Summer Training Games: Targeting 1600

Hello, everyone. Evan Lutz here. I've decided that every Wednesday and Sunday I'm going to play a rapid game and analyze it thoroughly, with the intention of seriously training and improving my play (I hope to have a rating about 300 points higher than my current one by the end of August). In addition to this, I've been doing tactics every day and I've started reading "The Amateur's Mind" by IM Jeremy Silman. I'm posting these games here in case any experienced, more highly rated players have any tips or pointers. I would greatly appreciate them. 

Without further ado, here is Summer Training Game #1

9.  Black is solid enough, but you have much better development and might want to open things up.  Re1 is sort of the default here, and the engine likes it as well.  

10.  the fpawn will help you not at all after nf5, bxn, pxn since you cant force push it to f6.  You are just moving a developed piece again and letting him trade an undeveloped piece for it.  To make matters worse, as you saw, moving the epawn away allows d5 which makes your bishop misplaced.  Re1 or Rd1 look natural and much better.  

13.  your position does look nice, but you have nothing concrete and black will be able to complete development with ease.  In the long run, his pawn structure is better than yours.  The position is approximately equal.  The two bishops aren't all that, because you have allowed black a strong pawn center.  That is why stockfish recommends the immediate ne2 and c4 as the only way to get even a slight edge.  

24.  I think it is important to realize why your plan of putting both rooks on the 7th doesn't work here.  It allows black to trade a rook easing the pressure by playing 24. ... rf8 before or after nxd3.  If you don't do that, you own the efile -- black cant challenge it.  You should maneuver another piece into your attack -- ne2! is the winning idea, with the idea of going to f4 where it exerts massive power.

Hey man, you have a nice plan for improvement.  However, I think you need to start your analysis with your first move.  The move e5 is a great move!  But why are you playing it?  Do you want to play defense for 30 moves?  If so, then d6 for your second move is an excellent idea.  On the other hand, your opponent may sense weakness in a rapid and decide to play d4 to open things up, and then if you are still playing defense in a wide open game, you are probably in trouble rated at the 1200 mark.  Most players at the level you are at play the nc6 looking for a Lopez or an Italian.  In this way you temper your defense with some solid development.  The best way to improve is to get as far as you can in your opening with your original plan still intact.  This is called "understanding an opening line" really well.  From reading your notes I think you ought to devote half of your study on the first 15 moves of a game, twenty percent on tactics or midgame stuff, and thirty percent on endgames, especially ones you are down a pawn or the exchange.  In this way, I think you can fuel your defensive mindset with some creative fireworks.  Good luck, man!

@tornadotom1 I was playing as White in this game.  As black I normally play e5 with Nc6 to follow, or I play the Caro with 1...c6

Overall, this is a very nicely-played game! Looks like you played at a much higher level than your rating. One of the more important things I'll mention is on move 19, instead of playing Qe2, you should go active with Qh5! If Qf7 to trade queens, you can always come back to h4 and maintain strong pressure. This way, with the e2 square open, you have the flexibility to play for Ne2-f4-g6 (as you did later in the game.

Great to hear that you enjoy the Caro-Kann. It also happens to be my favorite opening of all time, and I have played it all the way from complete beginner to National Master. I actually just uploaded a video of me playing 10+0 games with live commentary and analysis, in which I play a bunch of Caro-Kann games, so hopefully this helps you better understand the opening (Here’s the link: https://youtu.be/O1kOYk3FnPw). I've also written a couple blog posts on the Caro-Kann right here on Chess.com, so check those out too if you're interested.

If you found this helpful, please feel free to follow me on Youtube and Twitch!  Hopefully this helps improve your game! Every subscription means a lot to me, so if you subscribe, I’ll really appreciate it.

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Yes you could do it in a few months, but you are going to have to work really hard on the games you analyze.  Lots of notes

Instead of 10. Nf5 I would suggest 10. Rad1 where you can win a pawn if black develops normally. On 10..Bd7 or 10...Nd7 you have 11. Qg3 with a double attack on h6 and d6. On 10..Na6 there is 11. Bxa6 pxa6 12. Nxc6. So black probably has to play something like 10..Kh8 in order to develop his pieces. Then you just play Rd2 with the plan of doubling rooks on the d file and target d6.

Hey Evan,

I think the plan you've set forth is great, and like Giraffe_Chess pointed out you're already playing at a level higher than your current rapid rating, so getting to 1600 by the end of August should be achievable.

From a practical perspective, I strongly believe doing tactics each day is the fastest way to improve your rating. It's good that you're reading material as well, as it is things like this that will stick with you for longer term improvement.

A useful mental checklist Jacob Aagaard recommends in his book on positional play are the following three questions: 1) Where are the weaknesses?, 2) Which is the worst placed piece (for both sides)?, and 3) What is your opponent's idea? Based on your game's comments it seems you're identifying the weaknesses but perhaps you would benefit from asking yourself questions 2) and 3) more often. I suggest trying to include answers to them in your own analyses (e.g. further justification for 9.Qf3 could be that it protects d5; since d6 is weak for black he will be looking to play d5 potentially), along with looking at lines in greater depth (calculation and positional play go hand in hand).

Here is an example of asking yourself question 2):

Following 21...Nh7, what is my worst placed piece? Likely it is the knight on c3 if a kingside attack is the goal. Without calculating anything, it's easy to see that based on black's weaknesses the knight would be a powerhouse on e6 or g6. Therefore, a straightforward line might continue: 22. Qg4 (clearing e2 with tempo) Rg8 23.Ne2! Qxb2 (inconsequential) 24.Nf4 Nf8. You've identified yourself that black's position looks wonky after 21...Nh7 so you should actively look to press your advantage. 22.b3, while not necessarily a bad move, is too slow.

Lastly, I strongly suggest not using computer analysis until you've analyzed your own game extensively. Only use it at the end to confirm your own lines and/or see if you've missed anything.

Good luck, keep posting your games, and I hope you find this useful!

On your tenth move, I believe Qg3 was a good move. Black's only good response is ...Bf6, and after 11.Nf3 You are threatening to win a pawn, but may culminate into great attacking chances!

After 10. Qg3 is 10..Bf6 really the only move? What about 10..Kh8 for example? Id prefer to keep Qg3 in reserve and play a simple developing move like 10. Rad1 if black develops a piece he loses a pawn. Specific details were given in my note above. Seems like black has nothing better than Kh8 and white can just continue developing Rd2 Rfd1 pressuring d6.

True, but after Kh8, you can just play Nf5, then Rd1 and pressure the backwards d-pawn.

Seems like after Nf5 black will be able to play d5 10. Qg3 Kh8 11. Nf5 BxN 12 pxB d5. So maybe Nf3 instead of Nf5 with Rd1 ideas?

After d5 you can get fancy with Rad1 before moving the bishop

true but once black gets d5 in he doesnt have to worry about a backward pawn. Also maybe after Rad1 black can play Bd6 to try to trade off more material.

Aha! Black can't play d5 because 

1. He loses the knight on b8 

2. If black takes the LSB, then the open files will only benefit white's rooks, since the queen is sitting there on d8.

black actually can play d5 after 10. Nf5 Bxf5 11. pxf5 d5 the knight is defended by the queen and both rooks. Maybe you forgot the bishop on c8 was traded off for the knight on f5. Also the idea of Bd6 isnt to take the light square bishop but to trade off the dark square bishops.

I can’t visualize all that, haha. Can you put a diagram on?

Apparently I am also having a hard time visualizing correctly. haha Obviously Bd6 isnt possible since white controls d6. Could black try to trade off the bishops with something like Bg5 after white played Rad1?

And here is the analysis I did earlier. Earlier I didnt consider Nf6 which is probably blacks best move. Nf6 seems to result in a complicated position where white is  better due to his lead in development.

Sounds legit. If you want, I can play some games with you — gl on 1600!