A Very Lucky Draw!
The 2010 Wrekin Chess Congress was held in Telford on the weekend of 9th and 10th of January, and a very well run and enjoyable tournament it was too! There was a good turnout despite the bad weather we were experiencing at the time.
As usual with five round (Swiss system) tournaments, when commuting, I only […]
How to Improve at Chess
Some time ago I wrote an article giving five tips that (in my experience) will help players of about Elo 1400 (ECF 100) improve their play to around Elo 1720 (140). I then almost immediately had to write a follow-up because it was quickly pointed out I had somehow missed out the most important method […]
How Many Bad Moves Make a Defeat?
It’s time I got this blog going again. I had a look this afternoon and realised I haven’t written anything here for ten months now! I’ve played several tournament games since then.
I wanted to look at this game particularly because I misplayed the opening. However, looking at it now, I see I didn’t come out […]
The Resilient French - Does 24…g5 Really Work for Black?
In my previous article I left it where I (as black) had just played 24…g5?! I said I didn’t think it worked for me and there was a simple plan of 24…Rb8 that was much better. Well, having looked a little closer I’m no longer sure that 24…g5?! is as bad as I used to […]
The Resilient French - Moving Forward
It’s been a while since I posted and article on this blog, mainly due to having been on holiday for a while. In this article I want to pick up from the last article The Resilient French - Returning to the Game. In this article I looked at the game up to the exchange of […]
The Resilient French - Returning to the Game
First, thanks to Tim and Alan for their comments on the line previously analysed. Looking at it now I believe Tim is right and I was right to play 10…Nxc3 - although the play I followed it with was poor, although my opponent let me off the hook.
In the position in the first diagram
I […]
The Resilient French - A Last Look at the 10…Bg5 Variation
In this article I continue with the discussion that began with The Resilience of the French Defence, and that I last visited in the article The Resilient French - A Closer Look at the 10…Bg5 Variation.
Alan contributed the following:
Here’s a possible continuation: 12. Qd2 Bd7 13. Qe3 Qe7 14. Nf4 Nd8 15. Rae1 b6 16. […]
The Resilient French - A Closer Look at the 10…Bg5 Variation
Thanks to Alan Griffiths for posting his comment to my The Resilient French - Just After the Opening article. To recap, Alan said:
… I don’t like 10 … Bg5 11 Bxg5 Nxg5 - the white queen goes to one of the black squares (e1, d2 and c1 all look good) and, if you play Nf7, […]