The 1st world champion Wilhelm Steinitz commands us, “If you have the superior position, you must attack!” He also commands us to search for the weak point in our opponent’s position and to strike.
However, against a formidable opponent – they WILL NOT just give you weaknesses to play against… YOU’RE GONNA HAVE TO PROBE THEM!!! 🤣🤣🤣
A weak square for White is located on the 3rd and 4th ranks, for Black on the 5th and 6th ranks. When one of these squares can no longer be defended by that side’s pawns any longer – it becomes weak. It means powerful pieces will have to “babysit” these small undefended points instead of being the fierce attackers they’d like to be! Knowing how to recognize and target weak squares is extremely important when looking to defeat other chess players, especially masters!
Want to learn how to induce your opponents into weakening themselves so you have great targets to attack? This is the video for you!
Jeremy Silman is an International Master, bestselling chess author, and some I quote often during my lessons. Silman often lays out a system of planning easy to digest for most. The keyword is MOST. My mission is to break these ideas down with a more modern approach. I hope you enjoy it. If you do, please go pick up one of Jeremy’s books and put in the good word for me, will ya?!
List all the imbalances that exist or can be created for BOTH sides
What side of the board should I play on? (this should be where I either have or can create a favorable imbalance – as a general default it is usually where you have or can gain the most space).
Dream position – We create a position in our minds of where we like all our pieces or the piece needed to complete the improvement/use of a particular imbalance or combination of imbalances. DREAM BIG and then go back and figure out what is possible and what is too farfetched and then revise your dream position to one that is achievable.
A) Figure out if the opponent can stop our plan with one or two moves. If they are able to stop our plan but it comes at a serious cost of creating new weaknesses, we can exploit then this shouldn’t deter us from our idea. The main way to determine if we should pursue a plan is if the opponent can easily stop us with moves that don’t hurt them. B) Figure out if the opponent can IGNORE our plan altogether and launch a stronger faster idea against us.
CALCULATE AND EVALUATE – We list the moves in our current position that lead us to our dream position. We list them in order of what looks best naturally and through calculation and evaluation we come up with a final move to play now. If a particular move is time sensitive (meaning it can be stopped by the opponent if we don’t act now) then it should be moved to the front of our candidate move list.
1 – Bishops v. Knights – “It’s more open because not a lot of pawns are locked up but both Bishops seem completely useless. The Knights are clearly superior – the Ne4 especially. White’s Light squared Bishops is caged and maybe can find some future on the Kingside.” I think this position is semi open generally favoring Bishops however in the current situation the Bishops are struggling. Bc1 is a bad inactive Bishop. This needs to be fixed. One idea is to play d5 and Bb2 to give it an open diagonal. Another idea could be to get the Bishop to the h2-a7 diagonal via d2,e1 but getting g3 might be tricky considering Black’s control over it. White Ba2 is a good inactive Bishop. Technically it has a job of guarding c4 however this isn’t an ideal lifestyle. It would be much happier on a square like d5 doing the same thing while also applying pressure to Black’s camp. Perhaps it should find a way to drop back to b1, move the Rd3 and trade off for Ne4 if it can’t find a way to get active. Black’s Ne4 is better than any Bishop on this board. The e4 square is a wonderful home that paralyzes White’s center and is ready for anything. Black’s Na5 isn’t the happiest square in the world but it is mostly secure on Black’s 4th rank applying pressure to the c4 pawn and keeping White’s Ba2 tied down to its defense for the time being.
Space – technically White has more space on the Queenside (d4 and c4 v. c5) and in the center (e3 and d5 v. nothing.) Black has more Kingside space technically because of the g5 pawn. However this being said – the main thing Space gives it’s owner is more mobility for their pieces and less for the opponents but if anything it’s White’s pieces that feel restricted because of the cramping nature of White’s Bishops. White can gain more space and a passed pawn by playing d5 but it does close the position more in favor of Black’s Knights. Black could gain more Kingside space by playing f5 which also engages the Rf8 and reinforces control over the outpost on e4. This might be risky opening up White’s King but it’s hard to see anyway for White to capitalize on this. White has the superior pawn center and that informs Black that he should seek to destroy it.
Material – is even
Pawn Structure – White has 3 pawn islands. The isolated a pawn doesn’t seem easily targeted. Black has two pawn islands but no specific types of pawns. White can create a passed d pawn by playing d5 and give Bc1 a new hope on b2 but at the cost of closing the position more for Black’s Knights. Black could change the pawn structure by playing cxd4 but this opens the position in favor of White’s Bishops and the resulting hanging-ish pawns on c4 and d4 seem more favorable for White than Black.
Development – It seems that if anyone has a lead in development its Black because of the highly inactive nature of Bc1, Ba2 and Ra1. A move like f5 activates Black’s only inactive Rf8 immediately so Black does seem to have a slight lead in development. This could indicate the right to launch a quicker attack and pressure to convert this short term advantage into a long term one.
Initiative – No side seems to have any immediate threats on each other but if Black plays cxd4 it seems to come with the additional threat of Nxc4. Can White gain enough compensation by the open nature of the position with his Bishops after losing this pawn? Is there a tactic availa”ble?
Control of key files – “Black has two half open files on e and d and White has two half open files on f and b” How much does these files matter? “If Black puts pressure on the half open d file it would pressure White’s d4” If White does play d5 (a move that has plusses and minuses it would negate all pressure on the d file. I think Black’s e file is more important to control because of the importance of maintaining Ne4 as well as the potential target on e3 that can’t be covered up so easily because defending it another White pawn seem very unrealistic. “What if we made Alekhine’s gun on the d file and (while supporting moves like g6 and f5 keep the Ne4 and Kingside under wrap) play a sacrifice like b5 to weaken d5 and win it?” I like that you are already looking for plans however we should finish the steps to determine if this is indeed where we should be focused. White’s half open b file leads to the b6 pawn which isn’t not about to be undermined so is therefore useless. White half open file might be very useful if White is the one keeping dominance over f5 square but even then it’s hard to imagine White putting enough pressure on the f file that Black couldn’t easily handle. “Black also has half open h file”
Control over weak squares – White has the weak square g3, e3, e4, c3, c4, b3, a3 and a4 A LOT! But do any of these squares matter? The vast majority of these are located in the center and on the Queenside. Black already has domination of the e4 square and pressure on c4 and b3. More pressure could be applied if we put pressure on the d file. Black also better control over g3. Black can gain enough more control over e4 by playing f5 and g3 if he ever wants to play f4. Black has weak squares on a6, c6, d6 and d5. White has control over d5 however doesn’t seem to be able to put any pieces on that square and there’s no Black targets there. The same goes with d6 and a6. So White’s control over those squares don’t seem to matter.
Dynamics v. Statics – White can open the position more by playing dxc5 which would benefit the Bishops but voluntarily destroy his own center, weak his pawn structure terribly and stop all chances of if creating passed d5 pawn possible advantage.
2) What side of the board to play on? White’s main advantages are superior pawn center and superior center/queenside space, the ability to create a passed d5 pawn (but it can easily be blockaded by Nd6 so I’m not sure how advantageous this is. Black’s main advantages are kind of everywhere. Black has a beautiful Ne4 with more space currently on the Kingside and more space that can be gained by f5. Black has pressure on c4, the possibility of gaining a pawn by cxd4 unless White plays the ugly Rxd4 and a ton of weak squares on the Queenside. Black also has a lead in development/piece activity that is taking aim at the Kingside/center so Black should first and foremost consider quick pressuring dieas against that area. Black should look to play wherever but I think center and Kingside calls out the most based on current placement of Black pieces including ideas like f5.
3) If we play for a Kingside attack then it needs to be based around a pawn break. The two possible pawn breaks are g4 and f4. It seems logical to but Black’s Na5 to d6 via b7 to blockade any potential passed d pawn as well as support it’s brother on e4. Black also would want to play f5. If we are playing for a g4 break then having a Rook on h6 which could get there via e6 seems ideal. Also, a Qh4 would be great but this seems too unrealistic. We could also play g6 and Qh7 before g4. “f4 is difficult because of White’s control but might be worth looking into” For the sake of time let’s just look at playing for g4 because it’s more destructive to the Kingside.
White trades off both Bishops for both Knights and is successful at mobilizing center pawn majority, passed pawn and space advantage. However this is pretty farfetched.
Based on time we need to skip ahead. A revised position if we can’t trade off is
Trying to prevent f5, make a passed d5 pawn, bring the Bb2 to life.
4) Can opponent stop us? F5 can’t stopped if we play it now, Nb7 to d6 can’t be stopped, Re6-h6 can’t be stopped and g4 can’t be stopped. Seems good. Can White launch a counter attack that is stronger and faster than ours? White’s plan takes quite a while and is still farfetched because if Black plays f5 right now then the Queen never reaches f5.
5) Calculation and evaluation – The candidates moves are f5, Nb7, Re6 and g4. G4 isn’t prepared and doesn’t work tactically. “F5 seems clearly to be the best move because it anchors the Knight and prepares g4.
We were completely off because we never considered playing b5. Yes this makes sense as it trying to undermine White’s Center however it seems like it opens the Ba2 but it also looks like after cxb5 and c4 that all this gets shut down.
Black played played mostly to create a Good Knight versus Bad Bishop opportunity and played on the Queenside despite all the evidence that suggests Kingside play. Were we wrong?
We looked at the computer analysis with Stockfish 10.
The number one move is f5 with -1.88
The number two move is Nc6 with -1.42 to Black
The number three move is Nb7 with -1.15 for Black
All at a depth of 26.
So it would seem that Black came up with a clever idea to play this position but our hard work seems like it was more accurate than the world champions play.
1) Imbalances – list all that exist or can be created.
A) Bishops vs. Knights – Semi-closed center (probably can’t be opened). Black has a Bad Inactive Bishop. It seems the only way to try and help this Bishop AT ALL is to play c4, b4, Bf8, and bxc3. If he plays bxc3 we can try for Ba3-b2 to target the new isolated c3 pawn. If he takes back with Nxc3 then we should have a nice target to attack b2. White’s Knight is active and in a good position. Black seems to have no way of dislodging this beautiful steed. Perhaps white should play c4 to stamp out any hope of Black fixing the Bishop.
B) Pawn Structure – Black has double isolated e pawns. They are potentially weak but it’s going to take some time. (i.e. if White plays Ng5 right now, besides the fact that it can be defended by Rd6 and no new attacker can apply pressure, Black might simply play Rd2 quite happily.) Other than that if White plays for an h5 idea it could change the pawn structure (either hxg6 hxg6 will leave Black with an isolated g6 pawn or if gxh5 and eventual Rh1 the remaining h7 pawn will be isolated on an open file. Other attempts to change the pawn structure might be playing for b4 or a5. Or Black playing for a3, b4, or g4.
C) Material – is even. There doesn’t appear to be any way to sacrifice material for either side for positional compensation.
D) Development – Black is up to one tempo with the Rd8 however it’s White’s move so it’s likely even. No visible way to get ahead in development for either side.
E) Control of a key file – Black has control over the open d file however the only penetration square is d3, but what does this accomplish unless he can quickly double and dominate the file. White can easily play Rd1 to challenge this open file (if we wish) and White’s King easily gets over to e2 to cover the d1 square so control over this open file seems to lead to nothing substantial. What if Black plays Rd5 with the intention to double? It seems like White will play c4 to prevent the time needed for this yet another reason to play c4. Can any new files be created? White might play for h5. White could play f4 but it seems pretty bad helping Black undouble the isolated e pawns as well as provide some free activity to the Bg7 but it does open the f file which would give us access to the weak f6 square. Is this worth it? In reality, the other attempts by White to open the position with b4 can be locked down by c4 and if White plays a4 intended a5 it could be shut down by Black playing a5 although I don’t know if Black wants to lock the position even further with his Bad Inactive Bishop.
F) Control of weak squares. White has a weak square on d3. Black has control over it with a Rook but as we stated early – what does this actually help accomplish for Black other than trying to quickly double on the d file? Black has weak squares on a6, c6, d6, e6, e5, f6, and h6. QUITE A FEW! Can this be taken advantage of? The d6 and f6 squares are already being fought for by Ne4 and d6 can further be fought for by playing Rd1. If white plays for h4-h5 ideas it might open up a file to the weak h6 square (more incentive to do this idea) as well as a4-a5 to open up lines to the a6 weakness. I have more incentive to do the h4-h5 idea because it also comes with the bonus of isolating another Black pawn. If Black tries to stop h4 by playing h5 – it creates an outpost on g5 and then it seems like White can play for g4 open up lines against the new weaknesses created on g5 and g6.
G) Initiative – neither side seems to have any clear initiative.
2) Which Side of the board to play on? Black doesn’t seem to be able to successfully play on the d file too much but might play Rd7 followed by Rad8 but where these Rooks are headed for pressure – I don’t know. Black’s ability to try and expand on the Queenside to fix the Bf8 seems more likely so I say Black is mostly looking Queenside and keeping an eye on the center. White powerful Ne4, as well as the double isolated e pawns for Black and the possibility of creating new open files with weaknesses to attack the Kingside, seem to suggest that Center and Kingside play belongs to White.
3) We took a close look and see that there doesn’t seem to be a way for Black to stop White’s idea of playing for h5. Black also doesn’t seem to have a plan that comes quicker and stronger than ours by playing c4 followed by b5,b4 Bf8. This actually combined steps 3 + 4
4) See above
5) What moves led to our position? H4, c4, f3 to play Kf2 We decided that c4 would be the right move in this position because of the time-sensitive nature that Black can play c4 himself if we don’t do this immediately. It turns out this move is best but Alekhine’s Rfd1 also satisfies because if Black plays c4 White has Nd6 which will win a pawn despite complications. Alekhine only plays c4 once the Ke7 prevents Nd6.
We can see the plan taken by Alekhine is somewhat similar but mostly different than what we choose. Is our plan wrong? CONCLUSIONS We’ve taken some time to look at the position and these are some conclusions we’ve made. 1) White can’t really get away with playing f3 and Kf2 because Black will play Bh6 and Rd3 and have a target to apply pressure against. 2) White needs to get the Ke2 because when we go for our plan Black has options like taking on g4 or h4 and when we recapture (with doubled Rooks on the d file can play Rd1 and force a trade-off of Rooks. One of the main things about White’s plan is that it seems only effective with both Rooks on the board so that we can create enough pressure against newly formed targets on g6 or h7(h6). 3) Black (if given enough time) after we’ve played c4 will play for a6 and b5. This can be problematic for White because if Black is allowed to play bxc4 bxc4 and Rb8 Black finally has achieved a penetration point on b2 that we have trouble stopping and has targets on our isolated a and c pawns. We can stop these ideas by having Rac1 and b3 however we seem to need both Rooks to generate enough pressure on the Kingside – so having one that needs to stifle Black ideas on the Queenside limits these ideas as well. We mentioned ideas of opening new files for White with a5 or b4 in the imbalances but we didn’t take the time to address them – we probably should have because White ends up playing a5 and creating an open file later in the game which proves decisive.
1st day of the 2022 Colorado Scholastic State Championship.
212 participants (a bit below our typical 240-250+ range but it’s just coming back after the pandemic).
The situation is a bit strange because local statutes regarding mask-wearing have changed dramatically recently in Colorado especially regarding kids in schools (where mask-wearing is essentially gone outside of those kids who still choose to). A lot of the families are choosing to mask, as am I, so hopefully, we’ll see what happens! The good news is that we have kids divided into enough spaced-out pods that I feel confident we’ll be incident-free. I’m the tournament director of a huge K-8 division.
It’s inspiring to watch the fearless chess some of these kids play – putting everything on the line, holding nothing back. It’s a pretty crazy and exciting time. Crazy to see so many new chess players, unrated, playing in a state championship as their first event. Amazing to see all the interesting chess and results due to so many players’ ratings no longer accurately representing their strength from pre-pandemic.
This really is one of my favorite times of the year. I love seeing how far all the students have come, all the familiar faces, catching up on all the fun adventures we’ve had in the last year and so much more.
The ONLY negative thing I can say is that two of the three food trucks bailed on us. I was SO looking forward to #chueyfu showing up… oh well!
Took over 15k steps today.
I think it’s time for a bath.
Until next time my friends,
Jesse
UPDATE!!
Day 2: Our students from Campus Middle School took 1st place in the K-8 division making them the newest middle school state champions!!
For the first time, I’ll be taking on a limited number of chess coaches under the Summit School of Chess umbrella.
Clients will be able to see your calendar availability, book, and pay for lessons directly through the website.
The ideal candidate is a highly qualified and professional individual that can provide strong references. Candidates will be observed prior to being offered a position.
Pros: Gain more exposure and business as a chess coach. I advertise and produce content regularly. Brand name recognition.
Cons: We take a small fee and you sign a paper saying you won’t take any clients from the company (a limited non-compete).
Who lurks under the cloaked hood? In a world where conflict is settled on the chessboard, and opposing pawns are sacrificed to save the crown, who will emerge victoriously?
Join chess master Jesse Cohen and director Bruce Tetsuya in a brief, poignant exploration of this game of skill, as The Princess Gambit is revealed!
This short film is dedicated to everyone, young and old, with a love for chess.
We are grateful to Tanishka and the Tagare family for their support. And we welcome YOU – creators, dreamers, editors, and producers – to collaborate with us on our next chess endeavor.
You can watch it here! – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qh8w-ZWW60
