Chessmaster 9000

More than 10 years ago I used to play with the Chessmaster 2000 in my Amiga 500+. Today after all that time I got a copy of Chessmaster 9000 for the PC which seems to have developed into a really good chess program. The games-analysis of a chessmaster that is included in some sound files is incredible and hard to follow. My own analysis compared to his, are a joke, but I ll keep trying for learning purposes.

Endgame Difficulty

Lately I am discovering how many difficulties I have in playing a good endgame. If I am able to gain points in the middle game by capturing extra pawns or even pieces, I cant manifest this advantage in the finale. A common strategy when we have extra pawns or even pieces in the middle game is to exchange everything and win in the endgame. Provided one knows how to win though! Because try to win an endgame with 2 or 3 extra pawns! 1 extra pawn is tricky, it can very easily end in draw. We learned the other day in the chess-club how to achieve draw if you are left with just the king (say black) and the opponent has his king and one pawn (say white). Black's worry should be to get to the square in front of the pawn and gradually to the promoting square. If white's king is behind the pawn and with blacks correct play, it ends in draw. If the king of the white is in front of the pawn, white wins.

I might need to get some books on the endgame because it is making my life miserable :))!!!

I remember about 8 years ago, we had learned 10 basic rules for the endgame in the chess-club, but I have forgotten them all apart from the first one which was to get the king moving and to the center.

I think we spend too much time in chess trying to learn how to capture more pieces that we forget to learn how to play strategical chess and win.

The Super King

I mostly play chess in yahoo games. There are also other places to play online but yahoo seems to be the most convinient and less complicated way.

Play chess in yahoo here!

This was a very frustrating game because I should have won without problems. In the middle game I did some nice combinations but the end game was awful. I even gifted to the enemy my best pawn. My opponent offered me a draw 3 times but I didnt accept it because I believed I could find a way to win. In the end I got a draw but I was very close to loosing. Here is the game:

Title: Yahoo! Chess Game
White: x-opponent
Black: me
Date: Thu Feb 23 04:24:31 GMT 2006

1. e2-e4 g8-f6

This is Alekhine's Defence, an opening I discovered recently, which I find a very interesting reply to e4 and better than e5.

2. e4-e5 f6-d5
3. d2-d4 d7-d6
4. f1-c4 (not sure how good this move was since I get to threaten it with my next move) d5-b6
5. c4-d3 b8-c6
6. c2-c3 d6xe5
7. d4xe5 c6xe5 (white just lost a pawn)
8. d3-b5+ c8-d7 (thanks for helping the developement of my pieces)
9. b5xd7+ (I dont think he had another good choice) d8xd7 (I captured the bishop with my queen in the hope to exchange queens and ruing the castling of the opponent)
10. g1-e2 d7xd1+ (and it worked)
11. e1xd1 o-o-o+ (everything seems to develope nice for the black, I think!)
12. b1-d2 e5-d3 (I saw an unprotected square in the heart of the white and seized it. Note that now I have the threat of check at g2 by capturing a pawn with my knight and then getting a rook!)
13. d2-e4 (One would think that the threat no longer exists since the white knight at e4 supports the square g2) d3xf2+ (but the white knight is unable to do anything since the king is still in check from the black rook!)
14. d1-c2 f2xh1 (thank you for the rook :-) )
15. c1-e3 f7-f5 (I am trying to find a way to keep my knight as well, although it should be a fair price for the rook I got.)
16. e4-c5 (I dont like the position of this knight) d8-d5 (maybe I should have tried to sent it away by moving the e7 pawn so that the bishop threatens it, although the bishop at e3 protects the knight)
17. c5-d3 (still the opponent chose to move it) e7-e5
18. a1xh1 (there goes the knight) f8-e7

I wont comment on the rest of the game, simply because I was so devoid of ideas about how to win. The rest of the game is boring, my king saved the day by running after all the pawns and getting a draw, there must have been a way to win this position though.

19. d3-b4 e7xb4
20. c3xb4 h8-d8
21. e2-c3 d5-d3
22. e3-g5 d8-d7
23. h1-f1 h7-h6
24. g5-c1 f5-f4
25. f1-e1 b6-c4
26. c3-e4 b7-b6
27. b2-b3 c4-e3+
28. c1xe3 f4xe3
29. a2-a4 e3-e2
30. e1xe2 d3-d4
31. e4-c3 d7-e7
32. c3-b5 d4xb4
33. b5xa7+ c8-b7
34. a7-b5 b4-f4
35. g2-g3 f4-f3
36. c2-b2 e5-e4
37. e2-c2 e7-f7
38. b5-d4 f3-f2
39. h2-h4 f2xc2+
40. b2xc2 f7-f2+
41. c2-d1 e4-e3
42. d1-e1 c7-c5
43. d4-e6 f2-b2
44. e6xg7 b2xb3
45. g7-f5 c5-c4
46. e1-e2 c4-c3
47. f5xe3 b7-a6
48. g3-g4 b3-b2+
49. e2-d3 a6-a5
50. e3-c4+ a5-b4
51. c4xb2 c3xb2
52. d3-c2 b2-b1+
53. c2xb1 b4-c5
54. g4-g5 h6xg5
55. h4xg5 c5-d6
56. g5-g6 d6-e7
57. g6-g7 e7-f7
58. b1-b2 f7xg7
59. b2-b3 g7-f7
60. b3-b4 f7-e7
61. b4-b5 e7-d7
62. b5xb6 d7-c8
63. a4-a5 c8-b8
64. a5-a6 b8-a8
65. a6-a7 1/2 1/2

How it all started..

I started learning chess at the age of 14 in the chess-club of my city. It was fun, once a week we had a lesson which I enjoyed much. I had learned the moves of chess because my brother along with my father had taught me at home, but in the club I started learning in a more systemized way. My brother is a very strong player and he used to bring his chess friends at home. I remember how they played countless blitz games at home and how I was not able to comprehend their moves. Unfortunately I had to quit chess at the age of 16. At that time I moved to another country to pursue my dream and study ballet in a academy. I had to give up a lot of things for ballet and chess was one of them.

Now, after 7 years, I started playing chess again in the small local chess club. The visit of a grand master and european champion in our club fascinated me and increased my love for this mental sport.

Chess is a manifold sport. It disciplines the mind and forces it to concentrate. This procedure makes thinking sharper, faster and helps develope an objective way of looking at things. It increases the visualization powers, since a chess player is supposed to "see" all possible ways of continuing a certain position. Imagine that if a single position has 5 possible ways of continuing in the next move, each of these 5 ways might also have other 5 ways of continuing, two moves ahead. This makes a total of 5*5² possible ways which increases the deeper one tries to "see". Apart from the clearly mental aspect of chess, there is also the military one. The game of chess actually has to do with the war of two armies; the object is to capture the king of the opposite army. In order to achieve that one uses soldiers, knights, rooks, bishops and the royal couple of the king and queen. In order to win one needs to coordinate his army in the most intelligent, shortest and thus active way. Thats why chess is also a lesson in self-confidence and strong will.

I am an intermediate chess player, I have never played in official games and I don't train often. But it is fun to play whenever I get the chance and I like to record my games to analyze the mistakes I have done. Since I am loosing my papers all the time, this blog is a nice excuse for me to store the games I play online (mostly in yahoo chess) and to philosophize on the art of chess. My chess idols are Nimzowitch and Alekhine, and my favourite book "My System" (by Nimzowitch).