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Why Club Chess is the Best Sport of All
by Eric C. Johnson
Some people say that chess is a game. Others call it an art. Yet another group calls it a sport (well, a "mental" sport at least).
Garry Kasparov has called chess the "cruelest" of all sports.
I think it is a mixture of all three, but that the sporting aspects clearly dominate at the local chess club scene. Whenever you combine a complex activity like chess with a short time control (our club games are played at G/40 speed, meaning that all moves must be completed within 40 minutes), you will get a mix of good moves and horrible blunders. The good moves make the players feel great - the bad moves stir the emotions and lead to some very surprising situations.
And when it comes to sports, it is the side that best controls the emotional element that usually comes out on top.
The following game is an excellent example of the best (and worst!) of local club chess. The surprise ending is very much worth the wait, and I hope it shows you that everyone can have a good time and occasional success at their local chess club.
White: Eric C. Johnson (2100 USCF)
Black: William LeBoeuf (1700 USCF)
Second Saturday Quads Allentown, PA
Time control G/40
Played January 13, 2001
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6
The players have reached a standard position in the French Defense. White's third move (3. e5) signals the Advance Variation. The first player is taking all the central space his opponent will give him, and hopes to convert that space into either a suffocating clamp or a kingside attack - or both!
In return, Black has clarified the central pawn structure, which is a plus for him because now he can efficiently plan his counterattack. All of his moves (3. ... c5; 4. ... Nc6; 5. ... Qb6) are aimed at the Achilles heel of White's space advantage, the d4-square.
These move sequences are what club players refer to when they talk about "home preparation" or their "opening repertoires." The players have studied this position at home, and each has "decided" that they like the chances for their respective sides.
Choosing which opening sequences to study and to play is a big part of the "fun" of club chess, and you will find your club chess experience more pleasurable if you buy a few books and try to work on your game after each club session.
The nice thing about club chess is that you have the raw materials (i.e., your game scores) to refer back to after each outing.
6. a3 a5?!
White's choice of 6. a3 is an attempt to ward off this pressure on the d4-square. Given the chance, White will follow-up with 7. b4 and try to force Black into a premature pawn capture on d4, thus freeing up the c3-square for the White QN.
Black has several good answers, including the cramping 6. ... c4!?, the steady 6. ... Bd7, and the more provocative 6. ... Nh6!? Which one he chooses will depend on what he has studied at home, and on what types of positions he likes to play.
But why not try to shut down White's plan by direct means (6. ... a5)? The answer can be found by comparison with a related variation of the French Advance, known as the Milner-Barry Gambit (1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 c5 4. c3 Nc6 5. Nf3 Qb6 6. Bd3!?). This is a very tactical line where White gambits one or both of his center pawns in order to gain time to develop all of his pieces and bring his rooks to the center files before Black can castle.
The conservative line of the MBG runs 6. ... cxd4 7. cxd4 Bd7 (Black cannot take the pawn directly because of the defender-revealing bishop-check on b5) 8. Nc3 Nxd4 9. Nxd4 Qxd4 10. 0-0 and now Black usually covers the b5-square with 10. ... a6, preventing intrusions by the over-active Nc3.
The MBG is dangerous, but Black has the better chances according to theory. So, White usually looks for alternatives to 6. Bd3!?, which is why in the current game he chose 6. a3!? This is part of that whole "opening preparation" thing that club players keep talking about! The more you know about your favorite variations, the more choices you can make, and the more "bad moves" you can avoid.
Getting back to our question about why 6. ... a5?! doesn't quite work, we can see that one thing it does is "weaken" the b5-square. Compare the current situation with that MBG line - White has played a2-a3, and Black has tossed in a7-a5. That means Black cannot cover the b5-square with a timely a7-a6 anymore, making it harder for him to defend well against the MBG. And it means that White can play more actively than usual.
We can conclude a couple of things here. First, 6. ... a5?! is not exactly the best choice here. By comparison with the MBG, we see its shortcomings. Second, Black is probably at the end of his "home preparation" and is now on his own. Either he didn't remember this variation or he didn't get to it in his home study. We can be pretty confident that he didn't intend to defend a less-good variation of the MBG, and that his 6. ... a5?! was an impulsive reply.
This is not an uncommon situation. You will find that your club opponents know some openings very well indeed, but that they have gaps in their knowledge and things they need to work on.
7. Bd3 (!) cxd4 8. cxd4 Nge7 9. 0-0 Ng6
A move like 9. ... Nf5 would be more direct.
10. Nc3 Bd7 11. Na4 Qa7 12. Be3 Be7 13. Rc1 0-0 14. Nc5 Bxc5 15. Rxc5
The opening has gone well for the first player, and White has a significant plus. He has retained his suffocating space advantage, secured the open c-file, and made progress on the dark squares by removing the Black KB.
15. ... Rfc8 16. h4
White's choice is designed to loosen up his opponent's kingside. The general plan is to push h4-h5, induce some type of weakness in the castled position, and then follow-up with the standard f2-f4-f5-f6 break.
The space advantage represented by the central pawn mass means that White will find it easier to bring attackers over to the kingside, and Black will struggle to bring defenders because his lines of communication between the two wings are reduced.
Black must strive to make progress on the queenside, in hopes of distracting his opponent.
16. ... Nce7 17. h5 Nf8 18. Qb1 h6
19. Nh2?!
White's plan of Nh2-g4-h6 (or f6) is a good one, but can be improved by tossing in the stabilizing 19. Rfc1 (!) first. If all one or both sets of rooks are traded on the c-file, this reduces Black's chances for counterplay. We'll see how important this is later in the game!
19. ... Bc6 20. Ng4 b6 21. Rcc1
Here 21. Rc3!? could be considered.
21. ... b5 22. f4 b4 23. f5 bxa3 24. f6 Nf5 25. Bxf5 exf5
26. Qxf5??
A classic case of a single hasty move that spoils everything! White needed to do just a bit of calculation - he crashes through quite nicely after the simple 26. fxg7!, in part because the sequence 26. ... fxg4 27. gxf8=Q+ Kxf8 (if 27. ... Rxf8 the Bc6 hangs) 28. Qh7! is very strong.
When playing fast time control games, however, it is all-too-easy to make the "safe" move (which almost inevitably turns out to be the decisive mistake!).
26. ... Bd7!
This important defensive move removes an attacker and buys time to organize a successful queenside "distraction."
7. Qf3 Rxc1 28. Rxc1 axb2 29. Rf1?!
White still had chances to defend himself by recognizing that his chance for a kingside knockout has gone. Thus, 29. Rb1! is better.
29. ... Bxg4 30. Qxg4 Ne6 (!)
Simple, obvious, and winning. The Ne6 is now the better minor piece (compared to the Be3), and those queenside pawns are very threatening.
31. fxg7 Rb8 32. Qf5 a4 33. Kh2 a3 34. Bxh6 a2 35. Qxe6!?
White recognizes the seriousness of his situation, and uses a "threatening" tactical sequence to interfere with Black's simple plan of promoting his pawns. Normal moves will lose, so he goes for broke. If the Queen is captured, it looks like a devastating invasion on f8 occurs. Should Black be concerned?
At our club, we have a slogan: "Calculation replaces fear." This phrase means that instead of reacting emotionally to such situations, one should coldly and carefully CALCULATE the consequences. In chess, if you cannot "see" the negative consequences of a particular move, even after prolonged calculation, you should assume there are none. Trust your skills as a chessplayer. Players should not be playing "hope chess" or "fear chess" or letting their emotions interfere with the brutal task of calculating moves.
In the present case, Black "fears" that after 35. Qxe6 fxe6 36. Rf8+ Rxf8 (clearly he cannot allow 36. ... Kh7 37. g8=Q+, etc.) 37. gxf8=Q, White regains his queen. But is there a mate? No. And those impressive queenside pawns are still there.
So White's "idea" was flawed. However, it may just have unnerved his opponent enough to explain what follows...
35. ... b1=Q 36. Qd6
Again, aiming at the f8-square, this time with slightly more deadly effect: 36. Qd6!? Qxf1?? 37. Qf8+ Rxf8 38. gxf8=Q+ Kh7 39. Qg7mate, thanks to the presence of the f7-pawn. Black would have two queens on the board (!), but find himself mated. Fortunately, Black avoids this and covers the f8-square with his next moves...
36. ... Qb4 (!) 37. Qf6 Qae7 38. Qf4 Qb1 39. Bg5?!!
What kind of punctuation can we give such a move? White has to play something, and he has to "keep hope alive" by locking in his g7-pawn so that sneaky threats on h8 are still around.
If Black remembered our club slogan, he would "calculate" here that although 39. ... Qxg5?? 40. Qxf7+ was very bad, the "obvious" simplifying moves 39. ... Qxf1 (!), giving back one of his queens, was more than sufficient to end the game. Instead, due in part to time pressure, his next move came at lightning speed...
39. ... Qe6 (?!) 40. Bf6 a1=Q
A key moment. Black now has THREE Queens on the board, giving him an enormous material superiority.
But the game situation is not about having extra material. Black has had enough material to win with for many moves. Instead, the game situation is about "staying cool" under "pressure" (both by the opponent and the clock), and about calmly identifying which elements of the position are important to the game outcome, and which are not.
Having a third queen is nice, but stopping the opponent's counterplay is the key.
41. h6
Setting up one last threat.
41. ...Qxf1 ???
A howler of the first magnitude. White was prepared to resign after the "calm" 41. ... Kh7, ending the march of the h-pawn (as well as ending any threats at all, for that matter). Instead, we get a finish that every club player dreams about...
42. h7+ Kxh7 43. Qh4+ Kg8 44. Qh8 mate 1-0
The final position deserves a diagram. Black has three queens on the board, and is (most cruelly) mated. And the crowd goes wild!
*****
In our game, White won the opening knowledge battle and achieved an impressive position. By move 26, he was on the verge of crashing through. But one hasty move (26. Qxf5??) turned the game around, and it was Black who then had a winning position. In the final seconds, however, he let the game slip away. Think "Hail Mary." Think "Immaculate Reception."
That's it. That's what club chess is about. Home preparation. Opening repertoires. Putting what you study into real-time game practice every week.
Facing opponents who play parts of the game well, and other parts not-so-well. The opportunity to improve. The pressure of the clock. The thrill of victory. The agony of defeat.
The once in a lifetime chance to win a game even when the other guy has three queens on the board. The sinking feeling of letting the game slip away even though YOU have the three queens. The chance to get YOUR games up on this website.
That's why we keep coming back to our local chess clubs. If you think you can mix it up with these guys (and come on, who couldn't win with three queens!), please consider stopping by our club.
We'll give you a good introduction to club chess, offer you the chance to improve your game, and a few thrills along the way. That's sports, folks...
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