Analysing My Own Games: Creating the Wrong Type of Passed Pawn
Strategic Endgame play is the weakest area of my game. This where calculation and forcing moves are of little use, but schematic thinking of where to place your pieces (and their roles), what pawn structure to aim for and what plan to implement come to the fore.
This blog is part of a concerted effort by me to analyse my own game, without the use of a computer.
This is the hardest part of chess study for me, as it's difficult to aim for self reflection. It is difficult to face your short comings, but necessary for improvement.
Whilst I was disappointed to draw this game despite having a better position, it provided me excellent material for self analysis in strategic endgames.
Training Question: Schematic Thinking Exercise
In the above position it is Black to move. For me, this was an important moment to come up with a plan. What plan would you have chosen?
My Plan
Black is a pawn ahead and I am striving to create a passed pawn. My scheme was to advance f6 and e5. This way I threaten e4 gaining more space and locking White's pawn on the dark squares of e3 and d4 (for my bishop to attack). If white were to play dxe5 fxe5, then I can create a passed d-pawn.
Let's see what occured in the game and the problem I didn't forsee.
Game Continutation (My Wrong Plan)
* At least be very wary of fixing your own pawns on the same colour as your Bishop. I missed chances to fix his pawns with namely h5.
* The outside passed pawn is most difficult for a Bishop to stop.
* Be weakness/target focussed. I had chances to create a passed outside h-pawn, target his weak e3 pawn and threaten to penetrate on the Queenside.
