The Secret of Chess

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi Guys.

In another thread (I forget where) Keith Arkell sounded a wee bit miffed that only
his losses found their way into print.

Although I could see his humour behind this remark I wonder if I had been guilty of this too.

So a quick search through the Corner revealed no Keith Arkell games. Good.
I found a win, I picked a theme (do nothing and win) and stayed with it.

As I was bashing it out I suddenly realised OOPS! I've stumbled upon something here.

Sorry Keith but the secret is out.
What have I done now? Killed off Chess.

http://www.chessedinburgh.co.uk/chandle ... handID=357

[Alex Holowczak]

I have a wonderful knack of turning a completely drawn game into a hopelessly lost one. In a desperate "must try to win at all costs" moment, I end up ruining a perfectly stable position, and end up losing due to over aggression.

Also, it's "Caro-Kann", not "Caro-Khan".

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi Alex,

We all have that knack.

Sometimes there is nothing to do in a position so we panic.
The good players 'tack' as Euwe put it.
They know there is nothing on so improve a piece or nudge at
a potential weakness. They play chess.

If I'm in a nothing doing position I think I'm losing so sac something.

You know sometimes I think 'there is a secret' that good chess players
discover and once discovered the other good players realise he has
discovered it and tell him/her NOT to reveal it.

(If a good player comes on denies this then it's true).

I'll leave Khan in, I think I've been calling it that for years now anyway.

I only change a Corner if I have inadvertently caused an offence or it is a misleading typo.

Cheers

Geoff

[Sebastian Stone]

Finally, some advice I can use.

My whole opening system, with white at least, is devoted to "doing nothing".

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi.

Glad it has inspired you.

Actually that is how I play as White. My pet opening is the delayed Lopez.
I wait for the Knight to go onto f6 and then chop c6 and play d3.

I then potter about looking for wee traps - Black (after dxc6) can never play d5
so his traditional counter play against my e4 pawn is slowed down.

No need to play gambit openings as White you already have a plus.

As Black it's Latvians, Benko's, Budapests...if it losses a pawn or two then
I play it.

I only picked that Keith Arkell game because it was (on my DB) his quickest win.
I've seen his games in Zebra's (he knows the secret.....)

Geoff

[John Upham]

http://www.chessedinburgh.co.uk/chandle ... handID=357

Geoff,

I think you might have confused the Indian manservant Mir Sultan Khan with the Austrian Marcus Kann. They are both well known chess players and it was the more Austrian (and less Indian) of the two who worked with the English player, Horatio Caro on the Caro-Kann Defence.

Apologies for introducing facts into the discussion...

[John Hickman]

The secret is this. The position you get at the start of the game is the best one you are ever going to get. Every move you make is just going to make it worse. The secret is to make your position less worse than your opponent does with their moves.

True Grandmasters of this art get to a point where they can even maintain this just by playing less moves, sometimes even less than 10 each.

I was sworn to secrecy on this, so please don't tell anyone else.

[Paul McKeown]

http://www.chessedinburgh.co.uk/chandle ... handID=357: cacoethes scribendi.

[Geoff Chandler]

Hi John No1.

That will be why my spell checker skims it. I did an article about Sultan Khan
ages ago. (perhaps I should maintain the trend and start calling him Sultan Kann)

I lean on my spell checker more than a middle class chess player does his BCO.

I don't mind at all you bringing in some facts, but try not to make a habit of it.

------------------------

Hi John No.2

"The secret is to make your position less worse than your opponent does with their moves."

Wise words - which I will pinch and place on a future Corner.

Perhaps 1.Nf3 2.Ng1. 3.Nf3 4.Ng1 and keep doing that until
your opponent has ruined his position with development is the answer.

----------------------------

Salve Paul,

Thanks for the link.

cacoethes scribendi.

Scribere est agere.

Geoff

[Paul McKeown]

scilicet: scribimus indocti doctique poemata passim

[Geoff Chandler]

Hmmmmmm.....

Homo praesumitur bonus donec probetur malus

Finis

[Alex Holowczak]

I ay gotta clew what them gooin on about. (It may as well be a foreign language...)

[Paul McKeown]

she has beaten Richard Pallister

(sic)

"sed perseverare diabolicum" (lucius annaeus seneca), alias, "cuiusvis hominis est errare, nullius nisi insipientis in errore perseverare" (marcus tullius cicero)

: ergo malus

[John Hickman]

"Romanes eunt domus"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vsawP_Ew0r4

[Paul McKeown]

"Romanes eunt domus"

scribe "romani ite domum", stulte!