Kingscrusher's Blitz #1817 vs aptchess - Robatsch

A really nice attack by white who finishes the game in style.

Kingscrusher's Blitz #1814 vs Voyou (2115) - Sicilian

A nice crush by Kingscrusher!

Private Chess Lessons

I've thought about it for some time and decided to start giving private chess lessons. Before going more into details, I want to introduce myself. It's always good to know who's gonna be teaching you.

My name's Michaël Fournier, I'm a 25 year-old chess player living in Quebec, Canada. I Iearned how to move the pieces when I was 4. However, I started being more serious about chess at the age of 11. My parents bought me a book for beginners. I read it over and over again. I was really enjoying it. At 13, I played in my first tournament. I  played people from 13 to17 years old. I unexpectedly won the gold medal, with a score of 4/5 even if I was the youngest player in my age group. In the 7 years following that tournament, I qualified for and played in the provincial tournament 5 times, ranking in the top ten 3 times. In 2006, I ranked first at the provincial tournament. However, I lost the tie-breaking blitz game which resulted in my opponent making it to the nationals.

As an adult, I've played in many tournaments, my favorite one being the COM. (Championnat ouvert de la Mauricie)

In 2008, I won the 1600-1800 section. Two years later, in the 1800-2000 section, I came in second along with another player but ended up ranking third because he had outperformed me during that tournament. I now play in the open section with experts, IMs and GMs.

I don't have any FIDE rating, as tournaments are not FIDE-rated where I live. Local tournaments will be FIDE-rated as of 2013.

My local rating (FQE) is 1984. Having played with FMs and IMs on the Internet, I'd say my FIDE rating would be around 2150. You are probably thinking " Why is that so?" Our ratings are lower than they should be because we lack players here in Quebec. We're literally stealing rating points from one another. You probably don't believe me and I can't blame you. Therefore, let's take a look at my online ratings.

I'm basically playing on 2 websites: www.chesscube.com and ICC

Chesscube:

Username: Hetfield1987

Rating: 2519 in 5 minute games. I sometimes play 3 minute games but only when I can't find anyone willing to play a 5 minute game. Over the last 8 months, my average rating has been quite stable at around 2370. Some masters have a rating similar to mine.

ICC:

Username: Hetfield1987

Rating: 2115 in 5 minute auto-pairing blitz games with a peak at 2125. This is the best website to play on, with the best opponents. If you've watched some of Kingscrusher's games, you know there are pretty strong opponents there.

There are a lot of FMs and IMs on this website. Their ratings range from 1850 to 2400 in 5 minute auto-pairing blitz games. Normally, when I play an IM, his rating is anywhere from 2150 to 2200.

Besides, I've beaten IMs and FMs, and even 1 or 2 GMs.

About the Private Lessons.

I will give you private lessons, focusing on what it is exaclty that you want to learn or need to improve.

I can teach you a tremendous number of openings, explaining ideas behind moves so you understand what you play. Over the years, I’ve tried a lot of opening lines to come up with the ones that suit me best.

My way of teaching is very simple but effective. I can teach lower-rated players more basic stuff too. Moreover, I will give you exercises based upon your needs and level. All you need to do is to follow my advice seriously. I have a flexible schedule, so don’t worry about GMT. By the way, I live in a city which is in GMT -5.

I will also provide you with exercises to do between lessons and analyze some of your games. I’m teaching via FICS or chesscube.com. I also make tutorial videos so you can learn some aspects of the game more easily.

I can teach in English and French. ( French is actually my mother tongue)

Fee: I did a little research on ICC and the vast majority of IMs charge around 40$ an hour. 50$ an hour is frequent too.

I charge 15$/hour. (USD)

If you’re interested, I assume you have a few questions. Feel free to ask me about anything.

Use the following e-mail: micfou1987@gmail.com

Type up “chess lessons” in the object of the message please.

Tactical puzzle #5

The answer to the last puzzle was: 1. Bxg6+! Kxg6 2. Qa6+ Kh7 3. Qd3+ winning the hanging rook on b1

Puzzle #5 is quite nice. I've found it on Igor Smirnov's blog, in one of his free lessons. I couldn't resist the temptation to put it here too.

It is white's move. Try to calculate every variation to the end.

P.S. Here's the link to Smirnov's blog: http://gmsmirnov.com/#oid=1111_10

Kingscrusher's Blitz #1765 vs never-wins (2244) - French

A really nice attacking game played by white. A good example of the old saying "maintain the tension". Black releases the tension and white gets the initiative immediately. The moves are then natural...and deadly!

Kingscrusher's Blitz #1759 against FM Platyborg

A nice game from Kingscrusher against an FM. Nice attack in the end. Nice defence and attack with his queen.

Pawn Sacrifice!

I would like to make my second book review on an interesting book, written by a not so famous chess player: Timothy Taylor. The author is not as well-known as Vladimir Kramnik or Garry Kasparov, but the book he wrote is worth looking at. He shows "real" pawn sacrifices and explains how to come up with one in our games. By "real" sacrifices, he refers to Rudolf Spielmann's book: The Art of Sacrifice in Chess, in which Spielmann defined 2 categories of sacrifices. The real ones are those that can't be calculated to the very end.

“What interests me,” as Taylor wrote, “are the courageous, imaginative sacrifices that involve risk and have no clear result. This, to me, is really
playing chess!” He provides sixty-seven complete
games with an interesting method of analysis to help chess players understand under which circumstances sacrifices can be successfully achieved. In fact, Taylor examines them from three different perspectives:
    “Favourable Omens” – the factors that suggest a possible pawn
sacrifice.
    “Mr. Fritz” – whether computer analysis agrees with the sacrifice.
     “Author” – whether Taylor agrees with the sacrifice. (Perhaps
surprisingly, he does not always agree that the sacrifices he
presents were the proper course of action.)

Those real sacrifices are one of the rare things computers can't fully understand. With this in mind, a player can crush well-prepared opponents using one of those. In my opinion, chess softwares have been killing chess or tearing  it's soul apart, making 99% of chessplayers consider using their silicone friend rather than their brain! This book helps leading a player's mind into an unfamiliar territory: taking risks. I truly believe that taking risks is one of the best ways to enjoy the game and win beautiful games, so I definitely recommand this book to anyone who wishes to enjoy the game even more!

Chess Links

Here are some good chess links:

http://www.chesscube.com/ : A good free website to play chess. A lot of tournaments everyday, even special ones called Warzones. In these, you play as many games as you can within a given time. The quicker you win, the most games you play.

http://chesstempo.com/ : A great website to train tactical skills. There are  thousands of tactical puzzles, which have a rating. By subscribing for free, you get a rating and are given puzzles according to your strength.

http://www.chessclub.com/ : The most popular and best paying website. You get to play thousands of opponents, at any time control. Lots of IMs and GMs are playing there, including some of the top GMs, like Nakamura.

http://www.echecs-online.fr/ A small but nice website to play. It is a French website, which is rare on the Internet. That is not where you meet the strongest opponents, but some are pretty good.

http://gmsmirnov.com/#oid=1111_10 : A blog made by a strong GM, containing lots of free lessons.

These are my favorite chess websites, which I wanted to share with you. If you know any other good website, feel free to leave comments.

Chess Advice for Beginners

Here's a little advice I gave someone recently.

When your thinking process is good, you almost don't have to learn openings. You can play pretty solid moves without studying them because you understand them. Of course, you still have to learn variations. It becomes easier and faster once your thinking process is good. Understanding why a move is accurate is 100000000000000000000000000000% more important than memorizing any variations.

I don't know if you've ever heard of it, but there are many kinds of advantages:

space advantage, material advantage of course, more development, better pawn structure, pieces ankered on good outposts, controlling an open file just to name a few. These are all things a player should know.

However, here's something simpler. Chess is all about keeping your pieces as fluently active as possible.

Gaining space gives you more room to manoeuvre your pieces whereas outposts give your pieces more scope. Finally, weak pawns can be targeted and overloaded or tactically won.

All these kinds of advantages are related to getting your pieces more active. Understanding these essential notions allows us to know when it is good to get a specific kind of advantage.

Tal vs Larsen

 A really nice game by Tal. Everyone knows he played amazing sacrifices.

 The sacrifice in this game is however, based on positional factors.

 I don't know  a lot of players who would give a whole piece

just to control a file! 

1.e4 c5

2.Nf3 Nc6

3.d4 cxd4

4.Nxd4 e6 

5.Nc3 d6 

6.Be3 Nf6

7.f4 Be7 

8.Qf3 O-O 

9.O-O-O Qc7 

10.Ndb5 Qb8 

11.g4 a6 

12.Nd4 Nxd4
13.Bxd4 b5 

14.g5 Nd7 

15.Bd3 b4 

The next move is a shocker. Guess what it is! 

16.Nd5 ! exd5 

17.exd5 

 {The piece sacrifice is a positional one, since it has been used to
erect an invisible barrier on the e-file. A number of squares
on it (e5 and e6) are controlled by white pawns, and a white
rook will soon be moved to e1. -- Iakov Damsky} 

17...  f5  Closing the b1-h7 diagonal.

18.Rde1 Rf7
19.h4 Bb7 

20.Bxf5 Rxf5 

Even a piece up, black can hardly do anything agaisnt white's kingside attack!

21.Rxe7 Ne5 

Black probably gave back the piece to get time to bring his pieces near his king.

22.Qe4 Qf8  

23.fxe5 Rf4
24.Qe3 Rf3 

25.Qe2 Qxe7 

26.Qxf3 dxe5 

27.Re1 Rd8 

28.Rxe5 Qd6
29.Qf4 

{! The d5 pawn is immune. After 29 ...Bxd5 30. Re8+ White wins the queen.
White is now 2 pawns up, but Tal manages to finish the game in style 

29...  Rf8 

30.Qe4 b3 

31.axb3 Rf1+ 

32.Kd2 Qb4+ 

33.c3 Qd6
34.Bc5!

White has a mating attack! Nice deflection by Tal

34...  Qxc5

35.Re8+ Rf8 

36.Qe6+ Kh8 

37.Qf7 1-0

Black will be either be mated or suffer huge material loss.
The only try, in my opinion, to stave off mate for a couple of moves is: 37... Qf2+ 38. Qxf2 Rxe8 39. Qf7 Rb8 40 Qc7 winning the bishop, leaving black with a rook for a queen and 3 pawns.

Tactical puzzle #4

First of all, the answer of the last puzzle: Qc4!! If Rxc4 Rxf8 mates, otherwise white will either mate on g8 with the queen or win the c8 rook. Now, this week's puzzle:

Chess quotes

When you see a good move, look for a better one. Emanuel Lasker.

A fairly well known but pretty important quote. What chess players don't get, is that it also applies to your opponent's moves. When calculating a combination, or any variation, always look for powerful moves from your opponent. When it's done, look for better ones. This could save you many games. Bobby Fischer once said: My opponents make good moves too. Sometimes, I don't take these things into consideration.
This one too is important to keep in mind. Taking into consideration your opponents make good moves, and looking for them when calculating is the key to avoid blunders.

Alekhine-Ricondo (miniature)

Here is a short crush by Alexander Alekhine, played in a blindfold sim. Alekhine slowly brought his pieces on the kingside before dealing his final blow.

 Alekhine,Alexander - Ricondo,M [C84]

Santander blindfold sim Santander, 1945

 1.e4       e5

2.Cf3      Cc6

 3.Fb5     a6

4.Fa4      Cf6

5.Cc3      Fe7

 6.0–0       d6

7.Fxc6+ 

This move was played to enable d4 on the next move.

               7...bxc6

 8.d4        exd4

9.Cxd4    Fb7

10.Cf5     0–0

11.Te1    Te8

12.Df3     c5

13.Fg5     Ff8 

14.Ch6+!! 1–0

In this position, if black moves his king to h8 there is Nxf7+ winning the queen on d8. If black takes the knight on h6, there follows 15. Bxf6 and black has to sacrifice the queen for the bishop. If black moves his queen, say to c8, then follows 16.Qg3+ Qg4 17. Qxg4+ Bg718. Qxg7 mate!

Nice little combo by Alekhine!

Tactical puzzle #3

First of all, the answer of the tactical puzzle #2 was: 1Ng6+! fxg6 2.Qxg7 mate. I really like the next one. Enjoy!

Breaking stereotypes!

I've been away from my blog for a long timw, but now I'm back! I want to share another of Igor Smirnov's free lessons. This is the first video of 4 about breaking chess stereotypes. Pretty nice video!

Tactical puzzle #2

First of all, the answer of last puzzle: 1.Qxg8! Qxg8 2. Nxf6+ followed by Nxg8.

Igor Smirnov - Finding the best moves quickly

One of Igor Smirnov's free lessons. You can subscribe to his free lessons on his blog. The link to his blog is in the link section.

The art of attack in chess

Nowadays, one can easily find chess books on almost every topic: attack, endgame, tactics, on specific opening of course etc. Video lessons and databases are also popular. Having such a wide choice of material to study can be confusing. It's pretty hard to find the book thats fits our needs the best. This is why I've decided to make a serie of articles on this topic. The first book I want to talk about is a classic: The art of attack in chess, written by Vladimir Vukovic.

First of all, a few words on the author. He was born on august 26, 1898, in Zagreb, the capital of the Republic of Croatia. He was a chess player, theoretician and a player. He won the Vienna tournament in 1921 and played against the best player of the time: Alekhine, Rubinstein, Tartakower, Euwe and others. One of his notable game was against Arpad Vajda in 1925, which he brilliantly won with a well executed kingside attack. He died on  november 18, 1975, in Zagreb.

The art of attack in chess is a classic of chess litterature, and for good reasons. Vukovic explains every attacking principles in different categories, helping us to understand every key features of every attacking patterns. He goes through every subject with a concrete, easy to understand approach. Attack against the uncastled king, or against the king that has lost the right to castle are the first chapters of this book, probably because they are the funniest and easiest attack there are. Chapter 4 is a very instructive one, showing a lot of matting patterns, from very common to uncommon ones. This chapter is important to bear in mind, these patterns being pretty useful in every attack. I personnally started to conduct my attacks more precisely after reading this book, winning more games. I recommand reading it a few times to digest the information more easily. The only drawback of this book is that Vukovic made quite a few mistakes in his analysis, a few ones being pretty obvious. John Nunn republished the book, correcting these analysis with the help of computer showing that Vukovic' basic ideas were right, even if he miscalculated some variations. Every chapters of the book contain a lot of examples, with lots of commentaries and variations to support them.

To conclude, I would recommand this book to any players, between 1500 and the master level, who wish to raise their attacking skills to the next level. The patterns he teaches in this book are easy to understand and help to get better practical results. This is a "must have" book!

Tactical puzzle #1

A position I had in one of my blitz games on the internet. White to move

Alekhine-Mikulka

Here's one pretty game played by Alekhine in a blindfold simultaneous display. 

Alekhine-Mikulka


1.e4         e5
2.f4          exf4
3.Nf3 g5
4.d4         h6
The piece sac. line 4...g4 5.Bxf4 gxf3 6.Qxf3 gives good compensation for the sacrificed piece.
5.Nc3 Bg7
6.Bc4 Nc6
7.Nd5
Helps to hold on to the center. If g4 then c3! sacrificing a piece with good attacking chances.
7...           d6
8.c3         Nge7
9.0-0 Nxd5
10.Bxd5 Ne7
Black is planning to trade as much pieces as possible to transfer into an endgame with a pawn up.
11.Bb3 Ng6
12.g3!

I give a ! to this move because it's the only way to get an attack in this position. White is opening up the position in order to kill black on the kingside.
12... fxg3?
Doing what white wants to do. Better was to close things up, forcing white to sacrifice a piece to open lines with: 12...g4 13.Ne1 f3

13.        Nxg5!
This knight is immune due to 13...hxg5 Bxf7+ winning the knight on g6.
13... 0-0
14.Qh5 gxh2+
15.Kh1!
Using the black pawn as a shelter.
15... hxg6
16.Qxg6 Qe8?
Black could have played 16...d5! 17.Qh5 (17.Bxd5? Qxd5!) 
17.Bxg5 Be6
Now guess the move that Alekhine managed to "see"

18.Rxf7! Bxf7?
Pinning his own bishop to the king allowing a nice blow from white.
19 Bf6! 1-0
The only way to avoid mate is by giving up the queen with Qxe4+ so black resigned. A nice crush by Alekhine, without even looking at the chessboard!

Hope you enjoyed! This is my first analysis so please leave your comments!

Alekhine

Hi all! For my first post, I'd like to talk about my favortie chess player, whom is obviously Alexander "The Great" Alekhine.

 The attacking style and fighting spirit of this player was and still is fascinating me. He was always playing to win every single games without any fear of losing.  He was a feared attacker and, in my opinion, the best tactician there ever was. His calculating skill was simply amazing. He could turn any quiet position into a complicated one with one single move, throwing his opponent off the board in a whirlwind of combinations. He tried to attack with every moves, in every games, which makes his games highly interesting to analyze.

He played a lot of simultaneous display throughout his carrer, even playing some blindfolded.

His biggest one was one where he played 26 simultaneous blindfold games against very strong opponents, with the score of 16 wins, 5 losses, and 5 draws. Watch my next post to see an analysis of one of his most beautiful game.