Thursday 30 June 2011

Here's a wild bishop sacrifice!

I played this one last night ... I never know quite what to do against 3.Bc4?  Any ideas would be appreciated ...

[Event "Live Chess"]
[Site "Chess.com"]
[Date "2011.06.30"]
[White "Am*****"]
[Black "greg_b"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "1580"]
[BlackElo "1518"]
[TimeControl "5|0"]
[Termination "greg_b won by resignation"]

1.e4 c5
2.Nf3 d6
3.Bc4 e6
4.h3 a6
5.d3 d5
6.exd5 exd5
7.Qe2+ Be7
8.Bb3 b5
9.a3 Nf6
10.O-O O-O
11.Bg5 Re8
12.Qd1 Nc6
13.Nc3 Be6
14.Rb1 c4
15.Ba2 cxd3
16.Qxd3 b4
17.Ne2 g6
18.a4 Bf5
19.Qd1 Qd7
20.Ned4 Nxd4
21.Nxd4 Rac8
22.Bb3 Bxh3
23.gxh3 Qxh3
24.Qf3 Qxf3
25.Nxf3 Ne4
26.Bxe7 Rxe7
27.Rfd1 Nf6
28.Ne1 Re4
29.f3 Re2
30.Kf1 Rh2
31.Kg1 Rh5
32.Kg2 Re5
33.Nd3 Re2+
34.Kf1 Rh2
35.Nxb4 h5
36.Nxa6 h4
37.Nb4 h3
38.Nd3 Rg2
39.Nf2 Rg3
40.Bxd5 Nxd5
41.Rxd5 Rxc2
42.Re5 h2
43.Re8+ Kg7
44.Nh3 h1=Q+
0-1

Imagination in chess

Here is my latest review on Amazon.  I think that it is wise not to be fooled by the title of this book - I found it somewhat misleading ... nevertheless it contains some wonderful sacrifices :)

Imagination In Chess

NB: You have to be 1800+ ELO to get real benefit from this book which is why I struggled ...!

Wednesday 29 June 2011

For those parents interested in chess for their children ...

I found an interesting article on the BBC website recently ...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-13343943

I wonder if chess in schools will ever take off SERIOUSLY in the UK? Apparently some countries are planning to make chess a compulsory part of the school curriculum!

Tuesday 28 June 2011

Bishop sacrifice in Kings Indian Defense

One of my colleagues recently won a game on chess.com with a nice bishop sacrifice. It appears that the mate was unstoppable after 12.Ng5. Has anyone got any ideas as to how Black should have played before the sacrifice?

IrishJon versus a-player .
1.d4 g6
2.e4 Bg7
3.c4 d6
4.Nf3 Nf6
5.Nc3 O-O
6.Bd3 Re8
7.h4 h5
8.Qc2 c6
9.e5 Ng4
10.Bxg6 fxg6
11.Qxg6 dxe5
12.Ng5 Rf8
13.Qh7#

Saturday 18 June 2011

Lichess

This looks like an interesting site to meet up with friends for the odd game. Certainly less hectic than some of the more popular ones. Why not give it a go?

http://lichess.org/

Monday 13 June 2011

World Chess News 2011

Here is a quick update from Stephen M on what is going on in the world of chess ...

"In terms of recent chess news, the last couple of weeks saw the emergence of a new challenger for Vishy Anand’s world championship. Boris Gelfand from Israel somewhat unexpectedly won the candidates tournament, beating Grishuk in the final, and will go on to face Anand in 2012. Anand and Gelfand are relatively old in the elite chess-playing world, both in the early 40s. This match may well be the beginning of the end for the old guard of the chess world as the current crop of youngsters will soon supplant them, but it should be a good fight between very contrasting styles. After the challenger is announced, there is normally a protracted period of contract negotiations where both players argue over the terms and conditions of the match and play a few mind games. These two players might be relatively quiet on this front I’m afraid, but keep an eye out for the classic 'his chair looks comfier than mine' and the Fischer favourite 'he’s employing psychics to climb inside my brain' "

You can follow all the recent chess news on www.chessbase.com which also lets you flick through some recent games and has a decent shop as well.

Cheers all,

Steve

Sunday 12 June 2011

Chess Training Pocket Book: 300 Most Important Positions & Ideas

My latest chess tactics training has involved working through this little pocket book by Lev Alburt. I reviewed it on Amazon ...

Here is the link ...

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Chess-Training-Pocket-Book-Comprehensive/dp/1889323225/ref=cm_cr-mr-title