Part VI: The Final Frontier

If you are over 50 and have read all my blog posts to date, you may be left with the impression that chess is a young person's game and the world has left you behind.  After all, kids are quicker, faster learners, and more energetic with better memories.  BUT, they can be impatient, and their focus can suffer from the ADD they develop from playing too many video games.

They also may not know the greatest chess player in the 24th century:

Captain James Tiberius Kirk-- In chess, he has never lost to his hyper-intelligent first officer, Mr. Spock.  As the captain of the Starship Enterprise, he is a master strategist and tactician, as the following clip demonstrates:

In this scene, the Enterprise had been battered and beaten by his arch-nemesis Khan Noonien Singh.  Kirk dives into the Mutara Nebula where shields, tactical, and navigation are inoperable.  He baits Khan into this same nebula where his ship will be similarly disabled.

In chess, the Mutara Nebula is better known as the endgame.  Think about it:  all the opening lines and tricks in the vast memories of our younger nemeses are now meaningless.  The opportunities for tactical knock-out punches and mating attacks are reduced.  Deep calculations and strategic concerns often trump pattern recognition.

And make no mistake, unless you are Magnus, EVERYBODY sucks at the endgame.  It's only a matter of degrees of sucking between player to player.  This is because most younger players finish their games BEFORE any meaningful endgames.  I've seen good players completely outplay their opponent in the middlegame only to play like a complete newbie in the endgame.  It's like they lose interest as soon as the queens and pieces come off the board.

The endgame plays against the advantages of the younger player.  The desire for a quick win and spectacular tactics is tempered by the apparently boring empty chessboard of a handful of pieces.  Find a way to exchange a bunch of pieces to take the bite out your opponent's tactics.  And if you are successful escaping into the endgame, I would suggest handing a Red Bull and a Pop-Tart to your young opponent just to watch them shake impatiently while you purposefully take time off the clock.

The following examples are from daily games, so these moves were not made under any time pressure.  Note the rating of the opponents.  If you're a novice, you may not understand all the analysis here, but trust me, these are pretty careless mistakes from players that should know better.

In this example, my opponent ignores how trapped his rook is and plays ... Nd6.  Ke2 traps the rook.

In this game, this queen endgame is pretty much a dead draw, and it's easy to lose interest.  So, my opponent plays a very careless 44.  Ke1 allowing me to go pick up the a2 pawn with check after 44. ... Qb1+.  Now for newbies, grabbing a pawn with check may not seem like a big deal, but in these types of endgames, it's the difference between winning and a draw.

One of my favorite example of endgame "artistry":

White is getting crushed.  Qd3 followed by Qc2 (or Re1 f5) would end everything.  Instead black plays ... Qa6.

Next move, black still has Qd3, but instead plays ... f5

34.  ... h5 is the final nail in the coffin.

Of course, if you look at timed games, the mistakes are even more egregious and common.  There are numerous examples of those games going from winning to losing in the endgame. 

Naturally, if you have an advantage in the middle game, push it.  Always try to play the objectively best move.  However, never fear going into the endgame because your opponent likely sucks at the endgame just as badly as you.  In fact, you may wish to force an endgame just for good fun and practice.

So, if you're losing, limp or crawl your way into the nebula of the endgame, then play carefully and patiently.  Wait for your opponent to make a mistake.  It will happen!  Summon your new chess animal spirit, Captain James T. Kirk, and learn to love the empty spaces of the final frontier.

This concludes the six-part series of playing at 50+.  My next blog post will be a general chess improvement article about how not to suck as badly in the endgame.

This article is part 6 in a 6-part series about playing and learning chess at 50+.

If you enjoyed these articles, please leave me a nice comment.  It will encourage me to add more content.  Thanks for reading.