July Newsletter
Dan Heisman Learning Center
Newsletter for July 2014
Contents
Welcome!
News
Dan's Corner
Blog highlights
Puzzles of the Month
Easy Links
Want to get in touch with the newsletter crew? Write to them at DHLCNewsletter@gmail.com
WELCOME!
Newsletter July edition, volume 18
Welcome to the Dan Heisman Learning Center!
All members of the DHLC share a common interest and we all have the strong desire to improve our chess playing. We are truly a group BY the members FOR the members. No matter if you are a master or completely new to the game, we welcome you. Please do take a look around the forums to see where other members can help you improve or you can help others as well.
We at the DHLC encourage active participation, good sportsmanship and above all, fun in learning this wonderful game. Whether your preference is for live chess, longer correspondence (“online”) games, some vote chess or working your way through the instructional articles written by some of our stronger members, there is something for everyone at DHLC.
New to our events?
League Qualifer Tournament
This is the event that all new league players MUST compete in successfully to qualify to enter regular tournaments in the DHLC Slow Chess League. This is a 3 round event with games played at a time control of G/45+45. In order to qualify you must participate in all 3 rounds, observe all league rules, and complete at least 1 game. Before signing up below, read our rules here. Use this time zone converter to help with scheduling your games. (Enter New York in the converter to get ET.)
League qualifers happen every three to four weeks. Watch for signups in the DHLC proper. Want to see how it works?
DHLC Slow Chess Weekly
Signups Are Now Open!
This brand new tournament format is designed to let regular league players get an extra game on any single week that they'll have the time to play.
New Feature! - We now offer both G/45+45 and G/90+30 sections. Let us know when you sign up which time control you want - or sign up for both! Being a single round event means that due colors are not observed week to week. Each week's pairings will not in any way be based on pairings or results of previous weeks. You must be a qualified league player to participate in this event.
Chess Notebook
Chessmo
Read it, write it, learn it.
--Me
I'm currently embroiled in studying Winning Chess Combinations by GM Yasser Seirawan. This is the first of his books that I have read, though I have been familiar with the high reputation of his work for years. Many improving players have had great results by studying his chess series.
I've also read bits of another book on chess improvement, Chess Master at any Age, by strong amateur player Rolf Wetzell.
What do these two books have in common?
The authors of both books advocate keeping handwritten notes on what one is learning. GM Seirawan, amazingly, has filled 32 notebooks during his chess journey. In his book, he repeatedly urges the reader to create a loose-leaf notebook organized into sections, each section representing the many different chess tactics, principles, and concepts one comes across during one's studies. For instance, one would create sections titled: Backrank Mate, Pin, f7/f2 Sacrifice, Perpetual Check, IQP, etc. In each section, paste in several positions that illustrate that concept--preferably from one's own games or, alternatively, positions that are very memorable or meaningful to the reader. The idea is to only have a few examples of each concept and to update the examples as one runs across better ones.
Wetzell advocates something very similar and in much more detail. It is a key concept in his chess improvement methodology. Since I haven't read the complete book I'll refrain from going into the details but I highly recommend picking up the book to see his method of creating notecards of positions and how he uses them.
Both authors emphasize the point that these should be old-school paper and pencil notes--not an electronic database of positions. The point is that as one is learning, the physical act of writing about the position will reinforce it in one's long-term memory. I don't know the science behind this, but since my college days, this style of learning has been important to my own success. I am drinking the Kool-Aid.
I've been keeping my own chess journal since 2010. Some of the things I include in it are the analysis of games, notes from books I am studying, important positions that illustrate concepts such as the Lucena position, my opening repertoire, etc. The problem with the chess journal is that it is not loose-leaf. As I flip through it, there is no cohesion to the topics. It is literally a journal of my chess progress.
If you are considering keeping a chess journal or notecards, one difficulty is illustrating positions by hand. Here is one of my more pathetic early attempts at hand illustrating a position:
Recently I've found some 2"x2" Avery 22806 labels that work perfectly for pre-printing chess diagrams. And the diagrams have sticky backs so I can just peel and stick them onto either notecards or into my journal. I paid $15 for 300 labels at the local office supply store.
Now my diagrams look much better and are quick to put together:
The chess notation you see above is from Chess Master at any Age. It makes hand illustrating positions a piece of cake, even for the artistically-challenged like me.
In the coming weeks, I am planning to supplement my chess journal with a loose-leaf notebook as advocated by both authors. I've found a nice 5 1/2" by 4 1/4" loose-leaf notebook at Staples that should work well. When I get it set up, I'll be sure to post a few pics. I'll continue using the chess journal as I am now, for notetaking while studying books, for interesting positions and concepts I want to be sure to remember, etc. and I'll use the loose-leaf notebook for organizing positions into meaningful sections.
How to Catch a Chess Cheater
OneArrow
I've always been interested in the intersection of chess and computer science, the question of whether or not chess can be "solved," how chess fares in complexity compared to other games and activities, if chess behaves like a chaotic system, how chess informs us about artificial intelligence, etc. So why not interview an expert in these areas? At first I contacted MIT professor Scott Aaronson who lives close to my hometown, but he thought I'd be better off interviewing Ken Regan at the University of Buffalo. Coincidently, I did graduate work at UB in the same department in which Regan teaches, and my brother lives in the Buffalo area, so why not take Aaronson up on his suggestion? I emailed Regan. He was exactly the man I needed to talk to. Not only could he answer my questions about chess and its relationship to computer science and AI, but he also had been doing related work in the area of anti-cheating. By the time my preperation for the interview was over, my main focus had shifted from AI to Regan's anti-cheating work. Cheating had become such an albatross to the chess world that I thought it deserved my attention and Regan's voice. The result was this cover story for the U.S. Chess Federation's national magazine, Chess Life. As you'll see, I did manage to sneak in a bunch of questions about AI and use this interesting material to fill out the article's breadth. But, ultimately, the article is about Regan and the methods he uses to catch PED (Performance Enhancing Device) usage during rated tournament games.
Here's the link to "How to Catch a Chess Cheater".
Dan's Corner
NM DanHeisman
A game played a few months before I became an expert. This line, rather rare then, became very popular for White decades later:
Want more tips? Turn to Dan's Tip of the day!
http://www.chess.com/groups/forumview/dans-tip-of-the-day
Blog Highlights!
Dr_Cris_Angel
Stormstout shares several recently written blogs:
http://www.chess.com/blog/Stormstout/todays-game---smith-morra-gambit-2
http://www.chess.com/blog/Stormstout/todays-game---sicilian-dragon
http://www.chess.com/blog/Stormstout/todays-game---ruy-lopez-exchange-variation-3
http://www.chess.com/blog/Stormstout/todays-game---ruy-lopez-exchange-variation-2
http://www.chess.com/blog/Stormstout/todays-game---sicilian-alapin
http://www.chess.com/blog/Stormstout/todays-game---smith-morra-gambit
http://www.chess.com/blog/Stormstout/todays-game---ruy-lopez-exchange-variation
More Tips for novices by Gunners2004, great for beginners as well as a good review for the more experienced players.
http://www.chess.com/blog/Gunners2004/battle-of-the-sexes---rds-1-3
Puzzles of the Month
Farnel
You Don't Have to be an Explorer to Discover.
This month I want to present some puzzles with a theme of discovered attack. You will have seen and probably played moves that discovered an attack - it is a very common tactical situation so you need to know it, to use it or perhaps to thwart your opponent's attempt to do so.
A discovered attack involves three pieces along a line, a diagonal, rank or file. A long range piece is obstructed from attacking an opponents piece along the line; if the obstructing piece, preferably with a strong threat of its own, then the long range piece now attacks the opponents piece. Often this means that you win material as the opponent can't always meet both threats.
A quick example will illustrate what we mean. In this position from the game Ghitescu - Fischer, Leipzig 1960, white has just blundered by playing 1. dxc5. The stage is now set for a simple discovered attack. Fischer played 1. ... Bxh2+, uncovering an attack on the undefended white queen. As white must deal with the check, the queen is lost, so white resigned.
You may have also heard about discovered check. In this case, the opponent's piece that is exposed to attack when the obstructing piece moves is the king. While it is the same principle in play, I will leave discovered check for another day.
Over to you now - it is your turn to do a little discovery work.
In our first puzzle, the discovery must first be setup. Can you see which black piece is potentially in danger? Once you see that, the rest should come easily. It is white to play and win.
In the next position, it may be a little more difficult to see the first move but it is well worth the search. Now of course in a real game you wouldn't necessarily know that there is such a sharp tactical win available unless you had seen the possibility and been planning it, but here in a puzzle you do have the clue that there is something afoot. It is white to play and win.
While I am going to cover discovered check in detail in a later puzzle set, I thought I'd give you one here to whet your appetite. From a game by one of the great attacking players of the second half of the 1800s (do the Immortal Game and the Evergreen Game sound familiar?), in this position he was the prey rather than the predator. It is black to play and win.
The next position shouldn't give you much trouble. White to play and win material.
There are a couple of options available in our next position. See if you can find the better of the two. It is black to play.
Finally another position where the discovery must be setup. In this case, use a pin to your advantage to achieve that. Enough clues, it is white to play and win.
And that is your lot for another month. I hope you enjoyed this selection. Perhaps a little less spectacular than last month, but no less entertaining I hope. See you next time.
EASY LINKS
Past newsletters
http://www.chess.com/groups/forumview/dhlc-newsletters
All the DHLC newsletters, linked in one convenient place.
Game Analysis Department
http://www.chess.com/groups/forumview/game-analysis-department3
A forum where any DHLC member can post a game for others to help out with ideas, analysis and advice. It is not meant as a showcase of brilliancies or only winning games. You learn much more from your losses so those are probably the best options for anyone who is serious about improving.
Find a Study Buddy
http://www.chess.com/groups/forumview/find-a-study-buddy
Use this forum to find someone to work with to improve your skills.
I Want to be a Slow Chess Friend
http://www.chess.com/groups/forumview/i-want-to-be-a-slow-chess-friend
Post to get other DHLC members who have a similar interests and a "study buddy".
My Last Lesson With Dan
http://www.chess.com/groups/forumview/my-last-lesson-with-dan
We can all benefit from members' lessons.
The DHLC Store
Not just a place to get cool DHLC gear, 100% of the profit goes directly to Dan's charity, the Dan Heisman Chess Support Fund. Find out more about it here:https://www.facebook.com/ChessSupportFund
DHLC Suggestion Box
http://www.chess.com/groups/forumview/-suggestion-box
Use this for any suggesitons for improving our DHLC.
Slow Chess League
http://www.chess.com/groups/forumview/slow-chess-league2
The place to meet for the players of the DHLC.
Online Chess League
