Friday, June 30, 2017

Yusupov 1.06

Relative Value of the Pieces


Diagram 6-2

The second diagrammed position in the chapter really threw me off for a bit. My mind was stuck on the idea of material inequality, a big part of this chapter, and I was looking for a way to make this happen. Then I recalled that the chapter is about relative strength. That's when I realized that I probably just need to trade off the rooks so that my knights can dominate the board.

Ncd7 is the first move, I believe. Then rooks are traded off with the white queen ending up on c3.

Nope. Totally wrong. This is all about the superiority of white's knights. Incredibly difficult to solve.


Possible Errata: In the text, I believe that 14. Nf3+ is supposed to be Ng6+.


Diagram 6-4

I found the solution, though it was not easy, except that I overlooked what happens if black plays Kh7. He doesn't mention this line, and I kept thinking (erroneously):

Nf5+ ... Kh7!
Qg3 ... Nh5! and I was busted.

I wanted to scream and throw my book. "Why, Yusupov, why did you not mention this obviously critical line?!"

Suddently, like a cold smack in the face, I realized that if ... Kh7, then simply Qxh6+.

Lol


Diagram 6-6

I really, really wanted to play ...h4 as my response. I couldn't find Yusupov's solution. In fact, I even plugged the position in the computer, played his line, won the pawn, and still couldn't win. I think this was just beyond my ability, quite honestly. I nevertheless learned from it. I've always been the type of player who prefers a queen instead of two rooks of three minors. But I'm beginning to see situations where she "ain't so great."

Diagram 6-7

I was absolutely convinced that I had to prevent b5. Nope. Just counter attack. I should have known. He stated that in the middlegame, the piece is better because it's an extra attacker. So instead of worrying so much about his pawn steam-roller, I should have found a way to make an attack. Another excellent example from Yusupov. The man is a chess god.


Test Exercises


Exercise 6-1 (two stars)

This took me forever to figure out. As I was traveling, I had no board, so I had to visualize it only. I eventually came to realize that I was absolutely losing and ought to look for a stalemate. That's when I saw Qxf5! and the g-pawn falls on the next move.

Exercise 6-2 (two stars)

Again, I don't have a board with me at the moment, but I've made up for that by trying harder than I ever have to calculate everything in my head.

Nxh6 seems like it must be the first move.

Nxh6 ... Kxh6
hxg5+ ... fxg5??
Bxg5+ forking the K and Q.

Clearly black must instead back off with the king. The problem is that he can go to four different squares. h5 and g6 can be eliminated, as they both quickly lead to either a discovered check or a knight fork (which would give us two pawns and a rook for our knights, plus an attack).

So I think black needs to go to g7 or h7. If ...Kg7:

gxf6+ ... Qxf6 then I think white must play Bf4. This prevents the threat to f2 and threatens a nasty pin. If the rook had taken on f6, the Bg5. Same if the K had taken it.

In addition to various threats from our knight or bishop, we have either Qg4 or Qh5 looming at any moment. It's hard for me to calculate accurately beyond this, but I hope to have illustrated just enough to justify any points I receive! And yes, I realize that the points don't really matter. But I really did spend a ton of time attempting to visualize the solution. In fact, I have probably spent more time practicing my visualization via this book than I have in the past few years combined. Maybe. Probably.

Yeah...so I was wrong. It was simply a double-knight sacrifice. I think that, of all the problems thus far, this is one the I put in the most work only to end up being totally wrong. I can't help but laugh. Probably my line works in some of the variations, but there is probably one or more where the king escapes and is okay. If I had a board I'd try and work through it to see where, but I think I've gotten what I needed out of the exercise.

===break===

Haven't worked on this in five days. Been on a road trip with the family to Banff and Jasper, Alberta, Canada. Haven't had a board available so I've had to do all of the test exercises without one. Meaning I spent quite a bit of time on some of them, as noted on occasion. Interestingly, I think this has been a great benefit for me. Since I am stubborn and don't like to give up on problems, it has forced me to struggle and strain and push past my natural limitations on several occasions in order to come up with some of the solutions.

===end break===


Exercise 6-3 ( two stars)

Not too hard to work out once I saw found the knight sac.

Exercise 6-4 (one star)

This one wasn't hard to spot, but when the King runs to h6, it gets tricky and I wasn't able to solve the variation on my own. One can probably reason, however, that black is doomed, even if one cannot see it clearly.

Exercise 6-5 (one star)

Really easy.

Exercise 6-6 (two stars)

So I found this one fairly easily, but...part way through the variation that Yusupov gives, I found a more complicated variation that requires an extra two moves, but ends up the same in the end.

Nd7 ... Bxd3  of course you cannot take the bishop or it is stalemate
c3+ ... Kc4 or Ke4   (let's say Ke4 for this line)
Nf6+ ... actually, I think I was wrong. I think that there are some variations where this will work, but if black simply keeps pursuing the knight, the knight will eventually fall if I ever want to capture the bishop. Hmmm. I cannot imagine what I was thinking previously. I didn't take notes. And now, five days later, I'm questioning whether I just did not see it previously, or if I had been right but can no longer find the solution. Probably the former.

But, for finding Nd7 and c3, I get both points. Over the board, I undoubtedly would have found the immediate follow-up fork on move three.

Exercise 6-7 (two stars)

This one took me friggin' forever. I just could not find a solution. I'd stare at it for five or ten minutes, find nothing, put it away. Try again later, find nothing. I did this several times. I am just plain stubborn, so I never gave up. Yusupov's voice filled my head: "You simply must find new ideas!" Knowing that there must be a solution fueled me on. Finally, it hit me, and I cheered! The harder something is to solve, and the more time invested in solving it, the greater the reward and feeling of elation upon success.

And I'll tell you what: I will have this solution burned into my brain permanently as a result of my struggle.

Exercise 6-8 (two stars)

I knew this one right away. I'm 100% positive I've seen this puzzle somewhere else previously, and I remembered the solution. Very, very cool puzzle. A good one to share with fellow chess friends.

Exercise 6-9 ( one star) *****

I failed this one. I just could not figure it out, and as it was actually the last puzzle I worked on for the chapter, I threw in the towel after getting sick of looking at it. Even after looking at the solution, I was like, "Wut??" But I guess there really is nothing better, and black has time to do it. Sometimes, with puzzles like this that don't have immediate consequences, but rather rely on quieter waiting moves, I overlook the solutions.

Exercise 6-10 (two stars)

Tricky. Took me some time to find. While Yusupov gives ...Qd6, I found ...Qf6 instead, which I believe also works. Do you agree?

Exercise 6-11 (one star)

Couldn't see it right away, but after a few minutes, seeing the solution made me smile. Cool problem.

Exercise 6-12 (one star)

Found the solution without too much trouble, but apparently black can still put up quite a fight, so it requires accurate play.






My Score: 16/19  "Excellent"

(lost two points on 6-2 and one point on 6-9)


Conclusion:

Yusupov has done an outstanding job of providing us examples of piece superiority. Their relative strength depends on centralization, mobility and activity. In some cases, such as diagram 6-3, it can also be stronger because of its enhanced coordination with another piece. In that example, the queen--and bishop, being unopposed on the light squares--together dominate black's pieces.

We often hear how such factors make our pieces stronger. We are almost always shown a knight on an advanced outpost square and how it's the strong piece on the board which the opponent happily sacs a rook to rid himself of the mounted devil. What I have not before seen, however--and maybe it's just me--are the types of examples Yusupov has shown. The positions truly seem nearly even. Nearly balanced. I stare and think, "I have an advantage here? A winning move? Really??" and I often don't find it. But, despite this, the increased mobility of my knights, or a single badly placed piece in the opponent's camp, and I suddenly have a crazy advantage. Both of these factors are beautifully illustrated in Diagram 6-4.

*****From 6-9, if you have time, and there is nothing immediate, don't force things. Find a strong waiting move. Or perhaps waiting move is the wrong term. Find the quiet move that threatens.






Monday, June 19, 2017

Yusupov 1.05

The Double Check

So as far as the diagram exercises go, about four or five were very, very easy. A few were tricky, and a few were downright devilish. The ones I struggled with were 5-4, 5-5, 5-6, and 5-8. I was able to solve 4 and 6 but it took a lot of time. 5 was ridiculous. Kudos to anyone who solved it. On 8, I was trying to solve it with something more immediately forcing. I missed that you had to first make a preparatory move. I think if I had realized it, I might have been able to solve it.

On 4, I found a quicker mate: 4. Rg5+ ... Rf5  5. Bxf5+

That being said, the text answer is not only more elegant, but fits the theme of the chapter all the way to the end, which is likely why it was chosen. It just better illustrates the ideas.

Test Exercises:

Exercises 5-1, 5-2, 5-3, and 5-5 I solved in about 15 seconds total. Exercises 5-4 and 5-6 took a little longer, but were still easy.

Exercise 5-7 (two stars)

This one got me. I got the first part and earned one point. I failed to find the correct follow up, which is moderately lengthy. I kept trying to solve it by playing my queen to g7 for the check. It was supposed to be Qf4+.  That being said, I still found mate in most of the lines, but there was one line that just went to deep for me to solve and started involving rook checks. I was unable to visualize it fully enough to the end. Maybe it would have worked. Maybe not. I could plug it into an engine to find out, or play out all the moves over the board some more, but...meh. I'm fine with having missed the better solution. I should have seen it.

Exercise 5-8 (one star)

Easy. I swear I've seen this one elsewhere (note: in the solution, Yusupov indeed calls it a "famous position"). You either mate with the rook or bishop, depending on where black moves after the double check.

Exercise 5-9 (two stars)

 Took about two minutes. A fun one!

Qd8+ as you'd expect ... Kxd8
Bg5++ ... Ke8
Rd8+ ... Kf7
e6+! if King takes, Nf4 then Ne5#
...if King goes to g6, then Nf4#
...if Bxe6 then Ne5#

And finally, if he doesn't take the queen sac, then you play e6 again and mate follows with the same patterns as if he had accepted it.

I got this one and every single variation 100% correct except for the ...Kh6 4. Qh4# bit. I failed to see that the knight was blocking my dark-squared bishop from covering the h6 square, so I overlooked that flight square as an option for black. Visualization error.

Exercise 5-10 (one star)

 Super easy. But cool to see it with a knight, since bishops seem to be more common.

Exercise 5-11 (one star)

 A fun one, but also easy. Just make sure your knight goes to f5 and not e6, or it won't work :)

Exercise 5-12 (one star)

A gorgeous, zig-zag patterned mate. Similar to what was illustrated in Diagram 5-4 earlier in the text. Just lovely.






My Score: 15/16  "Excellent"

(lost one point on 5-7)

Conclusion:

Very glad to have done well on this chapter. Overall, I think I learned a few new patterns, as noted above. Some of the exercises in the chapter text were much harder than the test exercises. I'm not sure why this is. I suppose Yusupov sometimes offers a very difficult selection when he feels it properly illustrates a point, but the test positions themselves seem to be geared toward a more specific level. Or maybe such speculation is complete garbage. I haven't a clue. On to the next chapter!

I just love this photo from the book:






Yusupov 1.04

Chapter 4 is a discussion of simple pawn endings.

Fortunately, thanks to Silman's Endgame Course, most of this was easy for me as I already knew most of this material.


Test Exercises:


Exercises 4-1 thru 4-5

All fairly easy. Some I knew immediately and one or two I had to think about for a minute, knowing the winning idea but calculating to double check.

Exercise 4-6 (two stars)

I thought I had the answer to this one. I moved the King first, and after black moves I moved the pawn up, calculating that all variations afterward were winning for me.

UNLESS...black moves his pawn first. So...oops.

Exercise 4-7 (two stars)

Now this position I've not seen before, so I'll need to set it up on the board for sure...

Okay, took me just a minute to solve. Very cool position. A good one to share with your chess buddies.

Exercise 4-8 (three stars)

Hmmm, so I hope this isn't actually winning for white, because I'm currently looking for a way to just draw!

Yeah, I'm pretty sure there is no chance of winning. Even the draw is quite tricky. White has to delay the capture of black's a pawn for as long as necessary. Well, what needs to happen is that he captures it with opposition. Otherwise black will win.

Kb3 ... a2
Kb2! ... Kb4!
Ka1! ...  and black can no longer come forward without stepping outside the square of white's pawn, so he must capture either the a or c pawn. When he does, you will push your other pawn, requiring him to take back with his pawn. After capturing his a pawn next, you'll be able to position your king to gain opposition later.

Awesome exercise!!! This one took me as much time as all the others combined thus far.

Exercise 4-9 (three stars)

The only other three-star problem in the set.

This one contains the exact same idea as the last position. Black will get two squares in front of his pawn if you go the normal route. You have to sac your pawn first in order to secure a draw. Then after ...fxe5

Kc1 then Kd1, only moving forward to the second rank once the black king steps forward, that way you can gain opposition. If at that point he plays e4 instead, then you can play Ke2 and black will never get to the Promised Land.

Full points.

Exercise 4-10 (two stars)

Fairly easy. Took me maybe a minute.

Kg5 ... Kg8? (loses opposition)

Kg5 ... Kh8
Kh6! (Kxg6? throws away the win) ... g5 (don't fall for the trap!)

Instead play f7! and it's mate next move.

Exercise 4-11 (one star)

Very easy.

Exercise 4-12 (one star)

Saw the pawn move h4 right away. Necessary to buy time for positioning our King. Then Kd3, Ke2, Kf1, and black cannot queen his pawn.







My Score: 20/22  "Excellent"


(I missed 4-6)


Conclusion:

The work I did with Silman's Endgame Course paid off! While I spent 4-5 hours on the last chapter, I probably spent 1 hour max on this one.

Studying works.




Yusupov 1.03

Chapter 3 is all about basic opening principles, and I dig the way he phrases them. At first I felt this should be an easy chapter, because basic opening principles are...well, basic, right? Basic = easy.

But looking ahead at the end-of-the-chapter test exercises, I see that many of them are three-star problems! Hmmm. So I might be feeling a tad nervous. Have I underestimated the material before even looking at it? Have I overestimated my knowledge of opening principles? Time to go through the chapter and find out.

Diagrams 3-1, 3-2, 3-3

Very interesting, and complicated. It's amazing the resources available that one has to be looking out for when attempting to attack. 

This just keeps getting more complicated as it goes. I'm impressed, for sure.

Another thing I gleamed from his, thus far, is that when one side gets a significant lead in development and gains the initiative, they can almost always sac a piece at some point for a killer attack.

Diagram 3-5

Still working on the same opening analysis. Very in-depth material and not at all easy. There's no way anyone at my level is getting through this chapter easily. You absolutely must use a board and restart the position many times to understand all the nuances. I can easily see where most folks would just skip over it. I suggest you do not.

There is a line where is suggest 14. Qxa5? is a blunder, giving an evaluation at the end of -+ meaning that black has a decisive advantage. The line ends there, but white's only realistic move is 22. Kd1, after which 22....Qxh1+ 23. Kd2 Qe1+ skewering the king and winning white's queen on the next move. Yes, I'd say that's a decisive advantage.

How many of you found that? You absolutely must go through the material properly! (does that make me sound like a Brit? haha)

Further down the page before black plays 13...dxe4 in the main line, there's a part that says "...and White has no defense against 22...Re2+ and then 23...Qg2+".

True. Say white plays anything, for example, 22. Nd2, then 22...Re2+ 23. Qxe2 ... Qg2+  24. Ke1 ... and now ...Qxe2#

This game, by the way, is A. Meek vs. P. Morphy, 1855, Mobile, Alabama.

I've actually passed through Mobile before, so it amazes me to think that this game occurred there so long ago.

20...Rf8 is my favorite move of the game.

Yusupov gives an amazing quote here from Reti regarding this move:

"Beginners who, in the heat of the fight only play with pieces that are already engaged in battle and often forget to call on their reserves, can learn a lesson from this move." 
--R. Reti





I've noticed about Morphy's games: that he's fantastic about always getting his full forces into the foray.

As for the "little joke" at the end of that section, I'm not positive I get the humor. Because the black king has returned to his starting square?


Next example game, from Yusupov:

So it looks like more of the same thematic ideas...sacrificing material and positional strengths which would normally become liabilities later in the game, in order to preserve the initiative (like his ...g5 move). The advantage will dissipate if not acted upon with assertion.

At the end of his game, he gives ...Qd4 and white cannot stop the threat of the discovered check. Let's say whites plays 28. Qxf2 (probably the best move, albeit in a lost position), then black has the awesome double-check of 28...Na4++! The white king must move, and b1 is the only option. 29. Kb1 after which the axe comes down. 29...Qb2#

I certainly feel that I learned a lot from this chapter already. Honestly, I didn't expect to. I don't think I have, up till now, fully appreciate the power and important of the initiative. It's impressive to see how the games can go when handled by a true master (Morphy, Yusupov).

I have spent probably ~3 hours on this chapter and haven't even done the test exercises yet! I am certainly nervous about them, since 8 out of the 12 are ***star problems. Only a single 1-star in the lot!

Here we go.


Test Exercises


Exercise 3-1 (one star)

Super easy. I think most players have seen this one before.

That wasn't much of a warmup opportunity for me, so I'm going to do the two-star puzzles (3-5, 3-8, and 3-11) first before trying the eight (!!) 3-star ones.

Exercise 3-5 (two-stars)

This one also looks super easy, so now I'm questioning myself. Am I missing something? Seems like you just sac the bishop with tempo, then slide the rook over to pin the queen.

Hmmm, but if the black King just moves to f8...then Bh6+ King goes to g8, then we still put the rook on e1, because now we are threatening mate. But if black plays Qf5+ then he picks up the light-squared bishop and protects the checkmating square after our king moves.

But then I'd have Qh5, which his queen cannot capture, and I'm also threatening Qg5 leading to mate.

Wait, yes, he can too take my queen if I did that, because with my light-squared bishop, Re8# is no longer a threat. Wait (hahaha, this is great fun, no?), it is too a threat! Because I forgot the black king would be on g8, not f8. Okay, so Qh5 seems legit. Can he both cover the g5 square and protect his queen at the same time? Yes, by playing Qf5. But then Re8 mate.

Okay, I've thoroughly discombobulated my brain at this point. Let's see what answer Yusupov gives...

Yeah, he gives a totally different line, though I get two points for finding Bb5+. And actually he plays Rh5 with a similar idea. Time to start moving pieces around to see if I can figure out why (if) my idea doesn't work.

All right, so one of my mistakes: while black had Qf5+ picking up the bishop, even better, which I overlooked, was Qh4+ picking up the dark-squared bishop! So playing Re1 at this point was just...well, pointless. Instead, the immediate Rh5 is decisive. He stops it, but after creating additional threats, he is eventually unable to defend against all of them.

Calculation error on my part, or a visualization error? Or are they the same thing?

Exercise 3-8 (two-stars)

This, once again, seems straight-forward. Bh6 obviously achieves two objectives at once: it develops our final minor piece while preventing black from castling.

Does black have any good response?

Nope, I way over-analyzed this one. Bh6--simple as that. White isn't winning or anything. Just better. More developed, more space, but that's about it.

Exercise 3-11 (two-stars)

Well, after looking at this and trying it out for about 20 minutes, I'm stumped. I'm just not seeing anything that black can do that looks advantageous. Neither side is castled or fully developed. Black has play on the e file, but his knight is hanging.

I'm going to look at it for another five minutes or so then throw in the towel. If it were a blitz game, I guess I'd go with my intuition and play ...e4.

Well I guess that was it. ...e4, trade off pieces, play against the weak isolated c pawns. I almost feel guilty for getting the two points, as I don't feel I fully understood it. But I suppose I was over thinking it. Sometimes, getting a tiny advantage is all you can get. You cannot force something that isn't there.

On to the three-star exercises!

Exercise 3-2 (three stars)

Okay, I've seen this position before. It's out of the Italian game where after d4 exd4 cxd4 then black's bishop retreats to b6. I think black is supposed to play ...Bb4+ then white plays Nc3. I think white's supposed to just castle here. But is that enough to capitalize on ...Bb6? Is it a big enough mistake that something more immediate can dealt?

After having spent some time on it, I'm not really sure what to do here. I do see any tactical threats that work. Playing d5 or e5 seems premature, as does Ng5. The bishop sac on f7 seems to do nothing. I suppose honestly that this is one of those positions where you need to just accept the fact that black allowed you to get a beautiful pawn center, and therefore try to keep it. If I castle right away, ...Nxe4 seems okay. Sliding the rook over to attack it just leads to ..d5!

Maybe that is it. Black didn't prevent me from controlling the center. Oops on him! So I will go with 7. Nc3. The idea is to protect the e pawn and probably castle on the next move. See if I can maintain my pawn center while completing development. If so, only then will I start rolling the pawns forward.

Time to take a look at the answer.

Nope, I was totally wrong. It is 7. d5! but I do get one point for my answer.

I had thought both of the pawns moves to be premature. Interesting. The text move I rejected particularly because of the response 7...Na5. Apparently that's a bad move though, since after 8. Bd3 you have the idea of playing b4 and trapping the knight.

Well that was a cool problem. Shows that I know jack-diddly-squat about the opening!

Exercise 3-3 (three stars)

 It must revolve around the move d6. The immediate d6 looks promising, but after queenside castling and pinning the knight with Bb5, black counter strikes with ...a6. I could castle long first or play Nb5, preventing black from castling (it would lose him the bishop), but in both cases Nb6! looks like a solution.

If 0-0-0 ...Nb6
Bb5+ ...Nfd7 but if I had not castled and just swung the rook over instead (Rd1) then now I could play Rf1, threatening mate. This would keep my hanging dark-squared bishop safe. But then he could just play ...f6 or ...0-0. ...f6 might fail to d6 though.

Clearly I must do something immediately, or else black just castles and is fine.

Sacking the pawn first would give me a tempo. d6 Bxd6, Rd1 Be7, Bb5

Anyway, just took a long break. Suffice to say that I did find the right answer, but failed to calculate all the sub-variations. Earned full points nevertheless for finding d6 as the correct first move. Everything else is just too slow.

Despite earning most of the points thus far, I don't feel like I've been doing that well compared to the first two chapters. The challenge, however, has been great for me, I feel.

I also just discovered that I had one of the pieces on the wrong square for much of my calculation. Oh well! Onward...

Exercise 3-4 (three stars)

Again, I get the impression that something must be done immediately. Re1, for example, just allows black to castle queenside, after which he is probably equal or soon will be.

Ne5 fails to ...Qxd4.

The immediate pawn sac on d5 also seems to bear no fruit.

Bb5 looks interesting! I dismissed it at first owing to the obvious ...c6 reply, but let's take a closer look.

Bb5 ... c6
d5! ...now

Wait, the kitten I am watching knocked the dark-squared bishop on a3 off the board. So all my last calculations failed to take this into consideration.

Ok now the immediate d6 sac might work.

d6 ... Bxd6 (...Bg4? fails to Re1+)
Nxd6 ... Qxd6
Re1+ ... Kd8 (...Kd7? Bb5!+ picks up the queen)
Bb5 anyway and black is busted

I was correct, but missed 4. Be4

I feel like I've been on this chapter for an eternity.

Exercise 3-6 (three stars)


Lots of ways to go wrong for black. White has many threats.

Qa5 met by b4.
Be4 or Bg4, attempting to disrupt the white queen, met by Nf6+
Qg5 met by Nc7+
and e4 seems pointless.
Many other moves just drop the f5 bishop.
...b4 counterattacks, but after Nc4 there is nothing.

The only thing I can think is that maybe I allow white to capture my light-squared bishop and use that time to make a critical move. ...Bh6 then is Qxf5, Qa5+ but after white plays c3...nothing.

Right. Okay, so...thus far, not only can I not find the solution, but I cannot find anything playable whatsoever for black. Urgh! Frustrating position.

I obviously must be overlooking something. Time to move around the pieces and challenge my previous assumptions.

Maybe my idea of attempting to prevent white from castling is just false.

Now I am looking at ...Bg7, Qxf5 ... Nd4, Qe4 ... 0-0, then c3 or Bd3 can both be met with ...f5

Though a piece down, this gives black the initiative. White's pieces are underdeveloped and uncoordinated. Black has a dangerous pawn center.

Let's see what Yusupov has to say...

Dang it. I looked a lot at Nd4, but after Nc7 I for some reason rejected it.

Lesson learned: If you are going to spend a super long time staring at a position, and find nothing, then have a better method of double-checking your guesses. I had forgotten to double-check this line. If I had, I may have found it. With so many variations before me, this line was lost in the mix.

This chapter is brutal. Even if I don't score "Excellent" I do not plan on repeating this chapter anytime soon! How insane.


Exercise 3-7 (three stars)

I learned this little trick from the chapter:

...Qh4+
g3 ... Qh3

and now white can no longer castle.

Perhaps I am just thinking more clearly this morning. The last few problems I did yesterday and last night were driving me insane. I feel better today.

This leaves d6 hanging, but the pawn is safe because of the rook check ...Ra8+ threatening to win the h1 rook.

f3 square is threatened also

White could play Bf1 to drive the black queen away, but this is an undeveloping move! It does, on the other hand, allow Bg2 the next move and possibly 0-0!

After ...Qh4+

g3 ... Bxf3 is also interesting, but after:

Qxf3, I don't think black has a good follow-up since his queen is still hanging, as is the a8 rook.

Back to the Bf1 line.

Bf1 ...Qc8!? and now if

Bg2 ... Qc5 prevents castling.

If instead white played Qxd6 we would reply Bxf3.

Well then why not just play Qb6 right away with tempo (threatens the b5 bishop)? It also guards the d6 pawn. (realized later that queen started on e7, not d8, so the immediate Qb6 was impossible--derp!)

I got this one wrong also. ...d5 was the answer. It still prevents white from castling because of the threat ...Qb6+ forking the bishop and king (should white have then castled).

Oy ve!


Exercise 3-9 (three stars)

This one was actually easy to find. Going through it, I thought, "This reminds me of that famous Morphy game."

Yep. It is the famous Morphy game. I guess studying the Masters really does make a difference. Hahaha.

The line is not given, but I couldn't help but think that black could have done better. Perhaps declining the knight sacrifice, for example, and playing ...Qb4+ to ease his position. Then he would have been down only a pawn.

Exercise 3-10 (three stars)

This looks like a Dutch Stonewall. The idea of this chapter is that one side violated an opening principle, and we must therefore punish them. I don't know anything about the Dutch, and quite honestly I'm unsure what black did "wrong" here. Both sides are equally developed. Similar central control. Black's dark-square bishop is unprotected.

...b6 may have been a weakening move, however.

cxd5 ... if exd5 or Nxd5, then

Qxc6

and if instead ...cxd5, then Qc6 still. Looks like a double attack, also, upon the a8 and d6.

Full points. I'm not sure why that was worth three stars.

Exercise 3-12 (three stars)

Interesting. At first I found Qc4, but this seems to fail to ...g5!

Then again if Qxc7 ... gxf5
Qxc8+

but if instead of taking the pawn with gxf5, black could play ...Nc6 then

Qd6+  If ...Ke8, Qxf6 +-
If ...Kg8, same thing: Qxf6 (blacks pawn would then not be able to capture the white knight because of the pin against his queen.

...Kg7

I think I found a better line.

Qc4 ... g5
Qxc7 ... Nc6
Bxc6 ... dxc6
Qd8+ ... Kg7
Qd4 ... gxf4
Rg1+ ... Kf8
Qc5 + ...Ke8
Bg5 ... Qe4+
Kf1

Happy to say I got all three points for this and saw most of the lines. I didn't see white's 12. Qd4 option. Also, all my lines had ...Nc6, whereas in the main line Yusupov has black play ...Na6 instead. I suppose it's more forcing, but the lines lead to similar results. I never brought out my dark-squared bishop in any of the lines, however.





My score: 23/31  "Good"


Conclusion:

Received partial credit for 3-2. Zero points for 3-6 and 3-7. Struggled with many others despite getting points for finding the correct initial move.

This chapter was brutal. So brutal I spread it out over several days in order to complete it. I thought, going into the chapter, that it would be easy. How wrong I was. Clearly I have much to learn about this phase of the game, at least if I wish to play at an elite level.

It demonstrates how passive I probably am in some of my games. I must search for much more energetic moves and continue to improve my analytical skills.

I am happy to bring this chapter to a close.











Tuesday, June 13, 2017

The Yusupov Challenge

Apparently, there are others calling what I am doing "The Yusupov Challenge" and I have managed to locate the blogs of some other folks who either have attempted the challenge (and given up) or who are currently doing the challenge still.

As I locate these brave souls, I will post their blogs here (in the order I find them; no special preference is given).

I will update this as I come across more links.


p-r4

http://p-r4.blogspot.com/2015/02/yusupov-fundamentals-week-1.html

This guy at p-r4 seems to have worked through the entire first book so far.


Quality Chess Blog (by GM Jacob Aagaard and GM John Shaw)

http://www.qualitychess.co.uk/blog/5895

The origin of the Yusupov Challenge, perhaps?


Talking to Yusupov about the Yusupov Challenge

http://www.qualitychess.co.uk/blog/5975


Grandmaster Artur Yusupov Q & A

http://www.qualitychess.co.uk/blog/2152


Yusupov's award-winning Training Course (a chess.com threaded discussion)

https://www.chess.com/forum/view/general/yusupovs-award-winning-training-course


from the Road to Grandmaster blog by Will Taylor

http://roadtograndmaster.com/?p=762

Will appears to have recently completed Book 1. He has written some great posts regarding his experiences with that book.











Yusupov 1.02

Glancing at the contents, I could explain Legal's mate, Damiano's mate, and Loli's mate off the top of my head. The other three (Greco, Blackburne, Pillsbury) I wasn't too sure about.

Diagram 2-3

I overlooked the starting move, 1...Nh5!

Diagram 2-6

The backwards queen move was hard to spot for a moment. Actually there's a book called Invisible Chess Moves that discusses moves of this nature.

Diagram 2-7*****

I'm not sure why, but this one took me forever to solve. And yet the solution is so easy. I don't know what part of my brain was switched off, but I tried solving this for about ten minutes without touching the pieces, then nearly another ten minutes with manipulating the pieces before the light bulb finally went off.

Diagrams 2-8*****  and  2-9*****  were also challenging. For whatever reason, the Greco mates do not come naturally to me.  I will need to create a problem set on chesstempo and drill them into my head.

Diagrams 2-12 and 2-13 also challenging. Blackburne's mate*****. Need to create a problem set.


Test Exercises


Exercise 2-1

Easy. But after ...Qg6, I give 0-0-0, whereas the text gives King moving to d2 instead, leading to an entirely different variation. Since my line isn't mentioned, I don't know if it's correct.

Exercise 2-2

Didn't see it right away, so I set it up on the board. I missed the ...Qxc4+, Rxc4...hxg5, h4 line.

Exercise 2-3

Mate in 6. Very simple Damiano's mate.

Exercise 2-4 (three stars)

This took me about ten minutes. Finally realized that I had all the right moves, but had to switch the order. Wow! I even found the best defense. I found all the lines. Super proud of myself at the moment. Woohoo!

Exercise 2-5

A very simple version of Blackburne's mate.

Exercise 2-6 (two stars)

Found an additional winning line. After ...g6, Rh7+ also wins, though the text move Qh7+ is more efficient, allowing for only a single escape square instead of two .

Exercise 2-7

I knew enough to easily earn the point, but the best fight black can put up requires quite a bit more, and I had to play this line out over the board.

Exercise 2-8 (two stars)

Simple Pillsbury mate.

Exercise 2-9 (two stars)

Easy Blackburne-style mate. For some reason, I see these easily, whereas I had to exert a lot more effort with the Greco mates. Go figure.

Exercise 2-10 (two stars)

Wow. This had a lot of variations and was far from easy. I was impressed with myself for figuring out most of the lines, though. I saw the 1. Nxd4 line, which also looked good (and indeed it's also worth two points), so I had a difficult time deciding between that line and the main line. I was afraid I was missing something in the Nxd4 line, and since it didn't seem to fit the theme of Legal's mate, I rejected it for the main line. That in itself is an error, if you think about it.

After 1. Nxe5! … Bxd1, of course the rest is easy. But I also saw some more "stubborn" ways for black to hold out, including …f6 and …Nxc2, both of which I reasoned were okay.

I remember looking at 2…Qa5+ but forgot to analyze it. It's actually a really interesting line.

I really like that Artur gives such in depth variations. They are just perfect for me. He doesn't expect me to get all of it. Indeed, usually he states you get the points at a certain point in the line, but nonetheless gives the continuations so you can see how they turn out. Sometimes I surprise myself and I'm able to see them to the end. Other times, I am delightfully and contrarily surprised at what I overlooked.

When I used to study martial arts, my sensei used to tell me that his job wasn't to instruct me from HIS level, but, using the analogy of a ladder, to instead stand on the rung above me and pull me up, one step at a time.

I feel that Artur is using this same technique. Sort of like, "Okay, here is what you needed to calculate to earn the points. But can you see a little deeper? Here, let me show you…"

At the same time, the lines are not SUPER complicated either. Sub-variations are often just 3-4 moves deep. Those that go 6-8 moves are often forced lines. In this way, I feel that he is demonstrating for us what Master level chess looks like, even though we are not quite there yet.

Anyway.

Exercise 2-11 (two stars)

Tricky, but I found it almost right away. I wonder how many times in the past I had a similar situation on the board and didn't know how to proceed. I'll definitely be on the look out for play against f7 in the future.

Exercise 2-12 (two stars)

Very cool mate. Took me a minute or two to find the right continuation.




My Score: 20/20 points. "Excellent"

I dread the idea of failing a chapter, so I think I often earn points out of sheer stubbornness.


Conclusion

What I learned from this chapter is two-fold:

First, never underestimate the resourcefulness of your opponent. Artur has shown, time and again, that the opponent often has myriad ways of resisting. You therefore really need to do your job of looking for such resources. Chess isn't easy, my friend.

Secondly, I learned that I have a weakness in spotting the solutions to Greco's and Blackburne's mates. Sure, I passed the text exercises, but that's owing to sheer determination.

Again, in my attempt to get the most out of these books, I will be using Chess Tempo to create custom problem sets for these two mating motifs. At some point I will combine the sub-motifs into a larger group (you can combine custom problem sets) so that I can continue to drill them without necessarily knowing in advance what the motif is (more realistic this way, just as with regular tactics).

I'm also going to either create a set of flashcards or a binder with printed pages detailing things I need to remember, which is the real purpose of labeling those problems with asterisks*****. It'll help me locate them later. This could also be a folder of past game mistakes combined with problems I found difficult to solve. Flipping through this binder (or going through similar flash cards) before a tournament could be a useful warmup exercise. Also, the very act of creating such notes should prove beneficial in helping to eradicate said weaknesses and oversights.










Saturday, June 10, 2017

Yusupov 1.01

Looking through the chapter contents, I see Anastasia's Mate, the Arabian Mate, and Boden's Mate. Okay, I'll be honest, I've actually already worked through the first few chapters of the book prior to deciding to write this blog. However, I am doing them over again for your benefit.

At the time, I didn't know what any of these mates were. Yessir, 1800+ player and I'd never even heard of them. Astounding.

I have since created a set on chess tempo dedicated to various mating motifs. I'm nearly an expert on Anastasia's Mate at this point.

Spoiler! Please don't look at my answers until you have completed them yourself!

Diagram 1-1

Okay, this really threw me off at first. I just couldn't wrap my mind around it. I think it's because you switch from attacking horizontally to attacking vertically.

Wow, that seemed a lot easier the second time through. Not sure how I didn't find it the first time. Weird.

Diagram 1-2

My first instinct is rook e5, but I wonder if he can start playing ...Rd7 and ...Qe7 to stop me. Actually, no, he cannot stop it. Pretty simple.

Diagrams 1-3 and 1-4 

I knew instantly upon sight, though I didn't see the 3. f3 line in the latter. Thank you chesstempo.com.

Diagram 1-5

Tricky. Once I figured out where the knight needed to end up, it wasn't hard.


Diagram 1-7

Brilliant move by Steinitz. I thought I was so clever having found it as well, but I overlooked the Kg2 line for white. Dang!

Diagram 1-9*****

Uh oh. I am seriously stuck on this one right now. I understand the theme. I know I need to get rid of that knight somehow, but...ugh! What am I missing??

Oh, wait...maybe the threat is what really matters here. If I can get to the d2 square, I win the exchange (or else he lets me mate him). But it's guarded by the bishop. So if Nxd4...if B takes back, Nd2! And objective met. But if exd4, then the light-squared Bishop is hanging after Nxc3, winning a piece.

Actually I don't win the exchange, I just win a piece no matter what, because if white's Bishop takes, then after Nd2, the white queen moves, then Nxf3 followed by mate. So he must take with the pawn. Then I win a piece. Sweet!!

In the next chapter, page 23 in my edition, Yusupov states:


***** means I need to create a flashcard since this is obviously a sticking point for me.


Diagram 1-11*****

So I figured out everything up until White's last move...ugh! Another quiet queen move. Didn't see it. I had found Qh6 instead, which doesn't work because of Rf7, which Yusupov even mentions.

Diagram 1-12 was super easy, while 1-13, the final one, I found ridiculously difficult and way beyond my ability to solve. Sure, I found the first move, but after that it became so complex I would never have found all those variations over the board. If I could have done that, I'd already be a Master-strength player!


Time for the test positions, aka "Exercises."


Exercise 1-1

Super easy. Instant recognition.

Exercise 1-2

So I remember this really confusing me the first time I did it. This time I recognized it within like 2-3 seconds.

By the way, when I recognize them instantly like this, I don't bother setting up the board, because in just looking at the problem I already know the solution. So there's no point. 

Exercise 1-3

Same here. Classic Boden's Mate with forced mate in two. Super simple.

Exercise 1-4

Another one that wasn't easy initially, but now I can spot instantly. This is a good sign. It tells me that the patterns have indeed stayed with me and have become automatic.

Exercise 1-5

Again, same. This was hard initially. But I remembered in under five seconds. Either gets mated or gives up the queen. A line not shown is if white plays Kh1. But this changes nothing. Qxh2# either way.

Exercise 1-6

Again. Almost instant recognition. If Kg8, it gives Rxg7#. Qxg7 is also mate here.

Well thank goodness so far none of the test exercises have been as difficult as some of the chapter examples!

Exercise 1-7

 Took me a little longer--like ten seconds--to solve, but I consider that completely fine.

Exercise 1-8

Solved right away.

Okay, I just realized that, up until now, they have all been one-star exercises. He assigns them 1-3 stars based upon complexity or difficulty in solving. It's also an indication of how many points they are worth. Please note that the chapter exercises themselves are not rated--just the end-of-the-chapter test exercises.

Exercise 1-9 (two stars)

Okay, I just spent 5-10 minutes or more on this. It stumped me, but only because I was looking for a clear, winning line. If black plays best, it just leads to a quiet line where "White is also winning" due to better piece activity and being a pawn ahead. Fine. I was looking for something that was more of outright win. My fault. So I actually did see the "winning" line; just thought it wasn't enough to be the correct answer.

Exercise 1-10 (three stars--uh oh!)

Solved nearly right away. Maybe 20-30 seconds. This stumped me the first time I tried it, but wow, what a cool solution. Very pleased to have remembered it.

Exercise 1-11 (two stars)

Solved instantly.

Exercise 1-12

Too easy.

My Score: 16/16 points. "Excellent"

To be perfectly honest, I'm repeating the chapter if I score anything less than excellent.


Conclusion

So diagram 1-9 taught me something. Sometimes the threat alone is worth it. In this position, black was able to win a piece because of the threat of mate. I had initially tried finding a way to make the actual mate happen no matter what.

Diagram 1-11 will become a flashcard mostly because it's a calculation exercise. I needed to do better and see the correct killing blow at the end of the sequence.

Exercise 1-9 taught me that clear, overkill advantages are not always the outcome. Sometimes you are just winning in a rather simple position. While I had still found the solution, I hadn't realized it at the time because I had been searching for some more winning.

Otherwise I'm very satisfied with my results here. I remember initially struggling with many of these test exercises, but having gone through them again (several months later, actually nearly a year!) proved to me that my brain has indeed assimilated the patterns.









It Is Time (Yusupov Series 00.00)

...to begin.
 


I originally thought I might include a photo of each position, perhaps to prove that I am following Yusupov's advice of setting up each and every position. And I do plan on following his advice--but...taking and uploading a photo each time might be akin to giving his books away for free. Copyright laws and all that. I think it's more than enough to just discuss the positions and only show them if absolutely critical. If you have your own purchased copy, however, then I encourage you to follow along. Plus I don't think I'll comment on every single position anyway. Just select ones. I want each of these entries to be more like a summary of what I learned from the chapter, things that were difficult for me, things that surprised me, et cetera.

Here's how I plan on labeling the blog entries. I'm numbering the books 1-9. So book one will go from 1.01 to 1.24 (there are 24 chapters in each book). This will hopefully avoid any titular misunderstandings that the series is known for. I guess I'll call this blog 00.00 since it leads into things. Well, as I said, it is time. Onward!

Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Master Table

Here is where I'll be posting, and constantly updating, the Master Table.

The goal here, as previously outlined, is to list all of the skill sets from the Yusupov training course, and, over time, from other books or courses as well.



Now I just need to figure out how to make the table look bigger!

Sunday, June 4, 2017

Intro part VII: Five Goals, Elaborated


Elaboration of the Five Goals


In the last post, I wrote five goals. Here they are again:


1.     Study a well-written and comprehensive chess course to completion.
2.     Actually, truly study and learn the material.
3.     Stick with one book until it is completed.
4.     Compile a master list of the various tactical themes and strategies that one should expect to learn en route to becoming a Master.
5.     Write about my experiences here.
                                                                                                                                                                                  

Now to elaborate:

1.     By studying a comprehensive course, I can test how thoroughly it achieves its goal, or what (if any) supplemental material needs to be studied. Yusupov, for example, does mention the need to do additional work in order to become a Master. My goal will be to determine what, specifically, needs to be added.
2.     It’s not enough to just go through the book and finish it. I need to absorb it. Understand it. Throw it in the over and bake it for two hours. Let it cool. Consume it. Sit and stew on it. Share it with others. Write about it. Make it mine. Own it. I want, at the end, to be able to verily say “I’ve learned everything there is to learn from this course.”
3.     Yeah, you know you do it. We all do. We buy dozens of chess books. We read some of them. Most of them we just read a chapter or two. We daydream in our heads about how great a player we’re going to be once we’ve completed books x, y, and z, and so on. But it’s merely wishful thinking. Even the books we complete (assuming you have ever completed even one!) we often have not thoroughly studied. I don’t want to get distracted. Are there other books I want to read? Hell yes. Am I likely to study all nine volumes without reading something else in between? I doubt it. But what I can do is take it one step at a time, one book at a time and remain loyal to that goal. Maybe after I finish volume one I’ll decided to read another book before continuing with volume two. That’s fine, as long as I study and read that book to completion also.
4.     I’ll be making a giant spreadsheet, to be posted sometime in the future, detailing all of the various skills that Yusupov covers in his course. Let’s say a theme is Mating Patterns (and I know it is, because it’s one of the chapters in the first volume). Then what I’ll do is create a heading called Mating Patterns, and beneath it, I’ll list which chapters are devoted to that theme. This way I can track the various skill sets, where to find them, and how much coverage is devoted to each, all at a glance. I hope others will also find this useful. Over time, I can do the same with other books, and thus make a meticulous comparison between the two, even being able—at some point—to use this info to make sound book recommendations to all of you. This will help us to understand which books have the best quality and value for the improving player, and which chess authors have done the best job at alchemically distilling the massive amount of chess information into the best, concise, and useful data sets for training.
5.     Writing about my experiences here is not only a proven way for me to better retain what I’ve learned, but it allows me to draw connections and access a high level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. This increases the quality of my learning. It also allows me to better demonstrate what I have learned. Furthermore, I know there are others out there like me: hungry in your pursuit to improve, frustrated with knowing what to study, and wondering how it all comes together and makes sense. When you can’t see the forest for the trees, it’s time to step back and reevaluate things from a fresh perspective. I hope to achieve that. At the same time, I hope to meet like-minded individuals and hopefully, someday, celebrate each others’ success.




Intro part VI: Comprehensive Training Courses

Comprehensive Training



Here are the main ones I am aware of, in no particular order:


The Step Method (Stappenmethode)



  

Chess.com’s Prodigy Course





Artur Yusupov’s 9-volume series






Igor Ivanov’s courses






Lev Alburt’s Comprehensive Chess Course. 




There are actually eight titles in all, I believe, for Alburt’s course.

I haven’t included links, because I don’t sponsor any of them, and I don’t want anyone thinking I’m an affiliate. You can google them easily enough on your own if interested.

Instead, I’m attempting to be comprehensive, and I like photos.

I have no desire to review each of them here; nor am I in a position to do so, not having studied any of them to any significant degree.

This, finally, leads me to the primary point of creating this blog. I’ve decided to study the 9-volume Yusupov series. As far as I can tell, no one has done that yet. Not to completion. If anyone has, they either haven’t written about it, or I cannot locate it.

Here is a point-by-point break down of my goal:

1.     Study a well-written and comprehensive chess course to completion.
2.     Actually, truly study and learn the material.
3.     Stick with one book until it is completed.
4.     Compile a master list of the various tactical themes and strategies that one should expect to learn en route to becoming a Master.
5.     Write about my experiences here.

Points 1-5 will be elaborated on in the next post.

In doing so, I hope to:

·      Provide the first in-depth and comprehensive review available of the Yusupov training course;
·      Determine once and for all the ability for a busy, active adult to improve his chess;
·      And finally, to share my experiences with others in the hopes of my experience being replicated (in the case of my being successful), or at the very least adding to the existing theory of adult chess improvement, and my experiment serve as a platform for others to improve upon in the future.

·      If not alone, then together we shall overthrow the Chess Rating Stagnation Overlord! Okay, sorry for being dramatic…

No, I’m not. Never apologize for being who you are. It’s who you are, after all.

Intro part V: Standards


Standards

What the heck are we supposed to be learning, anyway? Wouldn’t it be great if there were one master book with the title:

Everything You Need to Know (and be good at) to Get to 2200

If we could know objectively that it indeed contained all the requisite skill sets needed for Master level chess, what would it be worth to you? I know I’d pay $100, so long as it were hardback. Haha.

Silman did it (more or less) with his now famous endgame book. Which, by the way, I love, because I felt it made endgames accessible to me for the first time, in an incrementally-digestible manner.



We would just need similar titles for different areas of chess. Here are some sample (nonexistent) titles:

Openings

The Least You Need to Know about Openings to Get to 2000. 12 pages.
What More You Need to Know to Get to 2200+. 495 pages.

The Tactician’s Bible: The 2,231 Core Tactical Patterns That Every Master Knows and Can Solve Instantly Without Trying

A Positional Primer: Understanding Steinitz’ Elements and All Common Strategic Maneuvers Without Breaking a Sweat

And Silman’s book.

That should just about take care of it.

The reality, however, is more grim. We do not know exactly which, or how many, tactical patterns one needs to burn into their brain tissues, so we resort to randomly trudging through problems and sets and books and drills. We think we know all the positional concepts that are required, but then along comes Mr. Oudeweetering to remind us all how retarded we really are.




Thanks, Mr. Oudeweetering. I had thought I was ‘good to go’ with Silman’s interpretation of Steinitz’ 16 elements, but no, apparently there’s a whole crap ton of stuff I’ve never even heard of yet. Granted, Mr. O’s chess patterns are all predicated on Steinitzian principles, but still.  It goes to show how little we all know.


Why is this blog called Standards?

Glad you asked. I had forgotten myself during my ramblings.

In the world of Education, we have what are called standards. They are a roadmap, more or less, or what skills and sub-skills children need to learn in the various content areas (math, science, language arts, etc) before moving on to the next grade. These standards breakkkk down ambiguous ideas (learn “math”!) into chunkable sets of skills (learn multiplication, single-digit; learn multiplication, multiple digits; and so on). Of course they start at the Kindergarten level and become incrementally more difficult.

Sure someone, somebody, somewhere, has somehow put together a comprehensive list of these skills, yes? No?

No. To my knowledge, it hasn’t been done.

We do, however, have comprehensive programs of chess study available. Presumably, these comprehensive training programs would provide us with all the requisite knowledge.

We'll get into that in the next post.

Intro part II: 10,000 Kicks

10,000 Kicks One of the reasons it can be so difficult to understand what needs improvement is the fact that there seems to be...