Dan Heisman The World’s Most Instructive Amateur Game Book (cid:10)(cid:4)(cid:11)(cid:12)(cid:13)(cid:11)(cid:4)(cid:1)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:5)(cid:6)(cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:9)(cid:2)(cid:3) (cid:14)(cid:15)(cid:15)(cid:4)(cid:16)(cid:7)(cid:17)(cid:18)(cid:19)(cid:8)(cid:4)(cid:16)(cid:6)(cid:8)(cid:6)(cid:16)(cid:20)(cid:6)(cid:21)(cid:22)(cid:4)(cid:23)(cid:24)(cid:4)(cid:25)(cid:2)(cid:16)(cid:19)(cid:4)(cid:24)(cid:26)(cid:4)(cid:19)(cid:18)(cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:4)(cid:27)(cid:24)(cid:24)(cid:28)(cid:4)(cid:9)(cid:2)(cid:29)(cid:4)(cid:27)(cid:6)(cid:4)(cid:16)(cid:6)(cid:25)(cid:16)(cid:24)(cid:21)(cid:30)(cid:31)(cid:6)(cid:21)(cid:4)(cid:24)(cid:16)(cid:4)(cid:19)(cid:16)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:8)(cid:9)(cid:7)(cid:19)(cid:19)(cid:6)(cid:21)(cid:4)(cid:7)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:29)(cid:4)(cid:26)(cid:24)(cid:16)(cid:9)(cid:4)(cid:27)(cid:29)(cid:4)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:29)(cid:4)(cid:9)(cid:6)(cid:2)(cid:3)(cid:8)(cid:32) 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(cid:34)(cid:16)(cid:7)(cid:3)(cid:19)(cid:6)(cid:21)(cid:4)(cid:7)(cid:3)(cid:4)(cid:19)(cid:18)(cid:6)(cid:4)(cid:56)(cid:3)(cid:7)(cid:19)(cid:6)(cid:21)(cid:4)(cid:39)(cid:19)(cid:2)(cid:19)(cid:6)(cid:8)(cid:4)(cid:24)(cid:26)(cid:4)(cid:14)(cid:9)(cid:6)(cid:16)(cid:7)(cid:31)(cid:2) (cid:51)(cid:7)(cid:16)(cid:8)(cid:19)(cid:4)(cid:53)(cid:3)(cid:17)(cid:15)(cid:7)(cid:8)(cid:18)(cid:4)(cid:6)(cid:21)(cid:7)(cid:19)(cid:7)(cid:24)(cid:3) (cid:12)(cid:4)(cid:45)(cid:4)(cid:47)(cid:4)(cid:46)(cid:4)(cid:42)(cid:4)(cid:37)(cid:4)(cid:41)(cid:4)(cid:40)(cid:4)(cid:11)(cid:4)(cid:13) Acknowledgements Bosqueverde on the Internet Chess Club (ICC) for suggesting the video format for amateur games. • John Henderson, formerly of ICC, for assigning me the instructional video series. Sandro Leonori for taking over from John as my Chess.FM coordinator. • Macauley Peterson and Raúl Pérez as my Chess.FM video editors. • Proofreaders Mike Montgomery, Mark Corben, Dave Giltanen, Ernie Weaver, Joe Casey, Richard Cordovano, and Troy Duncan. • All the amateur players who submitted games to me that were used for the “Improve Your Chess” video series and this book. And all their opponents, who played in an instructive manner. ☺ To Joe Casey, in Memoriam. Joe may have been an amateur chess player, but he was a grandmaster human being. Contents Introduction Chapter 1: TOO FAST Game 1 French Defense, Tarrasch Variation Game 2 Sicilian Defense, Closed Variation Game 3 Colle System Game 4 Sicilian Defense, High School Variation Game 5 King’s Indian Defense, Sämisch Variation Game 6 French Defense, King’s Indian Attack Chapter 2: TOO SLOW Game 7 English Opening Game 8 English Opening Game 9 Slav (Grünfeld transposition) Game 10 Queen’s Pawn Game Game 11 Queen’s Pawn Game Chapter 3: ENDGAME MISHAPS Game 12 King’s Indian Defense Game 13 Pirc Defense Game 14 King’s Indian Defense Game 15 French Defense, Winawer Variation Game 16 Pirc Defense, Classical Variation Chapter 4: A VARIETY OF INSTRUCTIVE PLAY Game 17 Queen’s Gambit Declined Game 18 English Opening Game 19 Queen’s Pawn Game Game 20 French Defense, Advance Variation, Milner-Barry Gambit . Game 21 Queen’s Pawn Game Game 22 Sicilian Defense, Chekhover Variation Game 23 Tarrasch Defense Chapter 5: DISASTER STRIKES Game 24 English Opening Game 25 Caro-Kann, Panov-Botvinnik Attack Game 26 King’s Indian Defense, Sämisch Variation . Game 27 Sicilian Defense, Grand Prix Attack Game 28 French Defense, Winawer Variation Game 29 Alekhine’s Defense Game 30 Sicilian Defense, Wing Gambit Bibliography Glossary Symbols (?) Inaccurate or not best move ? Mistake ?? Bad mistake, outright blunder (!) Good idea, interesting ! Good move !! Brilliant move, Hard-to-find best move ?! Dubious move, Unnecessary complications !? Worth a try, Creating good complications □ Only move – other moves draw or lose instead of win, or lose instead of draw = Equal play or drawn +– White is winning ± White is clearly better White has a small edge Black has a small edge Black is clearly better –+ Black is winning Better is… ∆ With the idea of… Computer evaluations are expressed in pawns, e.g. +1.25 is one-and-one-quarter pawns better for White and -3.5 is three-and-a-half-pawns better for Black. Introduction “Well, Dan,” Howard Stern’s familiar bass voice intoned, “now that I am up to 1000, that’s about it. I just can’t seem to beat those 1100’s.” “But Howard,” I protested, “you’re just giving them free pieces and they are taking some of them. They are giving you free pieces and you aren’t taking as many of them. If you just stop giving them free pieces and take all of theirs, you will beat them every game!” “It’s not as easy as that. You’re a good player so you can do that but I’m not so good.” “You’re right, but basically it’s as easy as that.” Four years later Howard was rated over 1700 Internet Chess Club (ICC) Standard, about 1600 USCF. As usual he woke up early, but this time he could not find a friendly face to play. So Howard pushed the ICC’s then-new “45 45” pool button and the software paired him with the first available player, who happened to have a Standard rating in the 1100’s. The game was over in 19 moves. The 1100 made several simple tactical errors and Howard had captured much of his army for free. Later in the day, Howard was on the phone for a lesson and I asked him if he wanted to review the game. “No sense doing that,” Howard protested logically. “I won’t learn anything. He just gave me some free pieces and I took them.” “Oh!” I remembered our conversation from four years ago and decided to have some fun, “That’s right, he’s one of those 1100 players you said you would never beat, back when you were 1000!” I knew Howard could see my smile right through the phone. “Wise guy!” he replied good-naturedly, for he not only got my point, but appreciated it even more now that he was a much better player. At 1700 he was a competent amateur – at 1000 he had been closer to being a beginner. * * * “There’s a benefit to losing – you get to learn from your mistakes” – Megamind (2010) If you examine the U.S. Chess Federation (USCF) database, about 99.5% of their members are amateurs – by definition, players rated under 2200 (master level). Moreover, the overwhelming majority of chess players never join the USCF, so the percentage of amateur players in the U.S. is much closer to 99.98%. That neighbor of yours you think is pretty good is just an amateur, as are the highest-level amateurs, the experts, who play very well and, rarely, might draw or even beat a grandmaster. Yet when I suggest to players to read over instructive annotated games, both master and amateur, you can hear the disgust in many, who answer: “What can I learn from amateur games? Those guys stink. They just put all their pieces en prise. What can I learn from that?” But these protesters are mistaking “amateur” for “beginner.” This is not a book about beginner games – all the players in this book are experienced in either over-the-board or online events. The book features a representative cast of amateurs ranging from lower tournament levels up through expert (one may have been stronger than that). While there are some very interesting reasons why amateurs leave pieces hanging and methods to minimize these mistakes are helpful, there are not that many pieces left en prise in the games chosen for this book. Since 99.5% of tournament players are amateurs, it follows that they would benefit greatly from reading about the typical mistakes they make, and how to avoid or at least minimize them. IM Jeremy Silman’s popular book The Amateur’s Mind does that, but it does not include any full games, nor does it address time-management errors, but instead provides helpful snippets of amateur thought about various instructive positions and IM Silman’s insightful comments about their misconceptions. There is a big void in publishing amateur game books, although some of Lev Alburt’s columns of amateur games from Chess Life Magazine were recently collected into the book A Fresh Look at Chess. One big difference between our books is that GM Alburt’s work features move analysis by the players with the grandmaster’s insightful comments sprinkled about. My book is much denser: it features extensive master (and computer) analysis and a much larger dose of general improvement advice. I include much commentary on two big sources of problems – the thought process and time management – that are usually not covered in Lev’s column. Finally, the “Master vs. Amateur” genre includes several entries such as Euwe and Meiden’s classic Chess Master vs. Chess Amateur, Norwood’s Grandmaster Meets Chess Amateur, and the recent Grandmaster Versus Amateur edited by Aagaard and Shaw. The value of examining amateur play for the purpose of instruction is widely recognized. I believe that any comprehensive course of chess study should include the review of many games by strong players, so that an inexperienced player would know what good moves and ideas looks like, and what he should be trying to do in typical positions. I studied at least two thousand games in my first few years of play and made expert after participating in tournaments for 3 years. Studying these master-level games helped me immensely and gave me a “chess conscience” where, when I ran across typical positions, I could hear those strong authors whispering in my ear, “In this type of position you should consider doing X.” But that does not mean that there is not a large benefit to be had from seeing the mistakes of your peers. Many amateur tournament players are superior to the average chess book purchaser. Therefore, even though their mistakes may seem “basic” to a reader familiar with master play, they are the same mistakes that that reader, without taking remedial action, might keep making throughout his chess career. Just because a mistake is simplistic does not reduce its instructiveness; in fact, it is likely much more instructive and helpful than the more subtle strategic mistakes that often cause a grandmaster to lose. I would estimate that 99% of games among players rated USCF/FIDE 1500 or below feature a safety mistake that would be either appropriate for a basic tactics book or too easy to be a puzzle in most “beginner” books. The day I wrote this Introduction, I reviewed a game by a student who aspires