King of the Spill

5/1001

2007-02-06T22:46:00.000-08:00

I have been busy lately and chess has fallen by the wayside. This post may be the last one I will do for awhile.

Even though I haven't finished 1001 I know I eventually will, and I feel like I am already coming around full circle.Whenever I look at the composed problems at the end of 1001 I go into molasses mode. They are clever, cursed little buggers, and I am still getting the solutions only fifty percent of the time. I occasionally flip back to the beginning of the book and do some normal checkmates. Nothing quite like sacrificing a piece or two for checkmate :-). Here is a great example (number 5):

I think this problem is one of the best in the book, and a clear case of simultaneous advantage. Although it is in the Queen sacrifice section, it really is a Rook sacrifice problem.

The first time I saw this problem was several years ago. I could not solve it and took me quite a while to understand the solution. I tried piecing it together by looking at c8. The c8 square appeared to be attacked twice by White and guarded three times by Black, a situation that does not usually lead to checkmate. I thought the answer had something to do with the fact that Rc8! absolutely pinned Black's Queen and simultaneously threatened Qxd8#.

Appearances were deceiving me and now I see an important advantage White has: Black's Queen is a tied down defender, unable to capture anything on c8 because of White's Qe7# checkmate threat. Rather than looking at c8 I look at d8, appreciating that Rc8! outnumbers Black's Queen with three attackers when it is protected only twice (1 of which is x-ray protection from the Black Rook on a1 after Rc8). If you still not see the answer, picture the board after Rc8! Rxc8 {maintaining protection of the Queen on d8} Rxc8 Bxc8. At this point the Black Queen is clearly outnumbered and Qxd8# is the result. Great problem, eh?

911/1001

2007-01-21T23:11:00.000-08:00

White to Move

The first time through this "checkmate" problem I made the same mistake that the author made: 1. Rf8+ Rxf8 2. Bc4+ Kg7 3. e8=N+ Rxe8 4. Qf7#. I had just seen an underpromotion and was thinking along those lines (no pun intended).

That was a month ago. I went through it again last week when I was taking a break from the composed checkmates. Seeing this problem again I was stumped. I thought Rf8+ Qxf8! busts the variation, and I was looking to sacrifice the pawn but did not see that either. Fritz confirmed it - not a checkmate problem. Something about it seemed intriguing though. Take a look at this alternate position:

White to Move

Now e8=Q+ Rxe8 Rc7 essentially forks c1 and f7, threatening mate with either the Bishop or Queen. The awful Qc1+ Rxc1 is the only reply that isn't a quick mate. I don't know of any pawn promotion/clearance sacrifices that are followed by forking two squares with a Rook.

-=-=-=-=-

Comments are not working again for me = (. Hope that gets fixed soon...

Composed Checkmates

2007-01-10T14:16:00.000-08:00

Years ago when I bought 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate I had the goal of completing the book. After I learned about the circles, I figured a better approach would be to work through everything once except the composed problems, and then repeat any problems I got wrong. I specifically avoided composed problems because ~~I hated them~~ they did not seem to help my game.

Well, worse has come to worse, and I have started on that last infernal section of the book. No circles on this section - I am just going through it once and repeating it once. I am pleasantly surprised to find I truly have improved from before starting the TASC circles; rather than never getting the right answer in 5-10 minutes, I am solving them about 50% of the time in that amount of time. Unfortunately I always seem to leave out one or more defensive variations, and that tells me I have some fundamental calculation blindspots to work on.

They still strike me as unnatural and overly clever, but solving them is a chess workout.

-=-=-=-=-

In order to keep things balanced I review some ordinary checkmates fairly regularly. One thing that is hitting home stronger now is how beneficial solving "upside-down" checkmates are (i.e. normal board but with Black to move). This is what I am doing before each move anyway, so why not practice it. Before the TASC circles it was tough to do, and now I realize it is important to do.

Finished Circles 5-7

2007-01-03T14:58:00.000-08:00

Glad to be done =). Although it was getting boring towards the end, I believe it helped my chess overall. My speed with other checkmate problems in this book is up a notch.

"Which Tactic is This?" Revisited.

2006-12-30T17:06:00.000-08:00

Problem 540 from 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate by Fred Reinfeld
White to Move
2k1q3/p2r1p2/P7/Q6B/8/Kp2r3/8/6R1 w - - 0 1

Note: if you want to solve this checkmate problem first, better stop reading now!

...

I was stuck on this one for awhile and still did not get it right. The two easier variations are 1.Rc1+ Rc7?? and 1.Rc1+ Rc3. I won't comment on those - they are much more forced. I never could get through the 1.Rc1+ Kb8 variation completely on my own. After looking up the answer and working through it in subsequent circles, I began to appreciate this problem more.

Seeing that White's Queen could give check on b4 was alot different than giving check b5 was pretty easy. The key to the difficulty seems to be the c8 square. First it's where Black's King is, then Black is guarding c8 more times than it is attacked, then Black is guarding c8 once as it is being attacked once. At the same time the Black King is stuck in the corner, walking into a strange sort of back rank checkmate threat.

After 1.Rc1+ Kb8 2.Qb4+ Ka8 3.Bf3!+ Rxf3

I am now beginning to think I left something out of my Simultaneous Advantage post: tying down defenders. That is similar to immobilizing defenders, although they still have some movement available to them. Here is a simplified analysis of the above position.

Preexisting advantages:

All of Black's King's flight squares have been removed.
Black's Queen is tied down to the eighth rank to defend against the back rank checkmate threat Rc8#.
Black's Rook on c7 is tied down to the seventh rank to defend against Qb7#.

On Qe4! Black gets some advantages from the move:

Moving into capture - White's Queen is unprotected on e4
Giving a King flight square - b8

White gets advantages which are terminal for Black:

Forcing with check - this also implies "preventing counterattack" on White's King
Threatening capture - Black's unprotected Queen is threatened with Qxe8+
Removing King's flight square - a8
Resulting checkmate threat - ...Kb8 Qxe8+ Rd8 Qxd8#

Defensive options:

Rook (on d7) to b7 walks into mate in one.
...Rb7 Qxb7#
Rook (on d7) to d5 walks into mate in two.
...Rd5 Qxe8+ Rd8 Qxd8#
Similarly Kb7 walks into mate in two.
...Kb7 Qxe8+ Rd8 Qxd8#
Queen takes Queen on e4 walks into the back rank mate in one.
...Qxe4 5. Rc8#

So what tactic (besides the fork aspect) is going on in the move Qe4? It seems to me as a special case of attacking the defender: a enprise attack on a tied down defender. Although Black's Queen is hanging, I believe a tied down defender essentially is equivalent to a hanging piece. Here's an example:

White to Move

Qb7! forks both Black Queens. Although they defend each other, the Black Queens cannot simultaneously defend against the back-rank mate threat and capture White's Queen.

-=-=-=-=-

I am getting a bit annoyed with this new blogger editor as it keeps adding lines, especially in bulleted sentences.**rolls eyes**. Perhaps WordPress is in my future...

Finished circle 4, and picking up some speed.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Circle 3 Complete

2006-12-30T01:36:00.000-08:00

I am sinking into shallow pattern recognition solving the circle checkmates. When I recognize it I slow myself down and deliberately calculate through it again. That is one of the problems with books: the answers don't punish incomplete variation thinking.

I have found two wrong answers, 513 and 524. The mating idea was right, it just took more moves.

-=-=-=-

For about a month I have had difficulty leaving comments on blogs. If it doesn't go to a comment page that never completely loads it asks me to login and in the process loses my comment. I find it really irritating that something that was working for years is broken.

:-(

Circle 2 Complete

2006-12-27T20:09:00.000-08:00

I am beginning to wonder about these problems. Although they highlight my weak areas, some of the themes are obscure. For instance, how many opportunities do beginning/intermediate players have to use a double sacrifice? That theme is a bit of a mind-bender.

Circle 1 Complete

2006-12-24T17:11:00.000-08:00

As I circle through my checkmate problems, I have begun to categorize the themes that come up in the checkmates that I often get wrong.

Sacrifice not on the initial move
Quiet moves, especially not on the initial move
Opening lines to take away opponent's King flight squares
Interference, forcing opponent's pieces onto his own King's flight squares, especially not on the initial move
Overworked Defenders who are not overworked on or after the initial move

This leaves out taking extra moves to achieve mate, using squares beyond a1 through h8, or instantaneously promoting all of my pieces to Queens.

-=-=-=-=-

I am working on a universal definition of the weakest part of my chess game. So far I have two possibilities: either the part of my game that I am scrutinizing at this time or the more straightforward all parts of my game are very, very weak. This definition seems to apply to the majority of chess players, players at all rating levels as well. At least how they describe themselves ;-).

-=-=-=-=-

I wanted to put in a good word for GM Eugene Perelshteyn's French Defense opening lecture on chessfm. It was immensely accessible and well thought out. Although I never play either side of that opening, it didn't matter. I have not read his related books, but I gather they are quite good for beginner through intermediate level players.

These lectures are one of the biggest reason I joined the ICC - to support them to keep doing it =). I hope to see more.

Starting Circle 1

2006-12-20T17:38:00.000-08:00

Beginning circles again is helping my thinking process. For the first time in months I played a great miniature as Black. Enjoy!

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Bb5+ c6 6. Qe2 Qe7 7. Bd3 Nc5 8. Qxe7+ Bxe7 9. O-O Nxd3 10. cxd3 O-O 11. b3 Bf6 12. Nc3 Bf5 13. Ba3 Rd8 14. d4 Na6 15. Rfe1 b5 16. Bb2 Nb4 17. Rad1 Nd3 {White resigns} 0-1

Circling Around Again

2006-12-17T16:41:00.000-08:00

Years after I began it, I am approaching problem 800 in 1001 Better Ways to Checkmate (Wohoo!). I missed a mate in two and took five minutes to see a mate in one. I am consistently going for longer mates or missing crisscross attacks completely. *Sigh*

Although I still get in an occasional blitz game, it's only through blunders that I am in the 1300 range. I know playing lots of long games would help more, but in lieu of time considerations I am going to do a "holiday" 40 problem mini-circle out of medium difficulty checkmates from the book.

On a more upbeat note it is good to see so many interesting posts on other chess blogs including new Knights - I will add your links soon.

Thinking in chess

2006-12-07T21:17:00.000-08:00

What is chess thinking anyway? I don't really know. Years ago I would attribute most everything to visual pattern recognition or calculation. That seems terribly simplistic now.

Here is a parallel question. What is thinking in wrestling, like they have in the Olympics? Clearly the sport is a test of physical strength. All wrestlers are fit from training, so what determines the winner seems like a combination of things: strategy, tactics, timing, and space, especially if you consider that a wrestler can lose or gain by getting out of boundaries depending on the situation. The brain must be doing something for wrestlers.

Back to chess. I picked up an old chess book and casually reviewed some problems. I did not do much better on the "Combinations" section than I did before starting the TCT circles. I am busy and my chess is suffering. Anyway, I went back to the section on "Delivering Mate" and I quickly sailed through the easy mates. The tougher mates were a little slower. Surprisingly I didn't really recognize any of them. One just didn't make sense. I must have been too tired to calculate. Either that or lazy!

The Mammoth Book of Chess
Problem 11, page 29

White to Move

This wasn't any pattern I recognized. I put the book down for five minutes, had my mind completely elsewhere, then picked up the book again and had the answer: Qe8. Because f8 was attacked twice by White, it seems logical for Black to take the Queen, but alas that is followed by a double-check. I had to laugh, as the d6 square was attacked no less than four times by Black!

I find it peculiar that the answer quietly popped out of nowhere. It was not visual, either. It sort of seemed mechanical, like pieces moving, as if to indicate, "do this". That is the mysterious chess thinking I have no clue about. And I can't imagine anyone becoming a strong player without it in one form or another.

Caro-Kann

2006-11-23T23:32:00.000-08:00

I have been doing some reading in the Art of Logical Thinking, finishing up Ponomariov vs Conquest and getting into Vladimir Kovacevic vs Yasser Seirawan (1980). These seem like good game choices, and I can grasp the ideas in the annotations.

I don't know anything about the Caro-Kann Defense (Ponomariov vs Conquest). I have read several people discourage beginning and intermediate players from using that as Black, although it has a solid reputation. I get the impression that it is similar to the Petroff in that Black's attitude is more about not losing than it is about winning, and maybe more about getting to an endgame rather than a quick tactical miniature. Anyone have any opinions?

I Feel Good

2006-11-16T17:08:00.000-08:00

... to quote singer James Brown. I received a gift in a recent blitz game.

White to Move

I was White and boldly took the Bishop with Qxd7. Black took the sacrifice (ouch!) ...Qxd7. Fork, fork,...

Appreciation

2006-11-11T23:42:00.000-08:00

Black to Move

I have not done much with chess recently, but occasionally I get in a little blitz, checkmate problems, and some TCT review. Oh, also a couple of annotated games each month. It just isn't the same as when I was doing the circles, as my board vision is really poor now.

Although I enjoy blitz, I there isn't enough time to appreciate the endgame. I was White in this position and had not accurately calculated Black's options. I now think this is a nice little endgame problem, one path leading to a quick demise, another leading to chances.

Answer:[ ...a6! and now Black can meet b7 with ..Kc7]

570th Brilliant Way to Checkmate

2006-10-24T15:52:00.000-07:00

Black to Move

Here's another from Reinfeld's 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate. I had the right idea but messed up the calculation on this one... the devil is in the details! I like when a problem puts together a couple of simple themes and makes something that is tough, so I thought I would post it.

... Rd1+ 2. Kh2 Rcc1 3. Bf4 Rh1+ 4. Kg3 Rh3+ 5. gxh3 Rg1+6. Kh2 Rh1+ 7. Kg3 Rxh3# 0-1

Indirect Threat

2006-10-19T18:39:00.000-07:00

I got in a little blitz and thought I would post one of the really nice opportunity I missed in time pressure. This one looks like it is right out of TCT.

Black to Move

.
..
...
..
.
I ended up playing the klunky ...Kd6, aiming to march the Black King over to the White Rook. I missed the wonderful ...Rf1, quietly threatening ...Rxf2+ and promotion simultaneously.

Mate in 19?

2006-10-14T22:12:00.000-07:00

I have been busy recently, and that means very little chess. One annoying thing that I spent alot of time on was problem #557 in Reinfeld's 1001 Brilliant Ways to Checkmate. I correctly came to the conclusion that if Black refused a Rook sacrifice, it wasn't checkmate anytime soon. The book was naive in its answer and didn't explore the variation. I fed it to Fritz, and it couldn't even get to the final mate without pushing pieces to quicken the pace of calculation. Ugh... and I thought I liked checkmate problems (lol).

So here is the question: is forced mate in 19 moves really a checkmate problem?

Pre-Circle Review

2006-09-27T17:59:00.000-07:00

I have been busy and had little time for chess recently. One thing I have done is review several of the Waitzkin lectures bundled in my old Chessmaster 8000. Before the "circles", I spent all my training time with that program and Silman's The Amateur's Mind. Not a bad approach, but not strong enough calculation practice (which I still need more of!).

I really enjoyed Waitzkin vs Akopyan and Waitzkin vs Frumkin which is below.

Can Black take the d1 Rook now?

[Event "Open"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1987.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Joshua Waitzkin"]
[Black "Edward A Frumkin"]
[ECO "B45"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "62"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Be3 Bb4 7. f3 d5 8.
Bb5 Bd7 9. Bxc6 bxc6 10. e5 Ng8 11. a3 Ba5 12. b4 Bc7 13. f4 Ne7 14. Na4
O-O 15. Nc5 a5 16. c3 Nc8 17. O-O Nb6 18. Qg4 Nc4 19. Bf2 Qe8 20. Rfe1 Bc8
21. Bh4 Kh8 22. a4 Bb6 23. Rad1 Bxc5 24. bxc5 Nb2 25. Re3 Nxd1 26. Qxg7+
Kxg7 27. Bf6+ Kg6 28. Rg3+ Kh6 29. Bg7+ Kh5 30. Rg5+ Kh4 31. Nf3# 1-0

I couldn't calculate this exhaustively before the circles and now I can. The White Queen threatens sacrifice on g7 leading to... Kg7 Bf6+ and forced mate with help from the e3 Rook, Knight, and White's back rank pawns. So taking the Rook was a blunder. Kudos to the (then) 10-year old Josh Waitzkin.

It took several minutes to get this one right, but nonetheless I did it :-). Had I continued with the training approach I was in, well... it's doubtful that I would see it completely.

Immaterial

2006-09-15T18:58:00.000-07:00

I have been frustrated recently with this blog's search capabilities. Looking for text "magnetism" in a post from last year turns up nothing. GRR.

ANYWAY...here is a fun, dynamic position that I lucked into. Enjoy.

White to Move

More Down Than Up

2006-09-05T19:01:00.000-07:00

I think it has finally happened. After months of doing 10 problems a day, some chunk of "circle" power has gone away. I am falling back into old habits, not seeing pins or assessing them wrong, not calculating Queen moves exhaustively, and occasionally even missing mate threats I was recently so keen on looking out for. I suspect this is temporary, just part of the process of getting better.

Black to Move

Here is a recent blitz loss as Black. To me it looks like my middlegame is strong but my endgame is a disaster. That's the exact opposite of how I used to be.

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Qe2 Qe7 6. d3 Nf6 7. Qxe7+
Bxe7 8. Be2 O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Re1 Bf8 11. Nc3 Nbd7 12. Bg5 h6 13. Bh4 b6
14. Nb5 Nd5 15. c4 a6 16. Nbd4 Nf4 17. Bg3 Nxe2+ 18. Nxe2 Bb7 19. Nfd4 Ne5
20. Bxe5 dxe5 21. Nc2 Rad8 22. Rad1 f5 23. Ng3 g6 24. b3 h5 25. Ne2 h4 26.
Nc3 g5 27. Ne3 Bb4 28. Ncd5 Bxd5 29. Nxd5 Bxe1 30. Nf6+ Kf7 31. Nxe8 Rxe8
32. Rxe1 e4 33. Rd1 Rd8 34. d4 f4 35. Kf1 g4 36. Ke2 Kf6 37. d5 Kf5 38. g3
hxg3 39. fxg3 fxg3 40. hxg3 Ke5 41. Ke3 c6 42. d6 Rxd6 43. Rxd6 Kxd6 44.
Kxe4 Ke6 45. Kf4 Kf6 46. Kxg4 Kg6 47. Kf4 Kf6 48. b4 c5 49. a3 a5 50. bxa5
{
Black resigns
}
1-0

In the diagram I missed the simple tactic exd3! White's Rook cannot recapture due to Rxd3 Re1#. D O H !

Up and Down

2006-08-25T15:19:00.000-07:00

I got a draw as White with a 1700 blitz player, a first for me:

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. O-O d6 6. Nbd2 Nbd7 7. b3 e5 8.
dxe5 Nxe5 9. Bb2 Re8 10. Nxe5 dxe5 11. Nc4 Nd7 12. e4 Rb8 13. Qe2 b5 14.
Ne3 Bb7 15. Rfd1 a6 16. Rd2 Qe7 17. Nd5 Bxd5 18. exd5 Nb6 19. Rad1 Rbd8 20.
Qe3 h5 21. d6 Qd7 22. dxc7 Qxc7 23. Rxd8 Rxd8 24. Qe2 Kh7 25. Rxd8 Qxd8 26.
Bxe5 Bxe5 27. Qxe5 Qd1+ 28. Bf1 Qxc2 29. Qf6 Qc7 30. Bg2 Qc1+ 31. Bf1 Qc7
32. Bg2 Qc1+ 33. Bf1 Qc7 34. Bg2 {Game drawn by repetition} 1/2-1/2

I certainly wasn't perfect but very solid.

-=-=-=-

I got positionally crushed as Black in my last slow game by a 1500 player. He knows his openings!

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Nxe5 d6 4. Nf3 Nxe4 5. Nc3 Nxc3 6. dxc3 Nc6 7. Be3
Be6 8. Qd2 Be7 9. O-O-O Qd7 10. Kb1 O-O-O 11. Nd4 Ne5 12. b3 Kb8 13. Bb5 c6
14. Nxe6 fxe6 15. Be2 h6 16. Bd4 Bf6 17. Qe3 c5 18. Bxc5 Qc6 19. Bxa7+ Kc7
20. Bd4 Ra8 21. f4 Rxa2 22. Kxa2 Ra8+ 23. Kb2 Nc4+ 24. Bxc4 e5 25. fxe5
dxe5 26. Bxe5+ {Black resigns} 1-0

-=-=-=-

All in all I am spending much less time with chess, and there probably is no big improvement this way *roll eyes*. I don't miss the circles though.

Not So Bad

2006-08-17T13:38:00.000-07:00

Black to Move

After years of collecting post-mortem conundrums I looked at some of them. And you know, it wasn't so bad! Rather than feeling inundated by the amount, which is around 200 positions, I just looked at a few for the sake of looking at a few. I suppose that this collection no longer seems like an impossible encumbrance, just more chess problems that I can improve on :-).

Here's a tough position I wanted to share. I'm curious what people think about what they would play in the above position, and let's say you are playing a slow game and have plenty of time.

...

Back when I played this I thought, "I don't see forced mate so the clearest idea is ...Qg6, threatening a back rank check and double attack on the b2 Rook. I see the pin I have is helpful, but not exactly winning."

While ...Qg6 is completely winning, I never even looked at ...Rf8. That threatens ...Rxf2+ 38. Kxf2 Qf5+ 39. Ke1 Rg1+ 40. Kd2 Qd3#. The threat is so strong it practically forces White to exchange his Queen for the f8 Rook. Pretty cool, huh?

Fritz also has ...Qe4 as a nearly equal threat to ...Rf8, so kudos if you saw that one.

Review

2006-08-12T21:04:00.000-07:00

I am keeping up review, doing roughly 10 problems per day. I was very rusty with the Mammoth Book of Chess review, though not too bad with Seirawan's tactics book.

I have not played any long games recently but I am still having fun with 5/12. Here's a finish from one where I couldn't help but indulge my tendency to liquidate with Qxe8+ Kxe8 Nc7+ Kd7 Nxa6 :).

White to Move

Winning Combination

2006-07-28T23:07:00.000-07:00

Black to Move

I got in some more solid blitz games of (5/12) and in a rare occurrence I sacrificed my Queen to win! Finding Queen to a2 to reach the above positioned was extremely difficult. I think following this position all the way through is a treat. The continuation is 36...Qxb1!+ 37.Qxb1 Ra1 38.Qxa1 bxa1=Q+ 39.Bxa1 Rb1+, forking the King and Bishop.

1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.d3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 d6 6.Bg5 O-O 7.Be2 c5 8.O-O Nc6 9.Nd2
b5 10.Re1 a5 11.Nf1 b4 12.c4 Nd4 13.Ne3 h6 14.Bh4 g5 15.Bg3 h5 16.Bxh5 Kg7 17.Nd5
Nxh5 18.Qxh5 Nxc2 19.Ne3 Rh8 20.Qd1 Nxa1 21.Qxa1 Be6 22.f4 f6 23.f5 Bf7 24.Rf1 a4
25.Nd5 Bxd5 26.cxd5 b3 27.axb3 axb3 28.Qc3 Rb8 29.Rb1 Qb6 30.Bf2 Qb4 31.Qc1 b2 32.Qc2
Qb3 33.Qe2 Qa2 34.Qc2 Rb7 35.Be1 Ra8 36.Bc3 Qxb1+ 37.Qxb1 Ra1 38.Qxa1 bxa1=Q+ 39.Bxa1
Rb1+ {White resigns} 0-1

-=-=-=-=-

I just went through the Seirawan v. Ivanchuk game in the McDonald book The Art of Logical Thinking and I think it is one of the best in the book. It is a KID gone really bad for Black, over in 22 moves!

-=-=-=-=-

I just lost a 45/45 game to a 1700 + 10 year old. I played well, and it was extremely even through most of it, but I lost to a miscalculation in the late middlegame (24). I really didn't think about prophylactic moves, just tactics, and it cost me. Hopefully lessened learned!

Anyone know the KID?

2006-07-28T14:08:00.000-07:00

I have been avoiding this opening for awhile, putting time into improving my tactics. More than any other opening that I play as White, this one seemed to be the most complex. I opted for the Four Pawns attack (which seemed easy to remember) or KIA (which always secured a plausible game).

It seems like a few years ago the Bayonet variation (1. d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.b4 ) became viewed best for White at the professional level, and soon after scores of amateurs started using it. Of all the books I own and have checked out of my local library, not one had that variation except Batsford Chess Openings, and that book was over my head.
I have to questions that I am puzzling through. First, Black's option of 7...Nd7 would appear to change the situation, avoiding that line. With 7...Nd7 Black is no longer losing a tempo to the d5 push, yet the move does not seem as popular according to my database. I am guessing that the advantage of 7...Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 is that it supports the f5 push?

My second question is about other lines where White starts improvising out of book but then throws in the b4 early, should Black be considering ...a5 early or other ideas as prevention?

edit: I have been directed to read Bronstein's Zurich 1953. I imagine 350 pages gone through 7 circles would serve as a nice introduction...