Category Archives: Thinking

Chess Psychology

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Special lecture by Ish Ramdewar

Chess Psychology- It’s all in the mind! 

Or

How Not To Play Chess

by Ish

I did an analysis on all my games this season, and I found that when I
lost, it was mostly because of something wrong in my thought processes.
Usually, I just got lazy! This is the number one reason I dropped
points or half points! I trusted to instinct what I could have worked
out. In no game did I drop below 5 minutes on the clock at any point,
and only once below 10 minutes.

I concluded that work on my thought processes and approach to the
game
would improve my chess as much as technical work.

I hope what I’ve learned will be of value to you. If not, perhaps
you’ll be entertained by some of my most humiliating defeats!

All games here:

Know Thyself!

  • Are you good in open/semi-open/closed positions?
  • Do you like tactics, or positional play more?
  • Do you have certain positions to avoid? (e.g. Closed positions
    with a lot of manoeuvring)
  • Do you have certain positions to aim for? (e.g. Isolated
    Queen’s Pawn)
  • Consider doing a self-analysis. Look through as many of your
    games as possible, and root out the weak points and make note of what
    you do well.

Know Thy Opponent!

  • Ask the same questions of your opponent! Try to make life as
    uncomfortable as possible!

Of course, there are times when you don’t know anything about your
opponent. In this case:

  • Ask someone else who has played them for advice.
  • Consider their age! Usually young opponents are tactically on
    the ball, and are weaker in closed positions the endgame. Older
    opponents can be a bit slow tactically and tire more easily, so try all
    else being equal, go for a more unclear position! This tip will work
    for most opponents, not all: be careful!
  • Look at their choice of opening. If they are playing Caro-Kahn
    or the French, they’re probably solid. Choose a variation that they
    probably won’t like as much (e.g. Panov-Botvinnik in Caro-Kahn)

Ramdewar-Gillard 1-0

  • Ramdewar I. – Gillard L. [D42]

In this game, I was playing the in-form Lee
Gillard who was ungraded
but won the first 6 games of the season (this was his seventh), from
the Met office. I played sensibly and got my opponent out of book very
early (3. c4 was the extent of his knowledge). I improved my position
and eventually my opponent cracked and blundered a piece. The endgame
is a good example of taking the easy path to a win (see later).

  • If they play something really aggressive like the Grob (1.g4)
    or the King’s Gambit, consider playing solidly, and giving back any
    gambited material in order to obtain an equal(ish) quiet position that
    they probably won’t want.

Ramdewar-Daley 0-1

  • Ramdewar I. – Daley E. [B78]

In this game, I was playing an England junior with a bogus grade of 81.
I knew him to play the Sicilian Dragon, and saw him play excellently in
similar positions to what we had in the game. So what did I do? You
guessed it! I gave him his ideal kind of position! He uncorked a
novelty on move 10 and I was out of book (this must be the longest line
I know!) and he out played me whilst still in book. I sacrificed the
exchange and gave myself some chances (though he was objectively
winning). I then relaxed and proceeded to blunder the game away in fine
style!

Taking on ‘Weaker’ Opponents (Rabbits)

Meaton-Ramdewar 1-0

  • Meaton A. – Ramdewar I. [D02]

In this game, I was playing Arthur Meaton, a senior who I’ve seen play
often, and had beaten in rapidplay. I outplayed him from the outset,
then relaxed and didn’t look for his threats (in fact, I had seen the
threat much earlier and forgot, and played an instant move in a game
which was Fischer timed and I was getting 30 sec/move added to my
clock! The resulting postion was drawn by perpetual check, but I pig
headedly tried to escape, and was duly punished!

  • Know thyself and thy opponent and play according to
    strengths/weaknesses as shown above. A weaker player by grade will
    often still have some pronounced strengths! Don’t dismiss them (seeing
    them as a ‘rabbit’ can be dangerous!)
  • Everything else being equal, most stronger players will outplay
    a weaker player positionally, especially in the endgame.
  •   Consider playing a more quiet opening than you may be
    used to (1. c4, 1.g3, 1.d4, 1.b3 come to mind.) Often something like 1.
    b3 will knock a weaker player, at least psychologically. They may think
    you are very strong in this line, and unfamiliarity can make them that
    little bit more uncomfortable.
  • Don’t set a trap and assume a weaker opponent will fall into it
    because they are ‘weak’. Only set a trap if it improves your position
    by doing so. Assume your opponent will see your trap, and ask yourself
    whether it’s still a good move! The one exception is completely lost
    positions.
  • Remember that all of our opponents have ideas. Always ask
    yourself what the threats are, what pitfalls you can fall into and take
    your time.

Foley-Ramdewar 0-1

  • Foley P. – Ramdewar I. [B32]

In this game, I kept it simple against Phil Foley, a slightly weaker
player than myself who I didn’t know much about. Even though I didn’t
play my best, the simpler nature of the position suited me more than it
did him, and the win was eventually assured.

Taking on ‘Stronger’ Opponents (Heffalumps)

Regis-Ramdewar 1-0

  • Regis D. – Ramdewar I. [B10]

In this game, I was taking on Dave Regis, the current club champion,
and a man graded more than 50 points above me, so I knew I had nothing
to lose! I went in to try and produce an upset. I was marginally
outplayed for the opening, but in another IQP position managed to
outplay my mighty opponent for a short period and obtain a better
middlegame with black. I was then offered an endgame and saw it as
better for black (wrongly) and went for it, but didn’t even consider
keeping the middlegame! I blundered in an even endgame and that was
that.

  • Believe you can win, and play for it!
  • Don’t go for the draw from the off- make them beg you for it!
  • Know thyself and thy opponent (as usual)!
  • All else being equal, make the position strange and tactical.
    Most of the time, by definition, you will lose to a better opponent.
    However, a very tactical position greatly increases the chance they
    have to mess up!
  • Stronger players are likely to beat you in positional play, and
    often are stronger endgame players. Try and keep a complicated
    middlegame position.
  • Don’t give up! Strong players make mistakes!

Ramdewar-Pope 1/2-1/2

  • Ramdewar I. – Pope S. [C78]

Sean Pope is known as a very solid (if occasionally boring) player. His
style really is not suited to me, and I tend to struggle against Sean
more than the stronger (at least by grade) Simon Waters or even Dave!
In any case, I managed to keep setting my opponent problems in a very
difficult endgame, and was simply enjoying watching him squirm! I was
just trying to make his win as tough as possible. He avoided one draw
pitfall, but missed the triangulation  (probably due to tiredness)
he needed for the full point, and I walked away with a juicy
half-point!

How to Play ‘Winning’ Positions

  • If the time comes when you are winning, or significantly
    better, don’t take a draw unless that’s all you need to win a
    tournament or match. This applies especially against strong opponents
    where we feel a draw is a ‘good’ result. Again: make them grovel for
    it- make them prove they can equalise and draw.
  • A ‘winning’ position is only winning if you play the best
    moves! Stay alert!
  • Remember that all of our opponents have ideas. Always ask
    yourself what the threats are, what pitfalls you can fall into and take
    your time.
  • Don’t force things. The win will come to you if you keep
    playing the best moves!
  • Go for the simple win. If you need to give up material to
    extinguish counterplay, do it!
  • When ahead, trade down, simplify. 3vs1 is much better than
    12vs10!
  • Be careful of traps! Even bad positions often contain hidden
    resources. Play hard and focus, even when it seems easy!

How to Play ‘Drawn’ Positions

  • Don’t assume it’s drawn! Often ‘drawn’ positions have alot of
    play in them! Look closely before deciding the position is drawn.

Ramdewar-Bartlett 1/2-1/2

  • Ramdewar I. – Bartlett S. [B33]

Having rejected a draw-offer against an opponent graded 30 grades above
me on move 33 in a position with bishops of opposite colours, I felt
obliged to offer a draw 7 moves later as I saw no way of making
progress. In fact, the final position which looks drawish  due to
bishops of opposite colours has a lot of life in it, and I could have
gone for it!

  • Basically the most important thing to do in a drawn position is
    to look for ways for your opponent and/or yourself to go wrong, if you
    can avoid losing plans, the draw will be assured.
  • If your opponent makes a mistake, it’s your job to prove their
    mistake costly.
  • Play slowly, and let small advantages accumulate. The only way
    to win a drawn position is for your opponent to make mistakes: several
    small ones or a couple of big ones!
  • Keep your eyes open, and perhaps you’ll get that extra
    half-point. People get tired and lazy (remember Ramdewar-Pope?), the
    endgame is the place that strong players can really show what they’re
    made of!

How to Play ‘Lost’ Positions

  • When you’re losing, knuckle down! Don’t lose an opportunity for
    a swindle!
  • Simon W is an excellent case of a good swindler. He plays very
    hard in lost positions, and his strength in the endgame skill wins him
    many points and half-points. But how?
  • At some point, the position gets so bad that it’s no good to
    play the ‘objective best move’. What you need is to set up ways for
    your opponent to go wrong.
  • Constantly solving problems is tiring. The more problems you
    can set, and the more difficult they are, the harder you make your
    opponent’s job.
  • It may be that even though you’re ‘lost’, your position
    contains a plus point, which if your opponent ignores could lead to a
    result other than he is expecting! Sometimes it’s better to play
    aggressively with this than to passively defend and get ground down. An
    example of this could be a queenside pawn majority. Play for a break to
    stretch your opponent. Try to give them ways to go wrong.
  • Remember, the worst that can happen is that you lose. But even
    if you improve your score by ½ a point in a season, that’s still
    a tangible improvement!

What to do When You Blunder

  • We all know that we should be avoiding blunders, but sometimes
    they happen. A nasty tactical fork can easily devastate your
    positionally principled move. If so, what to do?
  • When you make one mistake, it’s very easy to be shaken.
    Usually, you missed your opponent’s reply. Step one: stay clam!
  • Get up and have a 2-minute break. Get a drink.
  • It’s usually worth spending some time completely re-evaluating
    the position. Be as objective as you can.
  • Sometimes you’ll be losing after your blunder. If so, take the
    advice above on playing lost positions.
  • If you were winning, your ‘winning’ plan probably doesn’t work
    anymore, so you’ll need to make a new one. Be flexible. Don’t continue
    as before, like me!

Whitfield-Ramdewar 1-0

  • Whitfield C. – Ramdewar I. [B32]

In this game, I played a dubious move (8…Qa5) and decided to make
it
stick no matter what, when objectively, it’s probably best to bring the
queen back to d8 to defend. I played pig-headedly throughout and was
obliterated, and rightly so! Sometimes we have to accept we’ve done
something silly, play the position properly, according to a good plan,
not our old poor one and fight like a devil!

When Your Opponent Blunders

  • Check whether it’s a real blunder. It may be a trap!
  • If you can’t see a reason not to take advantage of the blunder,
    do it! Even strong players make mistakes, and if we don’t pounce on
    them, we will get crushed!
  • Don’t trust your opponent’s analysis! Their sacrifice may well
    be unsound! Analyse for yourself. Even grandmasters make terrible moves
    from time to time!

Tying it all Together

  • Work out your strengths and weaknesses (i.e. know thyself).
    Play to your strengths, and try to root out your weaknesses away from
    the tournament board!
  • Make life difficult for your opponent. Fischer said “Chess is
    like war on the chessboard. The object is to crush your opponent’s
    mind!”
  • Aim for positions which exploit your opponent’s weaknesses.
  • When winning or playing a weaker opponent, keep focused.
    Simplify into an easy win instead of going for a brilliancy.
  • When losing, or playing a stronger opponent, complicate
    things!
  • Most ‘drawn’ positions still have ways to lose! Keep your eye
    on the ball!
  • If you make a mistake, re-focus and take extra time. Get up
    from the board for a minute, get a drink. Look at the position as if
    for the first time. In short start again.
  • If your opponent blunders, make sure it’s a blunder then punish
    him!

Good luck!

A planning challenge

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With my usual arrogance, I was offering Charlie some notes on
a game, and he remarked afterwards:

“The move I sweated over for so
long, you passed over without comment, as though it was the most
natural move in the game!”

What would you have played?  Make your mind up (that is,
write it down) before reading on!

White to move

C. Keen
G. Ward

Exeter vs. Met. Office

2008

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. c3 Nf6 4. d3 g6 5. Be2
Bg7 6. O-O O-O 7. Bg5 Re8 8. Re1 Qb6 9. Qc2
Nc6 10. Nbd2 Be6 11. h3 Rac8 12. Rad1 a5 13. Be3 Nd7 14. Ng5 Nf8 15.
Nxe6 Nxe6 16. Nc4 Qc7 17. a4 b6 18. Bg4 Ncd8 19. Na3 h6 20. Nb5 Qd7 21.
Be2 Rf8


b – – 0 21

OK, so, how do you go about making a
decision like this?  We haven’t followed Charlie’s thought
processes move by move, so we need to warm up a little, get ourselves
into the game… A quick once-over the available tactical ideas tells
us that the position cannot be ‘solved’ by a combination, so we have to
see what is our proper strategy here.

Jeremy Silman talks about a pawn-pointing rule, saying you
should look
to expand or attack on the side where your pawns are pointing.  I
don’t
think pawns always point quite so obviously as this suggests, nor is it
a rule that cannot be broken, but if you are stuck it will give you a
shove in the right direction.

Charlie’s game, for example, seems a very good example of the
pawn-pointing rule.  White’s pawn chain c3-d3-e4 points forward
towards the
King’s-side, and Black’s e7-d6-d5 chain points to the
Queen’s-side. 

This is quite clear and also rather cheering, for it seems that Black’s
earlier manoeuvring on the Queen’s-side has resulted only in a weak
square on b5, which is occupied by the piece which benefits most from
such outposts, the Knight.  So,

So, to play on the King’s-side… White can try to attack
mainly
with pieces with moves like Qd2 or moving both Bishops (er, somewhere)
and playing Re1-e3-g3 and maybe (groan) Na3-b1-d2-f1-h2-g4… I can’t
see that going anywhere at all, certainly not at that speed. 
Imagine
putting those pieces there now, what threats would White have, even if
Black did nothing for 10 moves? However, there is a familiar plan here
of playing f2-f4-f5 and opening a King’s-side file, where Black has
less space.  So, f4 seems a very natural, even an obvious choice.

The trouble with the march of the f-pawn is that White’s
pieces don’t fit in with that right now.  I would rather prefer
the Re1 to be on f1, and the Be2 to be on d3, and the Nb5 to be on g3,
to lend their weight to a discussion of the f-file.  So, pointing
pawns notwithstanding, I wouldn’t be pushing the f-pawn to f5. 

Let’s see if we can go through this from scratch.  First,
make a quick comparison of the two positions: compare pairs
of pieces, see which one is better.  Then have a go at the pawn
structures, what are they telling us?

Both Kings are castled and secure.  The positions of the
Queens seem
equivalent, centralised and poised but not yet active.  White’s
Rooks
are on good squares but on closed files; so that’s our first hint,
White’s Rooks will need an open or half-open file to work on before
long.  Black’s Rooks on the ‘bishop’ files are not badly placed
but I don’t know what Black is planning to do in order to open a file
(the c-pawn cannot be moved and perhaps the f-pawn should not
be).  And the minor pieces: White’s good Knight and Black’s good
Bishop are very much more active than the rest, which look rather tame
at the moment.  If the position opens up, White’s Bishop pair will
enjoy life much better. 

If we want to (half-)open a file, where can White look? 
Black’s
advanced a- and c-pawns allow White to lever open either the b-file or
the d-file by advancing and exchanging the pawn on those files; Black,
faced with b2-b4 or d3-d4 may choose to (half-)open the a-file or the
c-file by exchanging his pawns on those files instead.  All
Queen’s-side files, I note.  Now, at the moment, most of Black’s
pieces
look well-placed to take advantage of open lines on the Queen’s-side:
they’re either on that side or pointing that way.  Nonetheless, I
can imagine someone pointing to the weakness of b5 and that handsome
knight, and declare, White should be attacking on the
Queen’s-side.  There are prospects there, I expect, but I can’t
see it happening very quickly.  I’d want to get the Be2 into the
weak light squares, maybe the Queen… I have a feeling that by the
time I’d arranged all my pieces for attack (Rb1 Bf3 Qc2-c4 maybe) Black
would have re-arranged their pieces for defence (…Nc7 threatening to
exchange on d4 is one immediate idea).  Hmm, Na3-c4 and b2-b4
might make the backward b6-pawn feel sorry for itself… OK, let’s not
forget all those ideas, but nothing there is compelling.

Well, if neither side is quite appealing, White can turn to
the centre.  The ‘crouching’ white central pawns do suggest a
central expansion with d3-d4.  That immediately gives a sniff of
the wild to three of the currently tame White pieces, namely, the Rooks
and the Be2, all of whom suddenly have new prospects.  An argument
against d4, of course, is that Black has sensibly parked a Rook on the
same file as the White Queen, so that after d3-d4, …c5xd4, the white
c-pawn is pinned against the Queen… Currently, White still has three
other units covering d4, so d3-d4 doesn’t lose anything, but it would
be nice to threaten to take over the centre by d3-d4 and be able to
recapture c3xd4 with two pawns abreast.  Having had this idea, I
can see that I can get the white Queen off the c-file with gain of
tempo:Qd2 forces some sort of response from Black, like Kh7, when most
of our earlier options are still available.  After which, I think
taking space in the centre with d4 seems very logical.  I also
think that is White’s best short-term goal; long-term, it is hard to
tell what a general space advantage can lead to, but this push seems to
put pressure on Black’s game and gives a definite (modest) advantage to
White.  Medium-term… well, I can imagine playing d4-d5 (again
with tempo) squashing Black even more; I can imagine playing e4-e5,
opening lines in the centre… Just at the moment, White doesn’t have
enough covering e5 to make that much of a threat, but Bf4 or f2-f4
would definitely make it a contender.

Charlie’s actual move was f4.  So far, I’ve listed two
separate if not overwhelming reasons for this move: to open a file with
f4-f5, and to support a pawn advance after d3-d4 and e4-e5. 
Having thought of playing it, I can see another virtue in the move:
parking that fidgety light-squared Bishop on f3, waiting for the
liberating e4-e5.  This is the Bishop without an opposite number
on the Black side, it’s the Bishop which make use of the weakened light
squares on Black’s Queen’s-side… so it should be doing more in life
than getting in the way of the Rooks!

Overall, then, 22.f2-f4

was probably worth more comment than I gave it, but it was plausible,
unobjectionable and had more than one point… And there were more
important things to mention!  If you fancy a go yourselves, what
would you comment on this whole game?  I’ll show you what I sent
Charlie in a week or two.

22.f4 Nc7 23.d4 cxd4 24.Nxd4 Nde6 25.e5 Nd5 26.Qe4 Nxe3 27.Qxe3 Qxa4
28.Bb5 Qa2 29.exd6 exd6 30.Nxe6 fxe6 31.Bd7 Qxb2 32.Qxe6+ Kh8 33.Bxc8
Qxc3 34.Bb7 Qc5+ 35.Kh1 Rxf4 36.Rc1 Qb5 37.Qxg6 Rf6 38.Re8+ Rf8
39.Rxf8+ Bxf8 40.Be4 Qd7 41.Rc8 Qxc8 42.Qh7# 1-0

[C] Charlie’s notes. My notes
on Charlie’s game

Just to complete the story; were they anything like yours?

Complete game without notes for you to annotate:

Complete game with notes for you to compare: