LostTactic, have you considered trying 1.c4?  I switched recently and am enjoying the positions a lot.

You can avoid running into the opponents' pet defences to d4, including NID/QID etc. without making any major concessions,  and there is still plenty of scope for playing according to your own style.

Gorath wrote on 10/24/11 at 05:26:25:


I'll certainly try the "looking away from the board" idea in my next game.

Gorath wrote on 10/24/11 at 05:26:25:


The only reason I play the Semi-Slav is because it was recommended by the ICS online course I took. I do want to phaze it out of my game over time whilst I learn a more suitable opening to my style, and I'll certainly do some research into the Slav and see if I can find any decent books on it. I'm not a big fan of the Scandinavian but the Caro-Kann is something I'm interested in.

Gorath wrote on 10/24/11 at 05:26:25:


I've got the site bookmarked, so I'll definitely go through them when I have some spare time. Thanks again.

LostTactic wrote on 10/24/11 at 02:50:38:


No, it's a matter of seeing the threat, not a calculation problem. See Heisman's favourite topic "Is it Safe?".
Solution: When you've decided on a move, stop thinking for a few seconds. Make it a ritual, look somewhere else ... out of the window ... it doesn't matter. Then focus on the board again and check if your opponent has a simple refutation for your move. Look at all captures and checks, then the simple threads like forks and double attacks. If you don't find anything, trust your calculation and play the move.

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Congratulations. You are right. Get back to this when you're FM.
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All respectable openings in line with what you explained.
But there's something I don't quite understand. You're playing the Semi-Slav. That's a wild opening with which black fights for the initiative. Why didn't you choose the Classical Slave (4. - dxc4) ? That's exactly the opening you're looking for. Rock solid, boring, positional, and if white wants a sharp game he has to take huge risks.
The Slav can even be played against English and Reti (precise move orders are important though if white refrains from playing routine moves). This means it cuts down on the amount of theory quite a bit. The motifs even overlap with French dxe4 lines, although the perfect companion would be either Caro-Kann or Scandinavian with Qd5.

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You can save time by starting with the articles on ChessCafe. Read them from new to old. Heisman cross-references his older columns.
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You're welcome

Gorath wrote on 10/23/11 at 23:21:51:


I think that once I reach the extent of my opening theory in my next game, I'm going to make sure I spend at least 2 /3mins thinking per move, as some of the blunders I think happened because I didn't spend enough time calculating.

I did have an ambition to try and learn 3 openings vs d4/e4 and a system vs c4, however, that was a stupid idea. I'm just going to try and learn 1 opening very well against each. Most likely the French vs e4, NID/QID vs d4 and Botvinik Symmetrial English vs c4. I do have a bit of knowledge on the Semi-Slav, so I'll probably still use this until I feel confident enough to play the NID/QID otb.

With regards to HeismanI watched a couple video's earlier and found them quite useful, they're quite long though, so will probably take me a month or more to get through them all.

Thanks for the advice.

MNb, dude, you're a knowledgeable player, but maybe you should work on your motivational skills.

50% against 2 slightly better than average club players in your first two games is a good result. I know many talented players who made the same 50% against 1300 level opposition.
It's also comforting that these 1800 players didn't find ideas to outplay you. So you're already on healthy niveau, although you still need to sort your stuff out.

Avoiding all tactics is indeed impossible. As white you can pre-select the available tactics through your choice of opening variation. For example if you play a London System with d4, Nf3, Bf4, e3, Nbd2, Be2/d3/c4, 0-0, h3 (if necessary) you'll get the same few tactics again and again. After a while you can play them more or less automatically. Surprises rarely happen.
If you're black on the other hand you can't prevent white from pulling you into the mud. Even in rock solid openings like the Rubinstein French or the QGD white can castle long and force you into a race on opposing wings. Most opponents won't do so, but the opportunity is there.

If you really want to play boring chess, that's okay. In that case you should find answers to your opponents opening choices which reduce his attacking potential. Maybe lines in which the Qs are exchenged early.
But then you have to accept that you'll find your edge in grinding out equal endgames until there's nothing left to play for.

There are players who became IMs by playing the same QPOs 1000 times and getting their shields up in a solid black opening. These guys get the same structures in almost every game. They know the few tactical tricks. If the opponent runs into them the game is over in 20 moves. If not they get an equal position they're able to play on auto-pilot at 2400 niveau for 100 moves. That's enough to grind most good club players down, because they simply don't make mistakes a 2200 player could notice. Even for a GM these guys are hard to beat because they know their stuff so well.
The key to this is opening which suit you well, reducing the number of possible branches, and learning to flawlessly play the ca 5 different positions you get.

Yes, Heisman also made a lot of videos on ICC. The topics overlap with his column on ChessCafe. His articles and vids are explicitly for amateurs who want to improve.

I've been playing 3-5 min Blitz chess on chess.com for the last 3 years on and off (just recently switched 2 days ago to ICC), but yes, these were my first 2 otb games.

Basically I was looking to getting into a Kalashnikov, and tbh when he played Bb5, I had completely forgotten the theory of the Moscow, tbh I've never felt comfortable playing the Kalashnikov anyway, I only keep playing it because it's the only opening I know against e4. I'm going to try and learn enough of the french over the next week and a half, so I can use it next time I get 1. e4 again. Tbh I just want an opening where I can stay solid, has limited tactics, and where strategies/ideas are more important, Ruy Lopez and Caro-Kann might be more suitable, if you have any recommendations, I'd be happy to hear them.

Yeh, I think I'm still trying to make the transition out of Blitz mode, I'm use to making a move every 2 seconds, I think I might pack in my Blitz for a while now, and concentrate on the league. But I will read those Dan Heisman articles, I also noticed he's done a lot of videos for ICC, so I'll probably go through those as well.

Yeh I think that's just the way I like to play. I like to be in a position where I have an small advantage and am the only person who can win. I also like fianchettoing my bishop as White, cause I like making my king safe. Also I hate sacrificing material unless it leads to a forced win.

I do have a tournament book on Tal somewhere which I haven't had the time to read, might make that the next book I read, possibly will inspire me to attack more I hope.

I lost my first game playing for the University of Nottingham (2nd Team) against West Bridgford (2nd team) on Tuesday 18th Oct. I had the Black pieces.



My 2nd game was for Nottinghamshire County U160 vs Staffordshire U160. I wasn't actually scheduled to play in this game, but apparently the day before the game, one of their players had dropped out, and the President of the Nottingham Uni Chess Society recommended me to Keith Walters (Captain of the Nottinghamshire U160) for the game (no idea why). Anyway though, I accepted, as I thought it would be cool to play for the County. They decided to put me on board 8/16, and my opponent was Mike Groombridge (ECF 147). Staffordshire won the toss so had odds on White, meaning I got to use the White pieces this game.



If anyone has any advice, I'd be happy to hear it. If not, I hope you weren't too offended by my poor quality games.