Table Of ContentC H E S S
L . . , E S S C N S
I I
QUALITY CHESS
Chess Lessons
By
Vladimir Popov
Qualit y Chess
www.qualitychess.co.uk
First English edition 2011 by Quality Chess UK Ltd
Copyright © 2011 Vladimir Popov
Chess Lessons
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
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permission of the publisher.
Paperback ISBN 978-1-906552-82-4
Hardcover ISBN 978-1-906552-83-1
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Distributed in Rest of the World by Quality Chess UK Ltd through
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Translated from Russian by John Sugden
Typeset by Jacob Aagaard
Proofreading by Colin McNab & Allan Beardsworth
Editing for the English edition by John Shaw
Cover design by Adamson Design
Front cover photograph by www.capture365.com
In the photos in the book are Nadezhda and Tatiana Kosintseva, with
their trainer and author of this book, Vladimir Popov, and in some photos
also their mother Valentina Mikhailovna
Printed in Estonia by Tallinna Raamatutriikikoja LLC
Contents
Key to Symbols used 4
Foreword by Nadezhda Kosintseva 5
Kosintseva Biography 6
Preface 7
Introduction 9
Chapter 1 - Errors Due to Lack of Knowledge 11
Chapter 2 - Evaluating the Position 19
Chapter 3 - Planning 27
Chapter 4 - Piece Play 39
Chapter 5 - Pawn Play 49
Chapter 6 - Co-ordination of Pieces and Pawns 59
Chapter 7 - Arranging and Altering the Pawn Structure 69
Chapter 8 - Exchanging 79
Chapter 9 - Transition to the Endgame 95
Chapter 10 - Asymmetrical Exchanges 103
Chapter 11 - Prophylaxis 113
Chapter 12 - Monitoring Counter-Threats 127
Chapter 13 - Too Much Calculation 143
Chapter 14 - Calculation Neglected or Cut Short 155
Chapter 15 - Spotting Aggressive Sorties 165
Chapter 16 - Detecting Ideas 175
Chapter 17 - Blow and Counter-Blow 191
Chapter 18 - Obvious Moves and Reflex Answers 203
Chapter 19 - Deep Calculation 213
Chapter 20 - Enterprise 225
Chapter 21 - Hard Work Pays Oill 235
Appendix - Examples from Classic Games 253
Key to symbols used
White is slightly better
Black is slightly better
±
White is better
+
Black is better
+- White has a decisive advantage
-+ Black has a decisive advantage
equality
iii with compensation
~ with counterplay
ex> unclear
? a weak move
?? a blunder
a good move
!! an excellent move
!? a move worth considering
?! a move of doubtful value
# mate
Foreword
All random coincidences are the tricks that serve cosmic designs.
When my sister and I made our first acquaintance with chess - a fateful event, as we would realize
many years later - it happened out of pure curiosity. Aged six and seven years respectively, we were re
turning one day from a regular dancing lesson when we spotted an attractive sign on one of the nearby
buildings: Competitive Chess School for Children and Young People.
Our mother, who was with us, suggested we should go in and put our names down, as part of our
general education. "Well, why not?" we thought. "We'll learn to play and we'll be able to beat our dad,
who was once champion of a Young Pioneers' camp!"
The man who warmly greeted us proved to be the very coach to whom children living in our district
were assigned. But it then turned out that his class was fully booked, and we were offered the choice
of either waiting and coming back a year later, or else trying to enrol with a different coach. Thus as
chance would have it, we immediately joined Vladimir Donatovich Popov's class.
From that moment on, fascinated, we immersed ourselves in the wonderful world of chess, which
to this day has lost none of its charm for us. And it was largely thanks to Vladimir Donatovich that
this came about. He knew how to organize the teaching process in such a way that the time flew by
imperceptibly and we didn't even want to go home. Lectures, chess contests of various kinds, the solv
ing of exercise positions, quizzes - these things and many others were presented in such an absorbing
way that we wanted more and more. We could never have enough of this game!
The present book offers a selection of instructive examples from the games of great players - exam
ples from which we too once learnt the strategy and tactics of the chess struggle. The book formulates
important conclusions and recommendations which will undoubtedly be useful to players intent on
self-improvement. And I venture to hope that the general conclusions drawn from our own games will
help trainers and those pupils with complex chess deficiencies to overcome these negative trends and
reach a higher level of chess understanding. Go for it!
Nadezhda Kosintseva
29 December 2010
Kosintseva Biography
Tatiana and Nadezhda Kosintseva are rising stars of women's chess. The sisters, known familiarly
as Tania and Nadia, are ranked, respectively, 4th and 6th in the world. They were born in
Arkhangelsk, a city in the extreme north of western Russia and they share more in common than
chess, as they are both studying law at Pomor University in their hometown.
In the 2010 Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, the Kosintsevas played on the top two boards
for the Russian Women's team, pushing World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk down to Board
3. The pressure on the Russian top seeds must have been intense but they delivered in style,
winning all eleven matches to take the team gold. Individually, Tatiana won the gold medal for
the best score on Board 1 and Nadezhda matched this feat on Board 2. A dream result!
Nadia is the elder sister by a year, being born in 1985. As a junior Nadia won a hatful of gold
medals including being European Youth Champion three times and World Under-14 Champion.
Now an established star, Nadia was Russian Women's Champion in 2008 and is an International
Master and Woman Grandmaster. The full Grandmaster title must surely arrive soon as her rating
of 2576 far exceeds the minimum requirements. Nadia's resume is already impressive but her
greatest victories still lie ahead.
Tania Kosintseva, born in 1986, is a Grandmaster with a rating of 2581. Like her sister, she was a
highly successful junior player with a highlight being winning the European Under-1 0 title. Even
greater triumphs have followed as an adult including becoming Russian Women's Champion in
2002,2004 and 2007, and Women's European Champion in 2007 and 2009. In 2010 she won
the FIDE Women's Grand Prix in Nalchik with a performance rating of 2735. It is clear that
Tania is still improving. ..
Preface
In the last few years the finals of the Russian Junior Championships have traditionally been held
in the Dagomys health resort. Hundreds of young chess players, their coaches and their parents
congregate every year in the popular Black Sea holiday destination. The scale of this chess festival is
impressive. For all the difficulties, chess in Russia is alive and has a future!
After making one of these trips, the thought of a book occurred to me. I had collected some
ideas which I think should be of interest, whether the reader is a youth trainer or a player who has
reached a reasonable standard and wishes to improve further.
There is no disputing that in order to improve your quality of play, the quantity of errors has
to be reduced. An experienced teacher, going over a game with beginners, will point out the weak
moves; afterwards there is a chance that in a similar situation the child will get it right. For a player
who has reached a certain level, work on his own mistakes ought to have become a systematic
process. A coach involved with talented children on a one-to-one basis should understand this very
well.
Take the case of the Kosintseva sisters, Nadezhda (Nadia) and Tatiana (Tania). There was a time
when a problem with their play, for all its great promise, was a large number of blunders. I had to
choose suitable exercise positions for what was then their chief fault, and organize various solving
contests followed up by serious critical discussion. As a result we basically succeeded in solving the
problem - see the chapter on "Monitoring Counter-Threats".
It is well said that "you learn from your mistakes." And you can also learn from the mistakes of
others. In this book you are shown many notable cases of inaccurate play by young chess players.
However, the classification and description of the most frequently seen errors is not the author's
sole aim. The main task of this book is to help the reader to minimize the quantity ofe rrors in his
games through studying the material and solving the exercises.
The layout of the book is as follows.
(1) Theoretical section. Each chapter contains introductory material or a lesson on a particular
theme; extracts from games illustrating that theme are given, and generalizations and conclusions
are stated.
It is logical that coaches teach children using models of ideal play by World Champions and other
stars. In our case we are speaking of a different approach. The idea of training inexperienced players
by studying the mistakes of grandmasters seems inappropriate - in grandmaster play you can hardly
find those obvious faults which characterize people to whom this book is addressed. Therefore in
the theoretical part of my work I generally utilize extracts from games by young players.
An author writing about players' mistakes needs to have a good grasp of the reasons behind
each poor decision. Otherwise he may draw the wrong conclusions. For that reason, most of my
examples are based on the negative experiences of my own pupils. In some chapters, I give examples
of bad decisions they took during training sessions. I think this will be of interest to the reader.
8 Chess Lessons
(2) Practical section. At the end of each chapter I give you a set of positions for training activities,
under a coach's direction or on your own. The aim in each case has been to present a situation
where, in trying to play the position or solve the exercise, you are liable to make a mistake in the
category that is being studied. It will be splendid if you cope with the problem.
And if you do make a mistake, it will be better still. Compare your own analysis with the
recommended line of play, and try to draw the right conclusion. I hope you will not go wrong next
time in a similar situation.
(3) Answers. At the end of the book the answers to the exercises are given, and the reader is awarded
points for correct solutions. In most cases you score one point for the correct first move, and either
one or two more points for the reasoning behind it. You are given an assessment on the basis of
your total score.
I should explain that the examples for solution and practice were selected on the principle that
in each case there should be one objectively best line. Nonetheless it may be that in some situations
there are alternative possibilities that merit approval.
If a chess player has a coach, it will be easy for the latter to organize work utilizing the material
presented here. In the absence of a mentor, the reader can work with the book independently. After
acquainting yourself with the first part of each chapter, you should turn to the practical section.
Set up each position on your chessboard and try to find the strongest continuation within 10-
20 minutes; make a note of the reasons for your choice, and write down the variations you have
found. On solving all the positions in a batch, check your solutions against the recommended
answers. Record the points scored for each solution and the assessment for the batch as a whole.
Try to improve your showing when you attempt the next set of positions!
I am convinced you will make progress by systematically working with the material in this book.
I wish you success!
The "mysterious" first diagram in each chapter
At the start of each chapter I give a diagram of an interesting position with one move stated and no
explanation! And there is more - the move given is a mistake. A mystery indeed! You may ponder
these positions, try to figure out why the move suggested is a mistake and figure out what should
be played. The explanation will arrive only at the very end of the book (page 253) where I explain
the details.
In fact I have selected the positions from rather well-known grandmaster games - perhaps you
will recognise some of them? I hope the positions will whet the reader's appetite for the coming
chapter and perhaps serve as an inspirational reminder that even great players make mistakes. On
that note, in the pages that follow the reader will see many mistaken moves played by young play
ers. In particular, I have used my experiences with my pupils Nadezhda and Tatiana Kosintseva
(more familiarly, Nadia and Tania) and Karmen Mar. The reader should not judge these young stars
harshly - in the interests of learning how we can all improve I have collected many of these players'
slips. Thus, what follows is not a representative sample of their overall play!
Introduction
There are said to be two ways of improving as a chess player - by accumulating knowledge
and by working on your shortcomings. For beginners, the acquisition of information is more
important. For more experienced players, who already possess a solid theoretical grounding,
efforts to eradicate a range of characteristic mistakes become no less important. This way, first one
and then another component of their play is enhanced. Their class and their practical strength
accordingly increase.
How do you work to overcome the defects in a young person's play? Where do you start?
To begin, you must ascertain where their problems lie; to this end it helps to conduct an analysis
of your pupil's play after every tournament, identifYing the chief negative factors.
Let me give an example from my own practice as a coach. In 2002 an interesting tournament
was held in Arkhangelsk, my home town. It was a double-round event with six contestants.
Among them were Grandmasters Malaniuk and Moiseenko from the Ukraine, Alexander Ivanov
from the USA, and his namesake (sharing his first name and surname) - Ivanov the master from
Arkhangelsk. And there were two schoolgirls, the sisters Tania and Nadia Kosintseva. The girls
acquitted themselves creditably, though they didn't finish as prize-winners.
I still have a record of my preliminary analysis of their performance. Here are some extracts.
Nadia
Round 2:
Ivanov (Arkh.) - Nadia, 1-0.
Black had a promising position out of the opening. 24 .. .f5 was an error (missing a "counter
threat"). Instead of27 .. J~fe8, she had the clearly stronger 27 .. .l:he8 (resource: f5-f4), when Black
is not worse. Mistake ofj udgement typical of Nadia ...
33 ... g5 - a blunder. After the queen exchange, a second weakness appears on h5 ...
Hard to defend such positions in time trouble.
From this game you notice Nadia's weak play in technical positions and the ending.
Round 7:
Ivanov (USA) - Nadia, 1-0. In the Rauzer Attack, Black would have had a good game after the
active 19 ... b4! 20.~d5 ~xd5 2l.exd5 e6! - a standard idea. But Nadia played the whole game
passively. After the colourless 19 ... i.e6, there is no way for Black to attack the king - no active
plan.
22 ... ~e5? is wholly bad, Black gets a backward pawn on g7 by force. Counter-threat missed.
In defence she lacked persistence; instead of 28 ... ~h7? she had the better 28 ... i.xd5!, not giving
up the pawn.
