Tactics Training

These days, it seems that I spend more time doing puzzles online (chessdotcom mostly, but also Lichess and Chess Tempo) than working with positions in books. Still, for serious improvement in tactical vision and calculation, books are superior.

After racing through Thomas Engqvist, 300 Most Important Chess Positions (2018) in less than three months, I’m more highly motivated to keep 300 Most Important Tactical Chess Positions (2020) near the center of my chess activities through the rest of 2025. Four of the first five positions in the book have forcing continuations that run deep enough that I anticipate some challenge working through the book. Difficulty makes the enterprise worthwhile.

Today’s position arose in Mason,J.—Winawer,S., Vienna 1882. Engqvist’s analysis is instructive. At least three problems for players at different levels can be extracted from Mason’s combination.

Engqvist's position is before Mason's 40.Rxg5 (see photograph). If Black refuses the rook sacrifice, 40...Qf8 41.Rg6 controls the sixth rank. Then, 41...Rxf5

White to move

42.Qxf5! Qxf5 43.Rg7+ Nd7 44.Rxd7+ Kc8 45.Rxb8+ (only move) 45...Kxb8 46.Rb7+ and whichever way Black's king steps, Black's queen is coming off the board and White has a winning endgame.

After the line played in the game (40.Rxg5 hxg5 41.Qh7+ Nd7 42.Bxd7 Qg8--this position appeared as a exercise on chessgames.com in 2003--43.Rb7+ Kxb7), there is a more basic exercise position.

White to move

The discovery (44.Bc8+) is Engqvist's theme for this exercise, and the interference is an important aspect of why it works. Posters on chessgames.com and Engqvist valorize Mason's technique bringing home the full point for the resulting ending of queen and bishop vs. two rooks.

The Superiority of Books

For beginning students, the sequencing in such books as Sergey Ivashchenko, Manual of Chess Combinations (1997) and Susan Polgar, A World Champion’s Guide to Chess (2015) will lead to much more rapid growth in tactics skill than random positions online. Of course, with certain membership levels, chessdotcom and Chess Tempo allow training with particular themes and rating levels, so these can be tweaked with appropriate guidance.

For players who know basic patterns, but need work on strengthening calculation skills and assessing resulting positions after a combination, such books as Mark Dvoretsky, Secrets of Chess Tactics (1992), Paata Gaprindashvili, Imagination in Chess (2004), and Cyrus Lakdawala, Tactical Training (2021) offer abundant exercises.

Yakov Nieshtadt, Improve Your Chess Tactics (2012) is highly regarded for its organizational scheme and definitions, while Yuri Averbakh, Chess Tactics for Advanced Players (1992) articulates a notion of contacts that should be more common in chess literature.

Sandpoint Chess Tournament

Sandpoint, Idaho is a small community of less than 9000 residents that sits on the north end of Lake Pend Oreille. About thirty years ago, Lou Domanski, an A-Class chess player, moved there after retirement and developed some chess programs, including an annual chess tournament. Organized by Sandpoint Parks and Recreation, the event draws 20-50 chess players of all ages, an impressive turnout for a community this size.

In 2009, I was asked by a local who had been bringing his daughter to youth events that I ran in Spokane, whether I could run the event as Lou Domanski was no longer able to do so. It has become an event that I look forward to every April. A 75-90 minute drive from my home, depending on the weather, Sandpoint is a terrific community to visit.

I sometimes play in the event to reduce byes in the open section. One year, I played because I was looking for revenge after losing to Savanna the previous year. I had coached her a bit prior to her success as Idaho Girl's Co-Champion, which earned her a trip to Susan Polgar National Invitational for Girls, where she finished 9th. At the next event where we faced each other, she beat me again. The final moves of that game found their way into Forcing Checkmate (2017), which can be purchased through Amazon. For a few years as she finished school, Savanna regularly won the open section. I beat her the second time I played in the event, but lost to another player and still finished in 2nd place.

Coming back after two years without the event due to COVID, yesterday's event was small. There were five players registered for the open section, and fifteen in the other two. I opted to play so no one would get a bye. It gave us a round robin, albeit paired via Swiss System rules.

In the first round, I played the horrid 5...a6 from this position.

Black to move

My opponent punished the error and my position grew worse with further errors. However, when my opponent gave me a free piece with 15.Bxh7+, I clamored back into the game and eventually won.

Round two found me playing the risky and inaccurate 4.c3 in the Italian Two Knights

White to move

Play continued 4...d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.O-O Bg4 7.d4 e4?

White to move

After this error, I was able to take control of the game.

In round three, I gained a nice position from the Nimzo-Indian Defense and finished the game with a nice move here.

Black to move

Round four gave me an opportunity to show that Damiano's Gambit is a clear win for White, but I threw it away.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f6?! 3.Nxe5 fxe5?

3...Qe7

4.Qh5+ Ke7 5.Qxe5+ Kf7 6.Bc4+ d5 7.Bxd5+ Kg6

White to move

8.Qg3+

This move is not best. 8.h4 presents Black with unsolvable difficulties.

8...Qg5 9.Qxc7 Ne7

White to move

This position was not new to me. I had it earlier this year in a rapid game on Lichess. It led to my only loss with Damiano's Gambit.

10.Qd6+??

From winning to equal. 10.h4 was the correct move.

10...Kh5

On Lichess, my opponent answered 10...Qf6, and after 11.e5??, I went from equal to losing.

11.e5 Bg6 12.Nc3??

Hunting for checkmate, I am blind.

12...Bxd6-+

I should have lost this game, but my opponent returned the gift of the queen three moves later.

My last round opponent is fairly new to active play and was eager for resources to develop his game. We had a nice conversation.

I quickly gained the upper hand with Black after the opening moves 1.e4 c5 2.Bc4 e6 3.h4 Nc6 4.c3 Nf6 5.Qe2 Be7 6.Nf3 d5

White to move

The annual Lou Domanski Chess Festival is friendly unrated competition that I run in accordance with USCF rules, sans clocks until the last 20 minutes of each one-hour round and no expectation of scorekeeping. Although my play was less than stellar, it was a good day. I enjoyed seeing again and playing some of the regulars at this event. It was a nice road trip, too. 

 

Attitude

Win with grace. Lose with dignity.
Susan Polgar

During morning coffee today, I reviewed three games on Chessgames.com, then played a single blitz game. When the blitz game began, I spoke my opponent's name, DarklordCOBRA, and then said, "this could be loss number 10,000." My wife can attest that I was calm and ready to accept defeat. She does not recall my tone of voice. Lack of recall is proof. Expressions of anger and despair do not go unnoticed. Last night, for example, after she went to bed, she called from the bedroom to ask, "what's wrong?" I was in the living room playing blitz on my iPad and had dropped a piece in an otherwise equal position, uttering some profanities.

Losses torment me. They bring out such fury that it seems that I hate the world and everyone in it. I yell such obscenities at the computer screen when losing online games that even the deaf dog heads outside for safety.

It need not be this way. It is possible to "lose with dignity", as Susan Polgar advocates. As a youth chess coach, I have spent years urging children to understand, "when you lose, you learn." In truth, however, I am a little half-hearted expressing this sentiment. I know that children hurt when they lose. A cliché offers minimal comfort at such times.

I have a more serious problem with the "win, draw, or learn" saying popular among other coaches. Often, victories should be subjected to the same scrutiny as losses. One of the students whom I coach one-on-one tied for first in his tournament last Saturday, winning his first trophy. During the tournament, he brought one of his game scores to my director's table and we analyzed the victory with his opponent. She missed at least two opportunities to checkmate him with a two move sequence. Although he finished at the top and she finished near the middle, the final standings could have been much different. It is very important to learn from one's mistakes in victories, as well as from defeats.

I recently won the Spokane Chess Club's Winter Championship. It would be easy to find comfort in my success, but it is more important to find humility. I had a lost position in four out of five games (see "Perseverance"). My success stemmed from a lot of help from my opponents who failed to put me away when they had the chance. However, I kept my own chances alive by never giving up. Throughout the course of the event, I tried to remain focused on having fun, finding the best moves, and learning. I found help from the prescriptions Paul Powell puts forth in The Fighting Dragon: How to Defeat the Yugoslav Attack (2016), which I reviewed recently.

I will explore new ideas and open my mind to new patterns. I will learn new patterns and become a stronger player.
Failure is not measured by wins and losses; failure is continuing to play without learning.
Paul Powell, The Fighting Dragon, 18.

When I play too much blitz, the quality of my play suffers. My attitude suffers also. The problem, however, stems less from the quantity than from the mindset. It may be possible to play for many hours and still cultivate a positive attitude. It is less likely when play is aimed at getting to that next rating goal (such as the rating I had yesterday).

Facing an opponent whose rating was higher than I have been in the past two weeks, I resolved to learn. I aimed to find strong moves and not get caught in the rut of playing without thinking. DarklordCOBRA essayed the Advance variation against my French. I commented, "I have played this over-the-board against a titled player and done well." Nonetheless, I went for the old main line instead of what I usually play. My opponent built up an advantage through the opening and early middlegame.

DarklordCOBRA (1946) -- Ziryab (1872) [C02]
Live Chess Chess.com, 24.02.2017

After 21.Bc3

Black to move

21...Qh4

I wanted to play 21...a5, but miscounted the number of pieces that I had supporting this push. It's kind of hard to count to two during a blitz game. After the game, I looked again at this idea, thinking White would reply 22.a3. Initially, in my postgame analysis, I did not see how 22...Qb6, intending b5-b4 fails to 23.Bxg7!

My move was an effort to play b5-b4, and shows also that I was instinctively aware of some vulnerabilities on the kingside. But, my queen was kicked around a bit.

22.g3 Qh5 23.Re1 Rfd8 24.Bd1 Qc5 25.Rc1 Qf5 26.Bc2 Qh3

My queen has a nice aggressive post, but my opponent is not going to give me time to put my bishop where my knight stands in order to support Qg2#.

White to move

27.Qg5

27.Re4 should prove decisive, as my queen is running out of safe squares.

27...g6 28.Re4 b4

I am losing my queen, but at least I can get a rook and bishop for it.

29.Rh4 Qxh4 30.Qxh4 bxc3 31.bxc3

White has a decisive advantage, but also has only sixteen seconds. I have thirty.

Black to move

31...Ne5 32.Qf6 Ng4 33.Qf4 f5 34.h3 Nf6 35.Bb3 Nd5

After the game, I thought I should have played 35...Kf7. Even here, Black is busted.

36.Qe5 Bc6

White to move

37.h4

With only nine seconds remaining, my opponent came up with a plan that seems to lead to checkmate.

37.Qxe6+ Kg7 38.Bxd5 Bxd5 39.Qxd5+- ends matters more quickly.

37...Nxc3 38.h5

My opponent should have found 38.Bxe6+ Kf8 39.Qf6+ Ke8 40.Qf7#

38...Bd5 39.h6 Ne2+

White to move

40.Qxe2??

40.Kh2 leaves Black with no checks, and only the possibility to delay checkmate. Black had five seconds in which to find Kh2.

40...Rxc1+

Now, for the first time in the game, Black has an advantage.

41.Bd1 Kf7 0–1

After the game, I went back through the battle looking for errors and opportunities. Mainly, I found my opponent's missed opportunities. Immediate postgame analysis of wins, losses, and draws with an aim to learning can help cultivate the correct attitude.

Chess World Cup 2013

Terrific chess is on display at the FIDE World Cup, taking place in Tromsø, Norway. Play began Sunday, 11 August 2013 and continues until September 3. At stake are two slots in the Candidates Tournament, scheduled for March 2014. The winner of the Candidates will become the challenger in a World Championship match.

Interview with Mikhail Markov

I have been following the games on the official website where there is exceptional commentary by GM Susan Polgar and IM Lawrence Trent. Polgar and Trent offer their own analysis without reference to engine evaluations. Their analysis emphasizes aspects of the battles that are instructive to average players: main ideas in the openings, common tactical motifs, checkmate threats, and basic principles in the endgames. As games finish, they often interview some of the players. They answer some questions that viewers Tweet to #chessworldcup.

The event is a 128 player knockout. Each pair plays a mini-match of two standard games of 40 moves in 90 minutes, 30 minutes for the rest of the game, and 30 second increment beginning at move one. If tied after these two, they play two rapid games of 25 minutes, plus increment of 10 seconds per move. If still tied, two accelerated games at 10 minutes with 10 second increment; then two blitz games at 5 minutes with 3 second increment. Finally, if still tied, an Armageddon game where White gets 5 minutes, and Back 4, with 3 second increment beginning at move 61. Black has draw odds in the final game.

In the first round, two matches went as far as the Armageddon game. Tomashevsky -- Ramirez was won by Tomashevsky; Melkumyan -- Granda Zuniga was won by Granda Zuniga, who won with Black. There were many notable upsets through the course of the first three days, and in a few cases the higher rated player did not advance to the second round. More upsets ensued in the second round, where there was a single Armageddon game. In that game, former FIDE World Champion Ruslan Ponomariov fell to Daniil Dubov after eight draws between the two players.

The initial group of 128 players included most of the world's top players matched with a truly global list of competitors. Only one player is untitled, Mikhail Markov (2304). Markov qualified by placing second in the FIDE Zonal tournament in his hometown, Osh, Kyrgyzstan. During an interview after his loss to Levon Aronian (2813) in the first game, he expressed his sense that he was privileged to play in such an event and to be able to play a match with Aronian. He lost 2-0. Women's World Champion, Anna Ushenina (2500) stung Peter Svidler (2746) in their second game, but then fell in the rapid games, losing both. She will be defending her title against former Women's World Champion Hou Yifan (2609) next month. Hou took Alexei Shirov to the tie-breaks before being knocked of of the World Cup.

Selection criteria for players is evident from a document on the FIDE website: four semi-finalists from the 2011 FIDE World Cup, the Women's World Champion, the Junior World Champions of the past two years, 18 players based on average rating on the FIDE rating list (March 2012 to January 2013), 46 players from the European Championships 2012 and 2013, 20 players from the Americas, 20 players from Asia/Oceania, six players from Africa, six nominees of the FIDE President, and four nominees of the local organizing committee.

After the first two rounds, when the field had been narrowed to 32 players, most of those remaining are rated over 2700. A few strong players have been eliminated. More were eliminated in round three, including the top seed, Aronian. He lost with White against Evgeny Tomashevsky (2706). After needing to go to the Armageddon round against Alejandro Ramirez (2588) in the first round, Tomashevsky dispatched Wesley So (2710) 1 1/2-1/2 in round 2. Then, he won with Black in the first game with Aronian. Needing only a draw with White, he sacrificed a pawn to create disharmony among Aronian's forces. Then, he sacrificed a knight to lay bare the Black king.

White to move

Tomashevsky played 19.Nxh7!

The last game of round 3.2 lasted 154 moves, with Alexander Grischuk (2785) finally reaching a Lucena position against Quang Liem Le (2702).

A few sub-2700 players are going home. India's Baskaran Adhiban (2567) was defeated by Hikaru Nakamura 2-0 after Abhiban made it to round three with upset victories over Evgeny Alekseev (2710) and Alexandr Fier (2595). Alexander Moiseenko (2699) lost 1 1/2 - 1/2 to Boris Gelfand. Norwegian Jon Ludvig Hammer (2605) fell 1 1/2 - 1/2 to Gata Kamsky after Magnus Carlsen's former schoolmate knocked out Sergei Movsesian (2699) and David Navara (2715) in rounds one and two.

The current youngest Grandmaster, fourteen year old Wei Yi (2551) held Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2775) to two draws in the classic games, and will be struggling with his formidable opponent during tomorrow's tie-breaks. Wei defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi (2723) and Alexei Shirov (2696) enroute to round three. Daniil Dubov (2624) will be playing tie-breaks with Anton Korobov (2720). Others going to tie-breaks: Alexsey Dreev (2668) has two draws with Dmitry Andreikin (2716), Yuriy Kryvoruchko (2678) has two draws against Vassily Ivanchuk (2731), and Julio Granda Zuniga (2664) exchanged wins with Anish Giri (2737).

Tomorrow's tie-breaks promise more exciting chess. Perhaps another match or two will remain tied through the rapid, accelerated, and blitz. Perhaps a few of the under-2700 players will advance to round four: Chess's Sweet Sixteen!