T64 Openings

Below, the top 10 T64 Openings...

5 e4 openings, 4 with d4, and the Réti.

                           T64 Top 10 Played Openings

B20-B99	Sicilian	135 (13.5%)
C00-C19	French Defence	98 (9.8%)
D30-D69	Queen's Gambit Declined	80 (8%)
D00-D05	Queen's Pawn ( General)	64 (6.4%)
A45-A50	Indian & Torre Attack	59 (5.9 % )
A10-A39	English	54 (5.4 % )
B10-B19	Caro-Kann	53 (5.3 %)
C60-C99	Spanish Game ( Ruy Lopez)	52 (5.2 %)
A04-A09	Reti	32 ( 3.2 % )
B07-B09	Pirc Defence	30 ( 3 % )

All games were re-indexed by ECO code using Chess Assistant 11,. 

The Opening classification ranges ( ie grouping ECO codes), I borrowed from Chessville (many thanks, although it seems to have disappeared :(

See also T56 Summary,  T55 Summary, T51 Summary,  T50 Summary and T47 Summary, T57-59 Summary , T61 Summary, T62 Summary and T63 Summary

T63 Opening Summary

T63 is still running, but for playoff qualifiers only : the main show is over, but the encores are about to start, so to speak.

Since both teams I am involved with didn't make the playoffs, ( though in both cases only just falling short ! ) here's the breakdown of the season in openings so far in TL chess.

It is hard to put things any differently than previous posts, since  both the Sicilian and French Defences remain top choices for Black against the main White start of 1.e4.  ( In fact, 485 games start with e4 vs 308 with d4 ).

The remaining openings jostle for position in the runners-up enclosure, but are usually in the same proportions, except that this time, the Spanish (Ruy Lopez) has stormed into 3rd place.

Makes one wonder what happened in the last few months. New book or DVD on the Spanish ? Major victory by a super GM ?  Time warp back to 1914 ?

Regardless, a classic opening is back for a while !

Other openings just after the top 10, and in double figures for games played, are the Dutch, Centre Counter, Slav, Nimzo-Indian, Pirc, Grünfeld, Philidor, Italian, Benko Gambit and Guicco Piano.

You could probably say that second slice of openings is a 50/50 split of e4 vs the rest, so e4 is definitely taking the lion's share of the attention.

...Continue reading...

T62 Openings Summary

T62 has concluded, so just on the eve of the T63 season, an appropriate time to look again at what Amateurs play in the opening phase in TL chess.

Still nailed in first place is the Sicilian Defence : what more can be said, even Anand chose to play it in the current WCC, so one can hardly complain !

Remaining in the top ten, and more on less in the same proportions, are the usual suspects of the French Defence, Queen's Pawn Systems, and the English Opening, just like last season.

Bubbling under the top 10 are the Slav, Pirc, Grunfeld, Scandinavian, Nimzo-Indian, Two Knights and Alekhine, all in double figures for number of games played.

...Continue reading...

Your Move

In game terms, I had been in a 'repeating-moves position'  a few moves previously, and had decided I didn't want to risk a draw (at move 20), so had exchanged a Rook on the d-file instead.


After some thought, I played 23. Na5, resulting in the below...

After 23. Na5....

I calculated that Qxa5 was terminal for Black ( and for that matter fairly obvious being trivial to work through ).

I also calculated a few moves on the various 23...Bxe5 lines, and noted that Rd6 looked interesting , although I didn't go so many moves down that path.

Overall, I thought it gave Black 'food for thought' and a more imbalanced game afterwards, ie moving away from the draw.


What would be your move as Black ?




Completely unrelated, but I always liked the song linked to below, especially after "discussing it" on a local train between Darlington and Newcastle sometime in the 70s. 

Hey, I was a student, that's what you did !

Probably why it came into my head when trying to come up with a title for the post. !

Missed tactics 4

From a recent Team League game...

White has a great opportunity presented to him, after Rd1 chases the Queen away...do you see it ?

White to play ...

The mate threat on h7 is very powerful, and though it draws your eye, the tactical target, and sacrificial bait , is elsewhere...

Unfortunately, White missed the clues, and played Nce4, to exchange pieces,and lose the advantage.

Highlight for solution [ The target is e5.  1. Rxe5  Nxe5 and if Nx35, then Qh7#. Instead, if the queen moves, then Nxf6 removes the guard.  A nice combination !   ]

Missed Tactic 3

Well, a slight fabrication, since the actual position didn't occur, but it was one possibility that may have arisen.

A recent  game has been very level and threatens to continue as such from this position.

Black has just played Nxe5, winning a pawn.

The actual position Nxe5

White did, of course, play the very sensible Rc8+ in reply, which would eventually regain the pawn, but my mind wondered...

What if White decided on Nd4, to threaten the Rook ? Where could the Rook  retreat to ? 

Wrong thought to have, as Nd4 presents Black with a very nice tactic !

A possibility after Nd4

What should Black play ?

Highlight for solution [ The Rook doesn't need to retreat... 1...Rxf2 2. Kxf2 Nd3 forking king and Rook : Black is a pawn up either way  ] 

T61 Openings Summary

Another TL season over, so an appropriate time to look again at what Amateurs play in the opening phase in TL chess.

Hardly changed over the seasons, as the Sicilian Defence is firmly rooted at the top, and the remaining openings played seem to remain more-or-less static, just varying in popularity, although General Queen's Pawn Openings ( ie not specific Queen's Gambits or English or often not with an automatic c4 ) seem to be on the increase at the moment.

Counted in this ( General Queen's Pawn) are 'systems' such as the London or Colle, which I would think are often used by amateurs to cut down on amount of theory required: certainly that applies to me, as I have adopted the London recently.

Other openings remaining most played are the Caro-Kann and French, from a Black point of view, and the English and Spanish from White's perspective.

However, if you consider the most played move, then, technically, 1.e4 is the most used opening move with the reply of e5 just beating c5 followed by e6, c6, d6, d5.

...Continue reading...

What's the best move ?

In this game, I had just found some space for my Queen after many stressful moves of being close to trapped.

I'd expected White to exchange Queens on c2, but instead he played Qa3.

The exchange of pieces proposed seemed fine for me, and finally resolved the Queen issue.

So, what to play now in response to Qa3?

I chose, not necessarily a ' wrong' move, but certainly not the best.

And you ?

Black to Play

DIY Blunders and Tactics

I was looking at the Chess Cafe Books of the year nominations, and saw a new nomination, namely Tactics Time! 1001 Chess Tactics from the Games of Everyday Chess Players by Tim Brennan.

A quick search tells me that, probably, this is a book of tactics( er, technically, a Kindle )  taken from games of us amateurs, although its probably beefed-up/fleshed-out as well. [ I can't check it as I am not a kindle owner, so if anyone has it and can comment ? ]

This reminded me of what I started a couple of years ago, namely using Chess Assistant to find errors in my games and possible tactics.

So I did it again, and its quite fun !  I'd have to refine it, and spend some time looking at the results, but the initial run was interesting.

Here was an example of what I found,.  Its a typical sort of blunder that us patzers make, and similarly the type of simple tactic that we should be spotting !

White has chased the Black Queen, and has played b5. Black has just re-captured with the c-pawn.

In the game, White replied with Rxb5. Is this a good move ? If not, what should he play ?

White to play

Solution [ Rxb5 is losing !  There followed Qxb5, Nxb5, Rxc2 and White resigned. Better was Qb2 ]

T54, Round 1 : Centre and on target !!

T54 began last week and I had the best start possible : a win !

How did I manage this considering I have done very little, chess-wise, in the past 6 weeks ?

Simple really:
                     1) My opponent made two serious mistakes.
                     2) I spotted them and took advantage.
                     3) I thought about the positions in front of me, and played them, rather than react more automatically 

I'm pretty certain my opponent had done his homework since he knocked out his initial moves quickly. By the time we reached move 7, he was up to 50 minutes, compared to my 45, and I think he already had his initial plan in mind, which seemed to be a straightforward assault on the f2-square, intending,  after my queenside castling , a knight-fork threat to win a rook.

7...Ng4

 However, is Ng4 a good move here ?

...Continue reading...

Ups and Downs in T52

Four TL games in just over a week, means I haven't posted much recently.

These games were all good and I felt I played well in all of them, but came away with 2 wins and 2 losses.

Both losses as Black, both in U1800, and probably both through my mistakes.

Wins both as White, both in U1600 and both against the French !

Make of those what you will, but it leaves the team in a good position in U1600, and struggling in U1800.

Here's a few positions...

This was from a French Defence, which was an interesting positional game, with much manoeuvring until the exchanges started !

15. Ng5

I had played an early a4, and saw the benefits of that after Black played a less active Rf6 to protect his e-pawn, rather than Rxf4 or exf , either of which might have left things equal.

Although I went up 2 pawns, he played until I created the unstoppable passed pawn. A tough and enjoyable game.

 Next up I was Black against my only d4 opening, and it led to a long positional-type game, something I rarely play.

...Continue reading...

T44 Round 4 : A drawing move, a learning point

An old game, my first Team 4545 League match from February, 2010.

I remember it as an enjoyable game, but more so as one typical of an amateur player, for example:

    1) A belief that knowing a few moves in the Sicilian gives an understanding of how to play it
    2) Not recognising a non-book move, and more, what to do after seeing it
    3) Understanding that a draw is an acceptable result, and can be useful sometimes
    4) Recognising that anyone can find one good move if they think hard and clearly enough.

But my biggest memory and my learning point in it was finding the drawing move....

...Continue reading...

T51 Summary and Openings

Team League T51 has reached the playoff stage, but Magnum Ignotum are not there, having ended in third place in their section  (congratulations to Scotch Yeti, whose team makes it again ! ).

Personally, my record this time is +3=0-5, that's 37%.  Not the best, and less than my overall TL record of 50%.  

Teacher's Report ? Could do better !

As White, I stayed with 1.e4, and ended up facing:

The Sicilian twice, one of them heavily questioned by an attack against my Queenside castling that just ran out of steam, collapsing to the counter-attack, and the other almost lost in the opening, but due to Blacks' passive play I managed to fight back to equality finally losing to a missed game-winning check-fork !

The French twice, both wins, one decided in the middle-game with Black over-looking a White capture that gives check and loses him a piece, the other an endgame grind, and most enjoyable, even including the psychological time tactics of my opponent. In both cases, I avoided mainline French lines with the fun-filled Réti Gambit.  I really don't like the French !

A Caro-Kann completed the roster, where my timidity proved my undoing, missing a neat pin in a counter attack, and putting me on the back foot unnecessarily. I missed the correct response, going on to lose.

As Black, twice I had long games in the Spanish losing one in a Rook and pawns ending, and in the other, again a timid plan lost me the initiative and the game.

Lastly, a Centre Game as Black was lost after I was surprised by an attack and just did not stay calm enough to give a good defence. I really should have done better here, and of all my losses, this one bugs me.

Conclusions for next season are evident.

How does my openings experience compare to Team League overall ?

...Continue reading...

TeamLeague 4545 : T50 Summary and Openings

Another TL4545 is drawing to a close, and, unfortunately Magnum Ignotum are not among the championship contenders.

No matter, it was an enjoyable tournament, although for me, since I didn't play the last two rounds, it was shorter than usual, with a grand total of 4 games, all played in August.

I don't consider myself obsessed with the openings (certainly not from a Chess sense, although maybe from a statistical point of view ! ), but having started out looking at them via T47, I thought I may as well post an update and a T50/T47 comparison, ie ask the question "Have things changed much in 3 tournaments and almost a year of elapsed time ?".

However, before that , what happened from a personal point of view? and does this match the statistics overall ?

As White, I kept up the banner of 1.e4, playing it in all my 3 games, but how was I answered ?

...Continue reading...

Any ideas ?

From a recent TL game....

Black has played 45...Kf7.  White is ahead in material, and to play...any ideas ?

45....Kf7

The game continued as below ( highlight between the brackets to see), and fizzled out to a draw, but I think White can do better.

[46.Rd8 g5 47.Rxd2 Nxd2 48.hxg5 Ne4+ 49.Kh4 Nxf6 50.gxf6 Kxf6 51.Kxh5 ]

Endgame Adventures In Team League 4545 : Where we ended in T47

Partly, I wrote this post to offset against this one on T47 openings ( I wouldn't want to be classified as an openings freak :)  and to continue my exploration of T47, but also because I was interested in just what sort of endings are played in TL games ( especially compared to 'professionals') and maybe just a bit on trying to identify what endings I should concentrate on, to shortcut trying to work on them all.

Presentation was an issue, since, although endgames are classified, they aren't as straightforward as openings ( ie not recorded in the game notation ), but I used a 'standard' classifier in my database, so at least I present some sort of consistency.

Straight into things.

...Continue reading...

T48 - Playoffs

Magnum Ignotum fell at the last hurdle...the last result deciding the playoffs was the expected one that left our chance of the wildcard spot at the mercy of the rules.

We were level on match point, games points and forfeits with the next team ( King, Pawn and Rook ) who had led their section prior to this game, so I guess it was the fourth board reduction rule that we lost out on. Good luck to them in the playoffs.

Shame, but at least some sort of chess break before the next T4545 !

Team League 4545 - T48 - R6 : Playing the other side

It's been a while since I blogged : business travel occupying me, with many thousands of kilometres now clocked up, mainly because of  two 12-hour flights, halfway across the world !

However now that I have all that behind me, I'm back into the last chess games of the present T4545 season.

The Magnum Ignotum U1600 team has not quite made the playoffs. We have to rely on other team's favourable results as well as winning ourselves, and , although there are still some games to finish, I think that we are out.

Magnum Ignotum U1800 is a different story. We are second in our division, but might go through to the play-offs as "best second place" or similar. Again dependent on final results of other teams In my own case though, 3 games played in the last week for the U1600  : 2 losses and finally, a win, which I will show here since it is the freshest game.

A surprise for me. Reconnaissance had prepared me for a Sicilian ( my opponent's recent outing ) a classical e5 reply ( the most likely ) or, from very old games, a French.

Imagine my surprise when 2...d6 was wheeled out after e5 and I was White facing the defence I play most as Black : the Philidor !

...Continue reading...

Under Promotion in T47

I seem to have carried on looking at T47 games after my brief exploration of openings played.

If I manage it, I hope to give details of some of the endgames reached, but while assembling this, I saw a number of under-promotions in a few games ( 11 of 1377, to be precise ! ).

Most of these are irrelevant, ie under-promotion makes no difference to the result, as the 'promoting side' was in full control. I suspect, in fact , that a lot of under-promotions are just to allow practise in unusual mating, especially if the opponent doesn't resign.

There was only one that was a necessary under-promotion, since creating a Queen would be an instant checkmate next move.

118...h1N+

The knight promotion giving check should only have saved Black temporarily, as mate still follows rapidly with 119.Kf3 Nf2 120. Qxf2+ Kh1 121. Qg2#

Amazingly, Black must have thought his luck was in, as White played Kh4,  and it took until move 160 before mate happened. Doubtless time trouble, and the "forking ability" of the knight is something to be wary of.

After this I had a quick look in other Team League games and found these two examples....

 From T24 - 2004

Straightforward, but still nice to see 52... e1N#

But here is a very useful under-promotion to gain a draw...

From T41 - 2009

Again, promotion to anything but a Knight will result in mate, but 64...c8N+ is a great way to gain a draw, and on the magic 64th move !

Interestingly, go back to move 63 in the same game, and White misses the chance of a win. It wasn't time trouble as both players had plenty of it, but I think it was an assumption on White's part that the win was guaranteed.

Move 63....decision time

Does it matter which move you choose ? Kxe4 ? or Rh2 ?

Indian Adventures

"Time spent in reconnaissance is seldom time wasted"

Well, true, but sometimes, you just wish your opponent would follow the same plan as yourself !

In checking out the opposition before playing this back in March last year, I could guarantee that my opponent played 1.d4, a move that I don't particularly enjoy meeting.

Mostly, I have responded 1...f5, the Dutch, which has been relatively good to me.

However, I recognise that its not quite as flexible as some opening moves, and can also be quite particular and precise, so its probably better, at this stage of my playing, to aim for more main-line openings.

When I played chess as at school, the King's Indian was the opening that we all wanted to play. No sensible "chess reason", but mainly because it consisted of a 'fianchetto', which sounded incredibly exciting, let alone the "Indian" part, which was exotic too.

I can't recall if this was also prompted by players at the time, or, as is more likely, it was based on the influence from the school chess club teacher, whose name I can't even remember !!

Mind you, I must have inherited a cult memory, or 'desire' to use it, as I have played it a few times over the years, but never really invested time in learning what it was all about.

I used to play the Old Indian variation, probably because of either romantic notions or a (wrong) belief that it was so obscure that no-one would know it: how many of us amateurs do that ?

Crazy, really. At my chess level opening knowledge is fairly irrelevant ( mine is aimed at reaching the middlegame without losing ! ) , most things are decided by a mistake in the middlegame, and even then, there's a chance of redemption through a future opponent  mistake...

Enough of memories, and onto the game in question.

...Continue reading...