Category: Game analysis

#1 What is wrong with this move? Even the chess stars err

Michel Hoetmer1 Comment

At amateur level most chess games are decided by big tactical mistakes. The average game on the popular chess.com lasts only about 25 moves. If I look to my own games the picture is quite similar.

I also noticed that when you do not make big mistakes, you will always be in with a chance to get a good result out of a game. Just don’t blunder!

But that is of course easier said than done. Even my article blunder check didn’t help me. Simply because I did not live up to my own advice. The chess game is very complicated and we tend to oversee stuff in the heat of the battle. Not only us ordinary mortals, but also the big chess stars have their weak moments.Read More »

Mutual blindness

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Is there something like luck in chess? Some people might say ‘in other sports yes, but of course not in chess!’ In football for instance a ball can change direction due to an uneven football pitch.

Or, what happened years ago in a football match in Utrecht: a sea gull collided with the ball. There is no such thing as an uneven chess board. And sea gulls are not likely to be found indoors. At least: not that I have seen.

But of course in chess there is also something called luck. For instance your opponent blunders in a won position. In my opinion that’s luck.

What do you think about this position? It is from my game against A. Broddevalk played in the Västerås Open 2014. See the first diagram.

With his last move black attacked the pawn on b2. White defended the pawn a bit careless with 12. b3. Better would have been 12. Qb3 or 12. Nbd2.

Let’s look at the position from black’s perspective. I was not at all happy with my position. It is a sort of Tarrasch defense but with one major difference: the dark colored bishops are exchanged. For my feeling I was worse because I am weak on the dark squares.Read More »

Analyzing my own games #1

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Some time ago I raised the question ‘what is your ideal game?’ I favored short and decisive games. Of course I wasn’t too serious. 

Winning a game without too many mistakes is my ideal. Preferably I dont give my opponent any chances and try to squeeze him. A game I played with white in our club championship comes close to this ideal. 

In the past I did not bother too much about analyzing my own games. I don’t know exactly why. Was I lazy? Or is it the feeling of disgust about the many mistakes I made (and still make)? Anyhow nowadays with the computer even players like me have the help of a ‘grandmaster’ and we patzers can try to make some sense out of what we have done and hopefully learn something from it.Read More »

Sweet chess victories (2)

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In the first part of my blog about sweet chess victories I showed you two very short games. Today’s game is also very short. But maybe even more sweet. Why?

Firstly because I love short victories. Secondly I love them even more when my opponent doesn’t unnecessary drag things on.

But don’t you get a big smile on your face when your opponent resigns in a position that is actually not lost yet? Sorry, I am a bad person, but I can’t help  it: I get a big grin on my face. Everything was over within 13 moves!

Here you can play the whole game in the viewer. Let’s not bother about the first part of the game and have a closer look at the position in which black decided to call it quits (see the diagram). Black’s bishop is attacked. So he has to move it away. For instance 13. … Bg6 In that case white plays 14. Nxg6 and 15. e5 winning a piece. So that won’t work. How about 13. … Bg4? (now it get’s really funny!)

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Sweet chess victories (1)

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What’s you idea about the ideal chess game? I guess a lot of people will say: 

‘The ideal chess game is a long and difficult fight, full of nice moves and great ideas. After a tough and long struggle I managed to outsmart my opponent and won!’ 

I beg to differ. The ideal chess game is short and totally annihilates the opponent. 

Bobby Fischer once said: ‘Chess is war over the board. The object is to crush the opponent’s mind.’ I completely agree. Problem is that he was slightly more often on the side of the crusher than me. But, believe it or not, once and a while I also experience those glorious moments.Read More »

Chess puzzle #12: bad defense

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At the lower level most of the games are won (or lost) by tactical errors. See for instance this position (first diagram). It is black to move. What should he play?

Let’s think about this position for a moment. White has an extra and well supported pawn on d6. His rook on a7 looks to be quite menacing. To add to blacks problems, his king is also in a vulnerable position. The direct threat is Qg7 mate. You don’t need to be a chess wizard to see this. Is this position hopeless?Read More »

The key to excel in chess

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Some might say that calculation is one of the most important skills in chess. For sure it is an important skill. But there is at least one skill even more important.

If we think for a moment about it, it is completely obvious.

According to Jacob Aagaard in his book ‘Calculation’ (Grandmaster preparation)  the more important skill is seeing. Of course! You can calculate like a madman, but if you don’t have a clue about what to calculate it doesn’t make much sense. You need to have some idea about possible candidate moves.Read More »