Hello Jim and David,
Thanks for the replies.
Jim: Certainly when playing on the clock it is not acceptable to use two
boards.
In e-mail games (and for e-mail read correspondence also) I would definitely
recommend keeping a board set up somewhere simply for reference. With today's
technology positions can be kept on chess engines quite easily. What is
forbidden is to use an engine to analyse a game while it is in progress,
whether that game is face-to-face or by e-mail, correspondence or Skype.
I wasn't sure if you were playing on the clock which is why I wrote that you
needed a practical approach. On the other hand my point about maybe playing too
quickly may be more relevant. Personally I'm no fan of blitz play on the
internet. I would recommend a time limit of at least an hour each if playing
over the net and always keep score for as long as possible. I doubt if anyone
learns anything from playing games with time limits of ten minutes or less, but
as I said - it's a personal opinion.
David: There are many principles to be observed in a game of chess. Alan Dicey
occasionally posts a list of about 50 or more chess adages. Most of them are
fine, a few are contradictory, and a couple are not really of any practical
value.
What makes a game difficult is that principles criss-cross. In certain
positions one principle may carry more weight than another one. A simple pair
to consider:
1) Rooks belong on open files.
2) Rooks belong behind passed Pawns regardless of which colour they are.
So, as White, do you play your f1 Rook to e1 to control the file all the way to
e8, or place in on a1 behind the unopposed White Pawn on a3 prior to its
advance up the board? As usual the answer is "It all depends on the position
(cirmcumstances)".
Even strong players may misjudge a position by either not taking certain
factors into account or by simply underestimating them. I have one pupil who
keeps quoting various chess principles at me, but then falls victim to leaving
material loose to tactical opportunities. It's a balancing act and it takes
experience to know what is the right decision at the right time.
The most important thing is to present your games afterwards to your peers
(this group is just one such platform), get constructive criticism, then act
upon it when next needed. To be fair sometimes it could be years before the
opportunity to demonstrate a particular bit of what you've learned comes up -
the example I quoted last time was some thirty-odd games and five months later.
On the other hand "You need to castle earlier" could be implemented in your
next game.
All food for thought.
Regards,
Tyson
On 20 January 2020 at 02:26 Jim Homme <jhomme1028@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi,
Thank you for this guidence. I forgot to add that I was talking about when
playing on the clock. I seem to do better in email games. Also, I did not
think to use two boards, because I did not think that was OK to do in email
games.
On Jan 19, 2020, at 6:56 PM, mordue andrew (Redacted sender "tyson.mordue"
for DMARC) <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Jim, Michael et al,
Chess weaknesses come in many forms. A few can be fixed with a bit of careful
move-by-move methodology set out below. Before we continue I'd just like to
add that idiosyncrasies of style can mean that one player chooses one
particular move, while another chooses a different one and it can easily be
the case that neither move is clearly right or clearly wrong, not better or
worse. It really is simply a question of style.
I'd like to start with the third item on Jim's list. "I do not look at every
possible good move." How can you know if a move is good or not unless you
analyse it? To analyse it then it must be on a list of candidate moves, a
list which sometimes can consist of just one move.
Candidate moves are ones chosen by players whereby the moves comform to their
style and abilities. There may be either strategical or tactical factors to
take into considertaion or both. However, I would put the notion of always
looking for the best move to one side. Sometimes that could take world-class
players hours to establish. What you are usually trying to do is to play a
sound move that has a clear idea behind it within a set period of time. In
other words you have to be practical.
Now the second item; " I make moves, then right after that, think of better
ones." This is usually a sign of moving too quickly. Given that most games
between USBCA players are probably by e-mail and that they are probably ON
AVERAGE at the rate of a move a day, then there is no need to rush a move.
Take your time and analyse on two boards. One has the current position from
the game, and the other is the one you actually move pieces on. However,
before you even start moving pieces you should have the above-mentioned list
of candidate moves as a starting point. Some of these moves may be
transposable. It is possible that fresh candidates may come to light as you
analyse.
Finally the first one: "I think too much about what I want to do and too
little about what my opponent is trying to do." This is a common fault, even
with experienced players. There are methods for dealing with this. Basically
after a given move by the opponent ask yourself:
What new squares does he control with the piece he has just moved?
What new squares does he control with pieces that he may have uncovered. e.g.
Queens, Rooks and Bishops?
Does he threaten any captures or checks?
Is the piece that he just moved defended?
If it's a Pawn move what squares has he just relinquished control of? What
new ones does he control?
Answer these questions first and you will probably find that it will point
you towards moves you should be playing, and equally possibly hinting an
moves that you don't want to play! Of course this may be the point at which
you start compiling your list of candidate moves.
Bear in mind that candidate moves may be available for more than one turn.
However, new candidates emerge every move so be relatively flexible. The
fixed idea is one of the worst things in chess.
Just a quick word about mistakes as opposed to good moves. Are your mistakes
all the same sort? Tactical oversights? Tendency to put pieces or Pawn en
prise? Failing to castle quickly enough? Overlooking en passant captures? If
you identify such a group then try to put in a mental reminder each move to
specifically check that you aren't making the same sort of mistake again
before the move is executed. The first time I ever did this I changed my
choice of move and mated my opponent some ten moves later!
I hope this helps to some extent, not just Jim but anyone on the site who
wishes to improve their play. Any questions then please ask.
Regards,
Tyson
On 19 January 2020 at 22:11 Michael Rodgerson <monex249@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Jim H, I sometimes have the same problem, you just have to analyze the
board and make the best move available to you, regardless of the
consequences. I have played games when I made a move and I thought my
opponent would do something, and he makes a move that's completely
different. You just have to play to the best of your abilities, you
learn something from every game weather that's: not to move a piece
somewhere, to move a piece somewhere, to move a piece to a particular
place, when to move your queen or other major pieces, you're really
only gonna learn by playing and seeing what comes of it. I would love
to play a game with you sometime.
Michael Rodgerson
