My Improvers Club Simul

Have you heard of the Improvers Club? It's the official club for players at all levels who want to embark on an exciting journey of chess growth. Members can also take part in the Chess Improvement Challenge to help support each other reach their chess goals!

I recently offered a to play a simul against interested members of the improvers club. I was hoping for a good turnout, but was shocked when we received nearly 500 applications of players who wanted to play! I like playing, but 500 at once wasn't possible. We held a lottery and opened the event to 15 participants, not all of whom showed up. We played on Tuesday, April 22nd. Thank you to Judit Sztaray for running a smooth event. I managed to win every game, but not without a few scary moments.

The Lucky Escape

I was rarely in danger during the simul, but this game was a huge exception. I think my opponent enjoyed it, although he might be regretting the missed chance to score a big rating upset.

The Most Complicated Fight

My opponent in this game made her own blog post describing the battle. White was better most of the way, but both kings were exposed and it was a tricky position to play in simul conditions. Sure enough, if she had found 24...Qc8, I suspect that I would have lost control.

Perfect Chess?

This just looks like an unremarkable miniature, but I was happy to see afterward that my play got a perfect 100 score from Game Review. It didn't show my opponent at his best. Because this one was short he was able to re-enter the simul and put up a great 61 move fight in the next game.

The Toughest Defense

Against my highest rated opponents I aimed for the Trompowsky Attack lines that I wrote about in my Chessable course. The opening worked well, but I had to press for many moves and gave up an opportunity to draw before finally breaking Black's defenses.

What's next?

After the games, most of the participants stuck around for a fun analysis session. I think everyone learned a bit of chess and enjoyed the process. I was definitely interested in hearing what my opponents had been thinking during the games. 

With so many improvers interested in a simul, I'm sure that we will have more on the way. I'm not sure who the next master giving the simul will be, but I strongly recommend you join the improvers club for more opportunities to play and learn. I hope to see you there!