Training quote of the day #59: Alysa Liu

...I wouldn't necessarily say I'm nervous, because one thing about me is I really don't have any anxiety. I have none in my normal life, on ice, nothing. I just don't have it. In order for me to be anxious about something like that, it would have to mean I'm really counting on it or depending on it. I'm not really depending on skating. Of course there's meaning, but I find the meaning in the art, and there's no way to go wrong with that. Even mistakes in art can still be beautiful.

2026 Olympic Gold medalist Alysa Liu

Annotated Game #334: Misery loves company

This final-round tournament game was rather miserable, contributing to a rather miserable outing overall; at least I didn't lose all of the games, which was some consolation. Again I achieve an advantage out of the opening - here, as early as move 3 - but poor thinking and evaluation of my opponent's potential threats mean I am on the ropes before the middlegame even properly starts. My opponent misses several critical continuations, but in the end is able to very effectively dominate with his pieces, while mine are ineffective. Props to him for not collapsing to the early pressure and fighting back effectively.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Class C"] [Black "ChessAdmin"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "B10"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "89"] [GameId "2263074706079778"] 1. e4 c6 2. c4 d5 3. Nc3 $2 {I had never seen this move before, likely because of} d4 (3... dxe4 {seemed to be what my opponent was expecting, which is at least less bad for White.}) 4. Nce2 e5 $17 {Black's pawn on d4 is extremely strong and cannot be effectively challenged.} 5. d3 Bg4 $6 $15 {here starts the wrong thinking. Other pieces are better developed first.} (5... Bb4+) (5... Nf6) 6. a3 {now ...Bb4 is not possible.} a5 {played to restrict b2-b4.} 7. f3 {while this is awkward for White, it is even more awkward for my light-square bishop, which has nowhere good to go.} Bh5 $6 {this seemed like the obvious choice at the time, but the bishop can now be a target, without contributing anything in return.} (7... Bc8 8. f4 f6 $15 9. f5 $6 Na6 $17) 8. Nh3 {developing to the only square available, although it would be to White's advantage to chase the Bh5 first.} (8. g4 $11) 8... Be7 {looking to control g5, but perhaps not the best developing option.} (8... Nf6) (8... Bd6) 9. Ng3 Bh4 $6 {this was part of the idea of developing the bishop to e7. However, pinning the knight is not particularly effective.} (9... Bg6 10. f4 exf4 11. Bxf4 Nf6 $15) 10. Nf2 {breaking the pin. My exchanging on g3 would be favorable to White, losing the two bishops and opening up the file for the Rh1.} Bg6 {now correctly evacuating the bishop.} 11. f4 f6 $2 {White could now immediately play Qg4!} (11... exf4 12. Bxf4 Nd7 $11) 12. f5 $6 (12. Qg4 $1) 12... Bf7 $11 {after a long and rather ineffectual journey, the bishop has retreated to a safe, defensive square.} 13. Qg4 {this is still very good. Now I make what should have been an immediately losing decision.} Bxg3 $2 (13... Bg5 {I never considered this retreat.} 14. Bxg5 fxg5 15. h4 gxh4 {allows} 16. Qxg7 {but now} Qf6 $1 $11 {is possible, defending h8.}) 14. hxg3 $6 $14 (14. Qxg7 $1 $18 {and the rook is lost.}) 14... g5 {this ends up loosening things on the kingside more than I want, although it's a fair defensive try. Mentally, however, I am feeling rattled from my position having gone from clearly advantageous to almost lost in a short timespan.} (14... Kf8 $14) 15. fxg6 Bxg6 {I've now lost the h6 square, but White cannot exploit that...yet.} 16. Qe6+ Qe7 $2 {I continue to be rattled on the defense.} (16... Kf8 $14) 17. Qc8+ $1 $18 Kf7 18. Qh3 $6 $14 {luckily for me, my opponent again misses a critical continuation.} (18. Bh6 $1 Nxh6 19. Qxh8 Ng8 $18 {amazingly, Black cannot get at White's queen to trap it, only exchange it after an eventual ...Qg7.}) 18... Qe6 (18... Nd7 $5 $14) 19. Qh4 Nd7 20. Be2 Ne7 $2 {I thought for a while here, but ended up in a bad defensive position. It was more important to leave the knight on g8 and keep an eye on h6. The other knight could then be more active.} (20... Nc5 $14 {provides some useful activity.}) 21. Bh6 $16 (21. Bg4 $1 {I spotted this idea and was relieved when my opponent did not play it, although I did not fully see the idea of him targeting f6 by eventually castling.} Qd6 22. Bxd7 Qxd7 23. Ng4 Qe6 24. O-O $18) 21... b5 $2 {a desperate bid for counterplay.} (21... Ng8 $16) 22. b3 $18 {despite this not being the strongest follow-up, I have no good choices now.} a4 (22... Ng8 23. Bg4 $18) 23. b4 bxc4 24. dxc4 c5 25. b5 $6 (25. Bg4) 25... Nb6 {unfortunately I still do not understand the need to get the other knight more involved in the defense, although White is still winning in any case.} (25... Ng8 26. Bg4 Qxc4 27. Rc1 Qxb5 28. Bxd7 Qxd7 29. Ng4 $18) 26. Rc1 {so far I've at least been successful at distracting my opponent from making further progress on the kingside.} Rad8 (26... Ng8) 27. Bd3 $6 $16 Nec8 $2 {heading in the wrong direction, for the ultimate knight fail.} 28. O-O $1 $18 {the White king had been in the center so long, I'd forgotten it could castle. Now the threat to f6 after Ng4 cannot be blocked, with the Bh6 playing an important role by covering f8.} Ke7 29. Ng4 {from now on, my opponent executes the attack well.} Nd7 30. Nxf6 $1 Kd6 31. Rf2 Kc7 {unfortunately, the queenside is now unsafe for the king as well, so my position cannot avoid collapse.} 32. Rcf1 Nxf6 33. Rxf6 Qe8 34. Qg4 {White's pieces are incredibly dominant, whereas mine have almost no good squares.} Rd6 {at this point, I am just playing on to see if my opponent will blunder if given the opportunity. He does not.} 35. Qd1 Nb6 36. Rxd6 $1 Kxd6 37. Rf6+ Kc7 38. Qd2 Qa8 39. Rc6+ Kb7 40. Rxc5 Nd7 41. Rc6 Nb8 42. Rd6 Kc7 43. Re6 Bxe4 44. Rxe5 Bb7 45. Bf4 1-0

Annotated Game #333: When to trust an attack

This third-round tournament game highlights the attacking potential of the Colle / Stonewall Attack setup, with some spectacular tactics lurking if Black does not defend properly. Unfortunately I miss seizing my chances, first with a knight sacrifice on f7, then afterwards with a rook sac on the same square - which is in fact played, but one move too late to be decisive. My calculation and visualization challenges continue, leading to an eventual loss after sacrificing too much material, although I could have had a saving perpetual on Black's king.

Part of the problem was not trusting the initial attack enough to play into it. Even in a situation where you cannot calculate everything - which inevitably occurs at all levels - one can (and should) still evaluate the likely prospects for the attack. I am still relatively new to attacking play and therefore learning my way in such situations, which in this case called for more boldness. That said, I will also draw attention to the analysis, where after the sacrifices certain more patient prepatory moves would be necessary to seize the advantage. After not seeing immediate forcing sequences, however, I discarded the original attacking ideas. Patience in the attack is also something a lot of club players need to learn.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "ChessAdmin"] [Black "Class D"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "D05"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "58"] [GameId "2262411080920471"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 e6 3. e3 d5 4. Bd3 Bd6 {when an opponent mimics your setup, it typically means they do not have independent knowledge of the opening. Black decides to break the symmetry in the Colle on the next move, although it's really move 6 which makes things more original.} 5. Nbd2 {a reasonable and flexible developing move.} (5. b3 $5 {instead commits to the Colle-Zukertort setup, and scores slightly higher in the database.}) 5... O-O 6. O-O Re8 {the rook is well-placed on the e-file, but this allows my knight to hop into e5, so I do so.} 7. Ne5 (7. e4 $5 $14 {the engine favors this standard Colle e-pawn break, threatening e4-e5 and activating the Nd2 if there is an exchange on e4.}) 7... Nbd7 8. f4 $14 {I now have e5 firmly under control.} c5 9. c3 {reaching a Stonewall Attack formation.} b6 {White is a little ahead in development - most notably there is no Black bishop on b7 yet - so there are a few more options than normal.} 10. Qf3 $11 {played with the idea of maintaining control of e4 after ...Bb7.} (10. e4 $5 {this central pawn lever still works, without Black's bishop on the long diagonal.}) (10. g4 {played immediately would defer placing the queen.}) 10... Bb7 11. g4 g6 {my opponent thought for a while before deciding on this defensive move.} 12. Qh3 {it is often difficult to decide how exactly to proceed in the Stonewall Attack, either relying on piece play or a pawn storm.} (12. h4 $5 {is now a viable attacking move, with the h-pawn potentially able to target g6 after the defending Nf6 moves. The queen can also swing in behind on h3.} Ne4 {looks good, but} (12... Rc8 13. Qh3 $14) 13. Bb5 $14 {is now a productive use for the bishop.}) (12. b3 Rc8 13. Bb2 $14) 12... Ne4 $2 {this removes the lone minor piece defender of Black's kingside for a crucial tempo.} 13. Bxe4 $6 {taking on e4 with the wrong piece.} (13. Nxf7 $1 {I spent a good deal of time over the board considering this, but could not see how to make it work.} Kxf7 (13... Qe7 {declining the sacrifice is safter but still losing.} 14. Nh6+ Kh8 15. g5 $18 {White is a full pawn up and with a great attack.}) 14. Qxh7+ Kf8 {I did not see how White could further the attack from this point, so did not trust it. However, now taking with the bishop is correct:} 15. Bxe4 dxe4 16. Nc4 $1 $18 {the knight can now penetrate, and if exchanged on e5 then White will retake with the f-pawn and add the Rf1 to the attack.}) (13. Nxe4 {this is the way to go if White wants to take on e4.} dxe4 14. Nxf7 Kxf7 (14... Qe7 15. Nh6+ Kh8 16. Bb5 a6 17. dxc5 Bxc5 18. Be2 $18) 15. Qxh7+ Kf8 16. f5 $1) 13... dxe4 14. Ndc4 $14 {the number two move, according to the engine.} (14. Nxf7 $1 Qe7 15. Nh6+ Kg7 16. b3 $18) 14... Nxe5 15. fxe5 {correctly opening the file for the Rf1, but White still is only slightly better. However, after the reasonable-looking} Bf8 $2 16. Bd2 $6 {I thought for some time at the board, primarily trying to make the capture on f7 work again - this time with the rook - but did not see how. I played the text move on the principle of connecting the rooks and adding to the attack that may, but I missed Black's pinning response.} (16. Rxf7 $1 {wins immediately.} Kxf7 (16... h6 17. Rxb7 $18) 17. Qxh7+ Bg7 18. Bd2 $1 $18 {Now this move is decisive - sequencing matters, as both the Ra1 and Nc4 are threatening to give check and join the attack.}) 16... Ba6 $11 17. Rxf7 $1 {this should still draw. Unfortunately I did not see Black's h-pawn defense, which led to further discombobulation in my thinking.} h5 $6 (17... h6 $11) 18. Raf1 $2 $17 {"long think, wrong think" as the saying goes. Now the Nc4 goes, while I do not get enough compensation.} (18. Rf6 {I spotted the idea but then did not give it enough thought. This immediately targets the weakness on g6, which cannot be defended.} Bg7 19. Rxg6 Bxc4 20. Be1 $14 {with the idea of redeploying the bishop to h4 and seizing the key h4-d8 diagonal, while continuing to threaten the weak h-pawn.} hxg4 $2 {would lead to} 21. Qxg4 Qd7 22. Bh4 $18) (18. b3 $4 {trying to be safe does not work.} Kxf7 $19) 18... Bxc4 19. R1f6 {another long think, correctly this time.} Be2 $2 {neither my opponent nor I correctly calculate the tactics involved in the defense. At the time, it struck me as a clever way to get the bishop involved and threaten taking on g4.} (19... Re7) 20. Rxg6+ $6 {This still should draw, even though I miss another win.} (20. Rxf8+ $1 {I had examined capturing on f8 before, but concluded that it did not work, so did not re-examine it as a candidate move.} Rxf8 21. Rxg6+ Kf7 22. Qxh5 Qd7 {the Black king cannot try to run without being mated, so this provides another square. Now multiple moves win, for example} 23. Be1 (23. d5 exd5 (23... Bc4 24. d6 Ke8 25. Rf6+ $18) 24. e6+ $18) 23... Ke8 24. Rf6+ $18) 20... Kxf7 21. Qxh5 $1 {this should still be enough for a draw.} Bg7 {only move} 22. Qh7 $2 (22. Rf6+ $1 {I did not even consider, missing the fact that the discovery made the rook untakeable. I actually did see this (dimly) early on in the calculation process, but then somehow discounted it.} Kg8 23. Qf7+ Kh8 (23... Kh7 $4 24. Rh6+ Kxh6 25. Qh5#) 24. Qh5+ {with a draw by repetition coming.}) 22... Rg8 {now my opponent's defense is more than enough to emerge with a win, given the material disparity, although it remains slightly tricky.} 23. Be1 {a good idea, but too late.} Kf8 24. Bh4 Qd7 25. Bf6 Qf7 $1 {kills off any remaining chances for White.} 26. Bxg7+ Rxg7 27. Qh8+ Rg8 28. Qh6+ Ke7 {the king now has plenty of room to run.} 29. Qg5+ Kd7 0-1

Annotated Game #332: If it's not in the repertoire, it must be bad (?)

This second-round game taught me another opening repertoire lesson, this time in the Advance Caro-Kann. I had never seen White's move 7 before and thought it must be bad, or at least would provide me with an edge. The most direct response, 7...a5, would indeed have been excellent if it weren't for White's 8. Bb5! with an annoying pin. This is how learning and repertoire-building take place most effectively, however: by filling in repertoire holes whenever they are discovered, and taking the time in home analysis to understand the relevant ideas and comparison positions.

In the late middlegame I finally play actively enough to put my opponent under pressure, but then did not spot variations on a winning endgame idea, which involved sacrificing a pawn to get my knight into the action decisively. An interesting game, in any case, where my opponent gets props for spotting how to take advantage of some incorrect ideas and passive moves - although he then over-pressed with moves like 19. f4, giving me the better chances in the end. This is a common theme seen by Caro-Kann players, and one reason I remain very satisfied with the opening as Black.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Class C"] [Black "ChessAdmin"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteFideId "-1"] [BlackFideId "-1"] [PlyCount "68"] [GameId "2262411026308464"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. dxc5 {White accepts the gambited pawn.} Bg4 6. c3 {while this move is multipurpose, it is important to recognize how it opens the d1-a4 diagonal for the White queen.} e6 7. b4 {this was the first time I had seen this move, so I thought it was sub-par and could be refuted by targeting White's pawn structure. However, this is still fine for White.} a5 $6 {has one major flaw, which my opponent finds and for some reason I did not consider. Black has several reasonable options, including:} (7... Bxf3) (7... g6) (7... a6) 8. Bb5 $1 $16 {this pin is now very annoying and prevents Black from consolidating the position. With the previous options, Black would have either prevented Bb5 or kept ...a6 in reserve.} Nge7 {making the best of it, by continuing to develop and reinforce the Nc6.} 9. O-O Bxf3 $6 (9... Ng6 $5 $14 {I considered and is best according to the engine. However, I was worried about White's queen swinging over to a4 to help the Bb5 exert pressure, so I decided to divert the queen to f3.}) 10. Qxf3 {White at this point simply has more space and better piece activity.} Qc7 {targeting e5} 11. Re1 Ng6 12. Qg3 $6 {this actually relieves the pressure considerably, as I now catch up in development and my weak f7 square is no longer targeted.} (12. Nd2 $16 {better to continue with piece development.}) 12... Be7 $11 13. Bg5 O-O {now the Nc6 is unpinned and taking on e5 is threatened.} 14. Bxc6 bxc6 $6 {an example of where the "automatic" recapture should be thought about first.} (14... Bxg5 15. Qxg5 bxc6 $11 {is the engine's preference. Pressure is retained on e5 and the Ng6 helps guard the kingside.}) 15. Bxe7 Nxe7 $6 {played with the idea of placing the knight on f5. However, this takes time and shuts off the queen from a better square.} (15... Qxe7 16. Nd2 f6 $11) 16. Nd2 $14 axb4 $6 {I had a long think here, and mis-evaluated the resulting position.} (16... d4 {is an idea I considered and the engine prefers.} 17. cxd4 axb4 18. Nc4 {the knight having d6 and b6 available just seemed wrong, but it does not have any major threats.} Ra4 19. Nb6 Ra3 $1 $11) 17. cxb4 $16 Ra4 {the best follow-up.} 18. a3 Rfa8 {I realized that I was probably a little worse, which the engine confirms, but thought I was active enough to hold the balance.} 19. f4 $6 {is overly aggressive, as the f-pawn can be effectively shut down by my knight, which now has something to do. White's king position is also now less secure.} (19. Qc3 $16) 19... Nf5 $11 20. Qd3 Qa7 {I spent some time here as well, to good effect, as this tripling of major pieces against the a-pawn forcibly equalizes.} 21. g4 Ne7 22. Qc3 Rxa3 23. Rxa3 Qxa3 {with the win of the a-pawn, material equality is restored and I prefer Black's position, with control of the a-file.} 24. Re3 $2 (24. Qxa3 $11) 24... Qxc3 $6 {I should have preserved the queen here, as White's king is much more vulnerable at this point.} (24... Qa2 $19) 25. Rxc3 $15 Ra1+ {I was getting a bit low on time here, so went with the check on a1.} (25... Ra2 26. Nf3 h6 $15) 26. Kg2 $2 {my opponent was also relatively low on time and under pressure.} Ra2 $1 $19 27. Rd3 {a sufficient defense, since I was not able to find the subtle endgame idea leading to a win.} Rb2 $6 {going for the b-pawn.} (27... g5 $1 {wins, as pointed out by the engine. Getting the Black knight into the fight would be decisive.} 28. fxg5 Ng6 $19 {and e5 will now fall, with a won endgame for Black.}) 28. Rd4 f6 $6 {another miss} 29. Kg3 Kf7 $6 (29... h5 $1 $19 {is the winning idea here, the point being to deflect the defender of f5 and bring the knight in.}) 30. h4 fxe5 $6 {now it's a draw.} (30... h5) 31. fxe5 Ng6 32. Nf3 Rb3 33. Kf2 Rb2+ 34. Kg3 Rb3 1/2-1/2

Book completed: Peak Mind by Amishi P. Jha, PhD

    

I recently completed Peak Mind by Amishi P. Jha, PhD. For chess improvement purposes, this falls under the category of mental cross-training; you can see particularly relevant excerpts in Training quote of the day #56 and Training quote of the day #58.

The core message of the book is valuable and essentially boils down to what is on the cover: Find Your Focus, Own Your Attention, Invest 12 Minutes a Day. For chessplayers at whatever level, there is no doubt about the benefits of increasing your ability to focus and to pay full attention to everything on the board in front of you. Mind-wandering is inevitable, as the book discusses at length in a scientific fashion, but the trick is to recognize what is going on and be able to re-channel your focus back to the present moment.

For the "12 minutes a day" part, this was the minimum effective dose (MED), determined by the author via experimentation, of mindfulness training that demonstrated a measurable positive difference in performance outcome in practitioners. She offers up a menu of three types of mental training and a suggested training plan. While this may well be an effective template, other types of mental training and mindfulness practices can also be as effective - this is not a new concept and various aspects of "mindfulness" have been touched on in previous posts. There is a reason various types of focused meditation have been integrated into martial arts practices - including modern military special forces training - for millennia: it gives the practitioner a mental edge in what Jha termed "periods of high demand", be that competition over the board, in an athletic event, or on a battlefield. The ability to calmly evaluate what is happening in real time, put aside both external and internal distractions, then effectively apply your skills and training to the situation is often the key to victory. This is in contrast to instinctually attempting to overcome a problem via the increasingly desperate application of raw strength (physical or mental), which is what fear and adrenaline do to us.

I have to say that for me the writing style falls firmly into the rather formulaic self-help category, and perhaps a majority of the book ends up being rather "fluffy", as I tend to put these things. That said, the core precepts are valid (and validated), and worth paying attention to.