Speelman's Agony #69

by Jonathan Speelman
1/28/2018 – John turns his instructive gave to his own games this week, with two wins for Black, one for John and one for his opponent. Fancy Jon taking a look at your games? Send them in! If you appear in the Agony column, not only will you get free detailed commentary of your games by one of chess’s great authors and instructors, and former world no. 4 player, but you also win a free three-month ChessBase Premium Account!

Fritz 16 - He just wants to play! Fritz 16 - He just wants to play!

Fritz 16 is looking forward to playing with you, and you're certain to have a great deal of fun with him too. Tense games and even well-fought victories await you with "Easy play" and "Assisted analysis" modes.

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Self-awareness

One of the most problematic aspects of playing chess — and I presume other similar games — is the relative intensity of emotion you feel after winning and losing. Winning is always nice, of course, and against a really strong opponent can be a heady drug. But losing normally engenders much stronger feelings, however much you ought to get used to it.

This column depends on readers sharing their chess efforts but also perforce — and not I trust in some vile game showy way — the emotions of combat. This week, instead, I'm swinging the spotlight back on myself with a vignette from a London league game last week and in more detail on a recent game at the 4NCL where to my chagrin but also considerable (if slightly grudging) appreciation a 2300ish opponent turned out to have an excellent punch!

 

Click or tap on the second game in the game list below the board to switch

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Did you enjoy the column and instructive analysis by GM Jonathan Speelman? Do you wish you could have a world-renowned grandmaster analyzing your play? You can!

To submit your games just upload a PGN or ChessBase file, along with your name and e-mail address. Send one success story (Ecstasy) and one loss (Agony).

Tell why you chose them, where or when they were played. Please also include your email address, so Jon can reply, and preferably a photo of yourself for our article.

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Jonathan Speelman, born in 1956, studied mathematics but became a professional chess player in 1977. He was a member of the English Olympic team from 1980–2006 and three times British Champion. He played twice in Candidates Tournaments, reaching the semi-final in 1989. He twice seconded a World Championship challenger: Nigel Short and then Viswanathan Anand against Garry Kasparov in London 1993 and New York 1995.