Speelman's Agony #82

by Jonathan Speelman
8/19/2018 – A "moment of madness" and a "snappy win" from an English chess coach. Want to join in the fun? Jon can always use more material from readers. If your games are selected for 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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The once was a chess coach from Coventry...

This week's pair of games are by Paul Lam who writes:

Paul LamI am a chess coach from Coventry. I started playing chess in secondary school and made good progress, being selected to play for the England Junior Squad on several occasions, before school and then university studies kicked in.

I started playing chess again when I returned home to work at the University of Warwick and set up a children’s chess club, the Coventry Chess Academy, which boasts a large number of very talented junior players. Last year I decided to take the plunge, leaving the University to teach chess full-time and haven’t looked back since.

My opening taste is offbeat, my time management is appalling and an extremely busy schedule makes finding the time to work on my own game very difficult. It’s not all bad though as I find coaching to be far more enjoyable than playing these days!

Both of my games come from the 4NCL. My agony game was a loss in which I was winning but blundered horrifically in a moment of madness, costing my team the match and consigning us to relegation from division 1. The ecstasy game was a snappy win played in our return to division 1 two seasons later.

Paul then very generously went on to say that were his games selected, he wanted to use the free three-month Chessbase Premium Account not for himself but as a prize at one of the tournaments he runs and we're of course delighted to comply.

He wrote just a couple of notes for each game which I've marked as PL while all the rest is mine.

 

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

Komodo 12

In computer chess there is no getting past Komodo, a two-time ICGA Computer World Chess Champion. Find out how Komodo can take your game to the next level!

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Submit your games and win free Premium!

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.

If your game is selected Jon will contact you personally, and 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!

A three-month Premium subscription to ChessBase Account means you get:

  • Premium access to the Playchess server with ratings, simuls, lectures, and live commentary of top games
  • Access to all Web apps with no restrictions, such as the Cloud database, and more!
  • Full access to the Video archive, which not only includes all the past lectures by Daniel King, Simon Williams and others, but also a large number of full ChessBase products you would normally need to buy in the ChessBase Shop but that you can view for free as a Premium subscriber.

See also:

<< Sinquefield Cup: Two winners in round one
Srinath's Summer - Part 1: The Gold Coast >>
Topics: instruction, Jon Speelman's Agony Column
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.
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The importance of endgame training

2/17/2019 – This week, JON SPEELMAN takes a gander at two games played by Niels Engelen, a 37-year-old Dutch software developer from The Hague (pictured), who is enjoying chess more than ever. Niels says he has been playing more often after having found a couple of chess buddies at his town's club, but he has also started to focus on training endgames, an activity that has already borne fruit. | Photo: Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0
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Resigning a won game

2/3/2019 – True Agony! Columnist GM JON SPEELMAN briefly rifs on AlphaZero and Giri-Shankland before turning his attention to this week's submission from Zimbabwean Class A player, Tapiwa Allister Gora. Feel free to send in your own games! Jon can always use more material from readers. If your games are selected for the <a href="https://en.chessbase.com/columns/Jon%20Speelman's%20Agony%20Column">Agony column</a>, 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! | Photo: Tapiwa Gora (right) vs Simon Bokamoso at a recent tournament
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Video

The Kasparov Gambit

The introductory position of the Kasparov Gambit can occur after 1 d4,1 Nf3 and 1 c4, which can appeal to a wide range of players. The usual move order is 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 Nf3 cxd4 4 Nxd4 e5!? 5 Nb5 d5 6 cxd5 Bc5 bringing us to a very sharp position. On this 60 mins, FIDE Senior Trainer Andrew Martin argues the case from the Black side, showing both classic Kasparov masterpieces and games from the present day and suggests that White's defensive task is not easy. This is a practical gambit which will help players at all levels to win more games. It is ideal for must-win situations with Black. It is a gambit that White cannot decline,as if he does, Black gets a good position instantly. White must take up the cudgels and fight!

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