilian Kan System also involves an early ...a6. Conversely, the Two Knights' Defence often features an early advance of a White Knight to g5: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5!? ... I think the debate whether this is sttronger than 4.0-0, 4.d4 or 4.d3 is still ongoing. Of course it's pointless hitting the knight now. Black will usually play 4...d5 5.exd5 and now 5...Nxd5 is very risky owing to the enormous attack White whips up: the Fegatello, a.k.a. the Fried Liver: 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6 (forced if Black wants to keep the material); 8.Nc3 Ncb4 (the irony of it!) 9.a3! (biffing the knight , hoping to dislodge it fronm its defence of d5. The fork on c2 looks tempting, at that!) 9...Nxc2+ 10.Kc1 Nxa1 11.Nxd5 etc. All this is theory, which continues for several moves more yet. Black has better alternatives at move 5, 5,,,Na4, the "Main" line turning out rather well for Black, despite the pawn deficit. But even at move 4, Black can seriously consider ignoring the attack on f7 by playing 4...Bc5!? Now, if 5.Nxf7 Black has the astonishing 5...Bxf2+!! 6.Kxf2!? (6.Kf1 may be better) ...Nxe4+ 7.Kg1 (I had someone play 7.Ke1?? against me once on GK 7...Qh4+ 8.g3 Nxg3 9.Rg1 Ne5+ 10.Rg3 Nxg3 0-1) 7...Qh4 with an attack probably strong enough at least to balance White's. The alternate capture at f7, 5.Bxf7+, less ambitious is perhaps the harder for Black to meet: 5...Ke2 whereupon White usually retires the bishop to b3 or d5. In the following OTB game, the presence and absence of the flank pawn moves under discussion prove to have further impact: White: N.N. Black: IAD 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Ke2 6.Bb3 Rf8 7.0-0 h6 The first of the flank pawn moves, played to drive back the knight, and relieve some of the pressure on the light squares - in other words, to prepare to advance the d-pawn. 8.Nf3 d6 w 9.d3?! ... Now this is one point where White might have been better advised to prevent Black's next move by 9.h3! 9...Bg4! Threatening, among other things, to bring a knight in to d4 thence to break up White's K-side pawns. 10.Be3 ... (10.c3 came into consideration) 10... Nd4 11.Bxd4 Bxd4 12.c3 Bb6 13.Nbd2 Qd7 14.Qc2 Rae8 15.h3? ... b A real bad-luck pawn. Correct at move 9, here it is merely weakening: 15...Bxh3! Something you sometimes have to watch for if you want to biff bishops! 16.gxh3 Qxh3 17.Nh2 ... Played to protect g4, but maybe a strike at the centre by 17.d4 offered more hope? 17...Ng4! 18.Nxg4 Qxg4+ 19.Kh1 Qh3+ 20.Kg1 Rf4 21.Qd1 Qg3+ 22.Kh1 Rh4#. I guess in the end you have to think beyond the flank pawn move, and indeed beyond the piece moves against which the flank pawn move is directed, whether as an attack or a deterrent. If the move is part of a longer term plan, or if allowing a piece to land on the "Knight-5" square will really cause you trouble (as indeed it can, quite often) then probably it's OK, but if it's "off the cuff" or "can't think of anything better to do right now", then it's probably un-OK. Cheers, Ion ——— Chess: When going gung-ho doesn't work — Subtlety is often the key to unlocking pawn endgames. We continue our theme of pawn endgames. White may be a pawn up, but care is required to force a win. RB: It's tempting simply to go 1 Kb4, gobble up Black's queenside pawns and hurl the a- and b-pawns down the chess board to promote. But that would mean allowing Black to capture the two e-pawns and queen on f1. White would still have an extra pawn, but in a queen endgame it would take more technical skill than I possess to be confident of victory. So instead I'm looking at 1 Kd3 and 1 e4. I think both work, but I'm going to go for the immediate pawn advance because it has the added advantage of ... Posted by savage4731 | schoolfundingservices.org 8/09/2008 19:55:57 Play online chess Message: 1) It wastes a move that could be used to develop a piece. 2) You can always play it after the pin without a loss of time. 3) It weakens the kingside pawns. 4) Pins arent always bad. For example, the Bxf7+ then Ng5+ then Qxg4 sac. Or the Bg4, Be2, Nd4, Nxd4 trick. Also, using the g-file to attack after Bxf3, gxf3. Also, Legall's mate. 5) The h3 pawn can become a target esp for bishop sacs. 6) After h3, g3 can become weak. Esp. If black is pinning the f2 pawn with a bishop. 7) If your opponent captures the knight with the bishop that gives you the two bishops. 8) Its a bad habit to get into: i.e. making mechanical moves and not paying attention. 9) Its passive. Which not only hurts your chances in the game but passive play will slow down your development as a player. 10) You shouldnt automatically assume things like doubled pawns are bad. 11) You should be careful with pawn moves because you cant move them back. 12) You should be playing to control the center in the opening not making pointless flank pawn moves. 13) When I see those kinds of moves against me I know its usually an easy win. 14) A lot of times beginners will think they can easily win a pawn. For example: 1.e4, e5 2. Nf3, Nc6 3. Bb5, a6 4. Bxc6, dxc6 5. Nxe5. But they miss 5...Qd4!. Chess isnt that simple otherwise no one would play it. If you find yourself losing pawns like that its because you're making mistakes and/or not seeing the whole position not because you didnt prevent the pin in the first place. Usually beginners make that kind of move because they're afraid of missing something. Its better not to play out of fear but to play your best and if you make a mistake to learn from it. ——— Underdogs on Top in World Chess Championship Candidates Matches — The first round of the World Chess Championship Candidates Matches in Kazan, Russia, produced several surprises. The biggest was the elimination of Levon Aronian, who is ranked No. 3 in the world, by Alexander Grischuk (No. 12), whose recent play has been inconsistent but who prevailed in the tiebreaker games. Gata Kamsky, fresh off winning the United States title, produced another upset by beating Veselin Topalov, a former world chess champion. Topalov (No. 7) has not played much in recent months, and that hurt him. He was outplayed by Kamsky (No. 18) in Game 2, which Kamsky won, and in the last game, when Kamsky forced a draw. Boris Gelfand (No. 16), who will be 43 next month and ... Posted by roblear | schoolfundingservices.org 8/10/2008 03:36:25 Play online chess am i right?Message: thanks again rob ——— Bobby Fischer: from chess prodigy to pariah — He played some of the most sublime chess ever seen. Then, as a new book and film illustrate, he disappeared from view. What made such a brilliant mind go into freefall? In 1999, I spent three days sitting in a variety of thermal baths dotted around Budapest. As grand and attractive as the Hungarian capital's spas are, I wasn't stewing myself for therapeutic or leisure purposes. Instead, I was waiting for someone I'd been told frequented the baths, someone who was said to be a genius and a paranoid obsessive, the greatest chess player who ever lived and an obnoxious crackpot. I was looking for Bobby Fischer. For the last four decades of his life, that's what people ... Posted by savage4731 | schoolfundingservices.org 8/14/2008 13:53:29 Play online chess roblearMessage: ——— On Chess: Computers hardly a threat to game — Some chess grandmasters have lamented that computers take the creativity out of chess, but their concern for the future of the game of chess is off the mark. An excessive use of chess computers undeniably dulls a player's mind - especially if the reliance on computer analysis leaves no room for hardscrabble human inquiry. The games of top chess players such as Levon Aronian, Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura vividly demonstrate that free-flowing, swashbuckling creative chess might thrive even more in the age of computers. It is, however, no longer possible to hide behind time-tested lines of play based on years of personal exploration and expertise. Computer analysis usually can ... Posted by roblear | schoolfundingservices.org 8/23/2008 03:36:00 Play online chess to savage4731Message: rob ——— Queen to Play (movie review) — In “Queen to Play,” a subtle, absorbing film that features Kevin Kline in his first French-speaking role, the only thing that happens, really, is that a hard-working, soft-spoken woman learns to play chess. Seriously. That’s it. Because this “Queen” arrives in Washington at the start of the summer movie season, nearly two years after its initial release in France, that narrative simplicity has a certain appeal. At a time when most pictures are all CGI’d up and Imaxed out, there’s something particularly enjoyable about settling into a film whose pleasures reside in quiet moments, understated performances and the reading of subtitles. “Queen to Play,” originally titled “Joueuse” in French, or “Player,” introduces us to ... |