My Chess Blog

"No two persons ever read the same book" - Edmund Wilson ......and Friedrich Nietzsche said, " there are no facts, only interpretations " Chess players are letting manifest ideas on how they interpret their moves in consonance...correlation with opponents moves! And this interpretation is the result of how they read and understood chess, primarily!  As a book is read and understood differently by different person - why even by the same person at different times - so is chess principles understood and followed by different players and even the same player at different times! ....in short.....we evolve....keep evolving eternally! The only aspect which can put an end to this process of eternal evolution is the thought that one has 'arrived'....'understood'.....which prevents one from exploring and experimenting. Experiment and exploration are the prerequisites for rising higher in terms of perceiving something and keep progressing to the

"If we consider the two parties at the onset of a game, we see an exact balance of power, position, territory, and liberty of action. The first player usually threatens a destruction of this balance, while the second constantly seeks to maintain it, neither party gaining an advantage as long as it is conserved. Thus we recognise the 'Law of Equality, or of drawn game. All legitimate play, how long a game may be extended, or however varied, must end in a draw." - William Cluley Came across this quote and his book recently..... William Cluley lived in 1800's and wrote the book " The Philosophy of Chess " in 1857....the year when the rebellion began against the rule of British East India Company.... The contention here is about the ever increasing striving for finiteness in chess by the 21st Century masters....who as it is apparent....wants to equip them till 1/2 - 1/2  - assuming both sides use the same engine and powerful machine and the ability to rem

"It is usually thought that the prerequisites of chess creativity are logic, accurate calculation of variations, and technique, the latter including theoretical knowledge. There is a fourth component, however, perhaps the most attractive, although it is often forgotten. I have in mind intuition, or, if you like, imagination. Sometimes, position occur that cannot be evaluated on the basis of such general principles as pawn weaknesses, open lines, better development, etc., for these positions are unequal in many areas and cannot be measured precisely. Similarly, a calculation of the variations cannot always be attempted. Suppose that a side has six or seven different continuations and that the opponent has five or six replies to any of them. It is not difficult to understand that even a genius cannot carry his calculations as far as the fourth move. It is then that intuition, imagination, is called into play, which brings to the art of chess its most beautiful combinations and

"We have, therefore, come to realise that the main actors in the game of chess are the pawns. Were it not for the pawns, there would be no game. You and I would also have not played chess: without pawns, how can there be any strategy, and creative far-reaching plans, any defensive fortifications or mobile pawn ranks for offensive aims!" - David Bronstein A day when an audacious pawn rushed to the seventh rank - where his counterpart stayed sometime back in the beginning - and stood majestically! With all my naivety, I thought.....maybe not this far......especially when my primitive database stopped at move 15 stating "Mega Database 2014: no games found"! suddenly realised how 'outdated' I am......in the sense of modern day preparations where every crap is accumulated....it is said that, these days, they let the computers indulge in homosexuality..... and we all know what it can produce.... ......and they also have this thing called as "correspo

Take one game at a time.....don't go too far...speculate....and compare history! Just say that Vishy won his first game....and goddess Caissa wanted him to be a victor, today....for Topalov missed something very 'simple'.... .....did I say simple!? yes....it was so simple and bread and butter for Misha, who always loved his Rook and sought ways to part with two pieces.... along with a pawn or space for his Rook and whatever remaining he had....and....he risked many a times unduly! Vishy Anand - Veselin Topalov, Candidates - 2016 Twitter and FB buzzed when Vishy went for this poisoned pawn.... The general consideration that go against such grabbing is that a side risks putting his most powerful piece - The Queen - for doing a menial job of grabbing a pawn and compromising its mobility! Generally, the side which gives the pawn....loads it with sufficient hidden motifs....'poisoning it' and the chief amongst them is to spot a few points near opponent

"A player somehow conceives of an idea. The player then commands the mind's eye through use of the imagination as a necessary tool to conjure up a picture of the concept. Then, that picture ultimately becomes a possible objective in the game in progress...." - William Lombardy A game of chess is more about imagination....and calculation is done....occasionally for a depth of few moves....only a few moves and let a concept take shape sheerly on the inherent strength of a position and the harmonious coordination of one's pieces and how they fit in the pawn formation that one has chosen! Of course, sufficient measures are taken, not to let one's opponent's pieces coordinate harmoniously and also induce him to create square weakness and instigate him to embark on improper exchanges. Gelfand played a fine game in the penultimate round of this tournament and.... in this tournament, three games stand out amongst many good games....one of which you will see below

"The potential strength of a position is something that many players do not understand and appreciate, not only players of average strength, but even masters. The problem is that on the board, as on a diagram, one sees only the outward aspect of the position - the placing of the pieces - and the interconnections between them are concealed from view, they are open only to our mind." - David Bronstein ".....they are open only to our mind....!"   ..... and only to the mind which is Open!! We take everything for granted....be it in life or in chess or any other sport..... In life, despite knowing that death will take away everything from us, despite seeing many die leaving everything behind.....we beget and hold onto things....and more importantly, we secretly...subconsciously believe that....perhaps we might survive...till that moment arrives! In chess, it is no different.....we would delude ourselves that we are invincible....every time that we arrive at t

.....meanwhile the game of Chess is basically very Simple! - Aeroflot Round 6 "Today the flood of Chess information is so great that in the world there is an ever decreasing number not only of polyglots, who know all the opening variations, but also of grandmasters who have fully exhausted that mass of variations, which are sometimes presented to us as the code of opening theory. Meanwhile, the game of Chess is basically very simple!" -  David Bronstein ".....meanwhile the game of Chess is basically very simple.....!" What a profound statement! Yes, chess is simple for those who approach it simply! All the complexity is caused by our mind! What you require is only awareness.....a pure awareness of 'what is' and the ability to always stay in the present....i.e, after every move of your opponent and before making your move.....it is in this hiatus we either complicate it or understand and approach it in a simple way! For this, the first an