Welcome

Welcome to our Nasty Knight Harmless .
You can find here the Nicknames of the Knights Errant

Update may 2

TCT	# prbs	circle 1	circle 2	circle 3	circle 4	circle 5	circle 6	circle 7
Stp3	540	96%	97%	97%	99%	99%	NA	NA
Stp4	560	94%	95%	95%	97%	99%	NA	NA
Stp5	580	75%	84%	89%	92%	96%	-	-

Things are speeding up. It's really weird how problems that you encounter for the 4th time look you in the face as if you have never seen them.
Or that you think they are vaguely familiar but you have no clue whatsoever.
It becomes more and more clear how bad I am at chess and why.

On the move again!!!

The New Ratinglist is just published. You can find me under ID-nr 7923355. The one below me with the same name is Margriet. Look at letter S.

I have now an all time high rating of 1751 !!
Which is exact 50 points more than the 1701 from the list of februari 1st.
So the training is definitely paying off.
After plateauing for more than one year I started in october with the tactical training a la DLM.
These 50 ratingpoints improvement are gained in januari at the Corus-tournament and based on the 9 games I played there. Hence 3 month of training were the base for this result.

So only 168 - 50 = 118 more points to go to write my name in golden letters in the Hall of Eternal Fame.
Margriet with 1420 gained only 3 points, but she started much later with the program.

Endgames

Grandmaster Joel Benjamin played in1986 a game against GM Victor Korchnoi.
Korchnoi routineously traded off the rooks in a rookending end got a pawnending what he simply won by a Kings triangulation. Benjamin was very surprised that Korchnoi played a tempo and that he himself consumed the full time.
When the game ended, Korchoi said to Benjamin "I know something about Kings triangulation." Benjamin was very surprised about this "cryptic remark" and speaks out his admiration about Korchnois endgame play: "So I can't play". Then it's Korchnois turn to react very surprised "but this is the ABC of chess."

What you can read between the lines here is that it is actually possible to become a grandmaster without knowing anything about endgames.
Mind you, I'm not saying that endgame study is useless, I'm only trying to show things from a different perspective.

TCT	# prbs	circle 1	circle 2	circle 3	circle 4	circle 5	circle 6	circle 7
Stp3	540	96%	97%	97%	99%	99%	NA	NA
Stp4	560	94%	95%	95%	97%	99%	NA	NA
Stp5	580	75%	84%	89%	80 done	-	-	-

The subjective Caro-Kan experience

What's nice about the Caro-Kan (1.e4 c6) is that you as whiteplayer often know that you are going to play the Caro-Kan even before move one. A player of the Caro-Kan has the habit to put his horses with the snout (am I offending Hippophyles?) in the direction of their own king.
This indicates that a Caro-Kanplayer observes the world as a flat plane. You can see this by that he never goes straight to his goal, but moves more sideward. As if he was a crab.
If their knights have to chose between a move forwards or sidewards, than the latter has the preferation. The movements of his knights look like the pincers of a crab.
You see, I live my preoccupations to the full.
At playing the Caro-Kan belongs a special mentality. Chess hasn’t to be beautiful, as long as it gains points. "With white we try to win, with black a draw will do."
The move 1. ... c6 indicates a person who draws the game to his own territory immediately.
All theory of real openings is avoided this way. Everything serves the one main goal: trade all pieces off and make a draw with black.
What I have done for weird moves to let my queen escape from blacks pursuit-madness!
Besides, you don’t know for sure that you are going to play the Caro-Kan. It can be that other opening of similar twodimensional picture of the world: the French. (1. e4 e6)
As you see frustation and anger of years come above for my own incapability to punish such destructive ways of playing. It’s difficult to play chess when you are haunted by thoughts as: "This is really poor", "People who play like that deserve punishment." or "It should be forbidden."

Anyway, here is my game that I lost last friday at my local chessclub.

TCT	# prbs	circle 1	circle 2	circle 3	circle 4	circle 5	circle 6	circle 7
Stp3	540	96%	97%	97%	99%	99%	NA	NA
Stp4	560	94%	95%	95%	97%	99%	NA	NA
Stp5	580	75%	84%	330 done	-	-	-	-

In search for the Holy Grail

While I looked over the weird country I saw windmills everywhere.


A gentle breeze carried a faint smell to my nose.
It was hard to describe what it smelled like. Some strange blend of glue and fish.
Curious I followed it. On a certain moment I heard the breaking of wood.
When I came from behind the bushes I saw a guy who was demolishing a windmill.
As I came nearer he all of a sudden saw me and stopped working.
He looked at me with a frowning face and exclamated "Holy Snickeys! Long ago that we have seen a stranger here!"
Nearby there where some beans backing in a dutch oven.
I said "Good afternoon."
"I am searching for the Holy Grail. I have heard that it has to be in the neighbourhood around here."
He said "Nah, the Holy Grail? Never heard of."
I said "It's an Holy relic that was used long ago by barbarians when they worshipped their god Elo."
He frowned his green face in an attempt to think deeply, a process which hopelessly seemed to fail. "Dunno, maybe you should ask Kata."
"Where can I find him?" I asked.
He pointed along the path. "Can't miss him. He's working at the woodmill."
While he started again with his work, I walked in the direction he pointed me.
After a while I heard a guy screaming. It repeated every 30 seconds or so.
When I walked around the corner I saw a guy with impressive biceps. He was pummeling the wall of a woodmill with his bare knuckels. Everytime he hit the wall he shouted a strange word in some unknown foreign language.
"Sorry to disturb you, but I'm looking for the Holy Grail. Are you Kata?"
He stopped pummeling and looked at me. His face was a map of the world.
It was easy to imagine how such a moderate goodlooking guy should have problems to keep the 23 yo virgins from him.
"Yes, they call me Kata and yes I have heard about that. But I can't remember how and when." he said.
"Wasn't it some relic what was used in the ritus of Caissa in ancient times?" he asked.
"Of Elo." I corrected him.
He started to stare in the far distance.
From here to the horizon were windmills everywhere.

After a minute or so he sighed and said "Those windmills seems to breed at night."
I have to say I couldn't quite follow him.
A bee was buzzing around his knee in minicircles.

Priorities

Often tactics and positional play are regarded as opposite.
That's utterly nonsense.
Tactics extend the possibilities in any given position.
Say you think it would be a good idea to get your knight to the outpost d5.
But it isn't possible because it can be captured there.
Suddenly you see a tactical trick.
Because of this trick it is possible to bring the knight still to d5.
If black captures it, he will loose a piece due to the trick.

So what first seemed impossible, is now possible with the aid of tactics.
No matter if the positional idea to post the beast there sucks, you found a brilliant way to do it.

Tactics are only the tools that enhance your possibilities.
What is opposite in the story is the element of time.
Time you use for studying tactics, can't be used for studying strategy and vice versa.

If you study both, like Margriet and I do, your garden will look like this:



Update:

TCT	# prbs	circle 1	circle 2	circle 3	circle 4	circle 5	circle 6	circle 7
Stp3	540	96%	97%	97%	99%	99%	NA	NA
Stp4	560	94%	95%	95%	97%	99%	NA	NA
Stp5	580	75%	84%	110 done	-	-	-	-

Am I addicted to solving chessproblems?

It starts to look like it.
Instead of enjoying a well deserved break from step 3 and 4 I already have another 200 chessproblems of step 5 "under the belt". Well, there are worse things to be addicted to.
For to gather the 168 points neccesary to be recorded in the Hall of Fame some work have to be done yet.

What's next?
First I want to finish circle 2 to 5 of TCT step 5.
Then I want to continue with the first 1350 problems of Intensive Course Tactics of George Renko. I already did 6 circles from that one. 2 or more circles should do to play tru them a tempo.
What to do after that I haven't decided yet.

I have the feeling that the 24 days I spend on step 3 and 4 already are paying off.
Step 3 and 4 of TCT consist of the very basics of tactics.
At FICS I played a few 10 minute games where I noticed that I see simple tactics much faster now.

Whats the difference between a master and a grandmaster?

Grandmaster John Nunn describes that he once played 100 blitzgames with a master.
5 minutes on the clock for Nunn and 10 minutes for the master.
He won with 88-12.

Afterwards the master was disappointed:
"I thought that I would see lots of advanced strategic concepts in these games but actually all I have learnt is LPDO."
"LPDO?" Nunn asked.
"Loose Pieces Drop Off"
Most of the games where decided by relatively simple tactics involving undefended pieces.

So the tactical skills of a grandmaster compares to the master's as 88:12

According MDLM the difference between a class D-player and an expert lies in tactics.
So what is the difference between an expert and a master?
According to Nunn it is the ability to play rookendings well.

So what do you have to do if you want to become an expert, master, grandmaster?

Update.
I did it!
I completed the 560 problems of step 4 all a tempo!
Pffoeii.
I can hardly see tru my watery eyes and I'm grunting all the time.
But I did it.
I'm totally exhausted. Especially the last 100 where really difficult.
All 1100 problems a tempo in 24 days.
Ok, they were not too difficult. And I did them twice in the past. But they took me a lot of time in the first circle.
I think playing them a tempo is good enough. No need for circle 6 and 7.
In a few weeks (months?) I will repeat them to consolidate.
I'll have a break before I continue with step 5.
Aaaah, where is the beer?

TCT	# prbs	circle 1	circle 2	circle 3	circle 4	circle 5	circle 6	circle 7
Stp3	540	96%	97%	97%	99%	99%	NA	NA
Stp4	560	94%	95%	95%	97%	99%	NA	NA
Stp5	580	75%	-	-	-	-	-	-

Step 3 done

The book of Seirawan "Winning chess strategies" has arrived from Fatboy. Thanks!
Margriet and I are both delighted with it, we finally found an occupation for our endless spare hours (ahem). I'm surprised that the nervous Americain officials let this dangerous weapon fly trough their airspace. Anyway, I already learned something from it, it is very readable.
I'm going to work my way through the book with in my mind the question if strategic play can fall victim to a DLM-approach. Because I have to prepare myself for the vacuum that arises after my tactical skills are boosted to the limits (ahem, ahem).

Today I did step 3 of TCT.
I went thru all 540 problems a tempo, so I considder it done.
I hope that I finish step 4 this weekend.
Here you see that the level of the problems is all important.
It took me only 24 days to play thru all 1100 problems a tempo.
Circle 6 and 7 are not neccesary, after a few weeks I will play thru the problems again to consolidate.

TCT	# prbs	circle 1	circle 2	circle 3	circle 4	circle 5	circle 6	circle 7
Stp3	540	96%	97%	97%	99%	99%	-	-
Stp4	560	94%	95%	95%	97%	-	-	-
Stp5	580	75%	-	-	-	-	-	-

I'm a lousy treasurer.

Today I had reserved for doing some important work as the treasurer from our club.
But what did I do? 630 chessproblems!
When must I do this work then?
What the heck!
Playing chess must be more important than organizing it.
I hope I can persuade our chairman. . .
But figures are steady improving and the pace inclines.

A warm welcome to a new Knight: Mousetrapper
He works with the program for quite some time, but decided recently to take a more serious approach by joining the pack.

TCT	# prbs	circle 1	circle 2	circle 3	circle 4	circle 5	circle 6	circle 7
Stp3	540	96%	97%	97%	99%	-	-	-
Stp4	560	94%	95%	95%	97%	-	-	-
Stp5	580	75%	-	-	-	-	-	-

When will my name be written in the Hall of Fame?

When Don completed his 7 circles he went through deep dales.
Now we see the struggle of FussyLizzard. These guys go deep and don't hesitate to take days off from work to stick to their schedule. If their gain is measured by their pain then they will become expert for sure!
If you compare that to me, who changes from scheme to scheme everytime things become inconvenient, then there is no justice done to their efforts when my name would be written in gold just by completing 7 circles of 1000 problems.
For people who think chesstraining is fun and who want a life next to the program we should apply different rules.
MDLM talks about 400 points in 400 days.
A typical program lasts 168 days.
So I suggest that eternal fame will come to me when my rating has risen by 168 points.
(I would be happy anyway)
What do you Knights think about this idea?

I made a schedule in Excel which applies a scientific approach to the intervals between repetitions. I don't think this system will become popular: to complete 7 circles will take you more than a year! (64 weeks to be exact) But you can do a lot of problems parallel.
If cognitive scientists are right, this is the best way to use our scarce human resources.
Well, we will see. I'm going to apply this on TCT step 5.
I'll keep you informed.


Update

TCT	# prbs	circle 1	circle 2	circle 3	circle 4	circle 5	circle 6	circle 7
Stp3	540	96%	97%	97%	400	-	-	-
Stp4	560	94%	95%	95%	-	-	-	-
Stp5	580	75%	-	-	-	-	-	-

A simple win

Tonight I played at my club against a player with 1715.
The result was a simple win by a tactical trick.

I decided to stop with the Bravenet counter, because they use datamining cookies.
I don't like that creepy behaviour. Has anyone a suggestion for a good free counter?

Has anyone an idea why my harddisk suddenly is grumping like an old man while editing a post?
Cognitive science has ideas about the interval between repetitions when you want to memorize some items. For example the first interval = 1 day, the second = 7 days, third = 16 days, fourth = 35 etc..
I'm going to experiment with this. I'll let you know if I find interesting things.

Problems are going faster.

TCT	# problems	circle 1	circle 2	circle 3
Step 3	540	96%	97%	97%
Step 4	560	94%	95%	80 done
Step 5	580	75%	-	-

Inspiration

What works well with the Knights Errant is that it inspires.
I started in October doing cycles as preparation for the Corustournament in januari.
In februari I joined the Knights, and I am still going strong.
Knowing that you are not alone in your struggle and that there is a dumb outerworld that only chit-chats and criticasts makes this a nice place on the internet.

Now I am preparing for the Summertournaments.
What keeps surprising me is that there seem to be good days and bad days. The one day you go like a spear and the other day the problems feel like a wet newspaper.
I noticed that a circle of 1680 problems is a little to big, so I'll drop step 5 for this moment.

TCT	# problems	circle 1	circle 2	circle 3
Step 3	540	96%	97%	150 done
Step 4	560	94%	95%	.
Step 5	580	75%	-	-

The Kings Gambit

Today I talked with Nezha by E-mail. He is interested in the Kings Gambit. Well, maybe you are too, so why not make things public?
I write in my normal, subjective way. As 1700 player who plays against persons with max 2000 and who has a result of 70% with it. So I'm very enthousiastic.

Let's try to make some idea's behind the opening clear.

1. e4 e5
2. f4 exf4
3. Pf3 (diagram)




So what this is all about?
You have a central pawn of black seduced to go to a strange place, where it doesn't do very much.
Which means that white now can obtain a strong center.
Black has to make a major decision. If he gives the pawn back without a fight, he's positionally worse. Because of the center, a space advantage at the kingside, pressure against f7, an open f-line white just seems to have everything. If black wants to hold on to the pawn, he has to play g5 at some moment, which makes his kingside weak and make his development troublesome.

If he is not used to the positions after g5 black can easily fell prone to optical illusions.
Sometimes black thinks he has a major attack, especially when white make kingmoves like Kf1, Kd1 or Kf2. But while black starts an attack he forgets to develop. And because of the strong center, a black attack bleeds to death at a certain moment, after which you can mop up his wrecked position.

If black comes up with g5, white has two choices. He can opt for the Muziogambit, where white sacrafies a knight for a crushing attack, but GM Joe Gallagher says that black has some drawish lines then. I don't now which lines that are, because the position looks very wild to me. Gallagher advices to challenge black's pawnchain with h4 instead, which I follow.

If you start for the first time with the KG, you will find it probably a nerve-wracking experience.
But once you find out the strenght of white's position confidence will grow.
Until on a certain day you notice you don't have the courage anymore to answer 1.e4 with e5 as black because you are afraid that somebody might play 2.f4 . . .
That's why I play 1.e4 d5 with black!

If you are interested in the PGN-files I used to train the KG, draw me a line.
My E-mail adres is in the sidebar.
These files are my choice, derived from Joe Gallagher's "Winning with the King's Gambit", which I can recommand to anyone, but it seems to be out of print.

Opposition

Because the computer of Margriet crashed some time ago she has to use mine for solving problems.
Today she solved a lot, so I worked a few hours on endgames.
Because to calculate an endgame move and then do another because my calculations are always wrong is a too meager method.

A lot of writers on the endgame have a so called 'scientific approach' to chess.
Which means that they are very afraid to be incomplete.
So it can happen that the first 7 chapters of a book are totally useless, because they handle about endgames you probably never get on the board. Just to be complete.
It took me 3 weeks to find out where on earth to start with endgames.
Now I know, it is of course very simple: you have to begin with king + pawn endgames.
Because any other endgame can become such an endgame, if pieces are traded off.

John Nunn has written a nice booklet. He talks about opposition, triangulation and the Reti-manoeuvre as the base for king + pawn endgames.
Today I studied the opposition. I knew the concept already ofcourse, but I decided to dig deeper in it.
I think I now know from every postion on the board how to get/keep the opposition of the kings.
I have a good grasp of the "bypass method" now. There is one little mystery yet at the subject, but I hope to find out the details by tomorrow.

TCT	# problems	circle 1	circle 2	circle 3
Step 3	540	96%	97%	.
Step 4	560	94%	390 done	.
Step 5	580	75%	.	.

Tournaments

Today I signed up for two 9 round-tournaments this summer (OTB)
If I can get transport I will do a 7 round-tournament on Whitsuntide.
So we'll see if things work out.

Update of the figures.

TCT	# problems	circle 1	circle 2	circle 3
Level 3	540	96%	97%	.
Level 4	560	94%	330 done	.
Level 5	580	75%	.	.

YES!!

Now I'm getting somewhere.
Today I had really a good day in problemsolving.
I will try to explain what happened by translating from "High play" from Kasparov:

What 'sees' a chessmaster when he looks at the board? What does he see that other players don't see? An old French master said: "I see the chessboard like somebody sees the street whereon he walks, without giving much attention to it. When you open a drawer, you know where the things are, even if you don't see'em exactly at that moment. So is it too with the moves on the chessboard.

This is was happened to day. You know where the pieces are, without exactly seeing them. You know what fields they cover. In a flash you see the total geometrical pattern of the combination, without paying much attention to it, but you know exactly what it means.
So this is not thinking 3 plies deep, but you see all plies in 1 pattern instanteneously.

Other comparisons: a baseball player who hits the ball knows where the ball is without actually seeing it. A singer of madrigals doesn't pay much attention at his own part because that flows by itself, and so he 'has time' to listen to the other parts.

This all happens in a split second while you scan over the board and a pattern catches your attention. I hope I made myself clear.

TCT	# problems	circle 1	circle 2	circle 3
Level 3	540	96%	97%	.
Level 4	560	94%	170 done	.
Level 5	580	75%	.	.