Do I Have To Setup The Board Again?

Here's a question:

When doing tactical exercises, how many of you actually bother to set it up on the board? Or do you solve them straight out of the book?

I admit that I am one the laziest people on this planet. When I do tactical exercises, I use Chessbase/Fritz's 3D board setup to setup the position and then try to solve it from there on the screen.

Okay, I admit that it's not ideal, I don't get a true graphical representation and my hand doesn't touch the pieces.

From the various advice in Daniel King Powerplay DVDs to Arthur Yusupov's Boost Your Chess book series, many chess authors and trainers have recommended doing it over the board.

The basic premise is that by physically moving the pieces, your mind connects the events and this adds as a self-reinforcement tool so that you can better remember the lesson learned.

The problem herein is that when trying to solve 5 tactical exercises, you need to setup the position 5 times. Setting up a board is no easy feat, you spend at least a few minutes just to setup the board. And then once you figured out the tactical puzzle, you replay the solution and this involves going back to the initial board position at the beginning over and over again as you run through the variations.

Some others have recommended setting up 2 boards, one to do the analysis and the other to act as a "variation" board to work through the different variations.

At this point, doing 1 puzzle can easily take as long as 10 minutes in terms of just running through the pieces, if not more. Try it for another 4 puzzles and suddenly, the task becomes extra onerous and you seemed to spend more time setting up the board than doing the tactical puzzles.

By putting the position inside Chessbase/Fritz and seeing it in 3D, I can run through the variations pretty quickly (true the 3D is nowhere near photorealistic as an actual board) with the touch of a mouse click (okay, several mouse clicks).

The point is: how well has my memory recalled the position by doing tactical puzzles this way?

In my case, surprisingly, not too bad. I find that I'm still able to recall certain puzzles once I recognise the formation/pattern and the solution to them but not all. However, if I were to redo the puzzles again and again, I find that the memory of the position somehow got "stuck" in my mind. Run it through 2-3 more times a few weeks later and it becomes embedded somewhere between medium-term and long-term memory.

True, none of us can be a Magnus Carlsen or Alexei Shirov where these GMs don't need to physically see the board to calculate variations so until we are all super GMs, what other recourse is there for us?

So what is your method of doing tactical studies? :)

The Art Of Losing

What goes through a player's mind when he/she loses a game? How best do you try to cope with the loss?

Different players deal handle defeat differently.

My worst instance of losing was in a rapid game. Upon resignation, I shook my opponent's hand but stormed out of the playing hall not because I was angry at my opponent but because I was extremely disgusted with my play. In fact, I headed for the washroom to calm myself down for a couple of minutes.

Which brings me to my subject on handling losses.

I've had 2 very bad losses this year which kept me awake at night after the game. One of the problems with playing games in the evening is that your brain is still on a huge "high" after the game. That makes getting to bed an extremely arduous task (forcing your brain to relax) and couple that with a loss punctuated by poor gameplay and your brain is in overdrive mode.

How does one properly cope with losses?

Take Vladimir Kramnik. His loss comes no bigger than the biggest prize in chess. He lost a huge chance to regain his title against Vishy Anand in Bonn, Germany. So how does he deal with such a much publicised defeat?

During the post-match conference, Chess.FM filmed the following proceedings. You can see it at Blip.tv here:

Alternatively, you can download the .FLV file directly from here (you'll need a compatible video player like VideoLan's VLC media player to play it):

The most important things to take away from Kramnik's comments IMHO were the following:


1. "Life is like this. It is not always that you win."

One has to acknowledge the fact that playing chess means that you have to be ready to come to terms with both the winning and losing aspects that comes with the royal game. No one can win all the time, not even World Champions.


2. "I clearly made certain mistakes in my preparation and which I already understood and probably after analysing the match, I would understand (them) even more what I should I do better. And I'm very much eager to improve. I think I would have quite serious changes in my ways of preparing for tournaments, for chess games; even maybe, even in my way of playing. It was a harsh lesson but I'm sure it would be a very useful one."

Acknowledging your own mistakes and faults and actively seeking to rectify them is the hallmark of a good player. Any player seeking to improve the quality of their play needs to admit to his/her own mistakes and identifying their mistakes and make a conscious effort to fix these mistakes. This holds true not just in chess but also for other sports.

Every chess game takes with it a lesson, even more so when you lose. Less one forgets, one should always perform post-mortem analysis on one's own games.


3. "....because I am still very interested in playing chess..... For the moment, I still enjoy it. "

In other words, one has to have continuous interest in chess to learn and recover from the painful loss/experience. If you do not enjoy chess, then chess is not going to be fun for you for long.


4. "I'm also happy to play against such an opponent. Vishy is a really great player."

This is one thing that is missing from some chess players. The ability to lose graciously and to pay tribute to your opponent. When one loses, one should not seek excuses nor alternative explanations to explain away the defeat. Rather, one should own up and admit that your opponent was better than you.


5. The last quote from Kramnik needs no explanation and one that I feel is the most important point.

"You don't feel very well after losing a game ........ but it's only a game, not a reason to be depressed. I take it as a test.... I try to do my best... this is the motto in my life. You're responsible for the quality of your work but you're not responsible for the result of it.... So I'm responsible for doing my best. But if it doesn't work, it doesn't work. What can I do? .... I don't see a reason to shout at everyone because of this."

cheers.

Nosce te ipsum

The phrase "Nosce te ipsum", which in Latin, is translated generally as the common phrase "Know Thyself".

One of the hardest things to do as a chess player is the ability to recognise, acknowledge your own faults and weaknesses and to work hard to remove them.

All chess players suffer from one deficient aspect of the royal game one way or another, be it, a 1200 player or an elite 2700 grandmaster.

Looking back at the 20 odd games I've played over the board, I've identified 3 main weaknesses.

1. Weak in opening
2. Weak in positional play
3. Weak in time management


1. Weak in opening

I am very unsettled in openings. I tend to lose my way quickly when players diverge from the main line. Concepts and ideas are far more important than rote move orders. I need to address this seriously but I can only gather that mastering an opening is going to take time. Two-thirds of my losses have come from poor opening play.


2. Weak in positional play/seeing positional ideas

Knowing where to put the pieces -so to speak- so as to maximise their effectiveness. I can see tactical shots but in order to know where to put my pieces, I need to be more conversant in tactics and in the art of defence and strategy. I am planning to scour my local library for such books and doing more tactical puzzles. I have also been leafing through GM games.


3. Weak in time management

Like many before me, I have a tendency to make moves too quickly. Dan Heisman, writer of ChessCafe's Novice Nook articles once said,"Never make a bad move quickly". This summarises my Achilles Heel.

I am now trying to make a mental reminder to myself during a game to pace myself against my clock. I've been doing this at home with my own digital clock albeit with some success. This has a rather calming effect on me and I find that I think far better and tend to choose better moves if I spend more than a minute of thought. This also highlights to me that my thought process is not as efficient as it is. Quite a number of times, a better move seems to prop up after I finished searching through my primary branch (ala Kotov's method) in my head.

The Ego Has Indeed Landed

Immediately after finishing first in the recently concluded Bilbao tournament, Veselin Topalov gave an interview and proceeded to rubbish the upcoming WCC match:

"I will watch the forthcoming match between Anand and Kramnik but I should confess that I am not that interested in the match between number five and number six in the rankings."

"Kramnik is not the strongest chess player even in Russia. Morozevits, who outplayed him on Tal Memorial, stands higher. And Anand in Bilbao has only been a “pale shadow” of the previously great player....."

Isn't it amazing what winning one tournament can do to a player's ego?

Last week in the end, I did drop by to play in the traditional Lightning competition for Grade Match Presentation at Ryde-Eastwood RSL.

And surprisingly, I came in joint runners-up in the U-1600 category, getting a score of +4-4=1 and got $9 for my effort. A nice tidy sum of cash - which I proceeded to use it on my way home with Steven who needed to buy milk at the petrol kiosk. The highlight of the lightning competition has to be my game against top board Jason Hu (2200++) who showed me the art of crushing your opponent (me!). :)

Last Saturday was spent at home fixing up a handrail and installing a security sensor light at my backyard with my neighbour's help. I was working on Sunday so I couldn't get much training in and although last night was a scheduled day for postponed matches for the Ford Memorial, I didn't have any games on. So I spent the time..... sleeping.

I admit I have not been doing any form of serious chess training lately. Sure, I looked up a couple of lines in the Sicilian (out of boredom) but that was just about it.

I would really like to get back to chess training in preparation for next week's Ford Memorial game but I'm just not in the mood for it. If I can kick myself in the ass if it means getting myself invigorated, I'd do it (aka. laziness).

Hmm.... I just realised that I will again be working this Sunday.

Tonight, the Ryde-Eastwood Bobby Fischer Cup soldiers on.... and I'm quite tempted to play a new opening I just came to know about 2 weeks ago.

In the meantime, it appears the US markets decided to take a plunge because of the sub-prime loans fiasco, taking with it many Oz investors' superannuation savings (similar to 401ks for the US) and thankfully, for now, I am not affected. However, I dread to be the one who is nearing retirement only to find out that my lifelong savings has gone down the drain.

Eating Right And Improving Concentration

Steven and I have been taking part in the Ford Memorial every Tuesday and I have to say that it's been a real eye opener for me. At the same time, I've also been playing at Ryde Eastwood for the Bobby Fischer Cup every Wednesday.

I looked at my schedule and decided that I will try to devote more energy towards the Ford Memorial (classical time controls) while trying out new openings at Ryde Eastwood for the Cup competition (more like a shorter version of rapid but with Fischer time controls).

So far, I'm having a great deal of fun! On Tuesdays, I can sit down and devote more attention to my game while on Wednesdays, the competition is a chance for me to play for fun (very much so) with no repercussions on my results.

Tonight, I lost to Lorenzo and Lau but I'm not in the least bit upset. I think my score for the Cup competition stands like +8-4=2 or something. On the contrary, I play to have fun, and to find out what works for me and what doesn't.

All this travelling and working on my chess training has definitely taken its toll on me. As a result, I've been going more often to the gym and eating healthier food. Unfortunately, the scales didn't seem to reflect the changes I made to my diet and my exercise regime. However, I can sense there is a definite change in my body. I find that my body is relaxed and yet full of energy. In case you're wondering about the picture, no, I didn't make it, the picture is that of a barbecued atlantic salmon with cucumber-and-herb salad. Yummmm.... yes, I love eating salmon and I usually have some form of fish for a meal at least once a week. :)

Next week at the Ford Memorial, I expect to face a stiff opponent who's probably at least 400 points rated above me and I'm already mentally prepared to be squashed flat. But despite the belting I'm expected to receive, I hope to enjoy my game thoroughly.

Speaking of next week, the NSW Presentation Ceremony is upon us again. There will of course be the traditional lightning competition before the awards ceremony. I'm still not sure if I want to participate but I'll definitely bring my camera along to take some photos of the event.

I apologise if I have not been posting more of my games and tactical test questions of late. Work has also unfortunately crept up on me.

Cheers and take care.

Breaking Point

The Ford Memorial 2008 has started so I thought I took the time to relook at my past games. I've so far been involved in only 2 competitions - the Ryde-Eastwood club championships and the NSW Grade Matches.

While I was busy poring through my old games, I'd notice particular annotations I made on my scoresheets. In between some of the variations were personal comments I injected to relive the mood of the game at that time.

I notice one particular oddity. Players around my level (including myself) have a propensity to collapse at the critical moments especially under sustained pressure to the verge of breaking point.

This appears to be a far more common weakness than I realise.

Be it due to time-trouble or mental fatigue, the psychological warfare being engaged in the end tends to prove too much and mistakes inevitably started to show.

I also noticed that when faced against higher rated opponents, they steel themselves a lot better in the face of an onslaught.

But why then are so few chess books being written on the psychological aspects and mental training of chess?

Perhaps all along, we've not been 100% correct in our chess education during our formative years. One should not just solely concentrate on improving the calculative and combinatorial abilities. Instead toughening your mental strength should also be a core part of a person's training.

Me And You And My Game Smells Like Poo

Dedicating this song to all the patzers like me our there....

(Singing to the tune of Lobo's "Me And You A Dog Named Boo")

I remember till this day
I became a targeted prey
How my pieces got stuck
After twenty moves
Wifey did ask me not to go;
'Cause my game is gonna blow
Oh, how I wish I never learn this game

(chorus)
Me and you and my game smells like poo
Pieces living and dying by my hand
Me and you and my game smells like poo
How I luv being "Patzer-man"

I can still recall
How quickly my pieces fall
And the ev'ning I got caught by a simple skewer
These chess players really made me work
Then caught me with a Knight fork
Another reverse pin and
I'm dead meat again

(chorus)
Me and you and my game smells like poo
Pieces living and dying by my hand
Me and you and my game smells like poo
How I luv being "Patzer-man"

I'll never forget the day,
I got mowed down in early gameplay
The lights of the playing hall
Totally unsettling my brain
Though it's only been a month or so
My fears and doubts continues to grow
Want to get away and back to my wife again

(chorus)
Me and you and my game smells like poo
Pieces living and dying by my hand
Me and you and my game smells like poo
How I luv being "Patzer-man"

:)

Insufficient Firepower

One of the worst things to possibly happen in an aerial fighter dogfight (see inset diagram of a F22's HUD) is when your enemy is in range of your guns on your super duper F22 Strike Fighter. You've done everything right so far, you've skilfully manoeuvred your state-of-the-art fighter to the desired position, and your finger is poised on the trigger, waiting to lay waste to your enemy with your 1 gazillion rounds/min minigun and you found out that you're out of ammunition.

OOOPS!!

Have you ever had that happen to you before in chess? You're in good company.

Many a time, I got caught launching an attack but not having the required firepower to back it up.

The worst possible thing is that you've committed so much forces towards the attack, your opponent's king is out in the open, surely there must be a way to finish him?

Take a look at this blitz game I just played tonight.

I was White and was hanging by a thread.... this opening arrived out of a King's Indian via a different move order.

Black had sacrificed a piece and my king is catching pneumonia if I don't do something soon. My Rook on e3 is pinned and Black just played Bg4. The Bishop on g4 is of course taboo (unless I wanted to be mated really really fast) and cannot be captured.

What now? What should I do as White?

Practical defense is at much a valuable skill as an offensive attack. I find the best advice one can give is: do not panic!

First I need to bring my last inactive piece to the kingside. But where do I place it?

My plan was to do Rb1->Rf1->Rf2 and the White King can now slip out via the f1 square.

24. .... Bg4
25. Rf1 e5
26. Ne2 (Planning to get rid of the bishop on d4) Rh3?? (Woohoo! Now I can alleviate my position see 2nd diagram)
27. Nxd4 Rxe3
28. Qxe3 cxd4
29. Qg3 Be2
30. Rc1 d3 (see 3rd diagram - from here on, Black is lost)
31. Qe3 (protecting d2 and guarding the c1-h6 diagonal) Qd8
32. Re1 d2
33. Qxd2 Qb6+
34. Kg2 Bxc4
Black resigns 1-0

I still can't believe I survived that!

Struggling To Perfect My Chess

A short note from me today just to say....

My brain hurts.

I've been testing my tactical knowledge in Volokitin's Perfect Your Chess and they're a real mind stretcher. Some of the moves are mind-blowing (for example, you know the sacrifice is coming) and the main problem is not in not seeing the moves in some of them but taking the time to calculate the proper continuation exactly to achieve the desired result.

Definitely not easy, no, make that hard as nuts. I'm struggling.... really bad.

On the lighter side of things, Polly of Castling Queen Side brought to my attention IM Mark Ginsburg's blog and I've added it to my blogroll. I encourage you to check it out. It's definitely worth a visit. Thanks Polly!

I've also added a couple of new chess bloggers links. Chessgasm (??), Chess And Stuff, and hiddenleaf's Chess Chronicles. Do drop them a visit if you have the time.

I'm also getting a tad distracted. My aunt and uncle from Perth flew into town and my wife and I were hoping to catch up with them this Thursday and take them out for some nice Asian (Hong Kong typish) food. Yum yum. I can't wait. :)