The following correspondence game was played by me against an unidentified opponent and I thought that for my own benefit I'd go through it and give some commentary:
E33: Nimzo-Indian: Classical: 4...Nc6
White: Online Opponent
Black: Me
After this move the game enters a very dynamic but normally drawn character. I choose the most active move (albeit perhaps a little too ambitious).
8. ...Re8 9. cxd5
some people may criticize white here for releasing the central tension. However, they are overlooking the dominant position of White's two Bishops. White is trading one advantage for another -the central tension for an open field for his Bishop pair. Owever, Black is happy with this change because he gains a half open file for his rook.
9. … exd5 10. Be2 Bg4
Black appreciates a lead in development but can't really exploit it so the position her is roughly equal. White's plan will be to activate his drak-square bishop and black's will be to activate his rooks and try to trade off one of the enemy Bishop's to break up the pair.
11. O-O a6
in hindsight this may have been a mistake. The threat of Bb5 only trades off my least active minor piece for one of the demon bishops.
12. h3 Bh5 13. Bd1
This was a good chance for White to put in c4. He neglects to do so and Black has a chance to improve himself ...
13. … b6?
… but fails to do so. I mistakenly want to edge for a c5 break. I need to keep the game closed … not play for breaks.
14. Nd2 Bg6?
Simply trading bishops gives Black a powerful attack. I'm not certain what was thinking. Gain a tempo? Captures do that anyway (as the tempo gets passed back to you after a recapture).
15. Qb2 Bd3 16. Re1 Na5 17. Be2 Bxe2 18. Rxe2
I'm going to ignore the justification for the last few moves. Neither player has done very well but at least Black has a plan involving the c4 square. What is white's plan? At any rate Black is back on track. He is set up now so that white has an undefended rook, a trade on c4 will now result in white becoming passive and my remaining knight would dominate the terribly bad bishop.
after some inventive play I missed the best move. The worst part is that I looked at the move but considered the knight kick-out better.
26. Qxd5+ Kh8 27. Qxe4 fxe5 28. Qxe5
This turns out to be the decisive mistake. Fritz (yes, I said Fritz) gives the continuation 28. axb5 Nc4 29. b6 Qd6 30. dxe5 Nxe5 with White just better.
I think some players may be tempted to play 32. … Nxe5? When 33.
Rxa4 Kg8 34. Kf1 and again white is just better and on his way to fixing his biggest problems with an extra pawn.
33. Kf1 Rb2 34. Ra1 a2 35. Rd1 Kg8 0-1
White resigned with no way of stopping the coming queen without big sacrifice. I would describe this game as a muddle with the occasional spark of inspiration. I had poor plans in many positions but the thing I can honestly say is that I DID have a plan. A poor plan is always better than no plan. Sadly, this was a correspondence game so it just goes to show my skills have waxed old over the past couple of years. I need to get back into tournament play where the opposition is better prepared and I can start my analyzing engine (my brain) back up once more.
When I was first asked to review Frank Brady's new book my first thought was that it would be yet another biography of Bobby Fischer and interchangeable with any of the others. It's difficult to write a review for a book that's a poor carbon copy of a hundred others. This book brought me into its realistic world of novelized history very quickly. And it doesn't let up its interest grabbing until Bobby's final act.
In general the chess community collectively knows quite a bit about Fischer - his madness, his genius - but men like Frank Brady were given unique opportunities to socialize with the man behind the sensationalized media hype and for him to share the experience and research with a variety of readers is a gift that I have come to appreciate more than I expected I could.
It's a common thing for biographers to jump from the novelized history to a poorer form of chronological history: “this happened, then this, then this, ...” However, moving from one scene in Brady's new book to the next is the most seamless effort I've ever read in biographies in general.
Mr. Brady writes the Championship Match between Fischer and Borris Spassky in a somewhat different manner than the rest of the book showing a greater depth of focus by the author. The change is understandable in the context and the greater focus acknowledges the event as Bobby Fischer's magnum opus. However, unlike the kid glove handling(s) of the championship I've read in the past there is a more honest approach. A view of both sides as being in high tension. Not just Bobby giving unrelenting demands but the soviet chess machine's reactions to the interference by Dr. Max Euwe (then FIDE President) and other such unique circumstances. It is also noteworthy that Borris Spassky shines as a sportsman by not objecting to the match continuing after Bobby's strange behavior.
A reader becomes intimately familiar with a number of the "players" as well as with Fischer himself through this work. If you like Bobby as a chess genius this book is a must read. If you think him completely insane this book is a must read. Likewise, if you enjoy biographies or usually pass them up this is still a book you must read. If you know nothing about chess and have never played before in your life this book will still hold your interest (with my personal proviso that some of Bobby's seemingly strange behavior is excusable in the chess community in general). Get your hands on a copy of this book. I highly recommend it. I was pleasantly surprised and impressed.
Here is my disclaimer: This is NOT a paid advertisement and is merely an expression of my personal opinions. end.
Those of you that know me personally know that I have a deep love of music. I'm especially interested in what effect music has on a persons chess playing abilities. I've seen several people at tournaments listening to different types of music as they play so I'm not alone in this regard.
I've never really made a habit of listening to music while I play in a tournament but at home during study I occassionally find better results when listening to something reflecting my current mood.
It is in this regard that I'm writing this post. A friend of mine referred me to Pandora and I'm therefore passing on the referral and after much use I've come to really enjoy the site ... check it out and experiment!
Just so you know I am in no way reimbursed for this and it isn't an advertisement but a personal recommendation:
"Tricks & Traps Vol. 1 - 1.e4 Openings
Tricks and traps, especially in the opening, are a dangerous reality of competitive chess. All sorts of surprises await the unwary player, from devastating sacrifices to cunning move order ploys. A knowledge of such ideas is essential if a player wants to be the hunter rather than the victim.
On this DVD Davies presents a variety of tricks and traps that can arise after 1.e4 by White, breaking them down into a number of different categories. The examples are designed to appeal to players of every level and feature all of Black’s main defences. Besides coverage of some of the classics, Davies reveals some little known ploys and explains how likely these traps are to succeed. Accordingly the viewer should gain some psychological insights into the art of trapping and this should help his game as a whole. Video runnig time: 3 hours 49 min.
Nigel Davies has been an International Grandmaster since 1993 and is a former British Open Quickplay and U21 Champion. Besides his playing accomplishments he is an experienced chess coach with a unique understanding of club level chess. Accordingly he knows just what is likely to succeed."
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