With just one room available these days, I have offered group coaching
sessions only during the Summer when no matches or individual
competitions will be going on.
This year, as usual, we discussed a series of topics suggested by
members, including an Opening Workshop, Creating and Exchanging strong
pieces, Making and Meeting Threats, and Endgame Elements. New material
on the London System, Caro-Kann and Budapest Gambit was posted on the
website.
[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.01.21"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Sequiera, Alfie"]
[Black "Sequiera, Alistair"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C53"]
[PlyCount "85"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2018.01.21"]
{No problems for White here: there are a couple of points in the opening you
could have another look at.} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. c3 d6 5. d4 exd4
{So far, so good!} 6. Nxd4 ({The idea of c3 is to take over the centre, and
You have to be able to make a decent start in a game of chess, or you risk being blown away by your opponent's better development. Knowing a few openings in a bit of detail is some insurance against traps and ideas that you haven't seen before.
So, here are some variations in common openings that you can -- and should -- learn. At each turn, try and learn not just what is the right move(s) but why that move is preferred.
In an all-parent encounter last week, the players stumbled upon this position, known as the Trebuchet. A trebuchet is a big wooden catapult, and its connection with this position is not known, except that it may catapult a player from joy to despair...
[Event "U14 Jamboree"]
[Site "Churchill School Somerset"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Leif Hafstad"]
[Black "Ben Choo Yin"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B22"]
[Annotator "Regis,Dave"]
[PlyCount "68"]
{You made a couple of second-best moves in the opening and then missed a
skewer. You later worked up a nice initiative the exchange down, but you
didn't have quite enough attack or enough time.} 1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5
