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* 800+ vs 800+ game, 20 moves, 15+10 time control C00 French Defense: Knight Variation (2. Nf3). 1. e4 e6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4 4. O-O d5 5. Bd3 Nc5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. Ba4 Nxa4 8. h3 Bd6 9. d4 O-O 10. Nc3 Nxc3 11. bxc3 e5 12. dxe5 Bc5 13. Bg5 Qa5 14. Qd2 Ba3 15. Nd4 Bb2 16. Rab1 Bxc3 17. Qe3 c5 18. Nb3 Qb4 19. Be7 Re8 20. Bxc5 1-0
# You shouldn’t miss a single chance to take advantage of your opponent’s random move at the very beginning of a game and, thanks to this, improve the operational capabilities of your pieces and capture space. Learning to use such gifts is absolutely essential for beginning chess players. You can do that be reading the engine’s thoughts while checking lines on LICHESS.ORG’s Analysis board and by studying corresponding games
# Inconsistent chess caused by inexperience and lack of understanding of the dynamics of an Open Game. This long-persisting problem of the beginner ranks can be gradually cured by all the same reading the engine’s thought, training and sparring with computer. Take your time. Play longer time-control games. Invest more time into analyzing your working horse opening and your types of setups. By focusing on your own analysis of your mistakes and failures, and using the computer’s help only after your own analysis has been done, you make this work really engaging and gripping, you are getting closer to the understanding of what is happening on the board
# Every time you burn your brain by animating pieces on a board, you get better in chess
# Safety of your king is number one priority for you
# Avoiding one danger without paying attention to another
# Playing tons of games we are learning things from each other, which is good. Learning from chess books is another goody, which tons of beginner players avoid doing thus sticking to their low ranks for decades
# Distracting the opponent’s attention from hanging undefended piece with a discover-attack on another piece
# When you see a good move, look for a better one
# Typical techniques for distracting the opponent’s attention and perhaps even his resources from his activity on the other flank of the board
# Chess can teach you not to panic and talk to your pieces. It is possible in a long-time control game
* Analysis board. Icons & Tools
* Reminder: Importance of post-game computer analysis
ULTIMATE REMINDER
(1) As a beginner player you need to play more long time control games on LICHESS.ORG like 60+ or at least 30+20. Only that way you have enough time for thinking, calculations, avoiding blunders, pattern recognition, position assessments, decision-making, etc. Short-time control games are for you to just occasionally test your way of getting better in chess and your ability to play chess under time pressure and anxiety.
(2) Computer-analyze the game you have just played!
(3) Identify your mistakes and give them real names like it is done in Problem ID series in this book!
800+ vs 800+ game, 15+10 time control
C00 French Defense: Knight Variation (2. Nf3)
Grey arrows on diagrams are computer-suggested moves
1. e4. White plays 1. e4, the very aggressive move unlocking their queen and the f1-bishop as well as claiming control of the center… all of it just at one go and in one package (sorry for my multiple repetitions: you need to have these basics literally hammered into your head).
1… e6. Black seems to want to play the French Defense which helps black to lock up the center and narrow those strategic opportunities for white available after white’s 1. e2-e4, but black condemns themselves to playing in a cramped position.
2. Nf3. Sending the king’s knight on its way to its job and clearing the space for castling 0-0.
2… Nf6? Blacks give the whites an opportunity to grab space and center after 3. e4-e5 and immediately begin hunting for the black’s knight, and also by pushing pawns forward to capture space and thereby limit the operational capabilities of blacks. When you grab space, you, as well, limit your opponent’s development opportunities. You shouldn’t miss a single chance to take advantage of your opponent’s random move at the very beginning of a game and, thanks to this, improve the operational capabilities of your pieces and capture space. Learning to use such gifts is absolutely essential for beginning chess players. You can do that be reading the engine’s thoughts while checking lines on LICHESS.ORG’s Analysis board and by studying corresponding games. One of the classics every beginner needs to know is Paul Keres vs William Winter, Warsaw Olympiad, 1935, Sicilian Defense.
3. Bc4? Returning the favor and losing the e4-pawn. White’s light-squared bishop has no future on c4 because light-colored f7-square is already covered by black’s e6-pawn so the light-colored a2-g8 diagonal is dead now. It is better to put the given bishop on e2 but not right now: white has to take care of their e4-pawn and decide its future, whether to move it forward or defend it with d2-d3. Inconsistent chess caused by inexperience and lack of understanding of the dynamics of an Open Game. This long-persisting problem of the beginner ranks can be gradually cured by all the same reading the engine’s thought, training and sparring with computer. Take your time. Play longer time-control games. Invest more time into analyzing your working horse opening and your types of setups. By focusing on your own analysis of your mistakes and failures, and using the computer’s help only after your own analysis has been done, you make this work really engaging and gripping, you are getting closer to the understanding of what is happening on the board.
3… Nxe4. Boom. Black spotted their opportunity. Now black is pawn-up. Beginners have little idea of what is happening on the board. A beginner player is supposed to play thousands of games at least with 30+0 time control in order to accommodate experience and begin to understand what is happening on the board. There is no greater coach than experience. Every time you burn your brain by animating pieces on a board, you get better in chess. After 3… Nxe4 it is about time for white to castle their king 0-0 to move their king to safety in order to employ a psychological compensation for the lost pawn. That is exactly what whites do: 4. 0-0.
4… d5! Best way of dealing with the lost on c4 fella! Capturing space and quickly strengthening control of the center with 5… c7-c5 after white’s bishop retreats 5. Bc4-b3 could be a nice idea for black.
5. Bd3. Baddest way of avoiding the heat. Now bishop attacks black’s menacing-looking e4-knight, which is no menace at all. The best way for white was to back the bishop c4-b3 and then attack black’s knight with their pawn d2-d3. 5. Bd3 is one of those beginner’s random moves. It blocks things on the white’s queenside (left part of the board), it stops development: white’s queen is now stonewalled; white cannot cheap-effectively kick the black’s e4-knight with their pawn d2-d3. White’s 4. Bd3 is a crime against logics.
After the exchange on e4 (white’s bishop takes on e4, black’s pawn takes on e4) white will need to relief their f3-knight from black’s pawn heat. Once it is done, white can attack the black’s e4-pawn either with their pawn or with the queen’s knight b1-c3 (an attack from a distance). In the first case, black can capture white’s attacking pawn. In the second case, white’s attacker will be out of the range of the black’s pawn, thus black will have to employ their defensive resources to protect the pawn… which black is unlikely to provide without disregard for the safety of the black’s king. This brings us to the conclusion that black’s pawn on e4 will be a lost asset. Thus, it would be logical for black do not spend time on their lost asset and continue with their development instead. Black should think of getting their dark-squared bishop out from f8 and castling their king 0-0. Black’s light-squared bishop can be developed c8-b7 after the b7-pawn moved one square forward. That way black will have the control of the longest light-squared diagonal x-raying white king’s Castle. Not bad. That is the plan black should stick to in case of the exchange on e4. But it is black to play now.
5… Nc5? Why 5… Nc5 is bad for black? It gives away the initiative black was lucky to get in the course of the game. All that development opportunities discussed just above, all it is gone for now, because white can take their light-squared bishop’s life from bad to good at one go: 6. Bb5+.
6. Bb5+. Turning tables. Reversing the situation.
6… c6.
7. Ba4. Getting away from the pawn-heat right into the fire from the knight. Avoiding one danger without paying attention to another. Well. An accident in the opening. Happens.
7… Nxa4. White is piece & pawn down.
8. h3. Probably played under the stress of a sudden loss to regain the psychological balance. Castling is also used for the same purpose. Despite the sudden heavy loss white still has an chance to launch their d-pawn forward to pursue their legitimate claims for the center control.
8… Bd6 is nice, though computer loves 8… Be7. Just look how beautiful and operational it looks on d6 keeping an eye on white’s Castle and things on white’s queenside! That always makes whites concerned, i.e. extra nervous. I believe that for a beginner level chess Bd6 is better. This bishop also cannot be attacked by any white’s knight, by the way. Nice.
9. d4. Finally! I am sure that white jealously played it responding of blacks 8… Bd6. Playing tons of games we are learning things from each other, which is good. Learning from chess books is another goody, which tons of beginner players avoid doing thus sticking to their low ranks for decades.
9… 0-0. Time to castle. White is piece down! Remember that?
10. Nc3. Bad move. White could check that out if the opponent had forgotten about his knight on the edge of the board with the move 10. c2-с4 distracting the opponent’s attention from hanging undefended piece with a discover-attack on another piece (the d4-pawn). Little tricks like this often work at the beginner level. If blacks take the bait, white’s queen takes the a4-knight. Computer suggests 10. c4 not because of the trick, which computers do not use for obvious reasons: the discover attack 10. c4 hits the a4-knight right now and the d6-bishop next move. I didn’t have a full understanding of the position at the moment, only now I see why computer loved black’s dark-squared bishop more on e7 than on d6. Tactics… Siegbert Tarrasch’s “Many have become chess masters; no one has become the master of chess” is somewhat reassuring. 10. Nc3 is bad for white, as well, because it offers the black nice trade on c3; on the plus side for black and minus for whites it doubles white’s pawns on c-file, which is extra bad: white’s queenside pawn chain is broken, i.e. weak as pawns cannot defend each other. You already know it from one of the previous games.
10… Nxc3 11. bxc3. Now computer suggests 11… f6 for blacks (first-line), which leads to breakthrough in the center with tons of tactics following the trades on e5. White’s king’s castle becomes under fire from the black’s long-range cannon on c8 and the light-squared c8-bishop. This powerhouse is a real trouble to white. White will have to figure out all black’s option have appeared all at once like: (1) c8-bishop hits h3 (black is piece up and can afford it!); (2) black’s queen on d8 can jump to the kingside on the dark-colored diagonal; (3) the f-file (vertical column of squares) then will be open, so the f8-rook can jump f8-f6-g6 and join the action; (4) the black’s dark-squared bishop’s masterminding and eyeballing white’s kingside from d6 is no fun to the white’s king. A whole bunch of lines should be considered and calculated by the player on whites to consider those threats. Being the WHOLE bishop up black is happy to sacrifice a minor piece just for the sake of the chess beauty when white is suffering some embarrassment of funds.
11… e5. Good move because it looks good. But it is still thoughtless and unprepared impromptu! When you see a good move, look for a better one.
12. dxe5. Reasonable move by white: black cannot recapture with 12… Bxe5.
12… Bc5. Now bishop controls d4. If white puts their knight on d4, black would trade their nice dark-squared bishop for the junky white’s knight because trading pieces is good for black thanks to their huge material advantage.
13. Bg5. A shot into sky at nothing, but white has practically no useful moves. Black is happy with the exchanges, but white is forced to avoid exchanges because with each exchange black is getting closer to complete dominance on the board. Only a gross blunder by black can save white.
13… Qa5 is the Capital Crime against chess. Black’s queen just leaves the battlefield for nothing but, perhaps, the whit’s pawn on c3. It’s the kingside where things might explode very soon. Leaving the kingside for the queenside to attack white’s c3-pawn of no importance … What the heck.
14. Qd2. On d3 the queen could have looked much better eyeballing the other guy’s Castle on the other end of the board.
14… Ba3. Bad piece coordination and waste of time. Black could have start developing their queenside pieces and launch them into the action to destruct the opponent’s attention from things on the other flank of the board. This is one of the typical techniques for distracting the opponent’s attention and perhaps even his resources from his activity on the other flank of the board.
15. Nd4. Perhaps with the idea of opening the f-file by means of pawn f2-f4-f5 in order to propel the f1-rook into the game Rf1-f4-h4. Or Nd4-f5-then… a whatever-happens idea. Wrong plan or no plan at all.
17… c5. The player on blacks needs to solve tactical puzzles non-stop for hours every other day.
19. Be7. White escapes 19. Nxc5 d4!
19… Re8 20. Bxc5. Black resigns. Perhaps without seeing the saving move 20… Qc4! From black’s perspective their pieces in action might look disorganized and the c3-bishop is lost. It happens in a moment of panic or frustration. Chess can teach you not to panic and talk to your pieces. It is possible in a long-time control game.
1. e4 e6 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. Bc4 Nxe4 4. O-O d5 5. Bd3 Nc5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. Ba4 Nxa4 8. h3 Bd6 9. d4 O-O 10. Nc3 Nxc3 11. bxc3 e5 12. dxe5 Bc5 Bg5 Qa5 14. Qd2 Ba3 15. Nd4 Bb2 16. Rab1 Bxc3 17. Qe3 c5 18. Nb3 Qb4 19. Be7 Re8 20. Bxc5 1-0
# You shouldn’t miss a single chance to take advantage of your opponent’s random move at the very beginning of a game and, thanks to this, improve the operational capabilities of your pieces and capture space. Learning to use such gifts is absolutely essential for beginning chess players. You can do that be reading the engine’s thoughts while checking lines on LICHESS.ORG Analysis board and by studying corresponding games
# Inconsistent chess caused by inexperience and lack of understanding of the dynamics of an Open Game. This long-persisting problem of the beginner ranks can be gradually cured by all the same reading the engine’s thought, training and sparring with computer. Take your time. Play longer time-control games. Invest more time into analyzing your working horse opening and your types of setups. By focusing on your own analysis of your mistakes and failures, and using the computer’s help only after your own analysis has been done, you make this work really engaging and gripping, you are getting closer to the understanding of what is happening on the board
# Every time you burn your brain by animating pieces on a board, you get better in chess
# Safety of your king is number one priority for you
# Avoiding one danger without paying attention to another
# Playing tons of games we are learning things from each other, which is good. Learning from chess books is another goody, which tons of beginner players avoid doing thus sticking to their low ranks for decades
# Distracting the opponent’s attention from hanging undefended piece with a discover-attack on another piece
# When you see a good move, look for a better one
# Typical techniques for distracting the opponent’s attention and perhaps even his resources from his activity on the other flank of the board
# Chess can teach you not to panic and talk to your pieces. It is possible in a long-time control game
You still cannot solve one of the problems discussed in this book and have been identified in these articles? Ask your question on the internet. There you will find real stories and solutions.
How do beginners get better in playing very first moves of a game? As a beginner you can select a couple of openings or setups to play as starters for white and black pieces. Analyzing sample games on lichess.org Analysis board is your gates to the world of chess mechanics: top menu, TOOLS, Analysis board.
1. e4 e6 2. Nf3
1 Name of the Opening is being played on the board after 1. e4 e6 2. Nf3.
2 Masters database to check games with those moves. Games of the chess elite played in tournaments and matches.
3 Lichess’ players database. Games played on lichess.
4 Popular moves to play in this particular Opening. You can see them by scrolling them down (5)
5 Scroll it down to see statistics and learn ideas from tons of games(!) played employing this particular Opening.
6 Opening Explorer’s settings menu. It allows you to customize database filters, such as selecting specific rating ranges, time controls, and player levels for the Lichess database, or to toggle between the Masters and Lichess databases.
7 Opening explorer& tablebase. The integrated analysis tools providing insights from games and Syzygy endgame tablebases.
8 Practice with computer. It is your tool for testing openings, analyzing middlegame plans, or practicing endgames.
9 Menu. Click to toggle features such as analysis tools and configuration options.
10 Show threat. It is on display when Analysis is active. Displays red arrows highlighting opponent’s best response.
11 Toggle between the main line and alternative, deeper, or secondary variations suggested by the engine
Image: Wikipedia, Lewis chessmen, King, Warder (Berserker), Queen