8 winning lessons from my second round of the 2024 chesscom daily chess tournament

Hello! You’re reading Shamizen’s second blog. I suggest you take a seat and relax as I’m going to narrate my second round of the 2024 Chess.com Daily Chess Championship. In this blog I will comment on the best moments of the round and try to highlight a few things that can help better your game. Anyway, without further ado, lets begin…

Lesson 1: play what you know

I begin the 22 matches; in 11 of those (where I played the white pieces) I opened with 1. e4. Someone once told me “Always start with 1.e4, and when you master it, try with 1.d4”. I’ve been playing chess for 8 years, and during those 8 years I’ve opened with the king’s pawn. With the black pieces I answer 1.e4 with 1…c5, my dear Sicilian that’s never failed me. But in this case I didn’t chose the Sicilian as my go-to defense the same way as with 1.e4. In fact, I remember when I started playing I used 1…e5. But after 1…Nf6 and a few losses I chose to start using the Sicilian defense, specifically the hyperaccelerated dragon.

Those that opened with 1.d4 I countered with my dear King’s Indian, a defense that’s given me quite a few headaches but also great joy. Anyway, I just want to finish by telling you to play whatever makes you feel comfortable, and having a repertoire of defenses you know will give you an edge when your opponents don’t have theirs clear.

On the second day I already had 5 wins in the bag. Four of my opponents forgot to move or didn’t know what else to do. The other one ran out of time, but with this one I had quite an advantage using my trusty anti Caro-Kann system.

Lesson 2: castling rocks!

I won’t say much about why NOT to leave the king in the center. I’ll simply show my first match where I gave checkmate. I opened with my dear, known and underrated four knights game (lesson 1: play what you know). I think of the four knights game as a feral cat. Cats are cute and fluffy. I remember once I saw a cat lying on the fence of my house and thought  “I’ll pet it, what could go wrong”. Mmm quite a scratching I took for trying to pet an unknown cat. Anyway, the same happened to my opponent on this match.

Lesson 3: Dig your heels in

Have you ever been in a match where your opponent threatens to capture one of your pieces, but you “dig your heels in” and continue with your strategic plans?

After my eight match …0-0 I let my opponent win some material. However, having dug my heels in before let me take it easy and have confidence that my position with material disadvantage would have great initiative (see move 10…dxc3). In fact, the position was so hard for my opponent (as he had no developmentof his pieces and a centered king) that he didn’t see the best moves to try and hold his position. On move 13.dxe7 my opponent losses his queen, as he leaves her in the same column as the king, so I immediately pinned the queen and took the win.

Lesson 4: if you can wreck your opponent’s pawn structure, do it

In this match they played the Caro-Kann, and notice how in move 6 my opponent decides it’s a good idea to develop the knight for a6. Of course I didn’t think it twice and I handed over my pair of bishops with 7.Bxa6. What did I get? A position with no queens (no risk for not castling my king), a position where my opponent will have a brutal ending, (double pawns on the a column and the isolated pawns). Meanwhile we now have a better, healthier structure and a King like Leonidas who will move as he pleases.

Lesson 5: when you have a material advantage, trade everything. Trade your shirt even!

So as it turns out, this lesson (my ninth win) clearly shows my first lesson (play what you know). My opponent fell in my trap, and I let my hyperaccelerated dragon go wild. After move 5…Nc6, my opponent looks so dumb retreating their queen to its starting position (6.Qd1) without noticing that it gives me a free pawn. BOOM! 6…Nxe5, I swiftly take the pawn. The key, of course, is that if white takes the undefended knight with 7.Nxe5, we roll out 7…Qa5, giving a check and taking the knight. Anyways, my opponent decided not to do that. The match went on as just another match, but obviously, PAWN IS PAWN. Notice how in move 12 we trade a pair of bishops and queens. Of course I’m happy to trade pieces! , the rest is pure technique, take a pawn to a4 to cause weakness, trade pieces, take King Leonidas to the center as his intervention is key on the ending! 

Lesson 6: never let your guard down

When you cross the street, look both ways, NEVER LET YOUR GUARD DOWN! When you cook, pay attention, NEVER LET YOUR GUARD DOWN! When you drive, keep your eyes on the road, NEVER LET YOUR GUARD DOWN! And most importantly, when you’re winning, NEVER LET YOUR GUARD DOWN! You can be surprised with an endless check (like me, move 29…Re5??). It’s sad to share a winning match that turned into half a point…

Lesson 7: be careful of what you’re given

You’ve probably heard your parents say, “never accept anything from strangers”. Well, they say that for a reason, there’s a reason that you should never accept anything from a stranger, it’s the same as taking a pawn from your opponent, ending in catastrophe. Look at move 18, put yourself in my shoes and ask yourself, “is it worth it to take the h2 pawn?”. My opponent took it, and to be honest y lost it haha. Turns out the lost pawn didn’t harm me as the crowding of pieces in the queen’s flank and the weakness of b7 made me start a maneuver where I wrecked my opponent’s structure and, as if it weren’t enough, the gluttony of my opponentmade win a piece.

Lesson 8: if you’re attacking, DON’T be materialistic.

In this lesson, its best you see the match from the beginning, as I think we can all learn much from this game (more like, from my mistakes). I played my hyperaccelerated dragon again, it was an open position. I short castled and my opponent went for the long castle. I hit the center, opened a column on the queen’s flank, placed a bishop aiming at the enemy castling and a rook on the open column aiming at the enemy king, I centralized the queen, threw a pawn to attack the castling. Everything is great, flowing, I had it all in this match. What happened? Why did I lose? Lets go to move 20…Qxe4. To this day I still have nightmares with that move. Why if I’m attacking, did I decide to overindulge and take a miserable and abandoned pawn? Anyway, the main issue is that, if you’re attacking, time is of the essence. I didn’t have that clear at the moment, but my opponent did, and took advantage of my misstep by attacking my king and having fate by his side.

And so it ends this exciting chapter in my 2024 Chess.com Daily Chess Championship journey!

I hope you enjoyed this 8 lessons I’ve collected over this second round. In chess, every match is an opportunity to learn, get better and surprise ourselves.

Remember, chess is more than a game; it’s a passion, an art, and an endless source of challenges and discoveries. Thank you for being with me in this journey and being a part of this amazing chess community.

I hope this lessons help you in your own battles on the board and that every move takes you one step closer to greatness. Until the next match my friend!

Just so you know, I didn’t make it to the third round, but I’m happy as next year I’ll come back even stronger than ever.

Chessingly yours, Shamizen!