DVD completed - The Dutch Stonewall

This week I completed The Dutch Stonewall ChessBase fritztrainer DVD, which features Bulgarian FM (soon to be IM) Valeri Lilov.  The DVD format has a series of 10-12 minute segments that were evenly divided between Classical and Modern Stonewall variations, with two segments on early deviations for White, as well as an introduction and end summary.

I found that the DVD was a good complement to the Win with the Stonewall Dutch book, which is devoted solely to the Modern Stonewall and goes into a large number of variations and sample games as well as treating central ideas.  Having run through almost all of the book material line by line, I have to say that it made for an excellent and thorough exposure to the opening, but the quantity of games involved (a positive from a reference standpoint) perhaps obscured some of the central themes for me.

The presentation on the DVD was also built around key games but the more limited review material, along with the verbal and graphical explanations of key concepts, helped highlight them effectively.  The DVD was by no means oversimplified, however, with Lilov regularly pointing out key points of divergence.  Furthermore, after reviewing the Stonewall portion of Starting Out: The Dutch Defence, I noticed how much clearer and familiar its explanation of Stonewall concepts seemed after having absorbed the DVD material.  I'm sure part of this is due to the repetition effect, but having three different styles and methods of treating the Stonewall seems to have been more effective for my studies rather than less.

Another benefit of the DVD presentation is that Lilov is a practitioner of the defense and has gone through his own study and learning process with it.  His end summary segment mostly emphasizes the need to make the opening your own by studying master games, analyzing games for yourself, and playing it until you get a better feel for how the system works in practice.  He also explicitly cautions against memorizing lines without having a full grasp of the concepts involved and makes the practical point that you should initially expect to have worse results when playing a new opening, due to your lack of familiarity.  His recommendations parallel my preferred opening study methods, as Lilov does not promise any sort of magic formula by using the Stonewall and instead notes that work needs to be done on it, just like any other opening.  He closes by observing that after he got serious about studying top-level games in it from Kramnik and others, the opening came together for him as a player and he started beating master-level opposition using it.

There were a few things that detracted from the DVD.  Lilov in most segments misspeaks a few times, usually saying the last thing he was focusing on rather than what he intended to say, which is a common verbal error in unrehearsed presentations.  For example he will say queenside when he means kingside, or will incorrectly specify a square by saying d4 instead of d2.  Because of the graphical chessboard accompanying the lecture and the relative obviousness of what he meant to say, this is not an insurmountable problem, but could pose difficulties for someone less used to chess nomenclature or whose native language is not English.  The segments don't seem to have been reviewed for editing purposes, otherwise these errors would have been caught (either that or they were ignored).  In terms of chess content, I found the game selections and material to be well-selected, if not fully comprehensive.  The area least covered is probably White's early deviations, but Lilov presents some useful approaches against what are probably the majority of White's more common variations, including the Staunton Gambit.

I believe anyone who wishes to play the Dutch Stonewall, especially those interested in the less theoretically prominent Classical Stonewall where resources are harder to find, will get a lot out of the material on the DVD for instructional and reference purposes.  As cited above, I also think having instructional and reference material in DVD format serves to usefully complement other excellent book material on the opening.

Commentary games database

In addition to the main PGN annotated games database, there is now a separate commentary games database available for download, also listed on the sidebar.  Originally I had planned solely to focus on my own games for analysis, but periodically some major chess events have provided some excellent grist for the analytic mill, such as the U.S. Championships and the FIDE World Cup.

As an admin note, one of the commentary games, "Nakamura Plays the Slav", was included in the primary database and I'm going to leave it in there so the database numbering matches up with the "Annotated Game" post title numbering for the blog, although it is also included in the commentary games PGN database.

FT: Games we play make us better at work

Many would argue that chess is the ultimate contest for those seeking mental stimulation. The only element of chance is whether one is black or white. It is an ancient and international sport of war: like business, it consists of judging a rival’s strengths and weaknesses, and weighing short-term tactics against longer-term strategy. Yet so often players lose by letting their emotions rule their heads. As AA Milne wrote: “It is impossible to win gracefully at chess. No man has yet said ‘Mate!’ in a voice which failed to sound to his opponent bitter, boastful and malicious.”

Link to the full Financial Times article

Commentary - Tromso 2013 FIDE World Cup round 5.3

In the last game of round 5 of the ongoing 2013 FIDE World Cup in Tromso, Norway, Dmitri Andreikin had to hold a draw against Peter Svidler and chose to enter the line of the Caro-Kann Advance (3...c5) where Black sacrifices a pawn early in exchange for positional compensation.  This is the only line of the Caro-Kann to feature what amounts to a gambit by Black and the game is well worth studying, including the key point at move 8 where Black deliberately scorns regaining the pawn in favor of furthering his development.  Black could have continued in hopes of a win, but forced a draw by repetition to seal his advancement to the next round.

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2013"] [Site "Tromso NOR"] [Date "2013.08.25"] [Round "5.4"] [White "Svidler, Peter"] [Black "Andreikin, Dmitry"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B12"] [WhiteElo "2746"] [BlackElo "2716"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Houdini"] [PlyCount "74"] [EventDate "2013.08.11"] 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 {a pawn sacrifice by Black that gets away from the the standard, heavily analyzed ...Bf5 lines and intends to nullify White's active play.} 4. dxc5 Nc6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. c3 {Bb5 is by far the most popular continuation, but the text move is second and also trendy. Its function is to immediately restrain the Black d-pawn and postpone committing the light-squared bishop.} e6 7. Be3 {White decides to hold on to the c-pawn; b4 would be the alternative method of doing this. Following is an interestingly unbalanced example of how Andreikin treated that approach in a high-level game: } (7. b4 Bxf3 8. Qxf3 Nxe5 9. Bb5+ Nc6 10. Bb2 Be7 11. c4 Nf6 12. Nc3 O-O 13. O-O-O d4 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Qxc6 dxc3 16. Rxd8 cxb2+ 17. Kxb2 Raxd8 18. Kc2 a5 19. a3 axb4 20. axb4 Ra8 21. Rb1 Rfd8 22. Qf3 Ne8 23. Rb3 Ra2+ 24. Rb2 Rd2+ 25. Kxd2 Rxb2+ 26. Kc3 Bf6+ 27. Qxf6 Nxf6 28. Kxb2 Kf8 29. f3 Ke7 30. Kc3 e5 31. b5 Kd7 32. Kd3 Kc7 33. c6 Kd6 34. h4 Ne8 35. f4 exf4 36. Kd4 Nf6 37. c5+ Kc7 38. Ke5 h6 39. Kxf4 Nd5+ 40. Ke5 Nc3 41. b6+ Kxc6 42. b7 Kxb7 43. Kd6 g5 44. Ke7 gxh4 45. Kxf7 Nd5 46. Kg6 Ne3 47. Kh5 Nf5 48. Kg6 Ne3 49. Kh5 Nxg2 50. Kg4 Kc6 51. Kh3 Nf4+ 52. Kxh4 Kd5 53. c6 Ke5 54. c7 Ng6+ 55. Kh5 {1/2-1/2 (55) Nepomniachtchi,I (2704)-Andreikin,D (2718) Moscow 2012}) 7... Bxf3 {the preferred database choice; the main alternative ...Nge7 scores highly (over 80 percent) for White.} 8. Qxf3 Nge7 {Black with this move favors solid development and avoids giving White any targets, instead forcing White to focus on covering his own weaknesses.} (8... Nxe5 {is what one would expect here and is played much more often, but with less success; White scores 62 percent. A top proponent of the Caro-Kann, Igor Khenkin, prefers the text move, which continues the spirit of the initial gambit. There are only a handful (4) of games in the database, of which 3 are Khenkin's, but Black scores an impressive 75 percent in them.}) 9. Bb5 a6 10. Ba4 Qa5 {a common move in this variation once Bb5 is played, as it hits the bishop and c5 at the same time.} 11. Qd1 Nf5 12. b4 {now out of the database with the text move, which is the obvious way to challenge Black's queen. The only other game to continue this far was a win for Black:} (12. Bd4 Nfxd4 13. b4 Nf3+ 14. gxf3 Qc7 15. Qe2 g6 16. f4 Bh6 17. Qg4 O-O 18. h4 Kh8 19. Nd2 a5 20. Nf3 axb4 21. h5 Rxa4 22. hxg6 fxg6 23. Rxh6 bxc3 24. Nh4 Nxe5 25. Qg3 Re4+ {0-1 (25) Grekh,A (2355) -Chernyshov,K (2570) Odessa 2007}) 12... Nxe3 {see how the theme of using this knight for an in-between move after the queen is attacked is similar to the game in the previous note.} 13. fxe3 Qc7 $11 {Black now has a somewhat cramped but solid position, with ideas of undermining White on the queenside and also targeting the e5 pawn. Meanwhile White is a pawn up but, with notable weaknesses (especially the e-pawns) and faces developmental problems for his pieces.} 14. Qd4 {taking advantage of the pin on the Nc6 to protect the e5 pawn.} Be7 15. Nd2 O-O (15... a5 {immediately is what Houdini recommends instead of castling.} 16. Bxc6+ Qxc6 17. O-O axb4 {and compared with the game continuation, White would not be in a position to challenge Black on the a-file.; see the note to move 18.}) 16. Bxc6 Qxc6 17. O-O a5 18. Nf3 {White focuses on his own plans and ignores Black's.} (18. a3 {is Houdini's preference, which keeps the a-file closed or contested.}) 18... axb4 19. cxb4 Ra3 {excellent use of the a-file by Black, who now dominates the third rank as well.} 20. h3 {despite being a pawn up, White has no obvious way to make progress and several weaknesses to cover in his position. He can try to drum up something on the kingside - he certainly is in no position to play on the queenside currently, despite the 3-1 majority - but with only one minor piece on the board, is unlikely to have enough material for an attack.} h6 21. Kh1 Qa6 {significantly improving his queen placement, doubling pressure on the a-pawn and seizing the a6-f1 diagonal.} 22. Rf2 Rd3 {Black continues his active play, seizing the initiative and continuing to make threats.} 23. Qf4 Qa3 24. Re1 g5 (24... Rc3 {is the plan Houdini prefers, with the idea of rounding up the weak queenside pawns, for example} 25. Rd2 Rc4 26. Rd4 Qxb4 27. Rxc4 dxc4 $17) 25. Qg4 Rxe3 {finally regaining the pawn, under very favorable circumstances.} 26. Ref1 Qd3 27. a4 Qg6 $15 {Black chooses the solid defensive option. Houdini says he could get away with . ..Re4 to go after the queenside pawns and then weather the storm, but that would be uncomfortable for a while.} (27... Re4 28. Qh5 Rxb4 29. Qxh6 Qh7 30. Qxh7+ Kxh7 $17 {no doubt Andreikin saw this or a similar continuation and decided he didn't need to take the risk of having his king position weakened.}) 28. Qd4 Qe4 29. Qb2 $6 {White underestimates the danger on the kingside. This move protects e5 again, but leaves Black's queen in a threatening position. Perhaps exchanging queens would have been more prudent.} h5 $17 {Black seizes the opportunity and makes the correctly aggressive move, threatening to continue with ...g4.} 30. Nd2 { allows the next small tactic from Black} Rxh3+ 31. Kg1 Qg4 32. Rf3 Rh4 33. Rb3 Qe2 $19 {Houdini evalutes this as winning for Black.} 34. Qc3 Rg4 (34... Kg7 { is the curious-looking move found by Houdini that advances Black's attack. Black has a deflection tactic available that would allow him to make some progress.} 35. Rf2 Rh1+ 36. Kxh1 Qxf2 37. Qe3 Qf5 {is a possible continuation, with ...g4 to follow.}) 35. Rf2 Qe1+ {needing only a draw to advance, Black goes for the repetition.} 36. Rf1 Qe2 37. Rf2 Qe1+ 1/2-1/2

Annotated Game #103: Right ideas, wrong moves

This round two Slow Chess League tournament game saw me go down in flames early in a Caro-Kann Panov variation.  The opening in general can be a little tricky for Black, as if he's not careful White can make some quick threats on the kingside and tactics also loom in the center.  Black should be able to equalize with correct play, naturally, but I was unfamiliar with this particular line and made incorrect strategic choices at key points, helping lead me into a game-ending blunder:

• The first strategic choice occurred on move 10, when I play ...a6.  Not a bad idea in itself, but the logical follow-up of ...b5 and ...Bb7 never happens, stranding the bishop on c8 until its development is problematic (and in fact loses the game for me later!)  The database shows how Korchnoi used the ...Na5 idea, which gains a tempo on the Bc4 immediately, allowing the ...Bb7 development.
• After White goes for the immediate liquidation of his isolated queen pawn (IQP), Black goes for the exchanges on d5 and then goes adventuring with the knight on b4.  The immediate 13...Bf6 or on the subsequent move would have concretely improved Black's pieces and started making threats down the long diagonal.  I eventually play this, but at a point where its impact is lessened and my position in the meantime has been weakened.
• By move 16, Black is faced with another choice under worse circumstances, of how to blunt White's pressure on the h7 pawn.  I chose a superficially active move (...f5) that had a much greater drawback of opening the a2-b8 diagonal, which is what White soon after uses to defeat me.

This game, in addition of being a reminder of the importance of CCT with the losing move, also served to illustrate how one can have some of the right ideas and recognize good candidate moves, but fail to execute them properly (or at all).

[Event "Slow Swiss #8"] [Site "Chess.com"] [Date "2013.08.27"] [Round "2"] [White "skilledwolf"] [Black "ChessAdmin_01"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D40"] [WhiteElo "1477"] [BlackElo "1175"] [Annotator "ChessAdmin/Houdini"] [PlyCount "45"] [EventDate "2013.??.??"] [TimeControl "45"] {D40: Queen's Gambit Declined: Semi-Tarrasch with e3} 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. c4 Nf6 5. Nf3 e6 6. Nc3 Be7 7. Bd3 dxc4 {the typical rejoinder to Bd3, leaving White with an isolated queen's pawn and making him move the bishop twice in succession.} 8. Bxc4 Nc6 9. O-O O-O 10. Bf4 {there are a wide divergence of possibilities here for White. The text move is fairly aggressive and reinforces White's control of e5.} a6 {the first critical strategic choice by Black. The idea of course is to play b5 with tempo on the Bc4 and then develop with ...Bb7, as can occur in similar opening variations. Unfortunately I never get the chance to execute this.} (10... Na5 {occurred to me afterwards as a possibility and it was played by Kortchnoi in the following game, where the Black bishop was in fact successfully developed on the long diagonal.} 11. Bd3 b6 12. Qe2 Bb7 13. Rfd1 Nd5 14. Nxd5 Qxd5 15. Qe5 Rfd8 16. Qxd5 Bxd5 17. Ne5 a6 18. b3 Bd6 19. Bd2 Bxe5 20. dxe5 Bxb3 21. axb3 Rxd3 22. Bxa5 Rxd1+ 23. Rxd1 bxa5 24. Rd6 g5 25. g3 Kg7 26. Kg2 Kg6 27. g4 Rb8 28. Rxa6 Rb5 29. h3 h5 30. gxh5+ Kxh5 31. Ra7 Kg6 32. Ra6 Rxe5 33. Rb6 Re4 34. Rb5 Rb4 35. Rxa5 Rxb3 36. Ra7 f5 37. Ra6 Kf6 38. Ra8 Rd3 39. Ra6 Ke5 40. Ra5+ Ke4 41. Ra6 e5 42. Ra4+ Rd4 43. Ra3 Rd8 44. Ra4+ Kd5 45. Ra6 Ke4 46. Ra4+ Rd4 47. Ra3 f4 48. Ra8 Rc4 49. Ra3 Kd4 50. Ra5 Rb4 51. Kf3 e4+ 52. Kg4 Rb2 53. Ra4+ Kd3 54. Ra3+ Ke2 55. Kxg5 f3 56. Re3+ Kxf2 57. Rxe4 Kg3 58. Re3 Rb5+ 59. Kg6 Kf4 60. Re1 Rb6+ 61. Kg7 Kg3 62. Re3 Rb4 {0-1 (62) Franco Raymundo,E-Kortschnoj,V (2640) Havana 1966 }) 11. d5 {White chooses to go for the immediate liquidation of the IQP. The .. .Na5 idea would also serve Black well here, removing the Bc4's support for d5 by force.} exd5 (11... Na5 $5 {and Black would exchange knight for bishop after either Bb3 or b3.}) 12. Nxd5 Nxd5 13. Bxd5 Nb4 $146 {this is dubious for some classical reasons, including the oldie but goodie about moving the same piece twice in an opening without furthering development. The idea was to finally get the Bc8 developed on the long diagonal, but White simply retreats to e4 and spoils that, so Black is left without any concrete gains.} (13... Qb6 {would have been an improved version of the idea, as the following game illustrates:} 14. Qc2 Nb4 15. Qb3 Nxd5 16. Qxd5 Be6 17. Qd2 Rfd8 18. Qe2 Bf6 19. Ng5 Bf5 20. Rad1 h6 21. Ne4 Qxb2 22. Qc4 b5 23. Qc6 Bxe4 24. Qxe4 Qxa2 25. Qc6 Rac8 26. Rxd8+ Rxd8 27. Bxh6 b4 28. f4 {Gaspersic,M-Orel,S (2040) Kranj 1997 0-1 (38)}) (13... Bf6 {was something I had considered and would have been an easier road to equality. Black could be saddled with the isolated, weak c-pawn but have the two bishops (or BvN with an open board) and plenty of piece activity to compensate.} 14. Bxc6 bxc6 15. Be5 Be6) 14. Be4 Qb6 {in contrast with the previous variation with an earlier Qb6, the move does not come with tempo (without the knight on b4 it would attack the undefended b2 pawn) and White can simply kick the knight in response.} (14... Bf6 $5 15. Bd2 a5 16. a3 Nc6) 15. a3 (15. Re1 {is recommended by Houdini as a more active developing move, although the text move suffices to give White a small advantage.} Bc5 16. Qe2 Be6 17. a3 Nd5 18. Be5 {and the storm clouds are gathering on the kingside over Black's position.}) 15... Nc6 16. Qc2 {here is another point where I had several choices, but all of them defensive now. I try to get creative and avoid the positional compromises that would occur after moving the h- or g-pawns, but it turns out that opening the a2-g8 diagonal is worse.} f5 $6 (16... h6 17. Be3 Qb5 $14) 17. Bd3 {this surprised me during the game, as I thought White would immediately seize the diagonal.} ( 17. Bd5+ $5 Kh8 18. Rfe1 Bf6 19. Rad1 $16 {and Black has major problems, with his problem light-squared bishop and drafty kingside, while White thoroughly dominates the center with his pieces and can use that to launch a kingside attack eventually.}) 17... Bf6 {I start playing more actively, which is good, although it would have been much better several moves earlier.} 18. Rab1 Nd4 { Houdini thinks this is OK, but tactics are looming on the diagonal and it would have been prudent to immediately remove the king from it.} (18... Kh8) 19. Nxd4 Bxd4 20. Rfe1 Be6 $4 {here I played this quickly as being "obvious" to block the diagonal, without doing a CCT/blunder check. After White played his (surprising) next move, only then did I see the fact that White could follow up with the Bc4 skewer.} (20... Kh8 $14 {was possible, notes Houdini.}) 21. Rxe6 $1 $18 {the game is now over, but I play on a couple moves more in the hopes of my opponent blundering back, which doesn't happen.} Bxf2+ 22. Kh1 Qd4 23. Qc4 1-0