Chess move by move

I think my Chess has deteriorated a lot in the past couple of weeks... or everybody else has gotten better than me. If the latter is the case, then my rating is about 1200! I have lost to a 1300 player, a 1500 player, and I am not doing very well with 1700s and the like - yet I have a provisional USCF rating of 1949 (will go lower after those defeats!) - and I would like to think that I should be rated way higher than that.
The losses were hard to take - but I later realized that such losses are an opportunity for self-discovery. I thought about why I play Chess and what I expect from it. I looked back at the times that I played really well and what I did in order to play well. I have even looked at my whole life, what am I spending most of my time doing? Am I sleeping enough? Where does Chess rank at this time? Where do I want to get, Chesswise? etc.
At this time, one thing is for certain. I need to play a lot better Chess. I will go back and read my writings on how to improve at Chess and try to practice what I preach.

Here are all the links to my tips:

1. If this will not inspire you, nothing will!


2. Chess Openings Buffet: - All you can eat! FREE!


3. How To Improve at Chess: Tip# 3: Constant Decision-Making


4. How to Use Love and Accountability to Play Great Chess


5. Should I continue playing after a big blunder?


6. How to Improve at Chess: Tip 4 - “Do This and You Shall Live!”


7. How to improve at Chess: Tip# 5 - For every move you make…


8. How to Improve at Chess: Tip#6 - “If I had his pieces…”


9. How to Improve at Chess: Tip#7 - Take your time when playing through recorded games


10. How to Improve at Chess: Tip#9 - Annotate your (Email Chess) games


11. How to Improve at Chess: Tip#8 - Study with the right pieces on your side….


12. How to Improve at Chess: Tip#10 - Let go of the Mouse!


13. How to Improve at Chess: Tip #11 - Don't skip the draws


14. How to Improve at Chess: Tip #12 - Work on your Memory


15. How To Think Fast - 10 Tips


16. How Far Can You See?


17. The trick to excellence: “Do This and You Shall Live!”


18. How to Improve at Chess: Tip # 13 - Beat the Greatest Masters


19. How to Improve at Chess: Tip # 14 - Study miniatures

Why study miniatures?
First, they are fun, short and sweet. You play through them and in no time, you are done.
Second, you see where the losing moves come in; you can learn to avoid similar mistakes.
Third, you see where the winning moves come in; you can learn how to finish a game or win in similar positions.
Fourth, they are easy to remember. I have discussed the need to play from memory before. Miniatures are a sure way to do that. The easier a concept is to remember, the higher the chances that you will apply it in your own life.

Mikhail Tal vs Z Pigit
URS 1953 · Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer (B62) · 0-1
In this game, the master tactician, Mikhail Tal, gives up all there is to give, except for the King, Queen (and King's Rook, sort of). It's action, action and no "cuts"! When the King's Rook is about to be captured, the Doctor realizes that the wrong diet has been prescribed. Time to resign. Enjoy!



Things start to happen as early as move 8 when Tal plays 8.e5, sacrificing a pawn in the hope of messing up Black's pawn structure(?). Tal was never a positional player, so that is an unlikely reason. But if Black takes the pawn, then moves like 9.Qf3 attacking c6 and f6 are possible. Black meets Tal's tactics with his own.
8...Qa5! If White takes the Knight with his pawn, Q takes Bishop.
9.Bb5! (Exclamation for the unexpectedness of the move, as well as the excitement.)The moves aims to block the Queens path to the Bishop on g5 as well as open up the diagonal f3-a8.
9...cxb5 Black accepts the sacrificed Bishop with the knowledge that the blocked rank will be opened next move, with an attack on two pieces.
10.exf6 He gets the pawn. So far, things are going according to plan(?)
10...b4 Pigit resumes the attack on the Bishop on g5, the pawn is attacking the knight on c3.
11.Qf3 protecting neither piece! Attacking the Rook on a8.
11...Qe5! Pigit wants to block the path of the White Queen, which he could have done by immediately playing d5. However, that would block off the attack on the Bishop on g5. With this move, he is still attacking the Bishop, and he will block the diagonal next move.
12.Nd4(!) Only Tal could see such moves. Good or bad! The knight or the Bishop, one of them is a goner. How about playing 12.Nd2 when the Bishop is "defended" by the attack on the Rook? Not Tal! So he defends with an attack. Protecting the Bishop?
12...d5. Blocking the diagonal and attacking the Knight that is defending the Bishop.
(annotation to be continued)

On page 10 of Chess Life,Winter 2004, Bobby Fischer is quoted as saying: "I have played over several hundred of Morphy's games, and am continually surprised and entertained by his ingenuity. It has taken me twenty minutes at times to find the proper response to one of his move."
Why would Fischer spend 20 minutes trying to find a solution to Morphy's move? One reason could be that he needed to know how he would respond if somebody played the Morphy moves (from rote) against him. Second, may be he was trying to beat Morphy! If you are going to be the greatest ever... you have to be able to respond to anything that may be thrown at you, by others, whether they are dead or alive ;-)
20 minutes trying to analyze one move and come up with a response to it! I guess just like life, you get out of Chess what you put in.
How long do you spend analyzing games of the masters? Do you just take their moves as the last word?
So there is a tip: Beat the greatest Masters at their own game!

How soon can you start teaching your kid how to play Chess? How about this early???::::

Qxh7#: Still Too Early for Lessons You Think?

In this game, Black starts an attack with insufficient forces. His Knight and Bishop are chased back. The Knight gets pinned and then attacked by a pawn. It is ironic that White wins with an attack similar to what Black had envisioned and tried unsuccessfully: Bishop and Knight attacking the c-pawn on its initial position!

On move 10. Black could have tried 10... Bxe4 to attack g2 and d5 (thus protecting c6). However, that is refuted by 11. Nxc7+ Kd7 12. dxc++ Kxc6 13. Qe2! (This threatens mate on b5 and attacks the Bishop on e4. May be the solutions is to give up the Queen for the Knight at some point.

Jacob Henry Sarratt vs NN
England 1818 · Queen Pawn Game: Sarratt Attack (D00) · 1-0