Setting Mates

Hi,

My worst problem is being slept deprived and making stupid moves due to lack of concentration and as you all know it only takes one to lose a game...

My second biggest flaw would be setting up check mates other then end game castles hehe... Thirdly I have looked through books explaining this sort of thing, but they mostly state a2 to a4 etc etc and I cant visualize what they are explaining..

Simply put I am rated in the lower average at the moment 1100, but have been at 1400  when I sleep I dont make as many mistakes, and secondly know I lack the foresight for say throwing a piece to force a check mate.. Any ideas on material to read on that could improve my game with out describing the game in the board positions?? Any other highly helpful material that is worth watching or reading with out just stating board numbers would be helpful..

(Yes I am aware of the learn section of the site, but maybe there is more specific info available, thought id ask..)

Thanks Gandogg...

 Thanks for the reply..

Years ago I used to play under the name Scottoooo and won at least 3 10/0 tournaments, but stopped playing due to being sleep deprived and making many stupid moves..

I presume half of my losses lately would be to stupid moves or not seeing moves from an opponent (both the same) for the fact I rarely sleep and its hard to concentrate at a "good" level.. When I sleep I have good runs, I think 6 in a row was the highest on this account, but when I dont sleep I shouldnt play lol, losing too often hence why I stopped playing originally, on the Scottoooo account.. Bored and decided to start up again, I cant help my sleep, maybe  some videos could help with the check mates though??

Never the less any valuable technical check mate vids out there which dont just state a1 to a3 etc etc would be helpful...

 Ummm?? Not at all, complicated sleep prob... There is many chess youtube videos.. I am specifically asking for technical check mate ones, without just the square numbers and letters....

When rested I win more, when I dont I lose more... Maybe technical check mate vids could help?

Sleeping would help greatly, but another story I wont go into...

 ............

NM thats the problem with not sleeping... Whats algebaic  notion??

SRA I can play alot better if I sleep, but I cant sleep... Stupid moves and lose.

What is algebraic notion?? maybe what im asking for??

I just recently went through some Josh Waitzkin academy material regarding Mikhail Tal's great attacking games. The one important lesson I learned from it was that often when attacking in chess, the threat is more important than the execution. It doesn't mean that you would be allowed to play sloppy, but truth is that checkmating opponents (who don't downright blunder) directly is usually very hard. After all, that is the biggest threat and your opponent will do everything in their power to stop you from doing so.

What I've seen from my own games as a low level patzer is that people are trying to set up fairly obvious checkmate threats, and then try to execute them without calculating correctly. So instead of going for a checkmate, you should try to create as many threats as you possibly can without conceding your own position too much. Especially in early and middle game checkmates are usually fairly easy to prevent, but the simple threat of checkmate usually forces your opponent to respond in a way, that usually places their pieces in a bind - position where they are unable to answer to your other possible threats.

If you look at some great grandmasters and the way that they attack, the plan usually involves every piece from their side with an important task. Some pieces protect, some tie pieces down, others create threats, some form pins and so on. And once they have set up enough pressure that their opponents pieces are in a complete quagmire, it's when they launch the actual assault on the king.

Of course situations change and sometimes there is a chance for a quick checkmate, but generally aiming towards it usually creates complications in your own defense. So take your time and start slowly crumbling the opponents position with your pieces and pawns. If you can have all (or at least most) of your pieces doing something useful being actively in the game, while restricting your opponents pieces in the same time, the chances for finding a checkmate combination increase significantly.

Thanks for the input...

Sleep would be my major prob given handfuls of games for or against.......

I get what your saying, look at my games played, I could be a good player but stupid mistakes......

I came back to the game an went from 1300 to 1400 to now 1100.....

Looking for check mate moves lol...