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I don’t play many weekend tournaments. There are a myriad of reasons for this, and they are not likely to change in the near future. That means that when I do play a weekend tournament I have to make the most of it.
Since I have also been relatively dormant on this blog, I figure what better way to bring it back than to track my progress here.
On June 6th I will turn 50 years old. This means that for the first time, I will be eligible for the US Senior Open, which starts on July 21st in Elmhurst, IL.
That gives me 68 days from today until then in order to train. Here is the plan for preparing for the event:
- As I have been doing basically every day for the past several years, I will solve some basic tactics on Chessable. The courses I use are three of the Frank Erwich “1001” series. Specifically, I use 1001 Chess Endgame Exercises for Beginners, 1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners, and 1001 Chess Exercises for Club Players. Please note that “for beginners” does not mean raw beginners. I am 1800, and I find many of the puzzles to be quite challenging.
- Solving from Sherlock’s Method. My good friend and coach, Elshan Moradiabadi, wrote this book along with Sabina Foiser. It’s intentionally designed to get a player ready for a tournament. The first two chapters on simple positions and endgames comprise 270 puzzles. If I average 28 per week (one page of four per day), I will finish them just as the tournament arrives.
- Opening prep for Black. When you are as sloppy as I am at studying the opening, two months just isn’t a lot of time. So I have decided to work on my black openings for this tournament. This means the Slav, Caro-Kann, and 1…e5 against the English.
Now let’s take those items and break them down into more details.
For Chessable, I consider these puzzles to be a warm-up. For years I have kept the timer off on Chessable puzzles. I am not looking to solve them fast; I am looking to solve them correctly. Speed comes when the patterns are well-established in my brain. If It takes me a few minutes the first time, that’s fine. By the 5th-6th time, it will take a few seconds as long as the pattern sticks.
I also solve these on a screen. Typically, I use my phone, but occasionally on a proper computer. Again, the idea with these is to warm my brain up. I’m not looking to do any heavy lifting with these.
Here’s a nice example of a puzzle from 1001 Chess Exercises for Beginners by Frank Erwich. Solution below.
For Sherlock’s Method, I am taking a more rigid approach than I am with the Chessable stuff. For one thing, if I don’t solve the puzzle within a minute or so I am starting a clock and giving myself 10 minutes to come up with a solution. I am very much trying to solve these under tournament conditions. I am also writing down my answers so I can’t play the “I saw that” game when there is a move in the solution that I didn’t consider.
This means I am also physically setting them up on a board. Yes, that can be annoying when you spend a couple of minutes setting up a position only to solve it in 15 seconds. I guess that’s a good problem to have.
Here is a puzzle from Sherlock’s Method that I failed to solve this morning. Let’s see if the readers can do better than I did. The solution to this one, along with some of Elshan and Sabina’s analysis, is below. As you can see by the analysis, great detail is given in the explanation. You can buy this book here.
As for openings, I am working with several books and the Chessbase database. I am creating proper files for the first time and plan on reviewing GM games in my lines regularly.
Til Next Time,
Chris Wainscott
Solutions to Puzzles Below
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Erwich Puzzle
1…Qxh2+ 2.Kf1 Qxf2# (or 2…Qh1#)
Elshan Puzzle – analysis from the book.
20…Rf5!
with the idea of …Rh5. The simple theme is White’s misplaced queen, who happens to be the caretaker of White’s king. White simply lacks the necessary cohesion among his pieces in order to stop Black’s attack.
In this position, Giri played 20…h5? taking away a great square for his rook. 21.Bg5 Rh7? (21…Qg6 22.Bd3 Bf5 was essential and Black’s attack is still strong.) 22.Re3 after which White equalizes and eventually went on to win the game.
21.Be2
21.Bb5 maybe this is the move that worried Giri and prevented him from playing …Rf5, although after 21…Rh5 22.Re8+ Qxe8! 23.Qxg4 Qf7 White has no compensation.
21…Bxe2! 22.Rxe2 Qg6!
Once again taking advantage of the trapped queen on h4.
23.g4
Is the only move in this position. but it is sad when one must weaken one’s own king this much.
23…h5 24.Rbe1 Kb7!
Preventing the back rank exchange. White seems dead lost.
25.Re6
25.g5 Rf3 and now …Qxc2 is an overwhelming threat.
25…Qxg4+ 26.Qxg4 hxg4
And Black does not only have an attack on the kingside, his king can also calmly march into White’s weakened camp on the queenside with a much better position.