Newsletter - April edition

Dr_Cris_Angel

Updated: Apr 6, 2015, 3:31 AM | 5

Dan Heisman Learning Center

Contents

Welcome!

News

Dan's Corner

Puzzles of the Month

Easy Links

Want to get in touch with the newsletter crew? Write to them at DHLCNewsletter@gmail.com

WELCOME!

Newsletter April edition, volume 26

Welcome to the Dan Heisman Learning Center!

All members of the DHLC share a common interest and we all have the strong desire to improve our chess playing. We are truly a group BY the members FOR the members. No matter if you are a master or completely new to the game, we welcome you. Please do take a look around the forums to see where other members can help you improve or you can help others as well.

We at the DHLC encourage active participation, good sportsmanship and above all, fun in learning this wonderful game. Whether your preference is for live chess, longer correspondence (“online”) games, some vote chess or working your way through the instructional articles written by some of our stronger members, there is something for everyone at DHLC.

New Events being organized on the new slowchessleague.org website:

SirIvanHoe

Swiss 1-2-3 #2!

Signups are now open for the 2nd in a new series of tournaments. The Swiss 1-2-3 #2 will be a 3 round Swiss tournament beginning on Monday, April 20 using 1-2 pairing options for close pairings without old-fashioned rating sections with arbitrary limits.

Sections are available for both Chess.com and ICC live servers and for both G/45+45 and G/90+30 time controls. Players may sign up for one or for multiple sections.

To register, a player must be a qualified league player. You can sign up here:

slowchessleague.org

Team Scramble!

New team format! The Team Scramble will be a 3 round tournament beginning Monday, April 13 at a time control of G/45+45 with games to be played on the Chess.com live server.

Players may choose a preferred team or be open to any. (Captains make final team selections from those preferences.) A team may have from 5 players up to 20% of the total number of players who sign up. So, if there are 50 signups, then there can be 10 players on a team. Every team player counts toward the team score. There are no rating limits for this tournament. But once a captain chooses a player, that choice is final. No switching players. So do you hold out for the highest rated players? Or sign up as many players as you can right away? Sign up to be a captain and choose your own strategy.

Pairings for this tournament will be swiss-style with 1-2 pairing options to make competitive matches that approximate head-to-head.

How do you sign up? First you must go to slowchessleague.org. Sign up as a member if you haven't yet. Then just choose Tournaments | Signups on the main menu, read the directions, and watch the video. Or, if you are already familiar, just Edit your Profile.

Dan's Corner

NM DanHeisman

A game against long-time rival, friend, and helper Don Latzel. Alas, Don is recently deceased. I always like the finish of the game...

Want more tips? Turn to Dan's Tip of the day!

http://www.chess.com/groups/forumview/dans-tip-of-the-day

Puzzles of the Month

Dr_Cris_Angel

This month, the puzzles are a little different. On a Monday evening when I was in the DHLC Chat Room Chess Club, I happened to be a little early. Dan was a bit early as well. Since we were the only two in there, Dan asked if I'd like to go over a puzzle in the live server. Of course, I jumped at the chance! Dan described the puzzle as being a "switcheroo". In these puzzles, you have to change ANY two pieces to put black in a LEGAL checkmate. You can change one black piece and one white piece, two black pieces or two white pieces. The ending position, however, MUST be a LEGAL checkmate.

This had me wanting to pull my hair out; however, it was a great lesson in visualizing. Allow me to share some switcheroo puzzles this month. Answers are at the bottom of THIS page underneath the easy links.

Puzzle #1

Puzzle #2

Puzzle 3 - Switch THREE pieces so that black is in checkmate:

EASY LINKS

NEW! Slow League chess league website

http://slowchessleague.org/

Past newsletters

http://www.chess.com/groups/forumview/dhlc-newsletters

All the DHLC newsletters, linked in one convenient place.

Game Analysis Department

http://www.chess.com/groups/forumview/game-analysis-department3

A forum where any DHLC member can post a game for others to help out with ideas, analysis and advice. It is not meant as a showcase of brilliancies or only winning games. You learn much more from your losses so those are probably the best options for anyone who is serious about improving.

Find a Study Buddy

http://www.chess.com/groups/forumview/find-a-study-buddy

Use this forum to find someone to work with to improve your skills.

I Want to be a Slow Chess Friend

http://www.chess.com/groups/forumview/i-want-to-be-a-slow-chess-friend

Post to get other DHLC members who have a similar interests and a "study buddy".

My Last Lesson With Dan

http://www.chess.com/groups/forumview/my-last-lesson-with-dan

We can all benefit from members' lessons.

The DHLC Store

http://www.cafepress.com/dhlc

Not just a place to get cool DHLC gear, 100% of the profit goes directly to Dan's charity, the Dan Heisman Chess Support Fund. Find out more about it here:https://www.facebook.com/ChessSupportFund