The Principal Variation (PV) Training Exercise is
intended to help you play more thoughtful
chess. Instead of playing "good" moves and hoping your opponent does
not
find a killer response ("Hope Chess") the PV Exercise encourages
careful consideration of your opponents likely response before moving. To that end, before each move you solidify in your mind what you
consider the best response of your opponent, and also how you plan to
continue following that. This becomes the principal variation, which is
then written down along with an assessment of the position (for example
+/= or -+). Dan Heisman described this
exercise as follows in his article on Chess Exercises:
The idea is to eliminate your
mind's constant attempts to accept vague lines as credible PVs. In the
following PV Training Game, which was played online at the FICS chess
server, we had unfortunately forgotten about the evaluation aspect
of the exercise.
The opponents were TibetianTick (1647) and HitMeHard (2183), and the
time control was 50-15 with 20minutes added to White's clock at the
beginning of the game. The choice of opening - The King's Gambit:
Becker Defense - had been agreed to before-hand so
that White would not get blown off the board early. The
following
whispers, kibitzes and move times were recorded using LogBot on FICS. Post game notations are in brackets. All comments were hidden from the
players unless marked as "kibitzes". Observer comments have been
retained in
the text for your edification and enjoyment.
1.e4 (0:00) e5 (0:00)
2.f4 (0:04) exf4 (0:03)
3.Nf3 (0:01) h6 (0:05)
This
defines the Becker Defense and is the last move agreed to before the
game. In this defense, Black indicates that he is ready to hold on to
the gambitted pawn by playing g5. In
contrast to the wild Kieseritsky Gambit (3...g5 4.h4 g4 5.Ne5), the Becker Defense allows Black to calmly answer 4.d4
g5 5.h4?! by fianchettoing his bishop to
g7. Thus, White typically looks for alternative ways to challenge Black
in this line.
4.b3 (0:06) TibetianTick is following the recommendations given
by Thomas Johansson in his book
The
King's Gambit for the Creative Aggressor. The idea of this move is
to dissuade Black from continuing g5, which would now compromise the
long b2-h8 diagonal.
4... Nf6 (0:13)
5.e5 (0:23) Ne4 (0:13)
6.Qe2 (0:05) Ng5 (0:43)
7.Bb2 (0:16)
TibetianTick:
still book.
HitMeHard:
sticking with Johansson's suggestions so far (I think)
TibetianTick:
lucky I just looked at this line before we started ;)
TibetianTick:
didn't get very far. I know the next two moves and not much more.
7... Nc6 (0:57)
8.Nc3 (0:38)
TibetianTick:
PV: Nxf3+ Qxf3 Qh4+ g3 fxg3 hxg3 Nd4 O-O-O
8... Nxf3+ (1:02)
HitMeHard: PV: Qxf3 Qh4+
9.Qxf3 (0:07)
TibetianTick:
PV: g3 fxg3 hxg3 Nxe5 Qg2
9... Qh4+
(3:46)
TibetianTick:
ahh, falling into it. Always strange when good players intuit book.
HitMeHard:
was considering 9...Nd4 but it is no good after 10.Qe4 when Qh4+ is
useless b/c the f-pawn is tied up
HitMeHard: PV: g3 fxg3 hxg3
[: Actually 9...Nd4 might work after all. After 10.Qe4
Qh4+ 11.g3 (this was the move Black was scared of) 11...fxg3 is
possible because of the fork 12.Qxh4 Nf3+, which leaves Black in good
shape.
However, White can improve on this line by opting for 12.0-0-0 Qxe4
13.Nxe4 Nc6 14.Nxg3 with some compensation for the pawn.]
10.g3 (1:04)
TibetianTick:
still book.
10... fxg3 (0:33)
HitMeHard: PV:
hxg3 Nd4
11.hxg3 (0:10)
BugPatzer:
hmmm queenside fianchetto in the KGA :-/
scandium:
bizarre looking isn't it?
BugPatzer:
I think it is a bit too slow
11... Nxe5 (3:42)
HitMeHard: PV: Qg2 Qf6
[: In his book, Thomas Johansson gives: "11...Nd4
12.0-0-0! Nxf3 13.gxh4 White seems to have good compensation for the
pawn since the f3 knight is in peril of
being caught".]
12.Qg2 (3:34)
TibetianTick:
that's the end of book. I think it says this is "unclear", which I'm
very happy to have instead of "white is cooked"
TibetianTick:
PV: (on my own) Qd8 O-O-O
Saulzar:
Why not pin the kn?
[: Why not pin the
knight? After 12.Qe3 (the queen needs to protect g3), Black simply
grabs the exchange with 12...Qxh1 13.Qxe5+ Kd8 and the won material should more than outweigh the
lack of development.]
12... Qg5 (6:11)
HitMehard: PV: O-O-O d6 or 13. Ne4 Qf5
TibetianTick: hmm
what does black get for getting chased?
HitMeHard:
did not like Qf6 after all, looks very suspect after 13.Nd5
HitMeHard:
my goal now is to prevent the onslaught that is bound to follow, just
wish I had more time
Saulzar:
Qe3, Qe7? Is there a killer response to Qe3 that I am missing? Seems
that white is winning afterwards to me..
Saulzar:
Oh I am retarded, excuse me... :)
Saulzar:
and you claim to have more chess blindness.. pft.
BugPatzer:
white sure does have a nice lead in development, despite b3 Bb2
Saulzar:
Two pawns though..
BugPatzer:
yeah
Saulzar:
But two pawns for two open files on the king surely must not be so much
of a bad thing..
Saulzar:
Hmm
BugPatzer:
I would think O-O-O when black cannot play d5 without giving back a
pawn so probably Bc5 then d6 for black
Saulzar:
Ne4 does not seem to lead anywhere great..
Saulzar:
Nd5 perhaps however..
[: Black was once more seeing ghosts, and was mistaken
in dismissing 12...Qf6 because of 13.Nd5? After the simple
tactics 13... Nf3+!, the fianchettoed bishop on b2 will fall. A likely
continuation would have been: 14.Ke2 Qxb2 15.Qxf3 Qxa1 16.Nxc7+ Kd8
17.Nxa8 with an advantage for Black. However, Qf6 is probably still
inferior to the game line as the knight on e5 is prone to come under
crossfire after 13.0-0-0]
13.O-O-O (8:21)
TibetianTick:
PV: Bd6 Re1
Saulzar:
Nd5 last move seemed to force Kd8?
Saulzar:
Looks very odd now
Saulzar:
Bc5 Kb1 perhaps..
13... c6! (4:32)
HitMeHard: PV Re1 Kd8
TibetianTick:
Ah, protecting that tender c7 square.
Saulzar:
Interesting..
Saulzar:
Hm, I would still think Kb1 in order to play d4 at some stage would be
a good idea..
HitMeHard:
Mental note: I am surprised at how much of a distraction having to
write down these PV lines are, it takes some getting used to
Saulzar:
Maybe Re1, Kd8 (His line), Ne4, Qe7?, d4, Ng6, Bd3...
[:
13...c6! was the most powerful move played in the game and White never
even considered it in his PV line. Look at all this quiet pawn move
does to hamper White's attacking possibilities:
-
The c3-knight no longer has any good squares
to jump to except e4, which is questionable. This prevents the attack on
c7
that White was considering.
-
The light bishop has zero developing squares
besides the dubious e2. This also means the Rooks won't be linked soon.
Thus White needs to watch the back row mate in all combo calculations.
-
The Queen is biting on that c6 pawn.
-
And Black's King has a good square for retreat.
This move alone stifled the possibility of
getting an attack rolling. Yet, all it did was follow Steinitz's simple
advice --
contain the knights.]
14.Re1 (4:26)
TibetianTick:
PV: Bd6 Ne4 Qe7 NxB QxN Bxe5 hmm, that looks too good
[: White overlooks the
plan of creating a safe haven for Black's king on the queenside, but
instead continues to believe that Black
will castle kingside.]
14... Kd8 (0:37)
HitMeHard: PV Ne4 Qf5
BugPatzer:
only 2 ply?
Saulzar:
I like Ne4 very much..
BugPatzer:
the light bishop, white's problem child
Saulzar:
Qf5? what about the knight?
Saulzar:
That's why I think d4 would be nice
Saulzar:
Qf5, d4, Ng6 Bd3 I like...
Saulzar:
Hm, but Nf3..
Saulzar:
But Nf3-Re3 and he's got it trapped..
HitMeHard: I
preferred 13...c6 over d6 just before, as it seemed to take many good
squares from his knight. Btw, I have to watch for double threat on e5
if he should move that knight to open the b2-e5 diagonal
Saulzar:
Fixes up the white bishop and nicely prepares Rf1...
15.Ne4 (5:46)
TibetianTick:
PV: Qe7 g4
HitMeHard:
sorry for stating the obvious to you guys observing, just thinking out
aloud
Saulzar:
Also Nd6.. hmm
Saulzar:
Yeah, I don't much like Qf5.. Qe7 perhaps, but then he's staring
straight at the rook..
15... Qf5 (2:17)
HitMeHard: PV: d4 Ng4
BugPatzer:
I dunno if white wants d4 here
HitMeHard:
once again in a regular game I would have banged out this move in 5
seconds (only reasonable move), but here I have to figure out his most
likely response
Saulzar:
nodes=110; nps=0.4; depth=2; hash hits=99.6%
Saulzar:
I should say that would help with your calculation if you actually
figure out the move sequence
Saulzar:
I think d4 is nice - fixes up the light bishop problem primarily,
otherwise he has no good place of putting it..
16.Be2 (4:32)
TibetianTick:
PV: Be2 Bb4 g4
BugPatzer:
one problem is that black can playing the freeing move d5 here
BugPatzer:
and maintain an iron grip on the center
16... d5 (1:27)
HitMeHard: PV: Nc3 Bd6
Saulzar:
seems to me that white really needs to get things going being 2 pawns
down..
Saulzar:
But it's nearly looking comfortable..
BugPatzer:
g4 has been prevented
17.Rh5 (3:13)
TibetianTick:
PV: Qg6 Ng5
Saulzar:
Maybe not
Saulzar:
g4- Qxe4, Bf3.. and he will get the knight back... but hm
BugPatzer:
I was thinking g4 Nxg4
TibetianTick:
hmm didn't even consider Qxe4
17... Qxe4 (2:54)
HitMeHard: PV: Qxe4 dxe4 Rxe5, wonder if
g5 would have worked looks too dangerous without closer inspection
TibetianTick:
heh
TibetianTick:
considering RxN QxQ Re8+ KxR Bf3+ hmm, that doesn't work out well for
me :(
[: 17...g5? runs into
immediate problems after 18.Nxg5. Once
more the long diagonal a1-h8 is a problem for Black.]
18.Qxe4 (4:17)
TibetianTick: PV: Qxe4 dxe4 Rxe5 f5 Nothing
really better.
18... dxe4 (0:03)
HitMeHard: PV: Rxe5 Bd6 Rxe4
BugPatzer:
the obvious Qxe4 dxe4 Rxe5 Bd6 Rxe4 Bxg3 leaves black with 3 passed
kingside pawns
BugPatzer:
well I guess that does not quite work as g6 would fall
19.Rxe5 (1:07)
BugPatzer:
g7 I mean^
BugPatzer:
white's lead in development give him some chances still
19... Bd6 (1:04)
HitMeHard: PV: Rxe4 f6
[: In the post-mortem
we looked at the very interesting line 19...f5!? It looks like the rook on e5 is trapped, and
White has no better than trying 20.g4 Bd6 21.Rxf5 giving up the
exchange but with prospects of winning back the g7-pawn.]
20.Rxe4 (1:06)
TibetianTick:
PV: Bxg3 Rg1
eyeing the g7 sq.
20... f6 (1:32)
HitMeHard: PV: g4 Bd7
scandium:
Bh5?
BugPatzer:
white could even try to restrain black's kingside pawns with Bh5 and g4
BugPatzer:
while at the same time threatening a rook intrusion into the 8th rank
scandium:
i'm still finding this whole Bb2 idea in the KG to be really weird
BugPatzer:
yeah, it sucks :^)
scandium:
i don't know about 'sucks' but its definitely offbeat
21.g4 (5:21)
TibetianTick:
PV: Bd7 Bc4
BugPatzer:
Bh5 Bxg4 Re8+ Rxe8 Rxe8+ Kd7 Rg8 and white has a blockade on the h6
pawn and the g pawn or f6 pawn will be falling
[:
At this point in the game White is off-balance and believes Black will
convert the pawn unless a creative and drastic plan is executed. White
hasn't been able to make anything out of his advanced development and
isn't able to come up with a good plan.]
21... Bd7 (0:58)
HitMeHard: PV: Bc4 Kc7; Much rather hold
on to my extra pawn then play 21...h5!? which looks drawish
TibetianTick:
heh, actually predicted a move ;)
HitMeHard
kibitzes: You will have to pry your gambited pawn from my cold dead
hands (after I lose on time)
TibetianTick
kibitzes: lol!
BugPatzer:
I do not know about white's chances now
HitMeHard:
finally he is catching up on time, worried me a few moves back
22.Rh1 (5:41)
TibetianTick:
PV: Re8 Bd3
BugPatzer:
white had to play with more energy... g4 did not take advantage of
white's only plus.... his lead in development
TibetianTick:
obviously I'm considering the g-push.
22... Re8 (1:51)
HitMeHard: PV: Rxe8 Bxe8
reasoanblep:
I would have played Kc7 here
BugPatzer:
black can now complete development with Kc7!
reasoanblep:
to connect the Rs
reasoanblep:
but I dropped a R out of the blue in my previous game, so I am not
entitled to speak :)
BugPatzer:
Re8, clearly inferior to Kc7! but who can blame black for wanting to
trade off pieces here
scandium:
so much for the g5 push
23.Rxe8+ (2:04)
TibetianTick:
PV: Bxe8 g5
23... Bxe8 (0:17)
HitMeHard: PV: d4 Bg6
24.g5 (1:55)
TibetianTick:
PV: hxg5 Rh8 Kc7
HitMeHard: I
did not consider this at all
HitMeHard:
seems to give me connected passed pawns with just a little bit of
anxiety attached :)
TibetianTick:
I hope he's just getting a beer, and not thinking up something juicy.
TibetianTick:
probably just boggled at my plan.
24... hxg5 (3:54)
HitMeHard: PV: Rh7 f5 Rxg7 Be7
25.Rh8 (0:12)
TibetianTick:
the plan here, of course, is to stifle his pieces and make mine active
before he converts that one pawn (now 2) adv.
TibetianTick:
hmm g6 is nice here.
[:
White has reverted to "Hope Chess" for the time being -- not figuring
out a PV]
25... Ke7 (2:13)
HitMeHard: PV: Rg8 g6
NakedChick:
So now Re8 as black's next move and everything is fine?
NakedChick:
Rd8 I mean?
26.Bh5 (3:02)
TibetianTick:
hmm what am I missing. Be6 looking to trade?
NakedChick:: so
Rd8 and everything is fine?
TibetianTick:
need to activate my King next.
26... Rd8 (1:33)
HitMeHard: PV: Bf3 Bg6
TibetianTick:
look. I'm just amazed I'm not completely dead yet.
thompsbj:
seems like Bxf6 wins a pawn.
HitMeHard:
Bf4 is a nice resource now
TibetianTick:
Kd1 Bf4 d3. scratch that (Bxh5+).
TibetianTick:
hmm, this isn't good
27.Kb1 (4:17)
TibetianTick:
:( PV: Bf4 d3
TibetianTick:
dont' really want to retreat my K, but can't do with the exchanged Bs.
TibetianTick:
I guess he can exchange them now anyway.
BugPatzer:
Bxh5 ought to do it
TibetianTick:
grumble. What's plan B, Murdock?
27... Bxh5 (2:02)
HitMeHard: PV: Rxh4 Kf7
TibetianTick:
would really be nice to play Bxf6 if the g7 pawn weren't there ;)
TibetianTick
kibitzes: I have a feeling i'm not going to be able to swindle you
Jens. Shall I resign here or keep playing. can't stop the K-side pawns
now. ;(
HitMeHard
kibitzes: not much swindling potential left I agree ;)
TibetianTick
resigns 0-1
Postscript
Some of the lessons learned were exactly as expected. Our
minds continually tempted us to revert to the much faster Hope Chess,
where we have only vague ideas of how our opponent might proceed.
Keeping the point of the exercise in mind helped us focus on solidifying
these ideas to write them down. White is already experiencing a
difference in later games. He constantly catches himself lapsing
into Hope Chess, and struggles to remain focused. More training of
this sort would probably be helpful.
There were also some unexpected observations to make
about this game. There were no tactical shots that White missed. The PV
exercise helps prevent that sort of common mistake that usually decides
games between players where the rating difference is so high. Instead the
game was decided because of Black's greater, and White's lesser positional
knowledge. Black immediately knew he must take refuge in a manual
queenside castle, while White was still convinced (as his plans and PV
indicate) that Black would go for the quicker, but ultimately less secure
Kingside castle. This is also evident in White anticipating Black would
play moves that were inferior to the text moves.
Perhaps the single biggest indication of a gap in
positional understanding was 13...c6. White's PV never included this
move, nor did it even cross his mind, yet this is the strongest move on
the board and Black played it without much second thought.
From the description of the PV exercise it sounds
like a training method to improve tactical calculations, and it certainly
is helpful. But the true virtue of this exercise, even at higher levels
of play, is the record of each player's plans. The game text highlights
holes in positional knowledge for players to work on later.
Training your mind to stay focused on the game is
bound to improve your chess. Give the PV exercise a try. It's probably
just what you're looking for.
Index of Annotated Games
