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For Returning Visitors: Seldom does not mean never. Although my new domain will eventually be my bigger site, I'll keep this site to show a game in which I drew against a master. See B Players Holds Master to a Draw.
For New Visitors: I am moving to a new home (electronically, that is). I have begun construction of my own domain, which will provide instruction in chess and mathematics. The site you are viewing here allows only one image to be uploaded per web page. If your browser does not support my chess fonts, you may see goofy symbols instead of chess pieces! Constructive suggestions for my new domain are invited. You can find me at patwhalen.com
Human Grandmaster in Chess Life Is Wrong
Update for March 2003: In the October 2002 issue of Chess Life, Grandmaster Susan Polgar annotated Knorre-Chigorin. The position with White to play is shown above. Contrary to what the article might have you believe, White is not lost! An exhaustive analysis of this position is in my upcoming book. Even if you have a powerful computer and program, you may want to let it spend several hours on this position.
Little By Little
1) Learn how to publish a book of your games. More of my games and analysis are in the works.
2) I have learned that not all browsers will support my chess fonts. If you see goofy symbols instead of chess pieces for the diagrams, let me know. My current Web host supports only one .gif image per page.
Excerpt from Write Your Own Chess Book, Regardless of Your Strength.
Copyright 2003 by Patrick Whalen
The First Rank: You Don’t Have to Wait
“I won the title of Master in 1927, during the U.S.S.R. Fifth Championship tournament, held in Moscow; and one can say that this completed my first period of ‘chess development.’” So begins Mikhail Botvinnik in his classic One Hundred Selected Games. A singer (I forget his name) gives the listener a similar message when telling how he learned to play the guitar: “Learned how to play in a day or so.”
For most of us chess players, becoming a master is not the “first period”: it is beyond the last period. Botvinnik does not explain how he became a master. He explains two training methods that he used after becoming a master: 1. Carefully annotating his tournament games; 2. Publishing those games. By annotating our games, we discover what we did wrong (or what we did well); then we work to eliminate our weaknesses and develop our strengths. By publishing our games, we tacitly invite others to point out what we have overlooked.
The late world champion Alexander Alekhine took the annotation method a step further. He attempted to recall what had been in his mind during the game. Deux Cent Parties d’Echecs contains a valuable essay on this subject for anyone who reads French.
Like everything else affected by the computer, the publishing world has changed. Word processing applications and desktop publishing have made it easier for a new author to find a publisher. Traditionally, an unpublished author’s last resort was the so-called “vanity press.” The author paid a few thousand dollars (or more) to have someone print the book. If the book did not sell, the copies collected dust in the warehouse, and the author was stuck. The vanity press had to print a fairly large number of copies to justify the cost of offset printing.
Even when the publisher was not a vanity press, there was still a chance that the book would not be reprinted. Some of my readers may be interested in computer programming; perhaps you have even thought of writing your own chess program as a hobby. Have you ever tried to find a book that could help get you started? Perhaps you have looked for Computers, Chess, and Cognition; or Chess Skill in Man and Machine. I tried for several months to find Sargon: A Computer Chess Program. Then I, the potential reader, was stuck because I could not find it.
The situation began to change after books could be stored electronically. Printing a small number of copies became less expensive and required less effort. Since the publisher could run off a few copies whenever readers demanded them, the phrase “printing on demand” was born. Now any literate person can publish a book. There is still a fee, but it is usually a few hundred dollars instead of a few thousand. The fee is much less because the authors type their manuscripts and save them on a word processing application. The publisher therefore pays much less for the production. Storing the book electronically will prevent it from ever going out of print; now the author and the reader are no longer stuck.
In April 2002 my employer went out of business; I was laid off after 20 years on the job. Opportunities looked bleaker than ever, and so I had an extra incentive to publish my first book. (Most of it was not about chess.) I searched the Internet under “Printing on Demand” and found a publisher. Now it is your turn. You do not have to wait until you are a master.
To submit a manuscript to an on-demand publisher, you need a working knowledge of a popular word-processing application. You will also want to know how to import diagrams into your manuscript. ChessBase and Fritz are two options. You may also want to search the Internet under “Chess Diagrams” and “Chess Fonts.” As of this writing, the current version of WordPerfect is Corel WordPerfect 10. It includes chess fonts that produce sharp diagrams if you are willing to spend extra time practicing.
Computer chess programs and computer processors have been upgraded several times in the past several years. The result is not only a stronger training partner, but also more reliable analysis. As recently as the late 1990's, I would not have attempted to write a chess book for a large audience. If you do not feel ready to submit your games to public scrutiny, you can still limit your book to a select group of readers. Many books, including family histories and autobiographies, are never intended for the mass market.
You can write a chess book even if you are a weak player. Perhaps you belong to a chess club. My own opinion is that every club should have a book of its annual championships. You may enjoy collecting the games or recording the history of your club.
One goal of my books is to demonstrate what I have called the “Learn By Writing” approach. You can learn a subject while writing about it and by writing about it. If the subject is chess, you will even have a mentor in the form of your favorite software. Using more than one program for analysis may be helpful if you feel comfortable studying that way. Perhaps you will prefer one program for endgames, another program for closed positions, etc. I have an overall favorite, but have sometimes used at least two programs to analyze one position.
Your chess experience in learning by writing does not have to be limited to your games. Perhaps you will want to compile unpublished combinations. Endgames are another possibility. The trick is to select material that will instruct you and your readers at the same time. As we advance through the upcoming ranks, I hope that you will improve your game and find ideas for your own book.
My selection begins with a tournament game that I played in 1995 at the Marshall Chess Club. After the game was over, Pocahontas helped me analyze. Pocahontas is a fanciful nickname for my 486 laptop and an old program running on it. Actually, I meant POKEahontas because it pokes along, compared with any Pentium. Its analysis and my own are given here. Numerical evaluations with a positive value indicate an advantage for White. For archival purposes I have left the commentary, the analysis, and even the format in their original states.
White Black
Ken Cohen (1410) Patrick Whalen
Phase I: Black is faced with an unfamiliar opening variation and misplays it. Having been outprepared, he faces a Kingside attack.
1. e4 c5
2. Nc3 Nc6
3. Ne2 . . .
White plays the guessing game: he wants me to guess whether the opening will remain a Closed Sicilian or turn into an open one. He also wants to reserve that option for himself. If I play 3...g6, for example (assuming that I shall have a Closed Sicilian), he can keep the game closed with 4 g3 or else play 4 d4. In the latter event, I would find after 4...cd4, 5 Nd4 Bg7 that I am playing the Black side of an Accelerated Dragon for the first time in my life.
. . . e5
Since he won’t declare his intentions, I’ll declare mine. I’ll put up with a weakness on d5 in return for a grip on d4.
4. Nd5 . . .
Already I reached the end of my book knowledge of this variation. My candidate moves were now 4...Nge7 and 4...Nf6. Since I was on my own, I thought for a while before I moved.
. . . Nf6?!
The thinking did not help. Pocahontas (without the aid of her opening book) suggests 4...Nge7. ECO gives 4...d6 5 Nec3, 6 Bc4 Nd5, 7 Nd5 Be6. I played 4...Nf6 with the idea of ...Be7; yet after Nge7 and ...Nd5, e7 is free for the Bishop anyway. 4...Nge7 also allows ...Nd4, ...Nec6.
5. Nec3 a6?!
My idea was to keep the Knights out of b5, but I overlooked the forthcoming restraining move.
6. a4 . . .
Preventing Queenside expansion.
. . . Nd5
7. Nd5 . . .
Pocahontas: +0.85.
. . . Ne7?
White’s Knight, although annoying, is not so menacing that it justifies a developed piece’s retreat with the intent to swap. Simply 7...d6 followed by ...Be6 is good.
8. Bc4 Nd5
8...d6 is still preferable.
9. Bd5 d6
10. d3 . . .
(Pocahontas: +1.20)
. . . Rb8
To get the Rook off the White Bishop’s diagonal and allow the Black QB to move. 10...Qc7 and 10...0-0 are alternatives too.
11. 0-0 Qf6?
In the absence of the KN, someone is needed to defend the Kingside. Black now intends ...Be6 to exchange light-squared Bishops. The drawback is that the Queen soon finds herself awkwardly placed and on a file that can soon be opened for White’s Rook.
12. f4 . . .
Uh-oh. Here comes the Pawn, about to exchange itself to open the f file for the Rook. (Pocahontas: +2.03.)
Phase II: Black sits tight, knowing that White can no longer rely on opening analysis. Careful to avoid tactical errors, Black remains faithful that White will err positionally. Positional errors occur, and Black sacrifices a Pawn to start outplaying the opponent who had outprepared him.
XIIIIIIIIY
9 trl+kvl tr0
9+p+ +pzpp0
9p+ zp wq +0
9+ zpLzp + 0
9P+ +PzP +0
9+ +P+ + 0
9 zPP+ +PzP0
9tR vLQ+RmK 0
xiiiiiiiiy
. . . Be6
13. Be6?! . . .
The Bishop trade is unavoidable, but White should not initiate it. Better is 13 fe5 Qe5, 14 c3! (intending d4) Bd5, 15 Rf5 Qe6, 16 Rd5.
. . . Qe6
14. f4?! . . .
White is not looking deeply enough into the nuances of this position. The purpose of this Pawn advance (and similar advances in other games) is to open a file for the Rook: the file is usually opened by Pawn exchanges: 14 f5?! keeps the file closed. Perhaps White had wanted to advance his Pawn to f6 and then exchange; if so, the White Queen’s presence on f6 stops the advance, and Black can play ...h6 to prevent g4, g5 if necessary.
. . . Qf6
15. Qg4 . . .
Less threatening than it looks. There are no clear targets to attack. White would do at least as well by playing 15 Be3. (Pocahontas: +1.51)
. . . Be7
Getting ready to castle.
16. g3? . . .
White appears stumped. His Pawn now sits where a Rook might have gone. Both 16 Be3 and 16 Rf3 would be reasonable.
. . . 0-0
17. h4? . . .
Again Be3 is preferable.
. . . h6
White either overlooked this move or underestimated its effectiveness.
18. Qg3 . . .
This maneuver, intended to place the major pieces behind the Pawns, is too slow and gives Black time to open the center.
. . . Rfd8
The right Rook. Now the QR can still operate on the c file.
19. c4 . . .
If 19 Rh2, then ...d5.
XIIIIIIIIY
9 tr tr +k+0
9+p+ vlpzp 0
9p+ zp wq zp0
9+ zp zpP+ 0
9P+P+P+ zP0
9+ +P+ zPQ0
9 zP + + +0
9tR vL +RmK 0
xiiiiiiiiy
. . . d5!
Anyway! Pocahontas suggests the more routine 19...b5, 20 ab5 ab5, 21 b3, but there are reasons for preferring the text:
1) I would rather be down a Pawn than have an immobile Queen; the sacrifice clears the third rank.
2) Pawn advances to c4 or e4 will open the center even further; White’s King will find itself less secure as the result of White’s Kingside Pawn push.
3) The tournament was played at Game 60, and White was getting into time trouble. Now White will get into greater time trouble: first by the shock of the surprise move, and then by the question of which way to recapture.
20. cd5 . . .
The correct way. If 20 ed5, then e4!, 21 de4 Qd4+, 22 Kh2 (so that Black will not recapture with check) Qe4. Weak points are now on c2, b3, c4, and d3.
. . . Rbc8
20...c4, 21 dc4 Rbc8, 22 Be3 transposes into the note to White’s next move.
21. b3? . . .
Even now White fails to develop his Bishop. 21 Be3 was needed to challenge Black's Queen on the g1-a7 diagonal. An unclear position would then arise after 21...c4, 22 dc4 Rc4, 23 Qg2 Qd6, 24 Rfc1 Rdc8, 25 Qe2 Qb4.
. . . Qb6
(Pocahontas: -0.2)
22. Kh1 . . .
Moving the King off the diagonal is understandable, but Whtie's Pawn is about to fall anyway, so 22 Be3 is still to be considered. 22 a5!? removes the Queen from b6, but Black has an edge after ...Qb3, 23 Qg4 h5!
. . . Qb3
23. Ra3 Qb6
Black's Kingside is adequately defended even without the Queen. More active is 23...Qb4.
XIIIIIIIIY
9 +rtr +k+0
9+p+ vlpzp 0
9pwq + + zp0
9+ zpPzpP+ 0
9P+ +P+ zP0
9tR +P+ zPQ0
9 + + + +0
9+ vL +R+K0
xiiiiiiiiy
24. g4? . . .
White whould play 24 Qg4 in an attempt to create threats. The text allows Black to activate his Rooks. Notics, by the way, that White spent two moves getting his Pawn to g4.
Phase III: Black obtains a decisive advantage despite a positional error on move 25. His Rooks become active and coordinated. White hopes to force a passed Pawn to the Queening square, but Black stops him.
. . . c4
25. Be3 . . .
Finally! Here, however, it gives more power to what I should have played on my next move. 25 a5 was playable for White.
(Out of page space.)
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