Temposchlucker

 Robert reminded me of the fact that system 1 reigns over space while system 2 reigns over time. System 1 is rooted in the senses. The senses can only act in the here and now. System 1 is assisted by emotions. The senses have their own addictions. Knowledge in the realm of system 1 is called skill . Our education is mainly based on system 2. System 2 creates an imaginary future and an imaginary past. For practical life, this is very useful, since you can predict how things are going to be in the future based on how they were in the past. Problems arise though when system 2 goes haywire. Then we will be overthinking the world too much, and we will try to mold the reality into the perfect picture in our mind. The problem with a perfect picture in the mind, is that it is conceptualized. It is only a brief summary of reality. It lacks the details of reality. In our head we see a picture of a perfect lawn, while in reality there is a mole in our garden. We typically try to change realit...

 I follow a two-track policy. Working on unearthing a set of coherent positional ideas on the one hand, while training tactics in accordance with my new method on the other hand. The positional side is very exciting, and I go from surprise to surprise on a daily basis. I play about two to three long OTB games per week, and I get a lot of feedback from that. After playing with no clue for about 23 years, it is pleasant that I now actually learn something from my games. How are the tactics going? Sofar I have done about 75 tactics from the set of 1000 that I'm working on. I do one new tactic per day. From time to time I take a break, and just repeat what I have learned so far. The main takeaway from this, is that my way of looking at tactics, is totally changing. My tendency to use trial and error is declining, while my logical approach is building up. Take for instance the following position. At first, I was in doubt whether I should keep this complex position in my problem set. But...

 I'm trying to get the positional scenarios clear which reside between the opening and the assault of the king. In the previous post, those scenarios were evident for the players. I noticed the same with the game between Anand and Shirov which I posted on June 16th. One player was trying to flick in a quick assault, while the other was gathering some long term advantages and bided his time. These scenarios are well known at grandmaster level, and they have no tendency to talk about these scenarios very much. The problem for them lies in the valuation of the scenarios, not in the invention of them. They are more interested in the variations , the remedy, instead of the diagnosis.. As you might have noticed, I try to stay clear of the variations, since my goal is to get the hang of the diagnosis, not the remedy. It is too early for me to worry about remedies. So far, the investigation of the positional scenarios is going well. The assault itself is pretty clear now, it is now the mat...

 In the past seven posts, it has become pretty clear what is needed for a kingside assault. What remains to be investigated, is how do you reach that point? Diagram 1. BLACK to move r1bqr1k1/1p1nbppp/p1p1p3/3n4/P1BP1B2/2N1PN2/1PQ2PPP/2R1K2R b K - 2 12 Alexander Alekhine vs Akiba Rubinstein  Karlsbad (1923), Karlsbad CSR, rd 1, Apr-30 White's last move was 12.Bf4 (from g5). That seems a pretty weird move. It invites black to get the bishop pair and gain a pawn. It seems strange to open the e-file while the king is still in the middle. But Alekhine judges differently. He has a lead in development, although his king in the middle suggests otherwise Blacks rook a8 and Bc8 need quite some tempi to get developed Nd7 clogs up the position Black is about to lose more tempi with Nxf4. Nxf4 schlucks 3 tempi to gain a 2 tempi bishop. Opening up the e-file and making whites center mobile White adopts the following strategy: Open up the center This gives space which can be used by white Mo...

 What I'm looking for is a list of preconditions which must be met before an assault. Let's try to abstrahere such list from the previous position. The following conditions must be met before you make committal moves: Pawn storm Mobile pawns have the following tasks: clear the LoAs (lines of attack) chase away defenders pry the killbox open Notice that the semi open files are important because they activate your rooks, while the enemy has no pieces to do the same to you on that LoA. It changes the balance on that file. Convergence You need a focal point where your attackers synergize. Usually g7 is better than h7, since the king has more problems to skedaddle via f8, and g7 is more difficult to protect than h7. Trades Piece exchanges can change the balance on: a focal point a color complex an invasion square Common trades to consider are: RxB, changing the dominance on the color complex. Notice how the opening of a file activates your rook, basically giving you an extra attacki...

Same position. I'm trying to map some invisible structures, in order to get more insight in the preconditions for an attack. Diagram 1. BLACK to move   rnb2rk1/1pq1bppp/p2ppn2/8/3NPPP1/2N1B3/PPP1B2P/R2Q1RK1 b - g3 0 10 The arrows in diagram 1 show the most important LoAs along which the battle was fought.  Nf6 was harassed by pawn g5 BLUE The g-file was cleared from the white king and g-pawn. BLUE the first rank was cleared from the Queen and rook f1 YELLOW the f-file was cleared from the f-pawn GREEN the diagonal was cleared from the f-pawn g7 became the focal point where the white pieces pried the black killbox open. The following pieces were traded or played no role: Diagram 2. BLACK to move RED the white rook was traded with blacks dark squared bishop. That was a crucial defender of the dark squares around the black king. Notice that the focal point g7 is a dark square. BLUE black knight on b8 was traded for the white knight on d4. It just consumed 2 tempi, and invited the...

 Same position. From blacks point of view. Black to move rnb2rk1/1pq1bppp/p2ppn2/8/3NPPP1/2N1B3/PPP1B2P/R2Q1RK1 b - g3 0 10 Which black defenders can intervene with the active lines of attack (LoAs) against the black king? Nf6-h7 Nf6-e8-g7 Nf6-h5 Nf6-g4 Bc8-g4 The following pieces need too much time to have an influence on the LoAs: Rf8 Qc7 Nc6 Ra8 The black pawns are blockading the defenders: e6 d6 Although the black pawns are mobile, there is not enough time to set up a defense or a counter attack, because Nf6 is about to be kicked, thus losing another defender with tempo. The black pieces on the queenside are undeveloped, hence unable to participate in a counter attack yet.

 Let me start with a concrete position and see what we can find. BLACK to move rnb2rk1/1pq1bppp/p2ppn2/8/3NPPP1/2N1B3/PPP1B2P/R2Q1RK1 b - g3 0 10 Volokitin, A. vs. Zheliandinov, V. White has just played 10.g4 The move g4 is not uncommon in the Scheveningen (always funny how foreigners pronounce this). It is made possible by blacks pawn on e6, which decreases blacks grip on g4. Let us see if we can describe the LoA landscape in a way that it justifies such bold move. I'm going to take my time. Maybe I need a few days. Or weeks. I'm trying to get to the core of the position. If I need more posts for the same position, then so be it. I intend to describe: The LoAs The relative place of the attackers to the lines of attack (LoAs) The distance of the defenders relative to the LoAs The impeding pawns that hamper access to the LoAs The initiative, or many pieces can you kick Counter attacks The LoAs and their attackers Nd4-e6-f8 Nd4-e6-g7 Nd4-f5-e7+ Nd4-f5-h6+ Be3-h6-g7 Be3-d4-g7 Nc3-...

 Finite amount of LoAs There is a finite amount of lines of attack. This already cuts down the amount of things to think about drastically Moving target All LoAs are geared around the king. That is because a LoA ends near to the king. But when the opposing king hasn't castled yet, you don't know where to aim your attackers to. Only in rare cases you are able to force the king to stay in the middle. This means that when the target hasn't stabilized, you can only go so far when it comes to placing your attackers. Once the king has castled, you can go all out. Pawns The role of the pawns is paramount. Their effect is twofold. They drastically cut down the amount of LoAs that are usable They increase the approach time of both attackers and defenders, but in an unbalanced way Pawns come in two flavors. Your own pawns and your enemies pawns. Pawn breaks can alter the LoA landscape in a moments notice. All of a sudden, other attackers, other defenders and other squares become rele...

 The following diagram is intended to show that the amount of LoAs is finite. I left out the knights to keep the amount of arrows in check. A line of attack ends near the opposing king. An assault on the enemy king must make use of a LoA. This way, you can prune the things you have to think about. The pawn landscape cuts down the amount of LoA's to consider even more. As you can see, the pawns are limiting both your own attackers AND can prevent the defenders from reaching the LoAs. We must grab any opportunity to get rid of thing to think about. Hence, focus on the LoAs and the typical scenarios that belong to the battle of the LoAs! White to move r4rk1/pbqn1ppp/1p1bpn2/2ppN3/3P1P2/1P1BP3/PBPN2PP/R2Q1RK1 w - - 0 1 Here the line of attack b2 g7 looks very blockaded. But that is an optical illusion. With moves like Nxd7 and dxc5, the long diagonal is cleared all of a sudden. While Bxf6 removes a defender of the focal point h7. Look at the same time at the black defenders that are bl...