Exeter Juniors (1-3) Exeter School, 11th March 2011

ByDrDave

Lots to enjoy in an evenly matched contest.

Board 1

{A well-played game by both sides. We don’t see close endgames very often in
junior chess, and this was a fine one.}

Board 2

{Black gets a plus in the opening but gets his wires crossed.}

Board 3

{The two sides emerge from a stodgy old opening into a stodgy old middlegame
and then a roughly level endgame. White adds some interest by losing a piece
(and it could have been worse!) but makes good use of his chances and
eventually brings off a swindle.}

Board 4

{The game was close for quite a while, with one side then the other looking
better. Black lost a piece but correctly went on the attack, looking for
tactics or a perpetual. White survived all the threats and spotted a chance
for checkmate, and it was all over.}

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    A well-fought match which could have gone either way, with lots of good ideas shown by the players. I think in most games the advantage changed hands a couple of times – exciting stuff!

    I’ve added the PGN file so you can play through the games and variations on your own computer.

  • Our first match

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    Our First Match

    Well, ouch! We lost four-nil, but I hope you thought that, however
    big and strong they were, they weren’t that much better than us, and
    they didn’t do anything very special to beat us. (Is that a good
    thing?)  But I was very pleased and proud with how well you
    played, how well you fought, and how well you concentrated.  It
    wouldn’t have needed much luck for us to come away with 2-2. 
    They’re just tall, that’s all…

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=di1-bB1w4wM

    In the end, we fell
    for a few simple tactics and there were a couple of chances that we
    missed, and that all comes with time and practice.
    The best books to start to practice spotting tactics are the blue one I
    wrote with Tim ([b]Chess Puzzles in One
    Move[/b]) and a yellow book by Tony Gillam, [b]Simple Chess Tactics[/b]. If you think
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    These will help, but the main thing is to [b]think for both sides[/b]. There’s
    no point in spotting all the ideas for your side, but ignoring what
    your opponent can do to you.   Check each check and each
    capture on every move.

    Also, we do need some better openings to put pressure on our
    opponents. I have written a little guide that I think I’ve given to all
    the team players, but everyone can have a copy
    [url=/chessx/ftp/JuniorRepertoire.pdf]PDF[/url]
    if they like. The idea is
    to play the Scotch Gambit against 1…e5 and to go for IQP positions
    against everything else.

    [blockquote]
    “[em]There are no hopeless positions; there are only inferior positions
    that can be saved.

    There are no drawn positions; there are only equal ones in which you
    can play for a win.

    But at the same time, don’t forget that there is no such thing as a won
    position in which it is impossible to lose.[/em]”

    — Grigory SANAKOEV
    [blockquote]
    “[em]Playing safe is too dangerous[/em]” — Dr.Dave.

    Click on […] to see list

  • Exeter Juniors 3-1 Torquay Boys Friday 2nd May 2014

    ByDrDave

    Exeter Juniors 3-1 Torquay Boys Friday 2nd May 2014

    Edmund Kelly (B) 1-0 Yul Lee (W)
    Taylor Finch 1-0 Alex Lee
    Leif Hafstad 1-0 Ben Sturt
    Codie Finch 0-1 Jakub Kubiak

    The home side scored a quick win when Taylor Finch picked
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    Leif Hafstad was never in trouble with his own French Defence, and was
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    Game of the day was a full-blooded struggle on top board, where
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    that White was going to wrestle back the pawn, but Black hung on and eventually swapped enough material to emerge into a winning Bishop endgame.

    Yet the clock also had a say and, with Black’s hour almost up, a few hasty decisions nearly let the win slip. The evaluation of the position swung crazily between ‘Black win’ and ‘Draw’ almost move by move, but finally the extra pawn was promoted and Edmund delivered mate with seconds to spare.

    Another great match, well-contested on all boards, and credit to all involved.







  • The chess family tree

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    Last week the juniors saw the game of Shogi played. It’s the sort of chess played in Japan, and by our new friends Kaz and Hatzune. How is Shogi related to the sort of chess that we normally play?

    When I first looked at the history of Western Chess, I thought that the original game was Chaturanga, a game played in India before 600AD. Chess as played in other countries seems to come from the Arab form of Chess called Shatranj. And that is what I used to tell people.

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                        ---------------------> Japanese Chess (Shogi)

    But I now believe that the best picture that fits what we know says that Chaturanga and Shatranj were both later forms of an original game, which we don’t know much about.

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    There are lots of different sorts of chess around the world that seem to come from the same stock, including:

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    Each form of chess seems to have its own special rule that makes the game come alive. Burmese chess is the only sort of chess where you can decide where to put your pieces at the start of the game; Japanese chess is the only sort of chess that uses the ‘drops’ that we see in Exchange Chess; Chinese Chess is the only sort of chess that has the Cannon piece; modern Western Chess is the only sort of chess that has the super-duper Queen. (In fact, our game used to be called le Jeu de la Dame enragée — the game with the Mad Queen.)

    You can read about all these different sorts of chess here:
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  • Exeter Juniors ½-3½ Tiverton Testosterones

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    {A terrific scrap where both sides took and missed their chances. In the end
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    as by the moves.}

    {White played an unknown system and got a bit lost. Trying to save a pawn,
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    See also: http://exeterchessclub.org.uk/content/making-it-you-go-along

    {Black wins a pawn but misses a discovery to lose a piece. Black keeps going
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    {White started very well but the position became blocked and difficult.
    Trying to get something going, you played a poor move, and things then went
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  • |

    A second step

    ByDrDave

    Welcome back to some old friends we missed last week, and a warm welcome to Reuben, Dylan and Teddy.

    Sorry I didn’t get around to printing a rating list this week — Tuesday proved to be a longer day at work than I expected! — but they’re all there on the website and updated this evening.