Forum

Changes https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/should-we-have-vote-chess Thoughts about having vote chess or not https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/first-tournament-33 Rules for first tournament https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/registration-for-the-tournament Registration for first tournament

General considerations ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What is your playing style?: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/what-is-your-playing-style-2 (This topic is all about how to find your playing style and ways to improve it) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Everybody makes mistakes: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/everybody-makes-mistakes (Explains that it is important not to panick after blundering, how to minimise blunders, and what to do if you blunder) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How to improve at chess: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/how-to-improve-at-chess-6 (key tips for good improvement, but not a direct way to improve as it is different for everyone) ============================================================== Endgames ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Endgames Generally --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Introduction to endgames: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/introduction-to-endgames (briefly describing what the endgame is and your approach to it, and finally most common ideas and considerations to apply) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cat and Mouse Technique 1: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/the-cat-and-mouse-technique-1-my-game (Introduction to the Cat and Mouse technique which is commonly applied in endgames with a game fragment from my own game) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Principle of 2 Weaknesses: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/the-principle-of-2-weaknesses (Introduction to Principle of 2 weaknesses, explanation as to how it works, and a game fragment of Viswanathan Anand - Magnus Carlsen in the endgame) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Counterplay ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Introduction to Counterplay: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/introduction-to-counterplay (this is about the importance of counterplay and how to obtain it, using game fragments as examples) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Counterplay: Problems with Passivity: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/counterplay-problems-with-passivity (this is about the dangers of being in a positional squeeze and without many safe plans in a position, using game fragments as examples) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pawn Endgames --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Simple Pawn Endgames: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/pawn-endgames-simple-pawn-endgames (this is all about basic ideas you need to consider in pawn endgames and things you may try to do to get your desired result + a deeper understanding on certain factors) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- More specific ideas and positions: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/pawn-endgames-more-specific-ideas-and-positions (this is about special positions and more detailed ideas other than the basics in the Simple Pawn Endgames lesson) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pawn races: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/pawn-endgames-pawn-races (this is all about pawn races as well as technique with Q vs 7th rank pawn including their exceptions where they draw, and finally indirect routes with the King and how to implement this is pawn endgames with a famous study by Richard Reti at the very end) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Complex Pawn Endgames: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/pawn-endgames-complex-pawn-endings (in this lesson we look at GM games and analyse the complex pawn ending at the very end, and finally list what can be learned by the end of each game) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Knight Endgames ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Knight endgame basics: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/knight-endgames-basics (All about minor differences between King and pawn endgame, vs Knight endgame and just key considerations and ideas) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Knight endgames piece vs pawn: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/knight-endgames-piece-vs-pawn (Must-know positions in Knight endgames and also the technique for the Knight, and the pawn) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Queen Endgames --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Queen endgames basics: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/lessonshttps://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/queen-endgame-basics-148 (Key considerations and the approach to the notoriously complex and dreaded Queen endgame)

Hi there! In this club, I am aiming to make help everyone improve. This club is mainly just for teaching and there won’t be any vote chess matches here or daily games. The normal messaging teaching will definitely continue, but I feel that sometimes there are some lessons which can help for many different strengths. Some may even apply for all strengths too, so by making this club I am making sure that I can teach certain topics to everyone. Of course, if there is something specific that you guys want to cover (e.g openings), let me know and I can cover it with all of you here.

When I started playing chess, I couldn't dream of being a 2000, but I actually reached it fairly easy. However, I focused too much on the goal rather than the improvement, and now I kinda hit a plateau. What should someone focus on at my level, how should I train? I don't have a coach so everything I do is on my own. Any tips?

Here are the pairings for the 3rd round: ColteyBlack vs Danbranch7 DoYouLikeCurry vs Phillip100 BNorbi18 vs DavidGaming08 2 games will be played (one as white, one as black) for both players, schedule times for both games (DM each other to find a suitable time when you may both play). You may get another week to play the 2 games if you are unable to do so in the week, but you will also have to play the opponent you have been paired against in that week too. The games of the 2nd round will all be daily games, so challenge your opponent for the 2nd round as soon as possible to a daily match: Danbranch7 (2) vs DavidGaming08 (1) DoYouLikeCurry (1) vs ColteyBlack (0) BNorbi18 (0) vs Phillip100 (0) Remember to message me your games when you finish them

Here are the pairings for the 2nd round: Danbranch7 (2) vs DavidGaming08 (1) DoYouLikeCurry (1) vs ColteyBlack (0) BNorbi18 (0) vs Phillip100 (0) 2 games will be played (one as white, one as black) for both players, schedule times for both games (DM each other to find a suitable time when you may both play). You may get another week to play the 2 games if you are unable to do so in the week, but you will also have to play the opponent you have been paired against in that week too. (ColteyBlack and BNorbi18 have this week as well to schedule and play the game as I know it is very difficult for them to find good times)

Here are the pairings for the first round: ColteyBlack vs BNorbi18 DoYouLikeCurry vs DavidGaming08 Danbranch7 vs Phillip100 2 games will be played (one as white, one as black) for both players, schedule times for both games (DM each other to find a suitable time when you may both play). If your opponent doesn't reply back in 3 days after you have messaged them (please do so ASAP), then you may set the time for the game to your own accord (try to be a bit considerate though). If your opponent doesn't turn up for either game, then you will get 2 points automatically

When you first start learning chess, one of the first things that you learn are the points for each piece. Having more points than your opponent doesn't guarantee victory (especially when first starting), but it will help you during the game. As you get stronger, it starts to matter so much that even being up a pawn is enough for you to win the game! But then, there comes a changing point where it is not so clear again. In endgames, it is very often that you have the same pieces as your opponent, but perhaps there is an imbalance with the pawns, even simply the fact that some pawns are just weaknesses! For these more concrete endgames, there are basic principles that you should always keep in mind, but with piece imbalances, the line between the main endings blurs, and it is hard to tell what exactly to follow. To work around these endings, you must use your own judgement to form a plan. Often, in these endings, it is all about the passed pawns, but sometimes it may also revolve around king safety, and sometimes even both! But, as usual, there are still going to be basic rules that apply to all of these: EXPLOIT ENEMY WEAKNESSES Create passed pawns BE MORE ACTIVE THAN YOUR OPPONENT Using the King? As you can see, there are only really 3 rules I have put down for these endings. It may be a bit vague, but you should definitely not miss out on trying to apply these when playing for a win. You will notice that this time I did not mention USE THE KING, and that's simply because it very much depends on what pieces are on the board. After all, if there are Queens on the board with other pieces, high chances are that you could get checkmated if you dare use it! Also, in many cases, the pieces themselves are perfectly capable of carrying out the plans on their own, and bringing the king may take a bit too long and leave enough time for them to get enough counterplay. That being said, if it doesn't provide your opponent with enough counterplay to cause serious problems, and if your king won't get checkmated, then it is good to use the king if you can. Exploiting Enemy Weaknesses It is a little self explanatory: try to give your opponent a difficult time with their weaknesses, using the principle of 2 weaknesses if you can. The tricky thing about this is about the sort of weaknesses your opponent will have. The obvious conclusion people often go into is that being up on material means is a big weakness, but in these endings, it is often the pawns that matter more than the pieces. The main weaknesses in these endings are pieces being dominated or becoming super passive, your passed pawns, split pawns and (again) king safety. Again, the quality pawns matter more than the pieces (unless it is like a Queen vs Rook or something similar). Passed pawns In almost every single endgame, these are some of the most decisive factors to winning them. Passed pawns become especially important in these endgames. Passed pawns are very useful as they can tie down enemy pieces, allowing you to be more active. If you can, promote the pawn and get your opponent to sacrifice. Being More Active There are in fact 2 ways to be more active than your opponent. The first way is obvious: make your own pieces active. The second way is not as obvious but practically achieves exactly the same thing: restrict enemy pieces. Activate your own pieces I'm sure you've often wondered why pieces were assigned certain points. To make it brief, it is just the formula below: (how many squares they control at most)/3 +- (unique feature) For instance, a Bishop can control 13 squares at max, so 13/3 = 4.333... . However, as it is stuck to only one colour, it is denied from 1/2 the board, so is worth just over 3 points. But with another Bishop, the pair can control all the squares, so together are worth 7 or more. A knight can control only 8 squares at max, so 8/3 = 2.666... . However, it's movement cannot be done by any other piece, so is roughly worth 3 points. I could go on for other pieces, but you get the gist. To activate pieces in these endings, give them access to as much of the board as possible, focusing on the useful squares they control. Restrict enemy pieces If you can, simply attacking squares your opponent's pieces can go to significantly reduces their value. Even if it means that your pieces will have to control them for the time being, you will always get the first move when their piece can finally move. For instance, in the position below, white is bound to win easily, even while being up only 1 pawn (and that too, a Rook pawn!): While that was not a piece imbalance ending, it shows how powerful restricting enemy pieces can be. Black was playing practically down a piece and a pawn. Passed pawns can be really good at restricting pieces too: Despite being down 4 points of material and having an equal number of pawns, white manages to win because of how well the passed pawn ties down black's Queen! A true demonstration of how piece values can change. Also just simply cutting of squares physically is a really good way of making pieces useless: How they may arise The first thought that often comes to mind with how they appeared is that one side must have blundered early on, but very often they appear from sacrifices to try and make things difficult for your opponent or to try and win. One thing to note about these endings is that because they are super rare, there won't be any really simplified versions about these endgames written, especially since there are so many different piece imbalances that can occur. However, I will be doing game fragments to demonstrate them In the first game below

Well, I guess we have enough members now to do this. This tournament will be based on individual points, not match points (which would be like if you win overall a pair of games by 1.5 - 0.5 then you get 1 point). The best game each week gets analysed in a forum with others of these games. No prize for the winner of the tournament, this is just for fun I guess. There will be 2 games for both players (one as white and vice versa) with a time control of 10 + 5 (increment is there so that flagging doesn't take place ).Rounds start each week, and if a game has not been arranged then both players get half a point. Both players should arrange their game for when both are available. If one of the players have not responded after 3 days, then the other player gets to set the time when they are available (please be considerate though and don't get them to play at 2am or something!). If they do not turn up, then the other player by default gets 2 points (really hope it doesn't have to happen). If there is a tie for first place at the end, then both players will play each other if they have not played. If one player had more points when they played each other (e.g 1.5 - 0.5) then that player will win. If they have played each other before and it was a draw (also applies if the tiebreak ended in a draw), then they will play 2 games of 3 + 2 blitz against each other. If it ends in a tie then they will be joint winners. Let me know what changes you would like to make to this (not going to start it immediately btw)

NOPE. I am NOT going to tell you to study more. It does help, but it is not the medicine to this problem. If anything, over the last two years, I have probably read about 5 chess books, and that's it. And yet, in those two years, that's when I improved the most. Chess improvement is a very tricky issue because the solution is different for everyone. It is also tricky because everyone has different goals, so there is not a general solution, especially because everyone can improve more in other areas. But there is one overarching factor which can accelerate your chess improvement: Enjoying the game. Enjoying the game I doubt many of you have the "Magnus Trainer" app (which actually is REALLY good for improving, although it is more so for newbies in my view), but there is one lesson about Ian Nepomniachtchi, which really highlights the key to chess improvement. About Ian and Magnus I'm sure as to where he has reached today, he needs no introduction. He is the top player for Russian chess, with a fide rating of 2771 in classical chess. While currently Magnus has a much higher fide rating of 2830 in classical chess, Ian once was the stronger player! Ian learned to play at the age of 4, becoming a prodigy soon and winning numerous medals from famous tournaments such as Russian Championships, European Championships and World Youth Championships! In 2002, he beat Magnus in the U12 European Championships! Yes, he beat the 11 year old Magnus who will regularly crush you for fun on the "Play Magnus" app! Just to highlight how strong this Magnus is, he became an International Master very quickly at the age of 12. But (according to Ian), his impressionable success and fame had made him complacent about the game, and struggled with the transition to elite chess whilst Magnus became a Grandmaster very quickly. At the age of 16, Ian finally became a Grandmaster. So how did Magnus overtake Ian? According to Magnus, Ian had many, MANY, interests, especially gaming. In fact, he had a dream to become a pro DotA (Defence of the Ancients) player, but while he didn't go for it (as the prize money was very little for "E-sports"), he still tried to become an E-sports commentator over recent years. It is clear: he just had too many interests (including chess) to handle. Magnus, on the other hand, could focus a lot more on chess. It also shows that Ian just didn't have the same interest for chess as Magnus. So from this, we can see the main factor behind your chess improvement: Your love of the game. It's true! Those who enjoy the game the most are those who improve the most. Sure, Magnus and Nepo were both child super-prodigies, but the same may apply elsewhere. After all, if you enjoy something, it no longer becomes "Hard Work" But that's not the only thing required to improve quickly. Reasonable goals Having reasonable goals is key for any sort of improvement. If a goal is too easy, then you will not put in enough effort to achieve it. If, however, it is too unrealistic, you will just end up dejected when you barely get close to it. The best thing to do is to set yourself goals which are achievable (within the time you expect to complete them). Of course, with this, you have to be very honest with yourself about what you are capable of doing, and you need to know what you want to work on. Humility Being humble is very helpful. Just because you lose a game does not mean that you played badly or that they got lucky. Being humble about results (whether a win, loss or draw) means that you are much calmer during your games, which is when you play the best chess. It also means that you will understand much more clearly what your strengths and weaknesses are. However, this being said, don't beat yourself down too much either! You have to give yourself some credit for what you have achieved! It is also fine to feel a little good or a little bad about your games because that makes them more memorable to you. Strengths or weaknesses? If you want to be very strong in the long term, you should definitely focus on your weaknesses. However, you do want to be able to win games still, which is why it is still good to work on your strengths. But if you don't have much time, probably work on weaknesses as they are easier to pinpoint. To work on your strengths, keep a document of what you feel are your best games so that you know how you win. It is also good to look at games from a top player you feel your playing style suits. As for working on weaknesses, analysing your most recent games will help you more. Coaches are very good at pinpointing your weaknesses and dedicating exercises to these, but you don't have to have a coach to improve. It also helps to analyse games from top players with a contrasting playing style to yours. Summary It is very difficult to give a concrete way to improve at chess because some days you are stronger, and some days you are having a rough time. Also, everyone is different, but it is important to: Love the game Have some Humility Make good goals If you don't have much time, study your most recent games to find your weaknesses and try to work on them.

If you would like to play in the tournament (will begin on 18/12/2023), then message me in private. "Registration" will end on Sunday (17/12/2023). Details about the tournament are here: https://www.chess.com/clubs/forum/view/first-tournament-33 . Sorry about starting it so late, was hoping to start it much sooner but found I had very little time for many things.

In the previous lesson about counterplay, it was seen that to defend as best as possible, you have to create your own winning chances. This can be really scary and very tricky to do, so many people just choose to be as solid as possible and not preparing any sort of counter attack. But this falls into the better side being able to win much more easily! Yes. Being very solid when defending can very often lose you the game, as often you forget about your pieces activity. It is hard to believe, I mean, after all, surely if both sides have just as many pieces as each other, then being solid can defend well? But this is a very big misconception. By staying very solid and just waiting in the position, you allow your opponent to have the first strike. They don't need to rush, so they can just improve their position incrementally making tiny improvements before carrying out their main plans. If you wait, it is effectively as if they have been given many many tempi, and a lot more possibilities. With more pieces on the board, more tricks remain up their sleeve! For instance, in one of my games, my opponent had desperately brought many pieces into the defence, but had allowed me to build up an attack by doing so: From this game, we can see one thing: after white had done all the defending they could for their kingside, they had nothing left to do as they had no counterplay! But as black, I was able to strengthen almost every single piece before tearing the position open. Staying passive and waiting for your opponent to do something is not the way to defend positions (unless they are very specific ones) because you have to give up a huge amount of tempi by waiting for them to strike. It was not exactly like they had no counterplay in the opening, but more to do with the fact that they didn't use any counterplay they had at all (although it was minimal)! This being said, restricting counterplay can be a very powerful technique, which some players (such as the legendary Anatoly Karpov) make careers out of! Below is possibly Karpov's greatest positional game, where his opponent couldn't even get a single viable plan: Whether not finding the right counterplay or being able to obtain any, it is clear that none of us want to ever be in such a position! While engines will make a fool of you by calling them equal, you must remember that you may have to take quite a few risks to avoid getting constricted (but that does not mean playing bad moves). After all, as seen in the first game, being super solid is not going to work unless you actively try to do something as you can loose a dangerous amount of tempi by doing this. Even just making an effort to try and remove good pieces in their position through trades is better than trying to defend with as many pieces as possible. As shown in the Karpov game, sometimes before going ahead with your plan, it can be much better to reduce your opponent's counterplay to nothing. The best way to do this is to remove your opponent's pawn breaks on the side where they have more space, and start your plan after this. Positional squeezes take a very long time to master as even the slightest activity handed to your opponent will make your life a lot more difficult, but this a good technique to keep in mind when your opponent has no plans whatsoever.

Introduction For those who have played in a few tournaments, I am sure that when you have gone to see the top board after your game is over that the position looks quite messy (and by the point you have arrived here, they are probably playing an endgame!). The reason for this mess, while it is partially to do with a side trying to win by creating 2 weaknesses, is because the defending side will also try to provoke problems for the offensive side. While this is an easy thing to tell someone to do, it is certainly not at all an easy thing to carry out! If you were to not fight back at all, then the Cat and Mouse technique, as mentioned before, would work during every single attack! Brief Overview Counterplay is simply any method of creating your own winning chances in a position where you are slightly worse. It is a very dangerous weapon which positional players avoid giving to their opponent. In fact, Karpov's entire play was often based around removing all counterplay from the person sitting opposite to him. Game fragment: The game below (as of every single game in that match) was a crucial one. If the player lost or even drew, we would not have stayed in first place during the tournament. I remember checking on how our FM was doing, and it was not looking good (he was playing as black). His attack was falling apart, and both players were in a time scramble: Of course, many decisions that were taken in the game were made because black had to win the game (which was sort of our fault [although I did win my game]). But while the engine does hate the game, notice how frustrating his counterplay was for his opp to deal with! After all, it left him with seconds left. The key things to observe from this game are: To try and create your own winning chances while your opp is playing for a win Be flexible with your plans, often having multiple plans at once As usual, punish your opponent if they trip up when stopping your plans In most cases, counterplay is not about playing the 100% most accurate move (because otherwise they are much easier to predict in an endgame). It is all about creating your own winning chances strong enough to combat their winning chances. Personal Game Fragments (Unfortunately, being a rapid game during a tournament, I was unable to recall most of the game as it was so sharp, but did recall this position) In the game below, I had unfortunately allowed my opponent's attack to become very strong. However, I had also got my Knight to control his kingside squares, and obtained a passed pawn on the 6th rank. If not for any of the counterplay I had preserved, I would lose the game on the spot. Can you find the counterplay which saves the game? Before I get to the solution, I must admit that this is very much related to tactics, but I put this game fragment in because of the slight chances created for black, and the imbalances make it a good example for counterplay. Anyways, even if you got the first few moves, then you have succeeded! Fortunately for me, my opp took back with the rook and missed the following combination! Of course, the first example was a much cleaner example of counterplay, but it just shows how powerful it can get if you do not bother doing something about it. If my opponent had attended to stopping this, then they would have an easy time breaking through my very weak kingside. So if you are defending a position, always keep looking for ways to combat your opponent's chances by making your own! If you can, try to be flexible with a few possible plans. That being said, you should also try to limit your opponent's plans when you are the one pushing for the win!

This piece endgame becomes very different to a pawn endgame. Like a knight endgame, sometimes even an extra pawn is not enough to win but also the chances of zugzwangs happening become extremely rare as unlike the knight, the Bishop is able to waste a move. And of course, being the elephant in the room, the Bishop cannot attack the opposite colour complex. The key to these endgames is slightly different to the usual: USE THE KING Put pawns on the opposite colour to your Bishop Try to create passed pawns and assist them USE THE KING (The example for this will be shown after the next key aspect) Of course, I have said this many times but here the King is especially important. In fact, it is often considered that the King is the strongest piece in Minor piece endgames because of how flexible it is and also because it can attack both colour complexes. For instance, the position below is winning for white because they can Well, it was a very complex example, but was decided by white using their King Put pawns on the opposite colour to your Bishop This on first thoughts (especially for those without a lot of experience in closed positions or Bishop endgames) it seems weird to do because of the idea that you no longer will have a Bishop to protect your pawns. However, by doing this, it means that your Bishop will not be blocked by pawns, which makes your Bishop a good Bishop which may attack enemy pawns. In opposite coloured Bishop endgames it gets trickier, but this concept still remains the same. In the position below, black is down a pawn, and yet is completely winning! Because all the pawns are on dark squares for white, it means that black can attack them while white can't attack a single one of black's pawns: Try to create passed pawns This applies for all endgames, and can be seen in even the very first example. And, as with almost all endgames, if there are no passed pawns attempted to being made, neither side may win. For instance, below was the position I had reached against someone with 2000 fide rating: White is up a clean pawn (and it is their turn to move). But they cannot win this endgame because of how difficult it is to create an outside passed pawn. Also, again, my pawns are all on the opposite colour to my Bishop, and I managed to draw this endgame with ease. So if you are uncertain next time about what the result of your Bishop endgame is, keep in mind these 3 factors. Unlike a knight, a Bishop is a long ranged piece so can be very irritating to deal with, but these endgames will be much easier to handle if you keep these concepts in mind (especially using your king).

Introduction To win any endgame, you must create weaknesses in the enemy position, whether material or positionally. In many cases, just one weakness is not enough unless it is impossible to defend against it. Sometimes this may involve you weakening your own position just to create a second weakness in their position such as by sacrificing the Knight. For instance the position below is a draw: I did manage to win the game as this position happened during a time scramble, but black's only weakness in the position is their material deficit which cannot even be used because there are still the same number of pieces on the board! Even sacrificing the Rook for the Bishop will not work simply because the pawn is a Rook's pawn! Well it is very unfortunate to get such a position, but it is unwinnable because black only has one weakness in the position. However, in the position below, there are queens on the board, material is equal and it bishops of opposite colour! Yet I had much more winning chance than in the previous position because there are 2 weaknesses in my opponent's position after the move I played! I proceeded to win that game quite easily as my opponent was unable to handle so many weaknesses (and again time pressure played a role) but it was a much easier position to win than the previous position where I was up material. But as seen, this principle provides much more wins than passively letting the position play out to a result, and is the reason you very often need at least two pawns more to win a Bishops of opposite colour endgame. How does this work Imagine you have only one thing you need to do (let's say just a school hmw). Easy, just focus on that! But imagine that you also have to study for a chess tournament too. Now it is going to get hard to manage both because you cannot fully focus on both! The more things you have to do, the tougher it becomes to complete them, and that is how this principle works. If you are going to make concrete weaknesses in their position in an endgame, try to make sure they are as far apart as possible as it gets even more difficult to manage both weaknesses. The reason that principle is only focusing on creating 2 weaknesses is because that is the bare minimum number of weaknesses to make it difficult to defend. You can try to create even further weaknesses if you like, but try not to risk your position too much to the point you are losing (or not going to get your desired result at all). The Technique at the Highest level Ever wondered why Magnus wins his endgames so easily? Some of you probably seen Gothamchess's video on the endgame Magnus Carlsen played against Viswanathan Anand and saw Levy hyping a lot about the game and how Magnus had no business winning it, but what he really meant was that it is a difficult endgame to win. Below was the following position at move 32: It does look a lot like black has nothing here (and this is a draw with perfect play) because of the Bishop's being on opposite colour and because black's pieces currently are passive, but white still has 2 weaknesses: the h-pawn which could lead to black gaining a passed pawn, and the doubled pawns on the queenside which could give future breakthroughs for black if not defended. It is really difficult for black to even use these weaknesses, but if anyone's playing for a win, black is simply because of the 2 weaknesses. The game continued as so: Towards the end, Anand had also created a lot of counterplay purely through the principle of 2 Weaknesses, and the game was overall an excellent demonstration on how to play out the principle of 2 weaknesses. Sure, the position was drawn but defending a position is quite difficult to do as you also suffer psychological pressure that you have slipped up somehow in the position. Seen masters do it, see me do it, now it's your turn!

Introduction Queen endgames are the most difficult endgames to grasp, simply just because of how the most subtle moves can decide the game! However, it is very important to understand them because after all, all endgames can reach Queen endgames if there are passed pawns on the board. Unfortunately, just like pawn endgames (and in fact even more so), you require a huge amount of calculation to navigate these endgames and cannot simply rely on evaluate the position. In fact, you literally can't: White is up 2 pawns in that position and actually almost immmediately 3. But it is drawn. From pure evaluation, it appears so unlikely that this position could be a draw, but it is. However, if you calculate the checks, you will find white just cannot evade any of the checks. Perpetual checks are the most obvious draws but there are even draws where the side with more material must force the perpetual check! The position above was incredibly extreme for a Queen endgame but it just shows how you must use brute calculation to really tell if you are going to win the Queen endgame or not. But as it is the most complex endgame, like the pawn endgame, there are a few factors to bare in mind while navigating it: PASSED PAWNS (their strength and how far advanced they are KING SAFETY (from checks, not checkmate) Queen's positioning Passed Pawns It is truly about the quality of the pawns and not the quantity of them in Queen endgames which is one reason they are so difficult to grasp. But why exactly are passed pawns so powerful in Queen endgames? After all, even in Rook endgames, passed pawns don't always win (even the extra pawn). But there is a very good reason for that, which lies in the fact that Queens can attack each other while defending the passed pawn, so there will never truly be a blockade: But other pieces just cannot remove the blockader: This is also the sad fate of other pieces while they do not have the luxury of being able to defend the pawn and move around it at the same time. King Safety King safety is also hugely important in Queen endgames, but passively defending rather than trying to make progress will not work so you must also keep your King safe as you advance with it too. But even in positions where there are almost no pawns left, King safety exists, but in the form of cross-checks and discovered checks: While this super high accuracy in a Queen endgame is very difficult to perform (stockfish played it out), you will be able to see that black mainly tried to keep their King as safe as possible in the sequence and eventually forced the win at the very moment they were able to push the pawn. But rather than just worrying about their own King, black used the enemy King to make their King safe through discovered checks and the threats of cross-checks. Queen's positioning And finally, (the least important factor but still quite important) is the Queen's positioning. A well placed Queen will have many possibilities to check the King or control a lot of checks. It is actually often really easy to position your Queen well, but sometimes this factor just isn't determined by you when it is needed (often when promoting Rook pawns): This is the least important factor of the 3 factors because of how easy it is to reposition the Queen to its best square. So while you will have to calculate a lot to secure the desired result, it is always good to bare these factors in mind during the Queen endgame.

Often during a Knight endgame, perhaps the attacking side may sacrifice their Knight in order to try and win, which is why in the endgames we will look at today, the defending side is up a piece. If the Knight can blockade the pawn (except a few scenarios) the defending side can save the game: Already blockading the pawn If the Knight is already blockading the pawn, the players can almost shake hands as it is a dead draw: However, if the pawn is a Rook pawn, and the pawn is on the 7th rank, the defending side loses as the Knight can be trapped: But when the pawn is on the 6th rank, and the Knight blockades on the 7th rank, the position is drawn: Rook pawns can get so tricky that the "attacking side" can even lose the game when their King is infront! It is generally quite simple to get the result when the Knight is already blockading the pawn, but when this is not the case, things start to get very tricky. Away from the pawn While the result is decided when the Knight is infront of the pawn, when the Knight is slightly further away, it starts to become much more trickier. For instance in the position below, it looks as though the Knight can save the game when the King tries to stop some routes, but the position is lost when the pawn is pushed: So, you just push the pawn? Well it is your goal but this doesn't apply for many other cases. To succeed as the attacking side, you must remember that while controlling routes for the Knight is important, if your pawn does not reach the back rank in time then the game is drawn, so you must hurry (though not with how much time you spend on your moves). So now, keeping in mind what the attacking side must do, the way to draw these endgames is to keep as many routes to stopping the pawn open (and essentially making sure the King cannot stop all these routes). So for the attacking side, they must quickly push their pawn, while stopping many routes for the Knight but you must focus on the pawn as after all, it is the only reason you can win: Black did control the Knight multiple times in that endgame, but these were only when pushing the pawn lead to immediate forced draws. So, with this in mind, restrict when necessary. That is the key to these endgames.

WARNING: This is a very advanced technique (I mess it up a lot and even messed up in the game I'm putting here although I generally did it ok) so don't worry if you struggle with this. Introduction I am sure not many of you have ever heard of this technique. I'd actually be really surprised if some of you have, because the first time I ever came across this was in the "Endgames for Masters" section of "Silman's Complete Endgame Course" (fortunately, I actually realised I did a little bit of this during middle games but very rarely and never before in an endgame), but here's the general gist: Your opponent cannot play anything against you because they have no counterplay You yourself do have a functional move you can play and therefore a plan (often a pawn break) You improve your position as much as possible before playing it (and after this, you play your move) In fact, sometimes you may delay the move so much because this technique also has the benefit of being a torture weapon as the person facing you has to keep waiting, but I will come onto this later. The Technique in action Improvement Imagine you have the current position below: White has just sealed off all their play on the Kingside, but black still has infiltration points on the Queenside. And yes, the position is drawn (black is better though), but a little Cat and Mousing to test your opponent may scratch out a more pressing position. If black could infiltrate successfully, they would most likely win the game... But first, we must improve the position. To begin with, the Knight seems to be more potent if it could reach the Queenside: In the final position (though it didn't quite happen in the game but what I intended to do originally), the N has been outposted to a much stronger square than a5 where it forces the Rook to defend the f-pawn and controls many squares. I outposted the N on e4 instead, but I still managed to place it on a very strong square. Waiting game As it is a very good psychological torture weapon too, you must be alert as to when the opponent makes tiny inaccuracies in the position. Sometimes you may have to poke at their position to get them to do so, but by waiting you also make your opponent believe that you can't actually do anything in the position. The key to this technique is to keep testing your opponent, especially testing their patience to actually mistake-check their moves. In the game, I actually didn't need to do too much of a waiting game and just improved my position slightly: Conclusion Well there were some moments which were misplayed during the game (one even throwing the win into a "draw") but it can be clearly seen how the technique works. If the enemy does have counterplay, then of course the technique cannot work, but while you control all the remaining plans in the position, why not savour it? It will take a lot of practice to master it, but this can convert many slightly-better or better positions into wins. This is mainly an endgame technique but also appears in many middlegames too as a positional bind.

(In all the games, it shows the fide ratings which is why they appear so low)Hi, As I will be doing in this forum, I encourage you to also write forums about your own tournaments too which people may learn from. This tournament is a really difficult tournament (which if we won we would go to Kazakhstan to represent England at the international schools tournament). Our school had not won this tournament in 20 years, despite there being an IM as our board 1 once and much stronger players than us! In these forums, I will be covering each round rather than my games only for each board in our team: Round 1 Board 1: Of course, we really should not have taken it for granted but we were almost 100% confident our board 1 (a 2500 ecf and a 2350 fide) was going to win all his games. In the first round, he slaughtered his opponent, who once crushed me with a mating net hard to see. Anyways, here's what happened: A very easy win against a very strong opponent! However, our board 2 did not have as much of an enjoyable game and lost (to another very strong opponent): Board 2: Yes, I know. There is an enormous difference in strengths between board 1 and board 2 for us, but that's just how it is. In fact, if you exclude the first 2 boards (or even include board 2 sometimes), the rest of us are almost the same strength. When our board 4 and I (board 6) play in tournaments, he often gets 0.5 less than me (and I often will win the tournament even if I draw or lose against him), and I have beaten the board 3 in the only game we've ever played (and I am also currently stronger than our board 5). Anyways, I will stop rambling on and continue: Ok, honestly, not too much happened in this game. In short, there was a fortress at the very end which forced the draw: Well, neither side were actually ever winning in that game so a draw was going to happen. However, as you will see by the end of this round, every point mattered. Board 3 Our board 3 has a very big tendency to play very quickly during the game (as he blitzes out the opening). However, this was not actually a true standard time control (1 min less and it is considered rapid) with a time of 50mins + 10 seconds, and he time trouble to his advantage: Well, I remember seeing this game slightly earlier on, seeing that he had activated his Knights, but I hardly believed he would win it. However, a win is still a win (and all points were critical). Board 4 He had a very unfortunate game and generally had a horrible day then. In fact, the way he lost this was actually through a very nasty blindspot (these are when you are unable to see very simple things you normally always see, such as a Knight move, or a Bishop diagonal). He got into time trouble near the very end and hence lost the game as these are when blindspots become very prominent: He was very depressed after the game so I did puzzles with him to cheer him up a little. He was still solving some very tough puzzles in 30 seconds! Well, I guess he would have a different way of getting rid of blindspots then. Game 5 Our board 5 had stopped chess. Of course, he can (and he has been doing very well in cricket), but he essentially stopped playing chess (for 5 months until this tournament) and used to always lose games or draw them. So it was not too surprising to see him (next to me!) lose a Bishops of opposite colour endgame: Not the greatest game. As you will see (a common trend), he was winning at one point but just threw the win away. However, this is probably because he hadn't played any chess in 5 months (and he actually did very well keeping that in mind). And finally, my game. Board 6: In this game, I got a lost position from the very start. Yes, it was "human" lost (+2), but my opponent simply didn't realise they could take my pawn. However, the rest of the game was ok, but I still played slightly worse versions of some winning variations: That was generally a very lucky game. If he had noticed, perhaps I would've lost the game and we would've lost the match. I decided to try harder for the rest of the games that day to not lose in the opening Overall Score We won that match 3.5 : 2.5. It was too close and we were unsure about whether we could really have any chance. However, I felt that we still could win it, even if we scraped every win. We learned later other schools had wiped out others 6-0 but it was ok, because it was all about the match points, not individual points.

Ok, I know this is a learning and improvement club, but doesn't necessarily mean it doesn't have to have vote chess matches. And I think it could be somewhat beneficial for people (I will not overdo with how many matches I make) with more people in this club now: You can explore with each other's playing style during discussions (it will be you guys suggesting the moves and I just make the vote call. If there are serious doubts in the game, I can explain in depth between the options you have suggested, but will not actually vote or suggest moves myself) It is also interesting for me to see your plans during games (which is why I will not suggest moves or vote myself, and will just make the vote calls), and generally how you come up with your moves While there are perhaps too little people for now, there will not be any tournaments within the club (or against other clubs), so this is a good way to cooperate with each other Write down any thoughts you have with this (and if you think we should probably do this or not)