Gryzemuis on 30/7/2013 at 16:47
I'll give you an example how I apply my own rules for development.
(
http://www.chess.com/echess/game?id=72240210)
1.e4 e5 2.f4
The fight for the center.
If black takes on f4, white controls the d4 square.
Black wins a pawn, but white hopes he will regain the pawn soon. Or get a development advantage.
This opening is called "the king's gambit". A gambit is an opening in which you sacrifice material for speed (tempi).
2. ..., exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.Bc4
Black takes the pawn. This is perfectly fine. White will have a little initiative for the material loss. If white doesn't mate black in the first 20 moves, black will win the endgame.
Notice how white has:
1) Knight developed to f3
2) Bishop developed to c4
3) Controls the center with 1 pawn (and black has no pawns in the center)
4) Ready to castle
4. ..., Nf6 5.e5 Ne4 6.d3 Nc5
Black should maybe not have played Nf6, but d7-d6 (controlling e5), or Nc6 (developing a knight) or Bg7 (developing a bishop). By playing Nf6, the black knight ends at c5, where it feels "less natural". And allows white to play d3 (controlling e4 and opening development for the bishop on c1).
7.O-O
When I can castle, I will always castle.
7. ..., g4 8.Nc3 gxf3 9.Qxf3 Qh4 10.Bxf4
I sacrificed more material for speed. A whole knight. (I didn't invent the idea to sacrifice the knight. It's part of a sub-variant of the king's gambit, called "the Morra Gambit". I always wanted to play this. Now I had a chance, so I didn't think long about it. :))
Now notice the position.
White has castled. Has all 3 pieces developed. Rooks connected. White has one pawn in the center.
Black has no control over the center, has only 1 piece developed. King in the middle, can't castle yet. And black's queen is out early, and vulnerable to attacks. According to the computer, black is only a little worse (he has an extra piece after all). But personally, with such a development advantage, I know white is gonna win.
10. ..., Ne6
Another move that does not enhance black's development. But still it was the best move for black, as it defends against Bxf7. The pressure is already so high that black has only a thin line to walk. While white has only played logical developement moves (except maybe sacrificing the knight on f3).
11.Bg3 Bc5+ 12.Kh1 Nd4 13.Qxf7+
The end. Black made a mistake calculating. Not because white did anything brilliant here. But because there was so much pressure on black already, it will become hard to find the right defense. If black had not made the mistake of 12. ..., Nd4, I would have played Ra1-e1 and increased pressure. Once all my pieces are ready for attack, only then I attack.
Hope this was a useful example. Not that you should make the exact same moves or something (that never happens). But to show you how my own (*) rules of development are simple to apply, and can be very effective.
(*) Own rules: of course I mean the rules I use. Not that I made those rules. I read them in a book. E.g. in a book by Max Euwe.
faetal on 30/7/2013 at 17:22
Cheers for that. I'll take a close look at some of your games. First I'll take a week off (once I finish my current games), during which I'll revisit some of the Josh Waitzkin material on the Chessmaster, then I'll come back and have a go at being a little more methodical. A lot of my moves are me trying things out rather than explicitly trying to win. Of course I'll want to win, but sometimes I think "I don't care if I lose this one, I just want to see if I can get away with X" or whatever. But yeah, you make good points.
hopper on 30/7/2013 at 19:44
I just wanted to add a couple of comments to this, as my own experience of (
http://www.chess.com/echess/game?id=73437272) our last game confirms this.
Quote Posted by LittleFlower
Early in the game, your queen is much more vulnerable. So move don't move her into enemy territory yet. Move her to the 2nd row (c2, d2 or e2). Or maybe the third row. Don't go exploring with your queen right away, unless you see a combination that can win you material.
My biggest mistake in the whole game. 8 ...Qa5 was a silly, unnecessary move that accomplished nothing and made my queen the target of attacks again and again (moves 11-13 especially), and there was little more I could do than to keep my most valuable piece safe, at the cost of development. I was barely able to recover from this.
Quote Posted by LittleFlower
If you can prevent your opponent from castling (and keep his king in the middle), that's a clear advantage. Only when you see a clear "pawn storm" coming from your opponent on the side you don't want to castle in that direction. But usually castle at your first chance. It'll make your defense so much easier.
This was my biggest headache in the later parts of the game, no doubt in large part due to lack of development caused by my silly queen moves. Although I was up two pieces (I think), you kept pressing me so that I had to play defence the whole time with the king in the middle, unable to escape the pressure by castling or strengthening my vulnerable kingside defence position. Only once I finally did manage to castle, I was able to mount an effective counterattack.
@SubjEff: It's on!
Gryzemuis on 30/7/2013 at 20:33
Quote Posted by faetal
I'll take a close look at some of your games.
No need to do that. There is nothing special about my games. Your time is much better spent reading a good chess-teaching book.
I just used that game between Subjeff and myself as an example because: a) it is really a clear example of what happens when one side develops his position before attacking, and the other side does not, b) it was a game at our own level (amateurs, not Grand Masters and their little finesses), c) it's a game between two TTLG players, and d) just to irritate Subjeff a little. :p
Quote:
A lot of my moves are me trying things out rather than explicitly trying to win. Of course I'll want to win, but sometimes I think "I don't care if I lose this one, I just want to see if I can get away with X" or whatever.
I am a non-conformist in a way myself. I enjoy doing stuff differently. But I always want to learn a bit about "the proper way" first. After all, experimental music or non-conventional music is often made by people who know regular music very well. Not by amateurs who have never touched an instrument before.
Anyway, all I want you to remember is:
1) play center pawns, 2) develop light pieces, 3) castle, 4) connect rooks, 5) attack !.
Enjoy ! :)
Nuth on 1/8/2013 at 05:57
I'm open to challenges if people are interested in playing. Dema or anyone else?
PigLick on 2/8/2013 at 03:41
Well I actually forced Subj into resigning, what happened there you made some uncharacteristic mistakes?
SubJeff on 2/8/2013 at 08:45
I wasn't paying attention, late at night, playing multiple games at once, didn't see the obvious twice in a row, knew I was making a hash of it. No excuse really. I've challenged you to a rematch.
faetal on 2/8/2013 at 10:55
Chess would be better if a few random squares contained power-ups every so often.
SubJeff on 2/8/2013 at 11:44
There is some other game that takes place on a checked board with wizards and trolls and things isn't there? I think I saw it on a computer in the 80s or early 90s. No idea what it's called though.
faetal, I think it about time for our match, no?
