Annotated Game #365: Saving the last round

Having lost in the first three rounds of this tournament, and at this point possessing an extended five-game losing streak including the previous tournament, it was about time to pull out a victory. Having a "must-win" mentality can be a positive or negative - generally I view it as a negative, since a self-generated spike in pressure/anxiety levels rarely benefits your mental state, including the ability to maintain objective assessments during a game. That said, if you are in an excellent tournament situation and have a "must-win" game for a prize, as long as it acts as a motivational force that gives you more energy and focus, then why not?

For this last-round game, I chose to view it as a chance for a reset and to remain calm while playing better chess, which I feel is the best path to actually achieving victory. I've noticed that I generally seem to have a better attitude towards the end of a Swiss-type tournament than my opponents when things haven't gone well. This has repeatedly helped me achieve a more positive and perhaps slightly redemptive result. While the below final-round game is not necessarily a masterpiece, I was able to keep posing enough problems to my opponent for him to finally go astray. This is in fact one of the key "tricks" to winning: always keeping in mind that your opponent has to make a significant error for you to win, so you should always give him more chances to do so, whenever possible.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "ChessAdmin"] [Black "Class B"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "D12"] [PlyCount "107"] [GameId "2345579122020422"] 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 Bf5 4. Nh4 Bg6 5. Nxg6 hxg6 6. c4 e6 7. Nc3 {played in all of the (small) sample of database games. Logical development and postpones resolving the central tension until White sees what Black does.} (7. cxd5 $5 {alternatively, making this favorable pawn exchange can't be wrong, if White wants to do it immediately.}) 7... c6 $11 {a solid choice.} 8. cxd5 {this is a very equal continuation.} (8. Qb3 $5 {should always come into consideration when Black's light-square bishop is no longer on the board.}) 8... exd5 9. Bd2 {there is no better place for developing the bishop in this structure.} Bd6 {threatening the h2 pawn. The engine is not concerned about this at all, since the pawn is tactically defended, but I decide to eliminate the threat.} 10. g3 (10. Qb3 {and now if} Rxh2 $2 (10... b5 $11) 11. Rxh2 Bxh2 12. Qxb7 $1 Nbd7 13. Qxc6 $18) 10... O-O 11. Bg2 Re8 {my opponent has easy equality with normal-looking, natural moves.} 12. O-O Nbd7 13. a4 {in this very equal position, there is no obvious plan for White to follow. I eventually decided to simply gain space on the queenside and restrain my opponent's ...b5 idea.} (13. Qb3) (13. a3 {preparing b2-b4-b5 with Rb1 would be a standard plan.}) 13... Ne4 $6 {my opponent must also have found it difficult to find a particularly good plan. The knight jump to e4 seems logical, clearing f6 either for the Nd7 or to push f7-f5. However, I am able to make a positionally favorable exchange as well, given taht the Nc3 was doing very little.} 14. Nxe4 dxe4 15. b4 $14 {a natural and good follow-up, gaining space and controlling c5.} Nb6 $6 {while it makes some sense for Black to dedicate more forces to the queenside, his play is more naturally on the kingside. The knight move does not slow down my advance, however, and the piece is now a target.} 16. Qb3 {It's obviously good for the queen to get into action, but it was not clear to me what the best square was.} (16. Qc2 {is evaluated as stronger by the engine.} Qe7 17. a5 Nd5 18. a6 $1 $16 {now undermines Black's queenside, for example} Bxb4 19. axb7 Rab8 20. Qxc6 $1 Qxb7 21. Qxb7 Rxb7 22. Bxb4 Nxb4 23. Rfb1 $16 {and after all the exchanges Black cannot solve all the problems of his multiple weaknesses - the pinned Nb4 and the pressured a- and e-pawns.}) 16... Nd5 17. Rfc1 {activating the rook on the important c-file. Now the b-pawn advance will carry a little more punch.} a6 18. Rab1 {too cautious. I did not calculate the consequences of b4-b5 properly.} (18. b5 {immediately works well.} axb5 19. axb5 Rxa1 20. Rxa1 Nf6 21. Bb4 Bxb4 22. Qxb4 {and my pieces have much better play on the queenside, although it is not necessarily decisive.}) (18. Bf1 $5 {would be a better way to add power to the b5 push.}) 18... Bf8 19. Qc2 {played to add pressure to e4 and clear the b-file for the rook.} f5 {the natural reaction, solidifying e4.} 20. Bf1 {now it is clear the bishop has no future on g2 but can be useful on the f1-a6 diagonal.} Rc8 21. Qb3 {moving the queen off the c-file now that Black's rook is there, while also pinning the Nd5, a result of Black's f-pawn leaving its home.} Qd6 22. b5 {the only way to make progress, although White still has only a small advantage.} Rb8 $2 {my opponent now goes astray in the face of a more complex situation to resolve.} 23. Bc4 {a "good enough" move which should give White a winning advantage, although the path is not as clear as after} (23. bxa6 bxa6 24. Qc4 $1 $18 {and White will pick up a key queenside pawn.}) 23... Kh7 24. Qc2 $6 {while not losing, this gives up most of the pressure and advantage.} (24. bxa6 bxa6 25. Qd1 $18 {and although this is a retreat, Black's situation on the queenside is untenable with the weak a- and c-pawns.}) (24. Qa2 $5 {this was a much better queen retreat idea.} Qa3 {is what I was concerned about, but White is fine again after} 25. bxa6 $18) 24... axb5 25. axb5 Rec8 {Black continues to oppose rook and queen, prompting another inaccuracy from me.} 26. Bxd5 $6 (26. Ba2 {is a better bishop move. White would be happy to trade the queen for two rooks after ...cxb5.}) (26. Qb3 $5) 26... Qxd5 {while this is also equal, it gave me a bit of hope for winning chances, since there is still a pawn structure imbalance and potential tactics in play.} 27. bxc6 Ba3 $6 {apparently my opponent thought he would recover the c-pawn with advantage after this aggressive move.} (27... Rxc6 $11) 28. Qc4 {I was pleased to be able to find this intermediate move, taking advantage of Black's undefended queen to counterattack and give him more problems to solve.} (28. c7 {I also considered, but it is not as favorable to White after} Bxc1 29. cxb8=Q Rxc2 30. Rxc1 Rxc1+ (30... Rxd2 $2 {I thought would have been fine for Black, not calculating further, but} 31. Rc8 $1 g5 32. Rh8+ Kg6 33. h4 $1 $18 {gives White a won position.}) 31. Bxc1 Qb3 $11) 28... Qxc4 $2 (28... bxc6 {was likely rejected by my opponent because of} 29. Rxb8 Rxb8 30. Qxc6 $14 {with an extra passed d-pawn for White, but Black's pieces are very active and the engine only gives a slight advantage to White.}) 29. Rxc4 b6 $2 {this move however has several flaws, and I find the best exploitation of it with} 30. Bb4 $1 $18 {now Black's bishop must be exchanged, leaving him in a pawn-down endgame with my pieces dominating the queenside.} Bxb4 31. Rbxb4 Rc7 32. d5 {now that I have two connected advanced passed pawns backed by active rooks, the rest is "a matter of technique" but my opponent to his credit fights the full distance.} Rd8 {the problem of course is that the rook cannot protect the b-pawn and try to stop the central pawn roller at the same time.} (32... b5 33. Rc5 Rd8 34. Rbxb5 $18) 33. Rd4 Kg8 34. Rxb6 Rd6 35. Rb7 Rc8 {exchanging on b7 does not work, as the remaining Black rook would have to sacrifice itself for the advancing d-pawn.} 36. Kf1 {after some thought, I decided the easiest strategy to win would be to bring my king decisively into the queenside mix. Black cannot oppose its march and between the Rd4, pawns and centralized king, I can handle any attempt at counterplay on the kingside.} Kf8 37. Ke2 g5 38. Kd2 g6 39. Kc3 Ke8 40. Rh7 {again going for "easy mode" and looking to trade rooks.} Kd8 41. Rh8+ Kc7 42. Rxc8+ Kxc8 43. Kb4 Kc7 44. Kc5 g4 45. Rb4 {now the end appears in sight.} Rd8 46. Rb7+ Kc8 47. d6 Rh8 48. Ra7 (48. d7+ {is a forced mate, but I was tired and not looking to calculate more than I had to by this point.} Kd8 49. Kd6 {with mate in 1.}) 48... Kb8 49. Kb6 Rd8 50. c7+ Kc8 51. cxd8=Q+ Kxd8 {when one of my opponents decides to play the game out until mate, I used to become upset at the imagined affront to my chess skill. Nowadays I just enjoy the sensation of being completely winning and make moves guaranteed to reach a win without having to think too much.} 52. Kc6 Ke8 53. Ra8+ Kf7 54. d7 {now my opponent decided to call it a day and resigned.} 1-0

Annotated Game #364: Always capture en passant

In this next tournament game, my positional troubles can be directly traced to passing up the chance for an en passant capture. While no chess decisionmaking rule is 100%, usually the burden of proof should be on not capturing en passant, whenever there is a chance for it. Here I over-estimated the worth of my advanced e-pawn and instead gave my opponent a nearly strategically won game, after what had been a rather unambitious approach by White in a Dutch Stonewall. Despite that, I perservered and achieved an equal position after sorting out my cramped pieces. My opponent, apparently disappointed in seeing her edge vanish, then decided on a somewhat speculative - but difficult to meet in practice - deflection sacrifice. At first I calculated the response well, but got tired/lazy at the end of the sequence and my opponent pounced on the mistake.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Class B"] [Black "ChessAdmin"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "A84"] [PlyCount "45"] [GameId "2345579122020421"] 1. d4 f5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. e3 e6 4. c4 d5 {the Dutch Stonewall.} 5. Be2 c6 6. O-O Bd6 7. b3 Qe7 {the standard response to prevent White from exchanging the dark-square bishop after Ba3.} 8. Bb2 O-O 9. Nbd2 Ne4 (9... b6 $5 {allows Black to develop the light-square bishop, which has even fewer prospects than normal on the kingside, thanks to White's Be2.} 10. Ne5 Bb7 {and Black is very solid.}) 10. Nxe4 {an unambitious choice by White.} fxe4 11. Ne5 Nd7 $11 {Black should have a relatively easy game now, which however I took too much for granted.} 12. f4 Bxe5 $2 {I thought for a while here about what I considered the three main possible choices in response, and picked the worst by far.} (12... exf3 $1 {the engine shows as equal. I did not want to give up what I considered as my strong e4 pawn on (mistaken) principle.} 13. Nxf3 e5 $11 {and Black has an equally dynamic game as White in the center.}) (12... Nxe5 $6 13. dxe5 Bc5 14. Bd4 Ba3 $14) 13. fxe5 {now White's pawns are at least as strong as Black's, while the light-square bishop is better by far and the dark-square bishop can later be activated on the a3-f8 diagonal.} Rxf1+ {I recognized that my pieces were rather clogged up, so I thought exchanging would help.} 14. Qxf1 Nf8 15. Qf2 $16 {a "good enough" move by my opponent, to continue to increase the pressure on the f-file.} (15. a4 $1 $18 {with the idea of Ba3 would be strategically winning.}) 15... Bd7 $6 (15... b6 {I did consider as an alternative way of getting the bishop out. However the b-pawn's greatest utility would be in fighting for the c5 square, which becomes important later.}) 16. Rf1 $6 (16. a4 $1 {is still the way.}) 16... Ng6 $11 {now I should be fine, with my pieces untangled.} 17. Ba3 $6 {I saw this sacrificial idea (deflection tactic from f7) only after playing the previous move. It looked difficult to meet, and my opponent after much thought chose to play it.} Qxa3 {after much calculation, I decided (correctly) that this was best. All other moves in fact lose.} 18. Qf7+ Kh8 19. Qxd7 Qxa2 $15 {again the correct choice. I do not like grabbing pawns on principle, but the queen needs to stay active and make threats against the Be2 and the weak e3 pawn, and it is best to take a pawn as well. The engine evaluates this as a slight Black advantage.} 20. Qxb7 {now however I fail to grasp the needs of the position and lose. I was concerned about White's queen vacuuming up my pawns, but my own queen's activity in White's backfield would tactically defend.} Rf8 $4 (20... Rd8 $5 21. Bg4 Qd2) (20... Rg8 {was simplest to defend and the idea had occurred to me earlier, but for whatever reason I did not sufficiently consider it here.} 21. Bg4 Qd2 {White cannot defend e3 and as a result cannot bring additional forces to bear in the attack.} 22. Bxe6 Qxe3+ 23. Kh1 $11) 21. Rxf8+ Nxf8 22. Qf7 $1 {other queen moves work, but this is most forcing. I simply had not made the effort to calculate this far ahead, assuming that the lone queen could not be dangerous after the rook exchange.} Qa3 {a desperation defense, although I expected my opponent to play} 23. c5 {to block the diagonal and she did so, therefore I resigned.} 1-0

Annotated Game #363: Opening knowledge matters

As in the previous Annotated Game #362, my lack of familiarity with the opening - this time as Black in the Dutch vs. a London System - is a fundamental flaw in my play. As I continue to learn and absorb lessons in my new openings (Colle System as White, Dutch as Black), the dynamic of "learn by losing" is certainly evident. In this second-round tournament game we can see a lack of understanding over where best to place Black's pieces repeatedly undermining my position, along with a lack of awareness of potential opportunities early in the opening (6...g5!) While tightening up on my thinking process obviously would help - that is always the case - there has been a curious and notable difference between confidently knowing where my pieces should go and what structures are good in an opening, and flailing around in new territory where my assumptions about what "looks good" are not necessarily valid. This is why the process of analyzing your own games is so important, to make sure there is a feedback loop that is identified and then implemented for long-term learning.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Class B"] [Black "ChessAdmin"] [Result "1-0"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "A80"] [PlyCount "51"] [GameId "2345579122020420"] 1. d4 f5 2. Bf4 Nf6 3. e3 {a London System move-order that defers placing the knights.} e6 4. Bd3 b6 (4... Be7 {the text move seems fine, and is the most played, but developing the dark-square bishop first scores better in the database.}) 5. Ne2 {a rare move. This does not seem like the best square for the knight, with no good squares to move to next.} Bb7 $11 6. O-O Be7 $6 {this seems like a normal developing move, but is not active enough and gives White a pass for his relatively lackadaisical opening play.} (6... g5 $1 {this did not occur to me, for probably obvious reasons - sacrificing the g-pawn does not immediately look like a profitable idea. However, the engine has no such prejudice and identifies White as the one who would lose from the opening of the g-file. A characteristic of the position, given a Bb7 with a clear view of g2.} 7. Bxg5 (7. Be5 Nc6 $17) (7. Bg3 h5 8. h4 Ng4 $17) 7... Rg8 $19 {with a devastating pin.}) 7. Nd2 O-O {now the ...g5 idea does not have as much bite, with the Nd2 available for kingside support.} 8. h3 $14 {clearing h2 for a bishop retreat, if needed.} d6 {I had better options than this slow, stereotyped move.} (8... Bd6 $5 {looks strange, but after the exchange of bishops - White's is certainly better than Black's, so it makes sense - the doubled d-pawn would perform a useful function for Black. White has at most only a slight advantage.} 9. Bxd6 cxd6 $14 {followed by ...Nc6 and Black has a comfortable game.}) (8... c5 {would immediately challenge White in the center.}) 9. c4 Qe8 {a standard developing move for the queen, looking for a more useful diagonal (e8-h5).} (9... c5 $5 10. d5 exd5 11. Bxf5 dxc4 12. Nxc4 d5 13. Ne5 Qe8 $14) 10. Qc2 {while not an immediate problem, this move cuts off the Bd3's retreat and could cause problems if White is not careful.} Nbd7 $6 {"long think, wrong think" here. The knight does better on c6 in most cases.} (10... Nc6 {here it threatens to go to b4 and force an exchange of White's light-square bishop, as well as support e6-e5.} 11. a3 $2 e5 $1 $17 {with the threat to go to e4 and win the Bd3.}) (10... Qg6 $11 {would be a natural follow-up to the previous move, placing the queen on the g-file and controlling e4.}) 11. Nf3 h6 $6 {this ends up being weakening and missing several other good ideas.} (11... Kh8 {a common prophylactic move to get the king off the g8-a2 diagonal and clear g8 for a rook.} 12. Ng5 $6 {is not good because e6 is tactically protected.} e5 13. Ne6 $2 e4 $1) (11... Bxf3 {I considered, but did not want to give up my lovely-looking bishop. However, the structural damage inflicted would be worth it.} 12. gxf3 Kh8 $11 {renewing the idea of playing ...g5}) (11... Qg6) 12. Bh2 {smartly withdrawing the bishop in advance. This now leaves f4 open for the knight.} g5 $2 {too slow; piece activity is what is needed. White now takes advantage of my clogged center.} (12... Ne4 {and if} 13. Nf4 Qf7 $14) 13. d5 $1 $16 {I only appreciated the strength of this move after it was played, not having adequately considered it before, just vaguely assuming an exchange would be fine. Unfortunately I do not have enough pieces actively playing - a rook on c8 would be nice now, for example, to cover the c-file weakness.} Nc5 {it is best to counterattack, and I play accurately through the next sequence, but this is not enough for the defense.} 14. Nfd4 $1 {nicely using control of the center to further target my weaknesses, in this case e6.} e5 15. Bxf5 $1 {another strong follow-up; sacrificing the Nd4 had not occurred to me as a possibility. There is no immediate knockout tactically, but White has two pawns for the piece and should have a dominating attack.} (15. Nxf5 e4 $14) 15... exd4 16. exd4 {the lesser option, leaving the Ne2 out of the attack for longer.} (16. Nxd4 $1 $18) 16... Ncd7 17. Ng3 $6 (17. f4 $16 {gets on with the attack by exchanging on g5 and opening the f-file.}) 17... Kg7 $2 {wrong square. I was mistakenly fixated on trying to cover g6, but the king is too vulnerable here.} (17... Kh8 $1 $14 {solves most of Black's problems, tucking the king in the corner and making g8 available for a piece.}) 18. Rae1 {now White's attack largely plays itself.} Bc8 $6 {trying to oppose the Bf5, but unfortunately this is too slow.} (18... Ng8 {this is better immediately. I could not decide between this and the text move after a long think, so decided to play the text move to (sort of) activate the bishop.}) 19. f4 $18 {now White is fully in control.} Ng8 {best but still losing.} 20. fxg5 {good enough to continue the attack.} (20. Be6 $18) 20... hxg5 21. Qe2 $6 Ndf6 $2 {I was eager to play this - visually it looks like the knight is riding to the rescue while the Bc8 is activated - but now there is a winning forcing sequence after White's next move, which I did not sufficiently check, thinking it would be a great thing to eliminate the Bf5. Unfortunately, it is replaced by an even stronger knight on the square.} (21... Kh8 $1 $16 {this at first glance looks terrible, with all my pieces backed up in a jumble, but White has no knockout blows.}) 22. Bxc8 $1 $18 Rxc8 23. Nf5+ Kg6 $2 {all moves lose, this one does it faster.} (23... Kh8 24. Nxe7 Nxe7 25. Qxe7 Qxe7 26. Rxe7 $18 {and White has a winning endgame.}) 24. Qd3 Kf7 25. Nxd6+ cxd6 26. Qh7# 1-0

Annotated Game #362: Naivete in the King's Indian

In this first-round tournament game, my naivete as White about the King's Indian Defense (KID) is on display. While I am never worried about facing it, my relative lack of experience sometimes means that my opponents can get away with over-aggressive or incorrect ideas. Here I was not sure what to do in the center initially, then allowed myself to be overly concerned about essentially empty threats on the kingside. My opponent however did an excellent job of taking advantage of my awkward piece placement via a decisive knight move toward the center that set up the winning sequence.

[Event "?"] [Site "?"] [Date "????.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "ChessAdmin"] [Black "Class B"] [Result "0-1"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Dragon 3.2"] [ECO "E61"] [PlyCount "45"] [GameId "2345579122020419"] 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. e3 Bg7 4. Be2 O-O 5. O-O d6 {unsurprisingly going for a King's Indian setup.} 6. c4 Nbd7 7. Nc3 Re8 {Black overwhelmingly plays ...e5 here.} 8. Qc2 {normal queen development and the most played move here in the database. However, it does not attempt to take advantage of Black's move-order deviation.} (8. b4 $5 {might be a bit more challenging, grabbing more space on the queenside and clearing b2 for the bishop.} e5 9. Bb2 e4 10. Nd2 $14) (8. e4 {is recommended by the engines. The point being that after} e5 9. d5 $14 {is now possible. With the normal move-order, Black would have the option of exchanging on d4.}) 8... e5 9. dxe5 {as White, I still do not have a clear idea of what is best with regards to the central pawn structure in the KID. The d-pawn is faced with the options of exchanging, advancing, or doing nothing. The engine slightly favors maintaining the tension and playing a useful move.} (9. h3 $5) (9. Rd1) 9... Nxe5 10. Nxe5 (10. e4 $5 {to me seemed a bit loose, as my pieces would be tied to protecting the e-pawn.}) 10... Rxe5 $6 {I correctly felt this was an awkward place for the rook, but did not follow up strongly enough.} (10... dxe5 11. Rd1 $11) 11. b3 $11 (11. e4 $14 {I thought this would be good if the pawn had recaptured on e5, but for some reason did not consider it as much as a candidate move here. It can be supported as needed with f2-f3, controls d5 and f5, and the Bc1 can get out to a good square (e3/f4/g5).}) 11... Bf5 {this is always an annoying bishop development to deal with, but I was happy trading pieces equally.} 12. Bd3 Bxd3 13. Qxd3 Rh5 {this should not be a threat, but I over-thought things here.} 14. f3 $6 {the idea was to prevent ...Ng4 without allowing sacrificial ideas against the h-pawn.} (14. h3 {however would do the job just fine.}) (14. Bb2 {White can also simply ignore the rook and develop, protecting the Nc3 again and clearing the first rank for the Ra1.}) 14... Nd7 15. Rf2 {I am still OK here.} (15. Bd2 Qh4 16. h3 Nc5 17. Qc2 $11) (15. Bb2 Qh4 16. h3 Rg5 17. Kh1 $11) 15... Qh4 {after this very aggressive move I had a long think and played the second-best defensive option.} 16. h3 (16. g3 Ne5 {I saw this as a major threat, with the knight attempting to take tactical advantage of the queen's position and potential to take on f3.} (16... Nc5 17. Qc2 Qe7 18. Bd2 $11) 17. Qe2 {I was too worried about the hanging Nc3 and dismissed this prematurely. The advantage is that the queen reinforces f3 and the kingside better.} Qh3 {I failed to properly account for the fact that the queen would have to lose a tempo by moving first, giving time to protect or move the Nc3.} 18. Bb2 $16 (18. Nd5 $5)) 16... Be5 {now I simply fail to calcuate properly and ignore the possibility of ...Nc5, having been focused on ...Ne5 threats, which however were no longer possible.} 17. f4 $4 {I was too concerned about preventing ...Qg3, which gets Black nothing, in reality.} (17. Bb2 Qg3 18. f4 $1 {now defends, although White drops a pawn.} Nc5 19. Qd1 Bxc3 20. Bxc3 Qxe3 21. Bd4 Qd3 22. Qxd3 Nxd3 23. Rf3 Nb4 24. Bc3 a5 25. g4 Rc5 26. f5 $11 {White's excellent bishop is sufficient compensation for the material, along with Black's awkwardly placed pieces.}) 17... Nc5 $1 $19 {White is now lost, thanks to the new possibility of a Black knight fork.} 18. Qc2 Bxc3 19. Qxc3 Qxf2+ $1 {my opponent finds the best way to use the coming ...Ne4 fork. I resigned here, thinking I was simply down too much material. After the following sequence Black in fact would only be up an exchange, but White's position is shattered and lost anyway.} 20. Kxf2 Ne4+ 21. Kf3 Nxc3 22. Bb2 Na4 23. bxa4 $19 {and Black will easily pick up the a-pawn and proceed to win the endgame.} 0-1

Book completed - Mind Master: Winning Lessons from a Champion's Life

      

I recently completed Mind Master: Winning Lessons From A Champion's Life (Hachette India, 2019) by GM Viswanathan Anand. Along with furnishing a number of highly appropriate "Training quotes of the day" the book provided unique insights into the former World Champion's mindset, training practices and toolkit for performing at the highest level. Here's a look at the table of contents:

The book itself is a mix of genres: personal memoir, professional/self-improvement advice, and chess history/politics from a first-person perspective. Despite the mashup format and being presented in a non-linear way, it actually works well and lives up to the title, mixing chess and life lessons in way accessible to the general (chess) public. It also relatably reflects Anand's personal voice - sometimes painfully, during candid descriptions of his low moments - although apparently it was professionally written from interviews with him.

The chess references are (thankfully) not dumbed down, although it is written with a non-chess professional audience in mind and is not really a "chess book" in the traditional sense of having a technical focus on the game. GM Yasser Seirawan's Chess Duels is perhaps the most similar to it in content, although Seriawan's focus is ultimately on the annotated games, while Anand's book contains only some key illustrative positions. 

Anand himself remains relevant in the chess world and this book is a rare, valuable and highly self-reflective treatment on what it takes to be a champion, including dealing with ugly personal and professional moments. This makes it a useful resource for serious aspiring chess improvers as well as an interesting inside look at world championship history. As is common with other top-level sports, the role of mindset and non-technical factors for a player is often decisive for performance, both on individual days and when striving long-term for increased levels of skill. These lessons are still very much applicable for those of use who are looking to achieve a level of chess mastery below that of World Champion.