Category: Game analysis

Sweet chess victories (1)

Michel HoetmerLeave a comment

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

Michel HoetmerLeave a comment

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

Michel HoetmerLeave a comment

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 »