Training Week 4

Positives from the week

After nearly one month, I'm still very motivated and the study plan doesn't seem like a burden. I think it helps a lot that I put much emphasis on playing which is fun and also motivating.

I also finally finished analysing another OTB game of mine (I will post the analysis) shortly and now I look forward to analyse my next game which will (hopefully) take less time.

Improvements for the future

This week I spent the least amount on time on my study plan until now and a lot of the time I spent was playing games or going over games from a book. For the next week, I should have more time available and I will try to spend it on high intensity work, like game analysis and solving puzzles.

I also had some days where I couldn't really concentrate on chess. I tried switching the specific study method which sometimes helped, but other times I had to stop studying since it didn't make any sense looking at a position while my mind is thinking about something completely different.

Instructive positions

Nezhmetdinov-Piotrowkij, 1940

White to play

Black has just taken a second pawn on b2, but this was too greedy.

10.O-O Nxe4 11.Bxe4 Qf6 12.Qg3!

Now white is threatening Qc7.

12...Qd8 13.Rfd1 Developing another piece with tempo 13...Qc8 14.Rab1 Nd7 15.Bg5 Nf6? 16.Bxf6 gxf6 17.Qf3!


Black to play

17...f5?

A tactical oversight, better was 17...Bg7 18.Rxb7! O-O 19.Rdd7! and white is clearly better.

18.Rxb7!!

Black resigned due to 18...Be7 (18...fxe4 19.Qxf7#) 19.Bxc6+ Kf8 20.Rdd7 +-