Critical moments help please

Hi to all!

I have great difficulty analyzing my own games

I understand that when analyzing games you need to be able to identify the critical moments in the game...

How do I know whem the critical position has arrived?

What defines a critical position?

Thanks in advance

A critical position is when your decision changes the position in a way that it can't be undone.

• a change in the pawn structure
• an exchange of a piece
• castling
• a cange in your plan or a tactics in general is critical

Thanx but doesnt that mean that these positions  pop up right through the game?I thought it might have been once or twice...opening to middlegame to end game...how do you find the better plan...?my losses are +/- 85%positional blunders...not pieces...now and then i do drop pieces in time pressure but how can you analyze your losses if you cant find where you went wrong...i love playing for a tactical advantage...ive tried to brush up on my positional game with the book my system by Nimzovich buteverytime i use it i feel im doing worse in games until ive given up on books altogether...

Yes, there are usually just couple of the really important decisions in the game. But it's important to note that each move evolves from its predecessors. Rapid development means active pieces which means more tactical possibilities. What I also do is that I analyze the game with a computer and in places where the evaluation changes I explore the better variation and I'm trying to understend why I played in a different way and what I have to do to find this move the next time. 

It makes lots of sense what you are saying...but the game you have shown i feel that i was better even though i lost on time...but i agree...my openings need lots of work...after going through my games,where is my biggest weakness would you say?

And back to openings...how do i develop better?which brings up the following...how to identify the best squares for my pieces

There is a learning curve when reading a book like My System.

In order to implement what it is teaching, you have to practice. It is during this time that you can see what seem like set-backs. But, once it 'clicks', you will see your games improving, hopefully, beyond their previous level.

You might consider playing games with longer time controls so you have time to think about what you have learned and the best way to implement it.

I think that i might not be able to apply gained knowledge to games...i love longer games...2hrs time controls like the national championships in my country...

About openings, I play a game and then I analyze it. For the opening I do use some opening database. For our level the http://www.chess.com/explorer/ - Opening Explorer is just fine. I check where I diverted from the common moves and I think about why I choosed a different move. Than I try to understend why some of the moves are better and I think about which of them I like the most and why. I try to remember that move and the reason behind it. There are other possibilities like replaying the games of grandmasters (which I do too, but for different reasions), but for opening theory it does not work for me much, because it usually forks quickly far away from what I play and it is harder to apply the lernings. 

About the choosed game - I went through couple of them and I searched particulary for the games with longer time control in which you have lost. Actually there are not too many of them. On the other hand, it's very hard to find a game which you played against a stronger opponent. I usually set my filter lower bound to -1 so I play always against stronger opponents. Defeat a weaker opponent is O.K., but where is the learning? Of course I play against weaker opponents in tournaments and team games as they are paired to me. 

Today I searched for some more games and I have found these two.

This kind of mistakes should not happen unless you have just a few seconds on your clock.

You tactics rating is quite below your live rating and there is probably a reason for that. I would suggest to you to do 10-20 positions per day and after each mistake let you stop and analyze the position. Think about why you missed the tactic. 

Also I noticed that you do not play turn based games. The huge advantage of them is that you can analyze every move on the board. So basically every mistake is something worth considering, because you have enough time and you had a chance to pull the best out of your brain and  this is the outcome. So these games are great for analysis. Good luck. 

petrchpetr ,i had a look at your fide rating...respect...do you have any ideas for openings based on my style of play?I used to work with a book 1001 chess puzzles by John Emms...7 years ago...my tactics were much better back then than it is now...but i have got another puzzle book..the predicessor of it...btw,thanx for the help so far

The problem with openings is that even if you choose to play always 1.e4, you have planty of rensponses to deal with. I played as a child and I never was good at openings. Than I stopped for about 20 years and I took up chess again about 3 years ago. I wanted to play 1.d4 and learn something new, but for practical reasons I started with 1.e4. The most common response is usually Spanish and Sicilian, so I decided to learn these for black too, because you have to know them anyway. Than I had to deal with 1.d4 and I found that 1.d4 f5 is a sound opening with not very large theory (Dutch), so I played this for black. And then you have to deal with 1.c4 and some weird things like 1.f4, but this is not that common. Nowadays I know quite a few lines up to about 10 moves, but usually I'm still out of theory in less then 5 moves. As soon as I'm out of theory, I'm trying to follow some basic principles - develop, castle, space, fight for the center + usually there is some general philosophy behind each opening, so I follow this one too. But at the end of the day, you have usually very concrete position on the board which you can't really ignore. 

To sum up - in general you can start anywhere and play anything you want, but have a plan how to improve yourself and keep it as simple as possible, because you will still have tons of problems so solve. 

And again - turn based games are great for experiments. If you mess things up, you have enough time to solve it. 

One thing I love about the chess community is the willingness to help another...thanx for that...how long have you guys been playing this beautiful game?how did you grow into the respectable players you are today?

Chess is all about finding plans and use tactic to implement them. Note that you just can find plans in critical positions, so its very important to know how to identify these positions. As already mentioned before you have to look for the bad aspects of the opponents position and also for the bad aspects of your position. A bad aspect of the opponents position might be for example the change of the pawn structure( isolated pawns, weak squares...).

But dont forget to look at your own position and always ask you the questions "What is good at my position? " and "How can I improve my position?"

You should really buy a book about this topic to learn some principal stuff about finding plans in critical positions.

Good luck, Till_98

What book would you suggest?

Another question,how do i know where the optimal square is for my pieces being developed...

Thats why im battling with my development as well...when my opponent goes out of book i just pick a square that seems fine...its not supposed to be like that...The opening is the setting for the middlegame...if my opening is not correct i struggle...

I have never recieved any coaching...could that be my problem?what exactly does a coach teach you?

I played lots of otb 8 years ago at and building up to nationals...played lower league otb 3 years ago 1100-1500 average strength and  was undefeated...but the games finished too late and i quit(9pm-1am)...havent touched a chess piece since

Im not sure I understand your post orange lol

I see...how do I avoid that?

I started to play chess seriously when I was 60 years old; I'm not so good, but I am very enthusiastic; my wife says that I am a "chess tragic"; probably refers to the fact that I keep playing at my club and I nearly always lose - but the occasional win is exhilarating! I believe that if I keep practising, studying, playing and getting the most out of chess.com, then I will get better - and I am getting better, albeit very slowly; I'm now 65 years old and I would like to get to a rating OTB of 1000 before I die; I can't afford a chess coach; I have some books - too many; I am planning to buy an iPad and a chess program - probably Shredder or HIARCS.

As petrchpetr pointed out...I lack development in my openings...Can someone please guide me on opening play?

ex.What is the idea behind the sicilian?

is it all about keeping 2 centre pawns and playing on the open c-file?

you guys get my point right?

Haha i agree on Bullet...even Blitz...I dont really enjoy either(Regardless of the amount of games ive played)

I only play them because they are quick games when i get home late from work...

I have accepted the challenge

thanx very much for your help

thanks man

I hope i can return the favour to all of you one day