It's been 1-2 years since I played with this young lady. As expected, she has improved a lot. I was really lucky to win this, having to crawl back from a bad position out of the opening (as usual, LOL)
Lessons Learned
1. Exchanges are never "innocent" -- I'm generally okay with the exchanges I made, especially on how I got my a1 Rook into action.
2. But I think I never resolve the pawn tension in the middle of the Board well enough.
3. It is VERY difficult to exploit an opening advantage to perfection -- if you don't happen to know how to play the position correctly, it is too time-consuming to figure things out over the Board. Whether you see a need to invest time learning opening is a personal choice.
4. Chess psychology matters! No matter how bleak the situation, never lose heart. Losing it in your mind is often the real driver towards a game loss.
Thanks again for time reading this =)
Saturday, June 30, 2018
Sunday, June 24, 2018
3 Rapid Games Played @ Siglap South CC
All the games contained inaccuracies and blunders =( I guess I still need to play more to familiarise myself with this new repertoire. The first game was interesting in that the power of the Bishop pair must be respected =)
Game 1
Learning Points:
1. Do not let "scary looking position" take over you. Perform actual calculations to address this fear!
2. Be concerned when drifting into "don't know what to do" mode.
Game 2
Learning Points
1. The opening play here is good, but there are still signs of unfamiliarity.
2. The consolidation of advantage when winning is good, but the misplaying of the position -- thinking it was a safer approach to simplify but it resulted in significantly reducing the advantage from winning to "just better".
Game 3
Learning Points
1. Definite signs of unfamiliarity -- so many Bxf7+ opportunities missed.
2. Too careless in the beginning with 8.e5?! -- 8...Nxe5 would've killed White on the spot.
3. Better stick to the most familiar opening approach even if the pawn structure looks very similar -- there are differences in how you handle counter-threats.
Thank you for your time and attention =)
Yours sincerely
Ong Yujing
(newbie_learner)
All the games contained inaccuracies and blunders =( I guess I still need to play more to familiarise myself with this new repertoire. The first game was interesting in that the power of the Bishop pair must be respected =)
Game 1
Learning Points:
1. Do not let "scary looking position" take over you. Perform actual calculations to address this fear!
2. Be concerned when drifting into "don't know what to do" mode.
Game 2
Learning Points
1. The opening play here is good, but there are still signs of unfamiliarity.
2. The consolidation of advantage when winning is good, but the misplaying of the position -- thinking it was a safer approach to simplify but it resulted in significantly reducing the advantage from winning to "just better".
Game 3
Learning Points
1. Definite signs of unfamiliarity -- so many Bxf7+ opportunities missed.
2. Too careless in the beginning with 8.e5?! -- 8...Nxe5 would've killed White on the spot.
3. Better stick to the most familiar opening approach even if the pawn structure looks very similar -- there are differences in how you handle counter-threats.
Thank you for your time and attention =)
Yours sincerely
Ong Yujing
(newbie_learner)
Wednesday, June 20, 2018
3 Rapid Games Played @ Singapore Social Chess Meetup (20 June 2018)
I have not been posting for the past weeks. Got distracted with the joys of non-chess activities in life ^o^ Some of the games played in this period of absence were so weird, I can't make enough sense of the position even when using the Engines and the Online Database. I don't like to share things I don't understand myself.
Anyway, here goes for today's rapid games (15 minutes initial time + 10 seconds increment per move)
Game #1 : A fairly interesting game against a Teenager as both of us play the same opening:
Learning Points from Game #1:
1. Opening knowledge is not sacred. Do not assume you know more than the opponent. In fact, teens and kids would tend to know and remember better!
2. I have been tricking myself into transpositions / variations I don't like quite a bit. Need to stay calm and collected!
3. Do not overthink! Missing out the correct move of b4 (out of harms way, while counter-attacking 1 of opponent's piece is so straight-forward!)
4. Need to improve on endgame decision-making (how to maximise chances to draw inferior endgames involving Rooks / Bishops / Pawns).
5. Time management!
Game #2 : Somewhat of a rollercoaster game:
Learning Points from Game #2:
1. Still not familiar enough with the anti-Sicilian setup I'm using.
2. Time management (again!)
3. Wrong evaluation of the position leading to prioritising of passive/defensive moves. Very wasteful in positions that are better, but effective in holding bad/worse-off positions =)
4. (Learning point from my opponent's mistake) In a format with increments, do not try to win on time when you have an equal if not superior position over the board. Instead, use the time advantage to maintain quality moves. Let the disadvantaged player continue to stress over the bad situation and collapse on his own.
Game #3: Literally crawling back from behind to win.
Learning Points from Game #3:
1. Being too much of a "perfectionist" in open positions can really backfire. Even if it's a sub-optimum placement, better try to bring out as many pieces as possible at the fastest (and not trying to play around with pawn moves and find the perfect square for 1 piece followed by another) -- don't have that luxury of time.
2. I still don't fully understand why after 11.Be3, the engine doesn't like Kingside castling for both sides. I suspect it has to do with keeping the Rooks on h1 and h1 to support Kingside activities (pawn pushes).
3. A good example of chess psychology at work. Here, I sensed that my opponent was trying to win (at all cost), and it is easy to wait for some sort of over-push and punish on the counter. Just like parking the bus in soccer -- yes it may not be entertaining but it can be an extremely effective strategy under the correct circumstances.
4. Again, wrong evaluation of the position leading to timid moves.
5. Despite the time disadvantage, the time management was decent.
That's it for now. Thank you.
Yours sincerely
Ong Yujing
(newbie_learner)
Anyway, here goes for today's rapid games (15 minutes initial time + 10 seconds increment per move)
Game #1 : A fairly interesting game against a Teenager as both of us play the same opening:
Learning Points from Game #1:
1. Opening knowledge is not sacred. Do not assume you know more than the opponent. In fact, teens and kids would tend to know and remember better!
2. I have been tricking myself into transpositions / variations I don't like quite a bit. Need to stay calm and collected!
3. Do not overthink! Missing out the correct move of b4 (out of harms way, while counter-attacking 1 of opponent's piece is so straight-forward!)
4. Need to improve on endgame decision-making (how to maximise chances to draw inferior endgames involving Rooks / Bishops / Pawns).
5. Time management!
Game #2 : Somewhat of a rollercoaster game:
Learning Points from Game #2:
1. Still not familiar enough with the anti-Sicilian setup I'm using.
2. Time management (again!)
3. Wrong evaluation of the position leading to prioritising of passive/defensive moves. Very wasteful in positions that are better, but effective in holding bad/worse-off positions =)
4. (Learning point from my opponent's mistake) In a format with increments, do not try to win on time when you have an equal if not superior position over the board. Instead, use the time advantage to maintain quality moves. Let the disadvantaged player continue to stress over the bad situation and collapse on his own.
Game #3: Literally crawling back from behind to win.
Learning Points from Game #3:
1. Being too much of a "perfectionist" in open positions can really backfire. Even if it's a sub-optimum placement, better try to bring out as many pieces as possible at the fastest (and not trying to play around with pawn moves and find the perfect square for 1 piece followed by another) -- don't have that luxury of time.
2. I still don't fully understand why after 11.Be3, the engine doesn't like Kingside castling for both sides. I suspect it has to do with keeping the Rooks on h1 and h1 to support Kingside activities (pawn pushes).
3. A good example of chess psychology at work. Here, I sensed that my opponent was trying to win (at all cost), and it is easy to wait for some sort of over-push and punish on the counter. Just like parking the bus in soccer -- yes it may not be entertaining but it can be an extremely effective strategy under the correct circumstances.
4. Again, wrong evaluation of the position leading to timid moves.
5. Despite the time disadvantage, the time management was decent.
That's it for now. Thank you.
Yours sincerely
Ong Yujing
(newbie_learner)
Sunday, June 3, 2018
A full review / reveal of my adventures in SG City Chess 2018
Introduction
1. This is essentially a self-review and reflections of a local chess enthusiast (a social player with no specific ambition in chess.) Just seeking to improve my play with each game. Used to be a complete social player (never play any tournament), then retired from chess for 5 years (I was into board/card games and some non-competitive e-gaming) become coming back after getting to know of the Singapore Social Chess Meetup at the Asia Sqaure Tower 1 Building on Wednesdays, 6:30pm. Decided to try out competitive chess myself to see how I measure up against the active players, especially the young ones, as well as make myself more appreciative of competing chess players. All the whiners and keyboard warriors criticising GMs from the comfort of their homes with their engines switched on, you really ought to be ashamed of yourselves! Try playing the game on your own and you'd appreciate them much more!
2. Following feedback from some of my chess friends, I have made just adjustments in how I structure my chess blog. Specifically, I have removed the names of all my opponents, scrambling up the rounds order. This is to not allow my opponents be identified. It is understandable that some do not want their opening preparations to be revealed.
3. I have nothing to hide about my own chess games. In fact, I hope anyone who reads this play something prepared against me, so that it can maximise my own training / learning value. In fact, there are specific openings that I'd like to play with / against listed at the bottom of this post =)
4. I don't really believe in "eternal opening repertoire". This time round, I played the tournament with a few specific ideas in mind. Would probably try out something else next time. All the choices come with a reason:
Database = "LiveBook"
newbie(learner) = "Ong Yujing" and
Engine = "Stockfish 9"
Sorry for my inconsistency!
The Luckiest Game
Learning Points from the Luckiest Game:
a. Opening play matters. Do not leave the rationale of any move unanswered. Even if it is a seemingly innocent "developing" move, try to compare them.
b. Be very careful capturing a "free" piece, lest it is a trap.
c. You know that when you win games like this, you accumulate bad "Chess Karma" ^o^
Best "Opening Kill" Game
Learning Points from the Best Opening Kill Game:
a. Opening surprises always comes from time to time. Deal with it!
b. When the position is already bad, don't make it worse!
Games that should be Won (2 of them)
Learning Points from the Games that should be Won:
a. Do not be scared playing on an objectively winning position in time pressure. If anything, opponent should be more scared!
b. Also, do not be scared playing on an objectively winning position in mutual time pressure. Since both players would be equally scared, the objective situation still stands!
Best Prepared Game
(In this game, I did some quick online search and correctly judged that my opponent has far less experience with 1.e4 -- and in those games, he always enters into the Ruy Lopez as Black. He got into some time trouble just to equalise the opening in the 4 Knights Game.)
Learning Points from the Best Prepared Game:
a. There is no shame in playing unambitious openings. Even the most popular opening, the Ruy Lopez, always runs into the Berlin Wall brick and most games result in draws anyways.
b. The studying of opponent's preferences and tendencies, can be useful. Just do not go obsessed with it. In my case, I only looked roughly at the opponent's opening tendencies (King Pawn, Queen Pawn or other moves) and not their specific games.
Most Painful Loss Game
(In this game, I was holding my opponent fine, and in my complacency, threw out a couple of moves that I thought was just "natural", only to fall victim to a simple tactic from a "quiet" position.)
Learning Points from the Most Painful Loss Game:
a. Never enter "auto-pilot mode". In quiet positions, look for any possible chances where things can go wrong, and try to address the potential problem before it strikes.
Mutually Misplayed Game
(In this game, I got into a fine position, but I didn't know how to open up my light square Bishop, and got into trouble. Interestingly, my opponent also didn't know how to play the closed up position, and offered me a draw ^o^)
Learning Points from the Mutually Misplayed Game:
a. Imagining how to improve the position (where the pieces belong) is the key to start!
b. Be suspicious when opponent offers a draw! Though in this case, it's a fair result since both players don't know what they are doing ^o^
Most Single-minded Game
(In this game, I had an excellent opening position set-up, but despite spending a huge amount of time, couldn't get the Kingside attack to work. Then I just felt bad staring at the single weakness in my position, and overlooked all the rich opportunities for counter-attacking in the position.)
Learning Points from the Most Single-minded Game:
a. Time spent is not necessarily directly correlated to the quality of move(s)!
b. When a plan fails, no matter how awesome it was and how awful it became, look for plan B rather than staring into nothingness!
c. Similarly, staring at a weakness that cannot be salvaged won't help. Look for counter-play elsewhere!
Most Interesting Game
(In this game, I got into a position new to myself, and got into moments where I had advantage without realising. But in most parts of the game, it was equal but I had to live on time increment while keeping the balance with passing moves. I actually did it, and in fact, as my friend cum observer pointed out correctly, there was a move that could've let me to objective advantage and press. But with a Queen, a Rook, a minor piece + many pawns on the Board, it doesn't make sense (to me) playing on in less than a minute against a player with 40 minutes of thinking time in the bank).
Learning Points from the Most Interesting Game:
a. My handling of the IQP position was... decent. My handling of the dynamics of the position before it became "quiet", was not =(
b. Staying calm under time pressure is the best thing you can do for yourself.
c. Sometimes, a "passing" move is indeed the best thing you can do in a quiet position.
Finally, an overall wrap-up
Introduction
1. This is essentially a self-review and reflections of a local chess enthusiast (a social player with no specific ambition in chess.) Just seeking to improve my play with each game. Used to be a complete social player (never play any tournament), then retired from chess for 5 years (I was into board/card games and some non-competitive e-gaming) become coming back after getting to know of the Singapore Social Chess Meetup at the Asia Sqaure Tower 1 Building on Wednesdays, 6:30pm. Decided to try out competitive chess myself to see how I measure up against the active players, especially the young ones, as well as make myself more appreciative of competing chess players. All the whiners and keyboard warriors criticising GMs from the comfort of their homes with their engines switched on, you really ought to be ashamed of yourselves! Try playing the game on your own and you'd appreciate them much more!
2. Following feedback from some of my chess friends, I have made just adjustments in how I structure my chess blog. Specifically, I have removed the names of all my opponents, scrambling up the rounds order. This is to not allow my opponents be identified. It is understandable that some do not want their opening preparations to be revealed.
3. I have nothing to hide about my own chess games. In fact, I hope anyone who reads this play something prepared against me, so that it can maximise my own training / learning value. In fact, there are specific openings that I'd like to play with / against listed at the bottom of this post =)
4. I don't really believe in "eternal opening repertoire". This time round, I played the tournament with a few specific ideas in mind. Would probably try out something else next time. All the choices come with a reason:
- Even though this is not my "natural" style, I played 1.e4 consistently in this tournament because I feel that it is actually less risky than other first moves! The only 'fear' I have is the theory-heavy 1.e4 e5. But then, there is always the quiet 4 Knights opening =)
And if Black plays anything non symmetrical, the onus is on Black to prove he has something in the position! At least, this is my simple, "newbie" view. In fact, including the only loss game as White, I had a promising position in all White games. - The one game that I lost against the King's Indian Defence, I reached a "dream" position for White out of the opening. Unfortunately, I went astray and kept missing resources to come back into the game. While my KID score continues to be horrible (+2 = 1 -more than 30), I know for sure this is the type of anti-KID position I like -- with f3 without Nf3 made possible without early commitment of Nf3.
- As Black, I have been sticking to c6 (Caro-Kann, Semi-Slav). In 1 of the games against the English opening, I tried 1...c6 but got into a position which I really hate. It is so effective, I may try playing it as White next time =)
Database = "LiveBook"
newbie(learner) = "Ong Yujing" and
Engine = "Stockfish 9"
Sorry for my inconsistency!
The Luckiest Game
Learning Points from the Luckiest Game:
a. Opening play matters. Do not leave the rationale of any move unanswered. Even if it is a seemingly innocent "developing" move, try to compare them.
b. Be very careful capturing a "free" piece, lest it is a trap.
c. You know that when you win games like this, you accumulate bad "Chess Karma" ^o^
Best "Opening Kill" Game
Learning Points from the Best Opening Kill Game:
a. Opening surprises always comes from time to time. Deal with it!
b. When the position is already bad, don't make it worse!
Games that should be Won (2 of them)
Learning Points from the Games that should be Won:
a. Do not be scared playing on an objectively winning position in time pressure. If anything, opponent should be more scared!
b. Also, do not be scared playing on an objectively winning position in mutual time pressure. Since both players would be equally scared, the objective situation still stands!
Best Prepared Game
(In this game, I did some quick online search and correctly judged that my opponent has far less experience with 1.e4 -- and in those games, he always enters into the Ruy Lopez as Black. He got into some time trouble just to equalise the opening in the 4 Knights Game.)
Learning Points from the Best Prepared Game:
a. There is no shame in playing unambitious openings. Even the most popular opening, the Ruy Lopez, always runs into the Berlin Wall brick and most games result in draws anyways.
b. The studying of opponent's preferences and tendencies, can be useful. Just do not go obsessed with it. In my case, I only looked roughly at the opponent's opening tendencies (King Pawn, Queen Pawn or other moves) and not their specific games.
Most Painful Loss Game
(In this game, I was holding my opponent fine, and in my complacency, threw out a couple of moves that I thought was just "natural", only to fall victim to a simple tactic from a "quiet" position.)
Learning Points from the Most Painful Loss Game:
a. Never enter "auto-pilot mode". In quiet positions, look for any possible chances where things can go wrong, and try to address the potential problem before it strikes.
Mutually Misplayed Game
(In this game, I got into a fine position, but I didn't know how to open up my light square Bishop, and got into trouble. Interestingly, my opponent also didn't know how to play the closed up position, and offered me a draw ^o^)
Learning Points from the Mutually Misplayed Game:
a. Imagining how to improve the position (where the pieces belong) is the key to start!
b. Be suspicious when opponent offers a draw! Though in this case, it's a fair result since both players don't know what they are doing ^o^
Most Single-minded Game
(In this game, I had an excellent opening position set-up, but despite spending a huge amount of time, couldn't get the Kingside attack to work. Then I just felt bad staring at the single weakness in my position, and overlooked all the rich opportunities for counter-attacking in the position.)
Learning Points from the Most Single-minded Game:
a. Time spent is not necessarily directly correlated to the quality of move(s)!
b. When a plan fails, no matter how awesome it was and how awful it became, look for plan B rather than staring into nothingness!
c. Similarly, staring at a weakness that cannot be salvaged won't help. Look for counter-play elsewhere!
Most Interesting Game
(In this game, I got into a position new to myself, and got into moments where I had advantage without realising. But in most parts of the game, it was equal but I had to live on time increment while keeping the balance with passing moves. I actually did it, and in fact, as my friend cum observer pointed out correctly, there was a move that could've let me to objective advantage and press. But with a Queen, a Rook, a minor piece + many pawns on the Board, it doesn't make sense (to me) playing on in less than a minute against a player with 40 minutes of thinking time in the bank).
Learning Points from the Most Interesting Game:
a. My handling of the IQP position was... decent. My handling of the dynamics of the position before it became "quiet", was not =(
b. Staying calm under time pressure is the best thing you can do for yourself.
c. Sometimes, a "passing" move is indeed the best thing you can do in a quiet position.
Finally, an overall wrap-up
- Need to "grow some balls" (pardon my language here)! Not daring to play out 2 objectively won positions against players rated 21XX and 20XX due to time situation is a pity, no matter how you look at it.
- While many chess experts recommend that club players should not play into the "theoretically heavy" opening lines, I think this advice needs to be contextualised. I like my opening play (though not the opening-middle game transition) in the mutually misplayed game. Looks like my natural reaction is quite in line with the theory / LiveBook database.
If a player's "feel" for the position happens to be good, it doesn't matter if it is theoretical or not. Same thing as the Semi-Slav. I think it suits me well, just that I probably need to refine some of my moves here and there. No choice, this has to come with experience, playing more players etc, since I don't like to read and I don't like to play chess games online.
Just take note that if you happen to like a particular variation of say, the Sicilian Defense (e.g. Dragon or Najdorf), you really need to be prepared against anti-Sicilian. And no, they are not "crap". Better be aware and familiar than losing in an actual game =) - Despite my overall negative scores, I am actually very glad to have won a game. It was the first standard game I won in the year 2018! But I was lucky though. Very lucky.
- Also, it was not all bad. If anything, there were experience points gained. Always wished I could play better of course, lol. But there are indeed some fixing of opening holes after this tournament run. I'm just seeking to play more games (be it in tournament or training games). These are the openings of my training interest for now:
a. Caro-Kann Defense
b. King's Indian Attack
c. King's Indian Defence
d. Semi-Slav
e. English Opening; and
f. Sicilian Defence
If anyone plays these openings and don't mind playing a not-so-strong adult player (that's me), maybe we can arrange for some games at the Singapore Chess Meetup or something! - Last but not least, doing daily chess tactics puzzles is a necessity (very painful when you miss tactical shots in the game), but in a game where both players have certain standards, such opportunities are extremely rare, naturally. (If there are lots of tactical misses, it simply means the player(s) didn't player well ^o^) Hence, it is also very important to learn about general piece placement, planning etc.
Please feel free to leave me any comments on any aspect of the post games. Thanks in advance
Yours sincerely
Ong Yujing
(aka newbie_learner)
(aka newbie_learner)
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