I'm back. Who cares? Nobody? Fine with me.

Perhaps this is just an on line journal to myself.

If I could learn to enter games in java so they play, that would be something. I will look into that again.

For now, Elementary State Championships are a week away. Good luck to us.

Peace-Out.

For Better or Worse

So I took Caissa to be mine.

I am practicing tactics every day.

I am honing my repertoire.

And I am doing worse!

Even so, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, for better or for worse, losing at chess is better than no chess at all.

Kiss me Caissa.

Bigby Skittles

http://chessmicrobase.com/microbases/110/games/27680

I don't know if this will work. The link seems to be live, but we will see after I post it.

In the mean time. Look at this!

 


Okay. So even if the link didn't work, there still were these pretty pictures. I hope to get it working again like I did once before.

Kiss me Caissa!

Dan Nailed It!

Dan Heisman is giving me just what I need to teach my kids at the Chess Club. If they get playing slowly, safely, and actively, they will have what they need to succeed!

I am thinking of ways to teach this to them.

I am thinking of making a Gesu chess pledge that includes a commitment in these three areas.

How? How? How can I get them to slow down, play safe moves, and activate all their pieces?  How? How?

Stay tuned.

Kiss me Caissa.

Dan Heisman is a good teacher

I have been fooling around with chess for 40 years. I have been content to just play skittles around town and study it for fun. But now that I am coaching an elementary school team, and teaching them to be tough, I believe I need to improve my game.

Thank you Dan. (I completed, Back to Basics, Tactics, twice, and I am now reading A Guide to Chess Improvement.)

I have been studying to be a better coach, and in the process I have uncovered some of my own deficits.


The old guy probably tells the kids, "Back when I was your age Chess was tough! We didn't have computers. We didn't even have books. We had to make our own pieces out of sticks we found in the woods and carved ourselves. We were poor, but we were happy. Ah those were the days!"

Kiss me Caissa!

Chess Projects

I have two chess projects.

First I want our Elementary Chess club to continue to enjoy success. By this I mean that our new children get a good foundational chess education so they can rightly play and enjoy the game. And I want our more experienced players to continue to improve through playing and learning. Chess has been a great hobby for me. I want to pay that forward for them.

My other project is my own chess play. To this end I am preparing to play "1001 Arabian Knightmares" This is my way of saying that it is time for me to play and apply my studies. I want to play hundreds of games on line, then re-join the USCF and play live tournaments.

I plan on posting regarding both projects here.


What is wrong with this picture?
Chess players know.

Kiss me Caissa.

Elementary School Once a Week Coaching

Dear Caissa,

Today I paired the experienced players of the Gesu Chess club against each other.

I will put the tournament style pairings sheet on the wall. This will remind them how it works in tournaments. I will remind them of the touch move rule, and silence. If they have a problem, they should raise their hand, and wait for an arbiter.

I will also be asking for them to notate the first ten moves. This will refresh their memories regarding chess language. I will need, 1.Notation Sheets 2.Pencils 3. Notation instructions. 4.Clocks set for 1/2 hour can be used if available.

Coaches Mike and Brian will serve as Arbiters and teachers for this group.

I will take the beginners group.  I plan on teaching the Kings, the Queens, and pawns if there is time.
I will use the laser pointer, demonstration board, and constantly name squares, just to get them used to it. I will have them play mini games with just these pieces.  I will need King and Queen and pawn sheets for them. I will need Checkmate and Stalemate, explained.

*Game one- King on King, If White can get across the Board White wins. If Black can stop White, Black Wins. * Game 2-King and Queen against the lone King. Take turns winning and not stalemating. *Game 3, opposite 2-1 pawn Majorities with Kings.

If this works, they will actually have a better foundation than some of the older players.

I only have about six sessions before they have an opportunity to play in one of Jim's wonderful beginner tournaments.

I plan to give homework sheets. Mate in one problems. I want them to sign them, and return them next week. We will keep a record of this and give out chess prizes to our best students, regardless of their ranking, or tournament success.

Sincerely,
This Old Patzer

(My Studies) Today I enjoyed more of Nigel Davies "Build a 1.d4 Repertoire"  and the "Kaufman Repertoire for Black and White". I am trying to see if a simple economical 1d4 opening can be crafted to my personal satisfaction, or if I just should adopt "A Strategic Chess Opening Repertoire for White, by John Watson, in its entirety.

I am happy to report that I have a comprehensive Black Repertoire scripted into Bookup  based on Dreev, Schandorff, Tiviakov, Lakdawala, Houska, Cox, Rizzitano, and Avrukh.

Now I am crafting the White side.

Good luck, self!

Oooo Shiny!

Everyone loves a good picture. For us chess players an embedded game we can follow is nice too. But if you go back in my blog history you can see nearly all of my pics have vanished. Oh well. Back to the breach. Here we go kids.                                               

Five things to do to play well in chess.

1.Play the same opening for a year. As White play 1.e4, or 1.d4. As Black against 1.e4 play e5, e6, or c6. Against 1d4 play The Queen's Gambit Declined (All Purpose System) Tartakower Variation, or The Tarrasch defense.

2. Deal with mistakes. Stop making simple piece drops. Notice and capitalize on the mistakes of the other player.

3.Make moves that matter. Get your pieces off their starting squares and into the game. Get Knights into the center, and Bishops on good diagonals. Get those rooks onto the open files. Get more space.

4.In an endgame after the Queen's are off and the game will be won by a pawn promotion, get your King into the center. The King is a fighting piece that does not need to hide any more.

5.Stay tough. Play the strongest moves you can find from the start to the end of the game. If you are losing, fight for your life! If you are winning, keep making strong moves.

Daniel Narodisky, Under 12 World Champion.

Our kids only have club once a week. We went to a tournament in Columbus and took second place. We entered a local Toledo tournament and were first in the k-5 section. We are holding most of the top boards in the GLCA when we have our little meets. I am so proud of them.

We are not Daniel Naroditsky, and I am no Elizabeth Vicary. But we are doing what we can with what we have.

Looking at these beautiful capable young people I am so sad for the loss of those twenty children in Connecticut today.

I want to do something for those families. But what can be done now? All I can do is pray. And I will.

Colle Queen's Gambit Declined French

To heck with long term purity. Lets get down and dirty with quick success.

Let the purists rage that I should take months to teach them endings and tactics and never restrict their growth by doing such a horrible thing as teaching openings.

Bullocks!

We only play once a week. We only have an hour. We are ordinary kids who probably will not go on to play competitive tournament chess as adults.

I will teach them the fastest cleanest way to win right now. I call Cecil Purdy as my witness. Let them learn one simple opening that will get them into the middle game and then play on from there.  Colle as white, Queen's Gambit Declined and French as Black. Over and Done.

Let the other schools do better. We will do the best we can with who we are and what we have right now.

Of course I wish I had time and they had the inclination to master endings they would be lucky to reach.

But what they need is tactical vision!

And as for the opening, think about football. Even pe-wee league has a few basic plans. Just because it is not a pro-set does not mean they can do without some organization. Openings are our Football plays. We cannot continue to pretend they don't matter.

Let purist snobs lift their noses and sneer. I hope our kids push their kids off the board.

Gesu Chess 2012

I love volunteering as a coach for the Gesu Chess club. Almost everyone who is in the club this year already has a year of experience.

The room is more difficult than last year. Last year I could go in early and set up the room. This year I rush in with the students as school ends. Last year I could set up the desks into an order that simulated a tournament. This year the desks are in a more clustered configuration suitable for small groups, but not ideal for chess. Last year I had access to the white boards where I could put chess quotes, piece valuations, and game scripts up. This year there is no space.

But I have dreams! These are wonderful children. They learn. They are stronger than they were last year.

I think that I can facilitate some order into the chaos, by initiating an internal tournament.

Part of the joy of chess comes from winning games. Part of the joy is the pleasure of mastery that grows with study. Part of the joy is participation in chess culture which transcends time and space. And part is the camaraderie of fellow chess players.

I dream happy dreams for our kids.

Been Busy

I have been fairly busy in my life apart from chess.

Even so I dream of playing one game a day on Chess.com, or is it 365 chess.com. And I want to continue the exercises on the tactics server.

But it is hot. People have died. I have projects with deadlines.

I really don't expect to come up for air till the second week of August.

Kiss me Caissa.

Foolish Virgin!

In the New Testament, Jesus reportedly tells a story of ten wise virgins and ten foolish virgins. In the tale the women are waiting for the bridegroom. He is delayed and half of them do not have enough oil for their lamps. The wise ones cannot share, so the foolish virgins have to go find more oil. While they are gone the bridegroom comes. The party begins without the 10 foolish virgins. And they cannot get in. They are left out in the cold.

 :wise virgins 

  : foolish virgins

Now the Revised Caissa Version

One day Casisa spoke thus, There was once a tournament with twenty chess players. They all were deeply prepared for their first ten moves. They were even deeply prepared for twenty moves. But the game dragged on and the pieces diminished greatly upon the face of the board. And lo the endgame had come. The foolish chess players had neglected their endings and cried out to the wise ones, "Help us! Share some of your endgame knowledge with us." But the wise ones replied, "There is no time for that now." And behold the tournament ended and the trophies were handed out, and applause was given upon the bright raised stage. But none of the foolish players were there to be seen. They were sitting in the outer darkness of the audience wailing and gnashing their teeth.

Have mercy on me Caissa. I am a sinner. My Kaufman and Cox are warm and worn, while my Silman's Complete Endgame course, my Dvoretsky, My Karsten Laprecht lie cold and nearly virginal.

 Kiss me Caissa. Kiss me anyway.

The Vacillator!

 Onward minnions! The super villian subpatzer "Vacillator" plays all the openings at once! Mu ha ha ha ha. Not only will you not know what he is doing, even he will not know what he is doing!

But he is no Taimanov, thinking for a half hour before making his first move. He is no Nakamura taking 30 seconds in blitz in a well known variation of the Slav Geller Gambit.

No he is the subpatzer! Ringleader of the evil ring of evil. Tremble (with joy) before his onslaught!

But he is well rounded!

Like Sysyphus Mark II, (Johnathan Glover) he wants to roll the whole stone of opening theory up the hill.
 Except where he gets stoned by theory.

An inch deep and a mile wide.

Kiss me Caissa!

Onward Subpatzers!

Notes from the Vacillator...

I am dreaming of playing the French Rubinstein and Queen's Gambit Declined Lasker Variation as my Chess Opening foundation. The reason is their wonderful expandibility. I am taking my cues from Vatko Kovacevic.

Today I scripted Chapter 13 of Vitugov's The French Defense Reloaded  into Bookup and on to paper. (I want a hard copy of my own script.) Then I used Bookup's training function and practiced it.

I like that training a single chapter does not take to long. Furthermore this goes more with Bent Larsen's idea to learn one thing really well, before learning more.

This goes against my mile wide and inch deep habits as an openings vacillator.

"One day at a time" says the opening junky.

Here is a candle for Rubinstein.


God bless you Akiba.

Kiss me Caissa!

Caissa Does Not Lie

Ramblings of the Subpatzer...

One of the strtengths of chess is that the truth of chess strength is evident.

Talk is nothing. I can call something the King's Indian Defense. I can blather on about ranks, files, and color complexes. I can claim an advantage by posessing the two Bishops. I can use terms like Philidor's or Lucena's position. But it only means I am literate, not strong.

I can own great equipment and have hundreds of chess books. That does not make me strong.

I can know great chess players. If I had breakfast with Carlson, lunch with Aronian, and dinner with Anand, it would not make me a strong chess player.

Only good moves matter.

So when I overlooked my Queen en-pris, it is not a problem with the French defense. It is a problem with me.

Caissa will not flatter me. Instead she flattens me.

And I have no one to blame but myself!

Kiss me Caissa!

Rolf Wetzell's Way

Rantings of the Subpatzer!

Before ROFL there was ROLF, Rolf Wetzell that is. He wrote Chessmaster at any age. I think it is one of the best books describing the evaporation of chess strength versus the aquiring of chess strength.  He has a comprehensive study plan that makes sense.

It is really nothing new. Learn one opening and the resultant shots and strategic themes. Know the endings. Learn to manage your time. And most of all understand the ammount of work necessary to acchieve master level play. He spoke of memorizing openings in quints or 10 ply at a time.

So last night having finished scripting Larry Kaufman into Bookup, made a file just five moves deep and trained it. Even 5 moves is a lot to study. And it does not go far enough into what an opening is doing. Just the same it was a great practice.

Now I want to go deeply into particular lines. This would be more like Bent Larson who said that the way to get better in chess was to learn one thing really well, and then learn another thing really well.

An inch wide and a mile deep.

Kiss me Caissa!

Chess is Just a Hobby

Ramblings of the Subpatzer...

Yesterday, I don't think I did any chess stuff. I didn't have time, and I didn't feel like it. I have days like that. Sometimes I have weeks and even months like that.

I read. I work on my music hobbies, clawhammer banjo, and fiddling. I warch TV, go camping or just take a nap.

There is much more to life than chess.



Not now Caissa!

Too Old to be a Jedi

Loading embedded chess game...

And so it goes.
Collectorboy01 was better than me.
I should have lost, but was saved by the clock.

I must learn to use the force!

Kiss me Caissa.

Larry Kaufman's Repertoire

Rantings of the Subpatzer...

I imagine things about myself that are not true. I imagine that as an older player I should play solid end game openings. I imagine that I am an endgame guy. Ulf Andersson is my hero. But all this could be so much fiction and self deception. Part of my disease is to think of myself as an endgame guy but to spend most of my time messing around with opening choices.

I wish Cyrus Lakdawala would write a minimalist version of his ideas of solid play. Would it be like Purdy's 24hour repertoire?

For now I am working through the White side of Larry Kaufman's book.

The Kaufman Repertoire in Black and White.

When given the choice I am taking the least difficult path. In a way this is a step down from Larry's philosophy of riding the edge of opening preparation before the mountain of diminishing return sets in. But it is not all the way down to Purdy or Lakdawala's simple scripts.

It is the middle path padawan.

Something Larry Kaufman does really well is script out the opening plan within a small enough size to make preparation look doable.

Unfortunately for me, when picking, his second choice, coverage is even more minimal. This means that the book is simply a good starting place and my own studies must compliment the book. But this is true even for Avrukh.

I dream I am like Ulf Andersson, but I am more like Colonel Moreau.

Kiss me Caissa!