Features
This is our "fun" page … leading off with Tips & Quips – PC's thought-provoking tidbits that will broaden your perspective of the board and help you to see the secrets that are hidden there in plain sight!
Young Lions and Lionesses is an appeal to your 'fanatic' instinct: as teachers, we hope that our students become interested in more than just lessons and play … what lies beyond is another dimension, observing and learning from the games of the great players! What could be more interesting, current and relevant than the exploits of our sport's rising stars? Become a fan of one or all of these future champions!
Bury the Axiom … a fun way to look at serious advice. So competitive players, especially those who have barely started their tournament careers, should spare a moment to take this quiz!
Young Lions: The Prince of Chess
Austin area scholastic players come from a wide variety of cultural backgrounds. This diversity is a tremendous asset to our chess community, as therein evidence of one of the sports greatest strengths … its universal appeal. Like music, chess has become a "global language"! In this feature, we plan to shine the spotlight on the wide range of young players of all nationalities.
Although players can be of almost any age, the strongest players generally fall into the 15-35 year-old age category … one telling factor is the vigor and confidence of youth, the drive and stamina that propels those able to reach the top to get there and stay there … a very serious game of "King of the Hill"!
Our players should look closely at the rise of their strongest contemporaries. In their stories are clues to their success … interviews and anecdotes reveal details of their character, attitude, resources and training, and their games reveal their fighting style and the breadth of their knowledge of the game. These can be taken as hints to the answer of that best-of-all-questions, "How can I become a great player?" Even if a youthful fan simply wants to do better, he or she can follow these young lions footprints to higher levels.
Our first 'hero' is one of the most outstanding youngsters among the many new greats. We once saw a video interview of the venerable GM Victor Kortchnoi (who barely lost several matches against Anatoly Karpov for the World title under dubious circumstances) in which he answered the question, "Who would you pick as the best of the upcoming young players?" with the name "Magnus Carlsen!" Magnus has been dubbed, "The Prince of Chess."
GM Magnus Carlsen, 14, shines in 2792 performance rating at Gausdal! - The linked article contains not only an account of Magnus' most recent success, but also a history of his past participation in this event, starting with his international debut there in 2001 when he was 10! At that year's event he was entered, amidst controversy (his Elo was a meager 2064!), in the closed IM group – his final score of 2.5/9, beating several masters and displaying an unusual degree of theoretical knowledge and a remarkable attacking style, justified his inclusion as well as caused raised eyebrows all across the World's chess community!
Yet another young Norwegian hopeful, Frode O. O. Urkedahl, 12, played this year!
Included are annotated games, anecdotes, pictures, and links to a file of all games and the official website.
Bury the Axiom
Multiple choice … what do chess teachers and coaches mean when they look serious and then declare the following snippets of advice?
"Sit on your hands!"
"Think with your eyes, NOT with your fingers!"
"When you see a good move … STOP: look around for a better one!"
"There is no trophy for the fastest player!"
a) They are pointing out that, to correctly offer a draw, you should first make a move, then verbally offer a draw (with NO extended hand!), then start your opponent's clock, and then wait …
b) To lodge a rules-based complaint, pause the clocks, raise your hand, wait for the director or assistant to show up, quietly explain the nature of the problem briefly, and wait for the official response – these will usually be in the form of further inquiry, requesting your opponent's side or more information from you. Always wait for your turn to speak, and keep it QUIET, don't argue or try to talk over your opponent, as doing so will NOT impress the director! Don't worry … the situation should be handled correctly and fairly, but if not, at least you practiced the correct way!
c) To play your best chess, calm down and realize that you have plenty of time to make all the moves in the game at hand. When it is your turn, you should take the time to see what threats your opponent has, and compare them to your threats … look also at moves that suit your plans and contrast them with what you have learned about how to play as a thoughtful way to check them for reliability. Look for as many relevant moves as you can find in the position, then examine this list of candidates for the best moves to fit into the sequence that represents what you think will happen …
Do NOT get in a race with your opponent … his or her moving rapidly does NOT make your time run out any faster! Chess is not played by means of instant inspiration – picking up a piece that you think you should move next, and then looking for the square to move it to will not cut it … long consideration of all the circumstances that exist on the board in front of you is much more likely to! By the way, if you DO pick up a piece and then realize you are about to make a bad move, you should simply put it back on its original square. You can then reconsider to what better square it could move. You'll probably still have to move it (i.e., unless it's illegal!) — and maybe the bad place is the best place afterall … but at least give yourself a chance to do your best!
Well, athough all three answers are true, the correct one is quite obvious. Okay, so you win! Just remember … "The more you look, the more you'll see!"
