Accountability Blog #1: Losing The World Open and Isolani Structures
Scroll down for the discussion of Isolani pawn structures.
At the recent World Open in Philadelphia, I had a rather devastating performance. More specifically, it was devastating to me, rather than to my opponents. As a 1250 USCF player (who, much like everyone else, claims to be underrated. Although I did earn this rating several years before I quite cared about the game and am only recently attempting to improve my level of play.) playing in the U1600 section, I expected a tough time. And a tough time it was. My first three rounds, all on the same day, were grueling draws against ~1550s. In at least one of those games, I certainly threw away the win, but more on that later.
Perhaps it was more psychological than I'd like to admit. After those three draws, I really felt as though I may have forgotten how to convert an advantage. I half-seriously wondered if I was even capable of winning in a strong position.
The following day I lost two poor games, and the next morning I lost yet again. Suffice it to say, I was demoralized and in need of a round 7 BYE and a few drinks. I got both and then lost again. With only 1.5/8 so far, could I be blamed for withdrawing from round 9?The lessons from the tournament are clear. I have a whole lot to learn before I can even consider myself ~not quite bad~ at chess, I was remarkably ill-prepared for the rigors of the World Open, and, when it comes to strategy, my performances in online Rapid games have lulled me into a false sense of security and arrogance. Okay, pill swallowed. Now only the sweetness of ego death remains.
But where to go from here? I recently completed the 3rd of Yusupov's 9-book series, so I'm anxious to begin the 4th book. And while I will get that book soon, I really want to push myself in more diverse ways. So, I enrolled in the Chess Dojo Training Program. They provide a lot of recommendations for training materials, but the real benefit is the cohort of other players in the dojo that I'll be able to play and analyze with. Part of my section in the program involves the Polgar book... For those who don't know, this absolute behemoth of a text has 5,334 problems, combinations, and games. And I'm assigned only a mere ~2800 for now. Luckily I've already completed the opening 600 problems prior to this? In all seriousness though, I'm excited to have over 2000 #2s under my belt as it will likely mean I have a good idea of what checkmate looks like.
As part of that same program, I'll also be diving into Seirawan's Winning Chess Tactics, Silman's How To Reassess Your Chess and his endgame book, and Stean's Simple Chess. Thank Caïssa I've already read Simple Chess, or this list might seem imposing...
For my own thing, I've also been reading through Seirawan's Winning Chess Strategies and Mauricio Flores Rios' Chess Structures. Rios' book is intense! But, I like it a lot, and I think going through all the variations it contains has been incredible for me these past few days. I love a book that leaves me tired after I finish a handful of pages or a chapter.
But how will I organize all of this reading? With all these books, I'm almost sure to get lost in them if I don't organize this.
So, a list!
1. Polgar, minimum of 12 puzzles a day. Certainly no less than twelve, otherwise this book will just never get done.
2. Rios, no more than two chapters per week at max. This sort of work with chess structures is likely something that should be gestated more deliberately at my level.
3. Seirawan, Tactics, one chapter a day seems doable. This will replace the time I spend daily on Chess King's CT ART app until I am through with the book.
4. Silman's Reassess, at least 30 pages a day with the goal of finishing it in under three weeks.
5. After I finish Reassess, I'll finish going through Winning Chess Strategies, with a goal of 50 pages a day.
6. After Strategies, I'll dive into Silman's endgame book, with the goal of 30-50 pgs per day.
Great!
But with all this studying, I still have to analyze and play!
Well to be honest, after the World Open, I'm exhausted with playing. So I'm taking a week off from that, but I can use this time to catch up on my analysis and go through the classical games I've played in the past few months. I think I can reasonably expect myself to deeply analyze between 4-5 games per week. I'll hopefully do this analysis with some people in my cohort in the training program, but we'll see how that shakes out. I will also have to incorporate some sparring with my cohort members, but I'll bet that will work itself out when I get the urge to do it!
Okay, so that's the plan to achieve ~not terrible~ status in chess.
Now for the Isolani discussion.
I recently read the relevant chapter on the subject in Mauricio Flores Rios' Chess Structures and, man, did it leave an impression. So, I am well aware I am punching a bit above my weight class with this book, but I'm enjoying it! Now, I'll do my best to summarize what I learned about Isolani structures from this first chapter of Rios' book, and I'll also include one or two of the games from the chapter. Though, of course, I will not provide Rios' annotations as anybody who desires to see those should purchase the book for themselves or check it out from their local chess club if they are fortunate enough to have such an option.
"On to the good stuff!"
This type of structure usually arises from QGA, Slav, Tarrasch Def, Sicilian-Alapin, or the French Tarrasch, as well as many other opening lines.
I really appreciated Rios outlining the broad plans for both white and black in isolani positions. White should create a kingside attack, which usually includes Ne5, Bg5, and a Qd3-Bc2 battery.
Rook lifts are common, and placing the rooks on e1 and d1/c1 is advisable.
Also, the d4-d5 break is KING! Seriously, the power of this move if properly prepared for can be devastating, as was the case in the position I selected for this post's thumbnail.
Black's plans include trading off pieces for a better endgame, as that exciting d pawn can prove to be a terrible weakness should things simplify.
Black should make a point of trading off the light-squared bishops. Given the power of the d4-d5 break, it's somewhat easy to imagine how a bishop on the a2-g8 diagonal could prove incredible for white.
Black will also want to put a knight on d5 to prevent d4-d5.
First I want to look at the game Radoslaw Wojtaszek - Laurent Ressinet (Wijk aan Zee, 2011), which was included on pages 17-19 of Chess Structures. Here, Rios points out that the side with an isolani is limited to passive defense, and this game shows how the side without such a weakness can push their advantage.
Now to wrap up, I want to share a game from Rios' book that demonstrates the absolute monstrousness of the well-prepared d4-d5 push. This one comes from Etienne Bacrot - Romain Edouard (Caen, 2011) [Pages 25-27].
For those of you who have made it this far, thanks so much for checking out the first of my accountability blog posts. I expect to be posting somewhat regularly with updates regarding my recent games and study habits. I also hope to include brief summaries of what I've been learning, much like this post's inclusion of Isolani positions. Thanks again for checking this out! Best of luck with your own improvement.
