Anyone for chess?

Posted by: acad tsunami on 19 April 2007

I have recently bought a software tutorial programme downloaded from the internet called Personal Chess Trainer which contains a whole bunch of exercises to improve tactics, strategy and end games etc. Now although I eventually got better at working out checkmate 3 or 4 moves ahead(often with counter-intuitive sacrifices I grew frustrated at not being able to replicate these situations and solutions in actual games played online against real opponents. However I have now scored a couple of victories by sacrificing my queen and I feel I am progressing thus I can recommend Personal Chess Trainer (if it can help me improve it can help anybody).

In the following game (with an irritating commentary from me) played against an internet foe I use Bird's Opening. This is not very common opening and tends to confuse the un-prepared (it confused me a lot too until I studied it in depth Here where it is known as the 'Polar bear System' - there are a number of excellent lessons (15)given by a GM.

I stumbled upon this opening when I found this game on the internet - white seemingly commits suicide as he gives up piece after piece and yet he still wins in a stunning victory Lasker vs Bauer 1889 (you may have to download a Java applet from this site to view the game)

Do you have any favourite games you would like to share?

Here is my game:

1/ White f2- f4 (Bird’s opening) – Black c7- c6
2/ e2-e4 (I create additional presence in the centre and black mirrors with..) d7-d6
3/ knight g1-f3 (developing a piece towards the centre) knight f6 (ditto)
4/ knight b1-c3 and b4-b5 (black’s move is a waste – he has already moved that pawn once so he falls behind on development)
5/ e4-e5 (yes I know I have already moved that pawn but this is different as there is a good opportunity to make space for white and control the centre) black dxe5
6/ knight x e5 and black b3- b4 (further use of b pawn at the expense of development but it does put me on the retreat and cramp my position as I move to:
7/ knight e2 – black knight to g4
8/ d2-d4 and knight takes knight g4xe5 (my moves relieves some of the cramp and releases the queenside bishop – black initiates a swap which leaves white firmly in charge of the centre when …
9/ fxe5 and black e7 to e6
10/ knight to f4 – creates space for my bishop and queen and puts the knight on a better square where it is more active. Black’s bishop on f8-e7 (black develops a piece and prepares to castle)
11/ knight f4 to h5 and black castles short 0-0 (he castle into trouble as…
12 /Qg4 (threatens mate on g7) and black must now disturb his pawn formation with g7 to g6 thus weakening his defence.

13/ Exploiting the weakness in blacks defence bishop c1 to h6 attacking the rook on f8 which scuttles off to e8

14/ knight h5 to g7 (continues to persecute the hapless rook) black seeks to defend with f7 to f5 (attacking the queen)
15/ However Black forgets that I can take exf6 en passant (now both bishop and rook are attacked and one at least must take an early bath) black bishop x f6.

16/ knight x e8 and the rook leaves the board - queen takes back d8xe8
17/ Bishop f1 to c4 brings the bishop into play putting pressure on the pawn on e6 and indirectly threatens black’s king and prepares for kingside castling the black king sees the threat and scuttles off g8 to h8 but it is out of the frying pan and into the fire for the black king.

Note how my bishops control the diagonals surrounding the black king! From this position I saw a possible mate in four moves and happily Black was too greedy to see it.

18/ I castle queenside 0-0-0 and tuck my king away safe and snug before mounting a final attack in doing so I connect my rooks thus completing development. Black plays e6 to e5 which attacks my pawn on d4 but more importantly exposes my queen to black’s bishop on c8. So it is time to move my queen. Or is it? Can you spot the winning combination?


19/ d4 x e5!! And black can hardly contain his greed and snatches my queen c8 x g4 after less than a second delay.

20/ e5 x f6 clawing a piece back but black can not believe his luck and snatches the rook as bishop x d1 in less than a second ignoring the fact that….

21/ Oops! bishop to g7 is checkmate!! White wins.

After move 17 I thought how nice it would be if I had a pawn on f6 as mate would be so easy but how to get a pawn on f6? Happily black conspired to help me get the pawn from d4 to f6 and all I had to do was offer him my queen and rook and he greedily accepted the bait. After move 20 black has a few resources bishop to e6 for example but he can only prolong the agony for a few moves as Mate is inevitable.
Posted on: 19 April 2007 by Deane F
I can play chess - just not elegantly. I play for the four centre squares and then swap material down to a very boring endgame. This comes from playing a lot of chess against computers. It also makes my games even more boring than Petrosian's.
Posted on: 19 April 2007 by u5227470736789439
I used to play chess, but I find it very hard to do without a board in front of my to ponder over, so the only way to work through the game would be for me to set it up.

I had three cans of fine Polish [Lech, and two Tyskie] beer earlier, so concentrating is not on. Small celebration considering that I am sorting out the terms for the job I start next Tuesday in the morning.

I have never played a computer, and I wish my attemt at loading Yahoo had worked so I could play on-line, but the bloody program would not let me in on starting up the first time. I am not really that enamoured of computers sometimes!

I will try to work through the game at the weekend. My playing was a bit like my musical playing, being largely self taught, but for playing the bass I eventually had some very good lessons, and enough at the start to aviod learning bad habits. For chess I just lost a lot of games and became a stronger player over time! I was captain of the school chess team for couple of years, though I was not really as good as the others, but I could beat them from time to time.

I ran a challange competion at school, and more than half the boys used to take part. You could challenge anyone [obviously only above, as in winning you took their place on the result board] and every one in between lost a place. You could refuse the challenge if you were more than three above, without loosing by default. The system worked well, and I made an order board with little wooden blocks with named labels on, which were slotted in in the order of ascendance. The system survived for twenty odd years after I left. Unfortunatly the school closed about ten years ago due to the retirement of the Head, and no prospect of anyone taking over. The challenge board was sold for charity along with an awful lot of memorabilia including the school record library etc..., and I missed it and the records, sadly. That was truly a shame as I would have bought both in for the few pounds they went for. I was helping keep people fed and watered that day while the auction went on. It raised a lot of money.

For one piece of A-level course work I made an Electronic Chess Clock that was timed on an A-stable circuit, with a Bi-stable [for player switching], a series of logic chips and Schmitt triggers, counter chips, and LED displays. It worked a treat! I set the A-stable up using an Electronic Metronome! It had only two switches - one for each player - opperating on the Bi-stable! Of course the PS had a power on/off switch! It was never used in a game because there was too much value in the parts, which belonged to Worcester Tech. It got a very nice mark though.

ATB from Fredrik
Posted on: 21 April 2007 by acad tsunami
How did Darren Brown who admits his chess is 'sh!t' play 9 experts including 4 grandmasters at chess playing them all at the same time winning 4 losing 4 and drawing against 2?

here
Posted on: 22 April 2007 by Trilobyte
quote:
Originally posted by acad tsunami:
How did Darren Brown who admits his chess is 'sh!t' play 9 experts including 4 grandmasters at chess playing them all at the same time winning 4 losing 4 and drawing against 2?

here

He played them all off against one another - the only game he had to play was against the weakest player!
Posted on: 22 April 2007 by acad tsunami
quote:
Originally posted by Trilobyte:
[QUOTE]


He played them all off against one another - the only game he had to play was against the weakest player!


Exactly right. Crafty bugger that D.Brown.
Posted on: 25 April 2007 by lyndon
hi acad
we have to wonder blacks wisdom of 14. ..f5, surely Rf8 would be prudent leading to an eventual exchange sacrifice (white gains rook for bishop), the position is still unclear but this slight advantage might leave white ahead in the endgame.
black was negative from the start c6 and d6, d5 would be more assertive and possibly transposing into a sort of kings indian position or he could of played the aggressive e5 gambit immeadiately attacking the weakness of f2.
personnaly i dont play the birds opening, i would find it hard to concede the f2 sqaure for no immeadiate compensation so early in the game.
as black playing against it i would play d5 and try to steer into a kings indian type position which is back to familiar ground.

lyndon
Posted on: 25 April 2007 by acad tsunami
quote:
Originally posted by lyndon:

hi lyndon, nice to hear from you.

[QUOTE] we have to wonder blacks wisdom of 14. ..f5, surely Rf8 would be prudent leading to an eventual exchange sacrifice (white gains rook for bishop), the position is still unclear but this slight advantage might leave white ahead in the endgame.


Rf8 is by far the better choice I agree.

D5 is arguably the best response I also agree. E5 is the move that most fear but if white thinks calmly he can find resources to overcome Black's aggression.

I think Bird's opening is underestimated for the many reasons given by the GM on videonet (the link I provided in my original post - there 15 lessons on Bird's opening there). I am developing it to use in 1 minute games as it is unusual enough to take many players by surprise. You are right the compensation is not immediate but it is there. I have a friend who regularly beats GMs in 1 min games on ICC and he often uses Bird's but hitherto has not used it in club, town, county games. He can beat me blindfolded Frown

Do you have any favourite games you would like to share - yours or any of the greats from chess history?
Posted on: 27 April 2007 by ewemon
God my head is getting dizzy with all this talk of F5, RF8 etc..... etc........ Pass one of those Polish beers Fredrik.

By the way I am absolutely c**p at chess though so how I have managed a percentage of 34% playing against my computer I don't know.
Posted on: 27 April 2007 by u5227470736789439
Yep, I am enjoying a nice can of Zyviec [Jiviets, roughly], which is very fine, but I discoverd I have lost a Bach disc, and one of my recordings of the Brandenburgs is playing up. Damn, why can't CDs be as reliable as good Polish beer?

Beats me - just like most people playing me at chess these days, and I used to reasonable at it a few years ago. Use it or loose it I suppose...

ATB from Fredrik