Tactics from the 41st Chess Olympiad

Tactics from the 41st Chess Olympiad

Hi friends, lets look at some Tactics from the 41st Chess Olympiad.

Tactics from the 41st Chess Olympiad

This position comes from the game WGM Melanie Ohme of Germany (2301) vs WGM Olga Girya of Russia (2484), Round 4 of the 41st Chess Olympiad, played in Norway.

White to move.

Tactics from the 41st Chess Olympiad

The tactics puzzle is at move 37. White to move.

Black has just played 36. …Rh2. It appears as though Blacks pieces are all swarming over the white monarch and the attack by black might just come through. Right?

Look again. The Black King is also not a sleeping beauty rather looks like a sitting duck. The question is – how can White use that to his advantage?

The first thing to do is to lay the position on a real chess board.

Do not try solving it on the PC as you will be missing on the spatial aspects of chess training.

Moreover if the position is not solvable in the first two minutes then stop staring at the screen.

Sit down and start solving on a chess board.

But don’t feel any necessity to do it that way; just try to “see” as far as you can with the diagram, and if you can’t keep the position or visualize deep enough, then its time to set up a board.

This wayit will improve your vision on a real board also since real chess games are OTB.

If you can mate him, it will be good. If you cannot, try tactical methods to snare some free stuff!

Oops – looks like I just blurted out the answer.

Don’t scroll down any further as the answer will be posted in the following lines.

 


Let us see what the answer is:  Bb6+ followed by RxN. (The Knight is defending the Rook on d2. So you get the picture now?). Black loses a lot of material and resigned.

China Wins Gold at 41st Chess Olympiad in Norway

China Wins Gold at 41st Chess Olympiad in Norway

The world’s fourth-largest chess event, the 41st Chess Olympiad, ended on August 2015 in the former Mack Brewery warehouse in Tromsø. About 1,500 players from over 170 countries played against each other in the Norwegian city of Tromso, to win medals and more importantly, the Hamilton-Russell Cup, which was the top prize since first official Olympiad in London in 1927. This cup has been used since that time. Amazing isn’t it? The young Chinese team won the 41st Chess Olympiad in Tromsø, Norway.

They became the only undefeated team among 176 participating countries, winning eight matches and tying three, scoring 19 points.

The Hungarians won the silver medals on a tiebreak over India, both scoring 17 points.

Azerbaijan and the top rated team of Russia also scored 17 points, but their tiebreaks were not good enough.

Russia won the Women’s Olympiad with 20 match points, and China edged Ukraine on a tiebreak after both scored 18 points.

Hungary’s second place was overshadowed by Judit Polgar’s announcement that she is retiring from professional chess.

Sasikirian was vital to the Indian performance!!!

China Wins Gold at Chess Olympiad in Norway

A proud Indian team finished bronze!!!

China Wins Gold at Chess Olympiad in Norway


 

Using the Opponent’s force (a la Judo) in your chess games

Using the Opponent’s force (a la Judo) in your chess games

using opponent force Using the Opponent's force

Using Opponent’s Force

My first memory on seeing this  is Judo. It does an amazing job of using your opponents force and weight (damage from the throw), then adding in your force to damage your opponent.  This is what happened in the game.

Judo (Japanese: 柔道, jūdō; “gentle way”) is a martial art and combat sport, which originated in Japan. Judo, now primarily a sport, is a system of unarmed combat. The objective is to throw, pin, or cause the opponent to yield by applying pressure to arm joints or the neck. Judo techniques are intended to turn an opponent’s force to one’s advantage, rather than confronting it directly. Rituals surrounding the practice of judo promote an attitude of calm readiness and confidence – Source

It is all about maximum results with least effort, and simple chess is all about it. The key is to react with quiet consciousness, not blind raging urges.

Please go over the game slowly and see where my moves appear strange to you.

These would be the points you have to understand.

So what exactly happened in this game?

I did not do anything but only used my opponent’s own urge to ‘do something’, against him. I am a fan of Petrosian and Karpov.I always think what they would do in such a position.

The reason I am showing this game is because I feel that beginners and intermediate players usually are never taught to play as per the needs of the position or how to change gears based on the opponent’s moves.

Here when I say ‘opponent’s moves’ and let me clarify that I refer to the beginners urge to try and dominate – usually obvious in the first 10-15 moves.


Coming to the topic of how to train this method of using your opponent’s force against him, I would suggest – always sitting with a stronger player and asking him to block your attacking attempts by playing ferociously, and then see how he can withstand your onslaught. Then go over that game and see where you rushed in. All these moments will be our learning notes.

In this experiment you will see where you are lacking, like lack of patience or lack of proper visualization + calculation in critical positions or both.

One more method would be to slowly go over games by players like Karpov, Capablanca or Petrosian and see how you are able to find their moves. Every time they make a move that appears difficult to understand, you need to pause and meditate.

That is all for now friends! Hope to hear from you soon – if you are in Facebook why not join me there and like my page ?


 

Golden Chess Centre conducts regular training sessions for dedicated and upcoming chess players in Nanganallur, Madipakkam, Adambakkam, Moovarasampet, Kilkattalai, Kovilambakkam, Puzhuthivakkam, Ullagaram and Pazhavanthangal – Chennai, as well as online sessions for those players who live out of Chennai.

Get in touch here.

Attack and Counter-Attack – Model Chess Game

Attack and Counter-Attack – Model Chess Game

One of the best games by Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk on Attack and Counter-Attack – Model Chess Game for all budding chess players.

Attack and Counter-Attack - Model Chess Game

I think it needs to given a closer second look to understand many concepts related to attack and defense. I really enjoyed this game and hope you would too.

Attack and Counter-Attack – Model Chess Game


Suggested Reading –

Grandmaster Chess Strategy: What Amateurs Can Learn from Ulf Andersson’s Positional Masterpieces By Jurgen Kaufeld, Guido Kern

Attack and Counter-Attack - Model Chess Game

wide orange Using the Opponent's force

Attack and Counter-Attack - Model Chess Game 100 Soviet Chess Miniatures

Tactics, audacity, and speed are the hallmarks of chess matches called “miniatures,” games played in 25 moves or less. Learn from 100 fascinating games played by Soviet chess masters, taken from the records of the Soviet Chess Bulletin. Selected and annotated by noted chess authority P. H. Clarke. 99 chess diagrams.

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Have you ever wanted something really bad and after some time, not so much?

Golden Chess Centre conducts regular training sessions for upcoming chess players in Nanganallur, Madipakkam, Adambakkam, Moovarasampet, Kilkattalai, Kovilambakkam, Puzhuthivakkam, Ullagaram and Pazhavanthangal – Chennai, as well as online sessions for those players who live out of Chennai.

Get in touch with Golden Chess Centre here.


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At 4 years – youngest Indian chess player!

At 4 years – youngest Indian chess player!

At 4 years – youngest Indian chess player

At 4 years - youngest Indian chess player

At the age where kids grapple with numbers and alphabets, this three-year-old Sparsh Bisht is mastering the moves over the chess board. Still in his pre-nursery (pre-KG), Sparsh took to the game four months back and has started to achieve success against players double his age. Playing his first tournament, Sparsh won three matches in seven rounds and was placed 37th out of 62 participants. At 4 years – youngest Indian chess player or maybe in the World, deserves a standing ovation.

He was the youngest participant in the U-9 category. He was the recipient of trophy for the youngest participant. A resident of Gurgoan, Sparsh’s parents want to see him as the world’s youngest rated chess players. His father R S Bisht is Sr. Asstt. Engineer in HR-Admin Dept, Powergrid Corporation of India Ltd, Gurgaon.

This dream achievement was possible by the dedicated efforts of his parents. Born in May 2009, Sparsh is the youngest chess player in Gurgaon, who has already participated in National level tournaments, State and District championships. “He started playing in the year 2012 in November, when he was three years and ten months old,” said Sparsh’s mother, Preeti Bisht.

Chess talent, like a mathematical or musical ability, shows up early on life, and once identified has to be carefully cultivated. Call it Karma or genes or mere chance of nature, it was a case of catching them young! In Sparsh’s case, it was his father Rajendra Bisht, an engineer in Gurgaon, who became his first inspiration as an early chess pal. “I was down with knee injury and was spending a lot of time playing chess on the laptop. And I could see that the game interested Sparsh a lot.” Bisht said.

Here is a video of the young star in action:

I wish him all the very best in his chess and real world endeavors. He is our inspiration. He may be a toddler but his sights are far higher than adults!

Kindly share this as much as you can. He deserves our adoration.


 

Have you ever wanted something really bad and after some time, not so much?

Golden Chess Centre conducts regular training sessions for upcoming chess players in Nanganallur, Madipakkam, Adambakkam, Moovarasampet, Kilkattalai, Kovilambakkam, Puzhuthivakkam, Ullagaram and Pazhavanthangal – Chennai, as well as online sessions for those players who live out of Chennai.

Get in touch with Golden Chess Centre here.


Note: The links in this page are affiliate links.