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A Rare Peek into the Mind of a GM

Back in the 1990s, Grandmaster Video produced a video magazine on VHS tape that lasted approximately 20 issues.  I loved them so much that I purchased the entire collection.  Going back and watching these videos today is a bit of a shock as all the players featured—mostly British GMs since it was filmed in the UK—such as Nunn, Hodgson, Adams, Short, Norwood, etc. look so freaking young!  How young?  Well, let’s put it this way: the first issue of GM Video magazine came out in 1990… the year Magnus Carlsen was born!

Of course, the important thing is the content and these tapes were loaded with interesting interviews, tournament video, and games.  One of my favorite segments was on issue number 3, which featured a game between a very young Alexander Khalifman and ‘The Great Dane,’ Bent Larsen.  What made this game so interesting was that after it was played, the players went back and dubbed in their thoughts.

In other words, they shared what they were thinking at the time the game was being played.  So, as you are watching the game, you can hear them thinking out loud.  For example, you can hear Khalifman calculating a line, then stopping and calculating a different one when he sees something better.  (By the way, Khalifman played 1.d4 and Larsen defended with the King’s Indian Defence.  However, the Russian was just too good on that day, and ended up beating Larsen.)

I’ve always enjoyed this type of commentary, and wondered why there weren’t more tapes put out using this format, as it’s a great way to learn the game.  Well, British GM John Emms has recently come out with a book called, The Survival Guide to Competitive Chess where he shares with the reader many of his thoughts that took place during his games.

For example, take a look at the following position:

J. Emms - I. Upton

British League 2005

Black to move

Says Emms:  I had been slowly building up, was planning to double rooks on the e-file, and felt my pressure on the kingside justified some sort of edge.  White’s bishop on e5 is a strong piece, so I wasn’t totally surprised when my opponent played…

 

21…Nd5

 

Question: What does this change? Are there any threats?

 

*          *          *

 

22 Rae1?

 

My thoughts after Nd5 were: ‘Okay, an exchange of bishops; the only question is, do I capture on g7 or allow Black to capture on e5? I quite fancy a rook on e5, and his king on g7 would protect some vulnerable squares.’ Basically, regarding Black’s move I saw no further than the idea of introducing a bishop trade (to my credit, I suppose I did at least see that!). So I was a bit shocked when I saw Black’s next move.

 

Answer:  22…f6!

 

White to move

 

Of course, 21…Nd5 introduces the possibility of …f7-f6.  Simple really!  It’s less a question of deciding whether this move is good or not (it is!), than why I completely overlooked the idea.  As I mentioned earlier, perhaps psychologically it’s easy to miss a move that creates weaknesses in its own camp.

 

To overcome such psychological oversights, ideally White should be considering after 21…Nd5:

 

1)  Where can the knight go from d5?

2)  What possibilities has it opened up for other pieces (White and Black)?

 

The answer to the second question is: for White, Bxg7; for Black, bishop moves to f6 and a capture on e5; queen moves from e7-h4; and two advances with the f-pawn.  This process, which should only take a few seconds, would have immediately alerted me to the possibility of …f6.  Indeed, having realized the importance of it, I suspect I would have actually gained time on the clock because this would have led to a capture on g7 without much thought instead of contemplating who should exchange bishops.

 

Returning to the game, I was taken aback by this oversight and, seeing the game was about to shift heavily in Black’s favour, quickly played…

 

23 Bg3

 

…and offered a draw, which my opponent accepted.  This was a case of offering a draw in the hope that your opponent doesn’t realize things are turning in his favour (more about this in Chapter 2).  After the logical sequence of moves 23…e5 24 Nc2 Qf7 25 Be4 Bc6 26 c4 Ne7 27 b3 f5 28 Bxc6 Nxc6:

 

 

White is really beginning to suffer for not trading bishops on g7 (look at that miserable bishop on g3 – it’s in real danger of being trapped), and delaying the draw offer until this stage would of course have been too late.

As you can see, Emms is not afraid to delve into his mistakes and show that contrary to what we club players may think, GMs do in fact make mistakes or even - dare I say - on rare occasions become a bit lax.

Most of the games in the book are Emms’ which is good as we get to hear exactly why he did what he did, how it worked out, and what he should have done on those occasions when he overlooked something.

The 160 page “battle manual” is broken down into four chapters:

1.  In the Heat of the Battle
2.  Winning, Drawing and Losing
3.  Clock Control
4.  Opening Play

The book contains a lot of paragraphs where Emms is just “talking” to the reader, which I really like.  Rather than load you up with variations, he takes the time to really explain his thoughts on various important subjects.  For example, check out what he says on calculation and blunders from the beginning of chapter one (In the Heat of the Battle):

For the majority of this chapter I’d like to provide some thoughts on calculation during a game: how to make the most of tactical opportunities and to minimize blunders.

Something’s Changed

It’s far more important not to do anything stupid
than to create brilliant combinations. -Larry Evans

Every move your opponent makes changes the position.  There, I’ve said it.  Okay, ‘stating the obvious’ comes to mind, but looking through many games (mainly my own), I’ve noticed that this little ‘pearl of wisdom’ is very often forgotten, especially in the heat of battle.  I believe players lose more games simply by forgetting this fundamental than by any breakdown in calculation in tricky tactical positions.

Good advice, no?  And John offers these ‘pearls’ throughout the book, along with illustrative positions, mostly from his own games.

The Bottom Line

Imagine asking a GM to keep a diary of his games, and then to later go back and annotate his more interesting and instructive games/positions.  Well, in essence that’s what Emms has done here.  This is a very personal book, as you feel as if Emms is talking directly to you.

My only gripe, and it is actually a pretty big one, is that there is no game, opening, or player index in the back of the book.  This makes it impossible to look up a specific player, game or game fragment, or opening.  I don’t know if this is Emms or the publisher’s fault, all I know is these days indexes should be mandatory in all chess books!

That said, if you are looking to spend several pleasant hours going through GM games and positions with the GM who played them, you will want to pick up this instructive and highly readable book.

On a scale of 1-10, The Survival Guide to Competitive Chess by John Emms gets an 8.
 

From the Publisher's website:  John Emms is one of the UK’s leading Grandmasters and has captained the English Team at two Chess Olympiads.  He’s an experienced coach who has worked with many top players, including World Championship finalist Michael Adams.  He’s also a highly respected writer; previous works for Everyman Chess include the best-selling Starting Out: The Sicilian.

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