I am not at all sure if there was dragon transposition chances here, my dragon knowledge is WEAK! What do you think about my live analysis?

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I’ve finally posted my first chess video to YouTube. My hope is that by sharing my amateur thinking process with other chess players some flawed thinking will be corrected, and even more so, I hope that my thinking is spot on and that I help share what I know about the game!

With that in mind, check out the video and tell me… what do you think about the analysis?

The Colle System, introduced by Edgard Colle,  is a good beginner opening strategy for White because, like the Kings Indian Attack,  White can play the same basic setup almost regardless of how black responds and at expect to have a sound position. The downsides of this opening are that White has a difficult time forcing an advantage out of the opening, White  allows black to play the c pawn to c5, a thematic goal in Queen pawn openings, and White has a black squared bishop on c1 that is currently not participating. (Other Colle setups, with the c1 bishop being deployed at b2, f5, or f4, will be discussed in future articles.)

So, why play the Colle?

A major selling point is its simplicity. It is often said that the Colle player sets up his position and then looks up to see what Black has done. As a beginner this takes the focus off studying opening theory and allows for focus on endgame and tactical study where the time is better spent, but often ignored for fear of falling victim to various opening traps.

With the Colle System (example game below), White has a fairly simply plan… a King side attack. Initiated by advancing the e pawn to e4, sometimes even to e5, the idea is to chase away or exchange blacks f6 knight. The f6 knight is the key defender of the castled position, and specifically the h7 square. White will often sacrifice the bishop by capturing on h7 (the “Greek Gift” sacrifice). By exploiting the now vulnerable black King position, White can often unleash a devastating attack on the Black King.

The following famous game Colle-O’Hanlon, 1930 contains such an attack, initiated by a questionable (but successful) Bishop sacrifice at h7. See if you can explain White’s 15th move, Rxe6+ (and why black didn’t play 15… fxe6) and post your answer in the comment box!

We’ve all played chess against the strategist whose likeness is visible just to the left,  particularly in blitz games. You know the type, they throw wild curveballs at you designed to eat up your time. (I think that’s the plan anyway??) They use questionable (if not Kamikaze) openings that stand no chance of winning  in a game of substantial time… and then they win with them!

There is no escape from the reckless hyper aggressive player! They are often seen at the poker tables, perhaps fueled by TV poker, they play way too  loose, and way too aggressive, and when it works it is nothing short of obnoxious!

In both cases, chess or poker, it’s almost as if they don’t care whether they win or lose! For a large number of players this opponent is beyond comprehension and often unsettling.  It certainly doesn’t help when they actually win!

If you play tournament poker you’ll often see players speculatively betting all their chips as early as the first hand of a tournament. (It’s a horrible play,  in case you’re considering it’s merits.) The good news at the poker table is that you can just fold and not play against them! At the chess board, you are stuck playing (within the realm of good etiquette anyway.)

At the poker table, I don’t mind these players because they lose money that tends to find it’s way to me. At the chess board, I have a love/hate relationship with them. Here’s why: they force you to study your opening play, go over  your games, and spend time NOT playing. A good thing, but a bothersome thing as well.

I dislike studying openings and I don’t have the ability to memorize the method of extinguishing every half baked idea thrown at me! I can usually work it out with sufficient time, but therein lies the problem. In blitz games there is no time!

After giving this some thought I have come up with some possible solutions:

1. Suck it up and study the openings. I do this some of course already, but clearly not enough.
2. Play longer games that allow me to work it out over the board and stop playing Blitz games!! Sadly, this is probably the winner. After all, if I don’t like a style of play that will only be successful in this format, why play this format at all? Well, there is the joy of crushing them, despite its reduced satisfaction level due to the quality, it is still fun!!
3. Learn some specific blitz techniques that avoid this nonsense and allow for a more “sensible” game!

Although the last idea appeals to me the most, I suspect it is not as simple as all that.

Alexandra Kosteniuk offers a suggestion in the Tips section of her Chess Blitz Fever DVD:

Play with increments, get a better game.

(Meaning that time is added to your total remaining time after each move. 3 minute blitz games with 2 second increments are a popular choice)

It’s not really a surprise that this leads to a stronger play, as more time obviously lends itself to better quality.

Alexandra adds that the increments also allow the player that is ahead to finish off the opponent. Again, not really a surprise, but perhaps the solution I seek!

It wasn’t all that long ago that I posted about my new found love for 3:0 Blitz, but apparently my chess heart is fickle, as we are no longer seeing each other. I have a new chess love, with sexy increments and a stable personality, and I am missing fewer chunks of hair!

Thanks for the Images:

Franco Folini
superhua
rhoftonphoto

In 2005 I migrated from chess to poker. I played a ton of poker, and very little chess for the next four years.

Late in 2009 I decided to explore Twitter, where I quickly discovered what I think is the beauty of Twitter: TONS of like-minded people from all over the world!

I have played on US Chess Live, ICC, FICS and certainly there are a ton of people there that play chess, but like minded is not exactly the way I would describe the majority.

Twitter led me to back to chess, indirectly (or via #severalplayers, if you prefer) and
having been bitten by the chess bug again, I have found two major improvements in the online presence of the game:

1. The ability to communicate with everyone more easily has affected the accessibility of the titled players, for the better! This is both great for the game and great for the fans. (Alexandra Kosteniuk, Natalia Pogonina)

2. YouTube. If chess videos were widely available for no charge in 2005 I certainly didn’t know where to find them! Now they are all over the place! (I think Chess.FM had some posted on occasion, but there certainly was not the vast choices we have now.)

I’ve included a video by jrobichess on the Kings Indian Attack, an easy opening for beginners. In a future post I’ll have some more resources and information on this opening, and posts other openings as well.

Visit jrobichess.com
Follow @jrobichess on Twitter.

Speaking of online chess study, help me decide where to invest!

Great Photo by:
joiseyshowaa