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| Posted by roblear razlending.com 8/09/2008 10:55:49 Play online chess |  Subject: am i right?Message: i've noticed that higher rated players don't seem to play pawn moves such as a3 to prevent Nb4 or Bb4, or conversely h3 to attack the g4 square. i've often used these kinds of moves in the past, but i don't see them much from better players. maybe it's a reflection on my poor development? | ||||||||
| Posted by tim_b razlending.com 8/09/2008 13:15:45 Play online chess | Message: | ||||||||
| Posted by ionadowman razlending.com 8/09/2008 16:13:49 Play online chess | Possibly... Message: When making the piece move, the mover ought already to have planned a response to an attack by a flank pawn: an exchange on the c-file (if it's a bishop); a sac on f7 (if you've just played Ng5); a retreat - and where to? Sometimes it's not a bad idea fort White, say, to develop a bishop at d2 via g5, losing a tempo, but inducing a small but exploitable weakness in Black's K-side. I've done that myself. On the Black side of a Sicilian Defence, ...a6 is often useful even if it doesn't hit a bishop, partly as apreparation for a central thrust, but also because Q-side expansion is on Black's agenda anyway. So 1.e4 c5. 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxc4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6, the Najdorf Variation, is a very popular line. That little move hides a good deal of aggression. The Sicilian Kan System also involves an early ...a6. Conversely, the Two Knights' Defence often features an early advance of a White Knight to g5: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5!? ... I think the debate whether this is sttronger than 4.0-0, 4.d4 or 4.d3 is still ongoing. Of course it's pointless hitting the knight now. Black will usually play 4...d5 5.exd5 and now 5...Nxd5 is very risky owing to the enormous attack White whips up: the Fegatello, a.k.a. the Fried Liver: 6.Nxf7 Kxf7 7.Qf3+ Ke6 (forced if Black wants to keep the material); 8.Nc3 Ncb4 (the irony of it!) 9.a3! (biffing the knight , hoping to dislodge it fronm its defence of d5. The fork on c2 looks tempting, at that!) 9...Nxc2+ 10.Kc1 Nxa1 11.Nxd5 etc. All this is theory, which continues for several moves more yet. Black has better alternatives at move 5, 5,,,Na4, the "Main" line turning out rather well for Black, despite the pawn deficit. But even at move 4, Black can seriously consider ignoring the attack on f7 by playing 4...Bc5!? Now, if 5.Nxf7 Black has the astonishing 5...Bxf2+!! 6.Kxf2!? (6.Kf1 may be better) ...Nxe4+ 7.Kg1 (I had someone play 7.Ke1?? against me once on GK 7...Qh4+ 8.g3 Nxg3 9.Rg1 Ne5+ 10.Rg3 Nxg3 0-1) 7...Qh4 with an attack probably strong enough at least to balance White's. The alternate capture at f7, 5.Bxf7+, less ambitious is perhaps the harder for Black to meet: 5...Ke2 whereupon White usually retires the bishop to b3 or d5. In the following OTB game, the presence and absence of the flank pawn moves under discussion prove to have further impact: White: N.N. Black: IAD 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 Bc5 5.Bxf7+ Ke2 6.Bb3 Rf8 7.0-0 h6 The first of the flank pawn moves, played to drive back the knight, and relieve some of the pressure on the light squares - in other words, to prepare to advance the d-pawn. 8.Nf3 d6 w 9.d3?! ... Now this is one point where White might have been better advised to prevent Black's next move by 9.h3! 9...Bg4! Threatening, among other things, to bring a knight in to d4 thence to break up White's K-side pawns. 10.Be3 ... (10.c3 came into consideration) 10... Nd4 11.Bxd4 Bxd4 12.c3 Bb6 13.Nbd2 Qd7 14.Qc2 Rae8 15.h3? ... b A real bad-luck pawn. Correct at move 9, here it is merely weakening: 15...Bxh3! Something you sometimes have to watch for if you want to biff bishops! 16.gxh3 Qxh3 17.Nh2 ... Played to protect g4, but maybe a strike at the centre by 17.d4 offered more hope? 17...Ng4! 18.Nxg4 Qxg4+ 19.Kh1 Qh3+ 20.Kg1 Rf4 21.Qd1 Qg3+ 22.Kh1 Rh4#. I guess in the end you have to think beyond the flank pawn move, and indeed beyond the piece moves against which the flank pawn move is directed, whether as an attack or a deterrent. If the move is part of a longer term plan, or if allowing a piece to land on the "Knight-5" square will really cause you trouble (as indeed it can, quite often) then probably it's OK, but if it's "off the cuff" or "can't think of anything better to do right now", then it's probably un-OK. Cheers, Ion ——— Vishy Anand defeats Veselin Topalov to retain World Chess Championship title — It was scarcely a vintage or error-free world chess championship, yet Vishy Anand's 6.5-5.5 victory over Veselin Topalov proved a combative scrap with subtle match strategies. The 40-year-old title holder from Chennai beat the Bulgarian 3-2 with seven draws in their €2m (£1.7m) series in Sofia. Anand won the crown in a 2007 tournament, then comfortably retained it against Vlad Kramnik in 2008, and so joins a rare elite of multiple chess champions. This time the margin was narrow, the games tense and long as Topalov, five years the younger, spurned draws and kept up sustained pressure. The Bulgarian had his chances, but a poor sense of danger proved his fatal weakness. All his ... Posted by savage4731 | razlending.com 8/09/2008 19:55:57 Play online chess Message: 1) It wastes a move that could be used to develop a piece. 2) You can always play it after the pin without a loss of time. 3) It weakens the kingside pawns. 4) Pins arent always bad. For example, the Bxf7+ then Ng5+ then Qxg4 sac. Or the Bg4, Be2, Nd4, Nxd4 trick. Also, using the g-file to attack after Bxf3, gxf3. Also, Legall's mate. 5) The h3 pawn can become a target esp for bishop sacs. 6) After h3, g3 can become weak. Esp. If black is pinning the f2 pawn with a bishop. 7) If your opponent captures the knight with the bishop that gives you the two bishops. 8) Its a bad habit to get into: i.e. making mechanical moves and not paying attention. 9) Its passive. Which not only hurts your chances in the game but passive play will slow down your development as a player. 10) You shouldnt automatically assume things like doubled pawns are bad. 11) You should be careful with pawn moves because you cant move them back. 12) You should be playing to control the center in the opening not making pointless flank pawn moves. 13) When I see those kinds of moves against me I know its usually an easy win. 14) A lot of times beginners will think they can easily win a pawn. For example: 1.e4, e5 2. Nf3, Nc6 3. Bb5, a6 4. Bxc6, dxc6 5. Nxe5. But they miss 5...Qd4!. Chess isnt that simple otherwise no one would play it. If you find yourself losing pawns like that its because you're making mistakes and/or not seeing the whole position not because you didnt prevent the pin in the first place. Usually beginners make that kind of move because they're afraid of missing something. Its better not to play out of fear but to play your best and if you make a mistake to learn from it. ——— With One Blunder, Challenger Lets Chess Champion Keep Title — Some consider chess an art form, others a math problem to be solved, but at its heart it is a competition. Anyone who watched the more than 2,000 children competing at the National Elementary School Chess Championships in Atlanta last weekend could see that. At the top levels, the competition is fierce, and the psychological pressure can be overwhelming. That is why even the best chess players make mistakes. The world chess championship match between Viswanathan Anand of India and Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria, which ended last week in Sofia, Bulgaria, illustrated that pressure. Each made blunders, culminating in one that led to Topalov’s loss in Game 12. It was ... Posted by roblear | razlending.com 8/10/2008 03:36:25 Play online chess am i right?Message: thanks again rob ——— Favorites Begin Quickly at U.S. Chess Championship — Hikaru Nakamura, Gata Kamsky and Alexander Onischuk, the top three seeds, all won their first games Friday at the United States Chess Championship in St. Louis. Five other chess players also won as the tournament got off to a fast and exciting start. The chess championship is being held at the Chess Club and Scholastic Center of Saint Louis and has a prize fund of $173,000. It has an unusual format this year. The first seven rounds will be a regular Swiss system in which players with the same number of points are paired. After seven rounds, the top four scorers will be separated from the rest of the tournament and play a round-robin amongst themselves, with the winner becoming chess ... Posted by savage4731 | razlending.com 8/14/2008 13:53:29 Play online chess roblearMessage: ——— Day After Chess Championship, Victor and Vanquished Reflect on the Match — One day after their title match in Sofia, Bulgaria, ended, Viswanathan Anand, the once and still chess champion, and Veselin Topalov were tired, but proud. In separate telephone interviews on Wednesday, Anand and Topalov expressed satisfaction with their own efforts and said it was the most intense chess match they had ever played. “This is my first world chess championship match that has gone the distance,” said Anand. Referring to his earlier title matches against Vladimir Kramnik in 2008, which he won, and Garry Kasparov in 1995, which he lost, he continued, “With Kramnik it went like a dream, with Kasparov it went the opposite way.” Topalov said, “Every single game was ... Posted by roblear | razlending.com 8/23/2008 03:36:00 Play online chess to savage4731Message: rob ——— Anand Is World Chess Champion Again — Viswanathan Anand, the world chess champion, took advantage of a major error by Veselin Topalov to win the 12th and final game of their title match on Tuesday in Sofia, Bulgaria. The match had been tied at 5.5 points apiece. In addition to the title, Anand receives 1.2 million euros (about $1.5 million at current exchange rates). Topalov’s share of the prize fund is 800,000 euros, or about $1 million. Anand, an Indian grandmaster, became world chess champion by winning a tournament in Mexico City in 2007. He last defended the title in a match against Vladimir Kramnik, a Russian, in October 2008. Topalov, a Bulgarian, is a former world chess champion. He lost a bitter title match to ... |