Technology has changed a lot of things about chess in the last 20-30 years and the best players have learned to successfully evolve with these changes. Looking at our current World Chess Champion Viswanathan Anand and the Challenger for the 2012 World Chess Championship, Boris Gelfand, we can clearly see how they have adapted to remain at the pinnacle of chess for the past 2 decades. Vassily Ivanchuk has also set quite an example, as the Ukranian genius somehow keeps getting better at chess with age. Then we can take a look at the rising stars of this generation, no doubt led by the current highest rated player in the world Magnus Carlsen. You also have to consider Hikaru Nakamura, Anish Giri, and Fabiano Caruana. These 4 players all earned the GM title around the age of 15 – something that Bobby Fischer did 50 years ago to completely shock the world. As I don’t think that children of this generation are getting genetically smarter, an environmental factor must be the explanation for the continuously lower age of grandmasters in the 21st century.

Technology Is Your Friend

In a recent interview with Anish Giri, the prodigy explained that he made significant strides in chess due to playing blitz on the internet. Giri stated that he was moving around the world a lot and that he was only able to encounter an extremely high level of opposition on the internet – thus enabling him to raise the standards of his own game. This is a great example of how playing chess online can really help you take your game to the next level. On sites like ICC, ChessCube, FICS, and Chess.com you can Always get a game against a solid player around your class. Technology has also changed the game significantly in that the spread of information is guaranteed and instant. With live broadcasts of all major tournaments throughout the globe, you can keep up with the latest opening theory with just a click of the mouse. Playing chess online should be a positive experience with respect to improvement, however you should be careful to take advantage of the good qualities and avoid common pitfalls that can seriously waste your time.

Can You Have Too Much Of A Good Thing?

Too much chess on the internet can have many negative effects such as decreased social functioning, shiny/pale skin, weird habits, and worst of all – superficial chess. The biggest drawback of internet chess is that the vast majority is played at increasingly lower time controls. This encourages faster play and minimal thought, reinforcing horrible habits that can start appearing in “real” over-the-board tournaments. It is paramount to recognize the dangers of playing chess online and try to simulate real games as much as possible. This entails playing less variants, and playing normal chess at higher time controls (at least 10-15 minutes per game, really 30-60 minutes is optimal). Also, if you want to get better at chess you need to STAY AWAY FROM 1-MINUTE CHESS. Bullet chess is becoming more popular every day with developing chess players, however it really is the worst thing you can do for your chess game. Focus on the positive aspects of playing chess online, like you can always get a game with a good opponent and it’s very easy to test out different opening systems in a relatively short period of time. Don’t let yourself get sucked into the black-hole perils of online chess and become a bullet addict who is constantly in need of a quick fix!

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National Master Will Stewart specializes in Online Chess Classes and maintains a daily updated Chess Blog with Free Chess Videos.

Blitz Video #1: WStewart vs rpenquin

I decided to open flexibly with Nf3 and c4, and proceeded with a double-fianchetto opening. After 9. …Na6 I tried to seize the initiative with 10. g4!? The position became complicated in the middlegame and I went wrong with 23. e5 – although black did have pressure due to his control of my dark squares (notably f4 and e5). 23. e5 conceded the important d5 square to the black knight and my rook somehow ended up horribly out of play on h4. After more complications in the middlegame an interesting material balance arose as I had a R+N for his queen, however my position seemed solid enough to draw. In mutually extreme time pressure, I won on time. After 54. Ng2?? black could have checkmated with 54. …Qh1+ 55. Kg4 Qh5# – but I was lucky enough that he missed it with less than 10 seconds on the clock.

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Chess Master Will Stewart is a Chess Tutor who maintains a daily updated Chess Blog with videos. Interface: ICC

Karpov

Karpov Explains Fischer vs Addison, Palma de Mallorca Interzonal 1970

The infamous Bobby Fischer

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Ron W. Henley is an International Grandmaster who has trained names such as GM Anatoly Karpov and GM Nakamura. He’s authored award winning books & produced over 60 chess videos.

So now that we know how awesome it is to create dynamic imbalances from previous articles, we still need to acknowledge that there is an appropriate “time and place” to mix it up with a sacrifice. One of the most frequent sacrifices in chess is the “exchange sacrifice” – an absolute classic sac that can be personified in many different forms. For example, Tigran Petrosian was famous for defensively sacrificing the exchange to construct an impregnable defensive fortress. However, the exchange sac is more commonly seen in attempts to rapidly attack and throw the opponent off balance. There is also the positional exchange sac, with the objective of creating a lasting positional imbalance and typically long-term damage against the opponent’s pawn structure. The exchange sacrifice can be a deadly tool in the hands of any type of player (tactical, positional, etc..) however it is very important to understand the conditions that are favorable to this type of sacrifice.

When to Sac the Exchange

Fischer Laughs at Incredible Power of Exchange Sac!

As exchange sacs can occur in such a variety of different settings, there are no 100% concrete rules to know when an exchange sac is appropriate. You primarily have to rely on positional understanding and intuition to sense an appropriate exchange sac, however there are a few basic factors that can point you in the right direction. One such basic rule is that sacrifices almost always occur from the side with a superior position, since if you are already pressuring your opponent the “ripple effect” of a sacrifice can resonate throughout an already nervous defense. The exchange sac can be especially effective in helping you seize the initiative against an unsuspecting opponent who may have simply missed the concept that you can sacrifice in a given position. Lastly, the exchange sac can have enduring effects by permanently destroying the fluidity of your opponent’s pawn structure and giving you static weaknesses to attack. In the following game, we’re going to examine a classic exchange sacrifice with the black pieces in the Sicilian Najdorf that leaves white’s position completely devastated.

Walter Hausman vs Bobby Fischer, Santiago 1959

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5

Position after 6. Bg5

We have reached the complicated 6. Bg5 line of the Sicilian Najdorf. Black will normally strive to create counterplay against white’s center by achieving pressure on the half-open c-file and striving for the thematic breaks …b5 and …d5.

6. …e6 7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3 Qc7 9. 0-0-0 Nbd7 10. f5 e5

Position after 10. ...e5

White forces black to permanently weaken the d5 square, although white has committed himself as he is no longer able to force the center open with e5.

11. Nb3 b5 12. a3 Bb7 13. h4 Rc8 14. Bd3 h5 15. Kb1 Nb6 16. Nd2 Ng4 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. Nf1 Rxc3!

After completing most of his development, Fischer angled with 14. …h5, 16. …Ng4, and 17. …Qxe7 to open up his rook on the c-file and set up a crushing exchange sacrifice on c3. This type of exchange sac is frequently seen in many variations of the Sicilian Defense, and is especially effective when white has pushed his pawn to a3 as this pawn will often remain a chronic weakness in addition to the doubled c-pawns. To complement his lasting positional pressure on white’s weak queenside pawns, Fischer has also achieved a very dangerous attack and with subsequent play we can truly feel the “ripple effect” of the sacrifice as white’s entire position is greatly effected.

19. bxc3 d5! 20. Qe2 0-0!

With 19. …d5! Fischer opens up his queen to attack on the f8-a3 diagonal while simultaneously introducing a mountain of pressure against white’s loose center. White was planning on responding to 20. …Na4? with 21. Bxb5+! – crippling black’s attack. Fischer instead plays 20. …0-0 and prevents any type of cheap tactics, also renewing the threat of …Na4 and …Qxa3.

Fischer went on to win the game easily as white was forced to sacrifice a piece with 21. Bxb5 to try to distract black from achieving a winning attack against white’s exposed king. This game perfectly illustrates how a well-planned and well-timed exchange sacrifice can instantly destroy your opponent’s defenses. First Fischer developed very energetically and established good piece-play against white’s center. Then, Fischer maneuvered to open his rook on the c-file in a very natural way. And finally, Fischer blasted open white’s exposed king with the exchange sac on 18. …Rxc3 to achieve a winning attack against white’s over-extended and discoordinated pieces.

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Game 1: Sicilian Sniper – Guidez 2167 – GM Ron W Henley 2879

Against my SNIPER, White employed 4.dxc4 Qa5+ 5.Bd2 Qxc5 and 6.Bc3 which allows Black a pretty solid position with equality. My 12…e5 was to prevent his e4-e5 thrust, but development with 12…Bb7 would suffice. With my pawns on dark squares, he played the “positionally inspired” 13.Ba6 forcing the exchange of light square Bs. My 13….Nh5 was eyeing the f4 square, but 13…Nxe4 was winning tactic – collecting the e-pawn and B pair in one fell swoop! His maneuver 17.Nfd2-18.Nf1-21.Ne3 was designed to bring his knight to d5. With the thematic – 17…d5! I could have seized the initiative in the center. With Black having missed the good Sniper counterpunches, White executed his positional plan of 23.Nd5 25.exd5 followed by 26.Na5 and 27.Nc6. My counterplay with 28…Na4 led to a complex ending where White missed my 32…a6! After 33.Rb7? I missed both 33…Rxc6! 34.dxc6 Nxa5 and 33…Nxa5 34.Nxa5 Rxc2 with a winning game. With 30 seconds left he hung his B with 38.Rd2? In mutual time pressure I returned the B to reach a two pawn plus R ending. In the final position the white f-pawn is falling and he had 2 seconds left.

Game 2: Dzindzi Indian – Gebart 1801 – GM Ron W Henley 2879

Against my attempted DZINDZI INDIAN White employed Stonewall setup with 2.f4. when I wnt into “Sniper mode” he switched gears and built a big center with 3.Nf3, 4.e4, and 5.c3. with 5…cxd4 and 6…Bg4 I put pressure on his d4 center pawn. After 7…Bxf3 I expected White to accept doubled f-pawns with 8.gxf3, but he surprised me by sacrificing the d-pawn with 8.Qxf3. With 11…Nf6 and 12…0-0 I secured my K and 13…Qb6 allowed me to exchange Qs, further reducing any danger to my K. After 17…Ng4, Black is basically a very solid pawn ahead in a 2R+N ending. After 22.Nxd1 all the rs have been exchanged leaving Black a pure pawn plus Knight ending. From there basic endgame play as both side centralized their Ks. With 34…Nb5+ I forced the exchange of Knights leading to a routine in the K and pawns ending. With 38…f5 I am making an outside passed pawn, so White resigned.

Game 3: French Defense – GM Ron W Henley 2879 – Rodent 1823, French Defence

Against 1.e4 Black trotted out the sturdy French Defence which I countered with the Advance Variation. Black selected the closed positional system with 3…b6, 4…Qd7, and 5…Ba6 which is designed to exchange off the chonically “Bad B” that French players suffer with. I experimented with 6.Bc2 and was rewarded when he continued in routine with Nb8-c6-a5 and 9.Bxe2 giving White the B pair and space advantage. I started probing his kingside with 11.Bg5 and began building for the f4-f5 pawn break with 13.f4 and 15.Rf1. His retreat 15…Nc6 ran into the powerful pin 16.Ba4! which required him to loosen his queenside (16…a6, 17…b5) in order to break. With my Knight anchored in on c5 (19.Nb3, 20.Nc5) I reduced his counterplay and kept his K in the center with 21.Bxe7!? with 22.a4 and 24.b4 followed by 25.Bd1, Bc2 and 27.Qd3! I overpowered his b5 defensive capabilities. After 28.Rxa4 his a6 pawn is a attacked 4 times and is a goner. Mobilization with 29.Rfa1 led to the powerful break thru 30.b5! due to the pin on the a-file. With 31.Rxa6, 32.Ra8, 33.R1a7 my Rs came flooding into the black position. When the black K tried to flee with 33…Ke7, 34.Rxc7+ collected a second pawn and brought resignation. After 34…Kd8 35.Rd7+ Kc8 36.R8-a7, white threatens 37.Ra-c7 mate.

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Ron W. Henley is an International Grandmaster who has trained names such as GM Anatoly Karpov and GM Nakamura. He’s authored award winning books & produced over 60 chess videos.

Parents often wonder if their child is ready for chess. I think many guess “no,” because they feel the child should be of a certain age. It might surprise you to learn that some children learn to play a full game of chess before they learn to talk!

Is that common? No. But it has happened and it is possible.

One of the top questions I get as a chess educator is, “What is the ideal age to start teaching a child chess?”

Look for the signs if a child is not ready to learn chess yet.

My answer is four years old. I love that age. Children are so eager to learn and are extremely proud of their accomplishments. They often want to share their knowledge with their friends and family.

Last summer, when my daughter was four years old, she taught a fifteen-year-old visiting teacher’s aide to play. I heard all about it from her teacher, who stood back amazed.

My daughter loves to teach people the game, because she loves chess and wants to share the experience with others.

It is important to never force chess on your child. It can be hard to recover from a negative experience. If they aren’t interested, just let it go and try again at another time.

You will know if your child isn’t ready to learn. We talk about this a bit in Chess Is Child’s Play – Teaching Techniques That Work. Pretty much any child can do the mini-games for two- and three-year-olds, which introduce the child to the names of the pieces and the board. However when you get into piece movement, some kids just aren’t ready.

So what do you do if your child isn’t ready now? Wait a few months and try again. Most likely they will be ready before you know it and it will be their decision!

If the young child has an older sibling, it can be a good plan to play with that child, allowing the younger one to watch. Children often want to do what their older brothers or sisters are doing!

Chess lessons, done correctly, are a fun bonding experience for the parent and child. When your child is ready, they will let you know and then the problem will be how to stop them from beating you!

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Laura Sherman and Bill Kilpatrick wrote Chess Is Child’s Play, a book that teaches parents how to teach their children to play chess. Chess Is Child’s Play can be ordered on the OnlineChessLessons.NET shop.

For the last couple of hours I’ve been on the phone with my chess instructor. He’s trying to convince me that preparation against specific opponents can improve your chess rating quickly. I’ve told him that it’s not my rating that needs a boost but my skill level.

My chess teacher’s argument is:

a) If your opponent plays a particular variation give it respect until you’re provided with a reason to do otherwise.

b) WGM Irina Krush said that the distinguishing feature of Kasparov’s game is his immense preparation. His tactical brilliance usually comes with help from his seconds.

c) Eventually preparation will become necessary. Why not start perfecting it now?

d) Preparation will increase your pattern recognition. You can’t have a response memorized for 1. Na3 followed by 2. Nh3, but you can  at least categorize them broadly.

e) It’s okay if you don’t have Larsen’s Opening down pat. The burden is smaller when playing against an unorthodox opening. As long as a plan is internally consistent and logical it will probably lead to equality. You still have to understand its ideas however.

You’ll find fewer people more pigheaded than an Italian mongrel from Boston so I am putting up some pretty stout resistance.

These are my counterarguments:

a1) You might never the variation again! Why should I study the line after 1.d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 4. Bg4 5. Ne5 B h5 6. f3 dxc 7. g4 Bh6 8. h4 h6? where white seizes the bishop pair. The position is imbalanced. It’s not wholly undesirable for black, but not the best way to proceed. Should I learn to actually work out the peculiarities of this rare pawn structure or study the isolani instead? The latter will be reinforced by your games and stick better than the former.

a2) What if they’re not playing the position based on faith? Not every move at the chessboard is a brilliancy. You have to move! If my opponent plays the aforementioned line it shows he or she is playing  little attention to theory. If you’ve paid your dues on the other hand, you should beat them regularly.

c) A lot of things will become necessary if I live long enough!  There are a lot of ways to improve. Isn’t it best to do them in order of efficiency? The old adage tells us that chess is ninety-nine percent tactics. The saying is an exaggeration, but tactical study does foster rapid chess improvement. No matter the direction you want to travel the journey goes that way.

d) Hogwash. Recently my opponent won a rook for four pawns and an attack. There were no general chess principles to follow. Control of the center? I guess I had it, since he had no pawns! In fact such unique positions, a hallmark of amateur games – where theory ends early – ought not to be studied at all.

e) What good is it to study a chess position that you’ll just forget due to disuse?

I’m interested to see if you think my chess teacher’s focus is a bit off here or if I’m just an intractable student!

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Gordon Stockton is a Florida based chess enthusiast, part-time chess coach & martial arts student. He also maintains his own chess blog.