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During a game each of us has to make choices. In some positions the choice is limited to a single playable continuation, but in most situations we have to consider a few alternatives. If there are many options, this process becomes a real challenge. Chess engines rely on brute force and calculate millions of variations per second, while we, humans, dont have the same processing power. However, we can rely on our knowledge and intuition. Lets review the process of making a decision over the board.
At some point you get out of book and start playing on your own. The position can either have a general or a precise character. In the first case there are many playable alternatives. In the second you have to dance on the edge of a cliff and choose each move very accurately. Therefore, in the latter case the level of responsibility is much higher. To find the best move, you have to understand the position well. That involves seeing the potential plans for both you and the opponent. However, some positions are so complicated that even a correct evaluation isnt enough for making the right choice. Also, time is a factor, and we dont always have enough of this precious resource to study the position in detail. Thats why intuition and experience come into play: strong masters often see the right move straight away, without analyzing the position thoroughly. It is hard to underestimate the importance of having a developed intuition. One cant become a top player if one relies on calculation alone. Our mind cant consider all the moves (unlike a computer), so there will be lots of mistakes, unless something more guides us. To improve your intuition, you have to develop as a person, gain experience and trust yourself.
The step-by-step process of choosing a move (unless there is only one reply possible) looks like this. Lets say your opponent has just played his move. Your actions:
1. Memorize the idea that jumped to your mind right away. Thats what your intuition is telling you. If you feel really confident that its the right option, go ahead and make the move. If not, proceed to step 2.
2. Take a look at the board from your opponents perspective. What is he threatening? If you adopt this prophylactic thinking, you will both choose better moves yourself and avoid terrible blunders.
3. Evaluate the position. You should decide what transformations are favorable for you; where your pieces should go. Once you find the right plan, it will often be easier to make the next few moves.
4. Calculate. First of all, check the move that your intuition suggested. Then, depending on the situation, either calculate the most obvious replies (i.e. accepting a sacrifice), or determine the candidate moves and review them one after the other.
This is an approximate mechanism. Different chess players might be applying different modifications of the procedure. Also, depending on the nature of the position and the amount of time, some stages can be skipped.
Today I will show you my game vs IM Anastasia Bodnaruk from the latest EuroCup.
Anastasia didnt take advantage of my wrong continuation on move 14, and then she herself committed serious errors on moves 19 and 20. Whites exchange sacrifice was natural and efficient. Black had to play very accurately, while White wasnt at risk at all.
The 3rd Women's Grand Prix of the 2011 season was dominated from start to finish by Chinese female chess star Zhao Xue. Xue's results have suffered in recent times, and many had written her off as just another falling star. One of her close competitors at this event, Nadezhda Kosintseva, knows just how good Zhao Xue is really playing these days - declaring "A lot of people have written her off. Nothing to say - she is a fighter!" Going into the last round of the 3rd Women's Grand Prix in Nalchik, Zhao Xue boasted one of the most incredible performance ratings ever achieved by a female chess player - over 3000 FIDE. Even after her last-round loss to fellow Chinese superstar Ju Wenjun, Xue finished the tournament with a performance rating of well over 2800 FIDE.
Just How Did Zhao Xue Dominate?
In the following video, I take an in-depth look at Xue's monsterous round 8 victory over the aforementioned Russian female chess star, Nadezhda Kosintseva. At this point in the tournament, Xue had achieved a significant lead over the field with an incredible score of 6.5/7, however Ju Wenjun and Ekaterina Kovalevskaya were close on her heels. Xue opened with d4, and Kosintseva played a fashionable line of the Queen's Indian Defense with 4. ...Ba6. Xue responded with 5. Qa4, and went on to quickly achieve pressure on the d-file by doubling her rooks with 12. Rd2 and 13. Rad1 - making black's subsequent development of her queenside knight an uncomfortable affair. This d-file pressure provoked Kosintseva into playing 14. ...e5 - creating a static weakness on the d5 square which played a critical role in the middlegame. Xue played very precisely and continued building her pressure against Kosintseva's center - then switched at the perfect moment to a very dangerous kingside attack with 20. Bxh6! and 21. Rxd4! This exchange sacrifice enabled Xue to maintain constant, long-term pressure against Kosintseva's kingside - which white was able to accurately convert to a full point in 35 moves.
Watch the Chess Video - Zhao Xue vs. Nadezhda Kosintseva
Women's Chess: Have the Chinese overtaken the Russians and Others?
Nadezhda Kosintseva (pictured right) with her sister Tatiana (also a Grandmaster who played in this tournament)
This is a complicated topic and with the latest action in the 2011 FIDE Women's Grand Prix, it's not getting any easier to figure out. Hou Yifan, current women's world champion and winner of the first two legs of the 2011 FIDE Women's Grand Prix cycle in Rostov and Shenzhen, did not participate in the 3rd leg of the 2011 FIDE Women's Grand Prix in Nalchik. The highest-rated female player in the world, Judit Polgar at 2701 FIDE, does not play in female events so one can only speculate on how she would adapt to the change of pace. The world's #2 highest rated female player, Humpy Koneru, did not play in the FIDE Grand Prix in Nalchik - although Koneru only achieved a 50% score at the Rostov Grand Prix event earlier this year. While it seems the Best Female Chess Player in the world changes nearly every week (with Judit Polgar being rated over 100 points above the nearest competitor, it doesn't sound like a fair statement - Pogonina.com), one thing is for certain - women's chess is growing at an exciting rate and it is great to see growing sponsorship and interest in events such as the 2011 FIDE Women's Grand Prix in Nalchik, Russia.
Final Rankings for the Women Grand Prix in Nalchik, Russia - 2011
Kramnik wins Unive at 4.5/6 and re-enters the 2800+ club
Written by Administrator
Saturday, 22 October 2011
Judit Polgar hasn't used her chance to finally win a standard time control game against Vladimir Kramnik
Vladimir Kramnik has clinched another impressive victory, this time at Hoogeven, Netherlands. In a similar fashion (win with White, draw with Black) he defeated all of his opponents 1.5-0.5. This resulted in a 2913 performance and brought his live rating back to 2800. As the next official FIDE list will be published on November 1st, we can congratulate Vladimir in advance on this spectacular achievement.
On the contrary, unfortunately, Judit Polgar's amazing run up the live ratings has come to an end: she didn't win a single game and ended up being 4th with 2/6.
Young chess stars and potential WC-challengers battling between themselves
The mini-match between Giri and Vachier-Lagrave was a tie (two draws), but Anish fared better against Polgar and finished second.
Unive-2011 with Kramnik, Giri, Vachier-Lagrave and Polgar
Written by Administrator
Saturday, 22 October 2011
Photo (C) http://www.univechess.nl
The 15th edition of the Unive tournament in Hoogeven, Netherlands will be a double round robin featuring Vladimir Kramnik (2791), Anish Giri (2722), Maxim Vachier-Lagrave (2715) and Judit Polgar (2701). This line-up promises an exciting plot: will Kramnik cross 2800 again? Who will finish up higher between the chess prodigies: Giri or Vachier-Lagrave? Will Polgar be able to beat Kramnik in standard chess for the first time in her life? We will soon find out.
It is also worth mentioning that the round robin is accompanied by a strong open tournament with lots of grandmasters participating.
Todays article will be based on a game that was played by me against GM Monika Socko at the recent European Club Cup. I will elaborate not only on the course of the game, but also offer general tips and approaches that can be applied in any chess match.
The chess encounter was revolving around a well-known endgame that occurs in the exchange variation of the Ruy Lopez. The modern theory evaluates these positions as more or less equal. However, the endgame is complicated, and can be won by the more proficient side. In our match the endgame happened in the 5Qf6 variation, but it also often occurs after 5f6. White is giving up a bishop for the knight with the idea of doubling Blacks pawns and obtaining a pawn majority on the kingside. In this structure the endgame will favor White, so they are eager to trade pieces. The main plan for White is to push pawns on the kingside and create a passer. Another common idea for White is attacking on the queenside and marching with the a-pawn in order to create weaknesses in the Black camp. After provoking Black to play c5, White puts a knight on d5.
What about Black? For the doubled pawns Black gets a two bishop advantage and can play on both flanks. On the kingside this plan may involve f5 and other breakthroughs/clearing the space for the bishops. On the queenside with pushing pawns, getting rid of the doubled pawn, and trying to create a passer. Therefore, Black should watch out for exchanges, as they usually favor White.
The situation on move 13 of the game is rather interesting. For Black it makes sense to meet a5 with c4-b5. Then b4 will be a threat. However, in this particular position allowing White to play a5 is risky. White has a promising pieces sacrifice up her sleeve.
Generally speaking, attacking the king involves the queen. As the queen is a very powerful piece, it can cooperate with just one more colleague to create a mating attack. Nonetheless, it is important to remember that even when the queens have been traded, mating attacks are still possible in some positions. The preconditions for those are the same: vulnerability of the king, including getting stuck in the center; misplaced pieces; lack of coordination between the pieces. If I played 130-0-0, White would start a strong attack. For a human it is hard to calculate all the lines, so I relied on common sense: with all those checks coming and my kingside being undeveloped, I decided to avoid forced lines.
Another important point was move 17. White started attacking too aggressively; trying to take advantage of the fact that Blacks king got stuck in the center. However, the variations were not in her favor. One of the main reasons for this was the knight on b3, i.e. its limited mobility. Try to compare this positions with the variations after a piece sacrifice after 130-0-0. In that case all the White pieces would be cooperating well to ensure a strong attack.
Move 19 was a critical moment. Normally, castling takes place in the opening, middlegame and only very rarely in the endgame. Adhering to stereotypes can be harmful for ones performance. Dont forget to evaluate the position not only on the basis of strategic principles, but try to understand what is going on in particular. Sometimes you might discover powerful and unexpected moves. In the game I forgot about the option of castling, as we have been playing the endgame for quite a while, so I just made a simplifying move 19Bd5 with the idea of coming to e6 with the king.
After swapping bishops on d5, it is hard to win the endgame. If I could capture the pawn on e5 while keeping all the pieces on the board, my chances would be higher. Black has more opportunities, e.g. place a piece on d4 that would be very strong. If White tries to eliminate it, it will lead to giving Black a passed pawn.
As you can see, the endgame that occurs in the exchange variation of the Ruy Lopez is far from being easy to play. When White started pushing for a win too adventurously, Blacks pieces burst into the game and made White switch to the defensive mode. However, before that it was Blacks turn to play very carefully so as not to end up being worse. Patience and a high level of attention are essential in such endgames.
