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Best Way to Study Master Games!

Best Way to Study Master Games!

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Why do we need to do all that? Can't you just post the comments on here?

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Originally posted by Stives
Why do we need to do all that? Can't you just post the comments on here?
It's easier having all your comments on one page instead of going back and forth through the thread pages finding what you guessed, how much time you spent and what your comment was.

I don't have the original webpage article anymore but basically it went like this:

You set up the board, clock and get a notebook.

You guess the move, write it in the notebook along with your comment and time and then leave several blank lines underneath. Next you play the move played write that down with a different color in your notebook and repeat the above.

Then after you are done, You get out your book, read the comments and then write notes to yourself in those blank spaces about why you chose the wrong move, if you saw something else that the master didn't think was important, if you spend to much time on one move when it wasn't important etc...


So that's why i'm saying to get all your notes into one page and then we can continue.

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Originally posted by RahimK
It's easier having all your comments on one page instead of going back and forth through the thread pages finding what you guessed, how much time you spent and what your comment was.

I don't have the original webpage article anymore but basically it went like this:

You set up the board, clock and get a notebook.

You guess the move, write it in the n ...[text shortened]...

So that's why i'm saying to get all your notes into one page and then we can continue.
This is what mine looks like:

1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6 3.e3 Nf6 4.Nf3 e6 5.Nbd2 Nbd7

6.Bd3 I chose this move because white is ready to castle now, it develops the bishop and covers the e4 square. The point of Nbd2 was that if dxc4 for black the knight can recapture so the bishop does not waste a tempo going to d3 and then playing Bxc4.

Black will play 6...Be7

3 minutes.

6.Bd3 Be7

7.0-0 0-0

I have no comments for this position.

1 minute.

7. O-O O-O

8.Qc2 Qc7

White from a battery with bishop and queen aiming at h7 and defending c4 and e4 once more.

Black is aiming to play e5 at some point and freeing up his position.

3 minutes.

8. Qc2 dxc4?

9.Nxc4 Nd5

Comments: Nxc4 so the bishop and queen can remain on the strong diagonal and the Knight can add further support to e5 and allows the bishop on c1 more room to develop in the future.

9...Nd5 with the plan of placing the other knight on f6. If 10.e4 then Nb4 forking the bishop and queen and one of them has to come of the board.

2 minutes.

9. Nxc4 c5

10.e4 g6 6 Minutes

10.e4 aiming for e5 to remove the f6 knight who defends the h7 pawn.

10...g6 so the B+Q battery bite on granite.

10. Nce5 cxd4

11.exd4 g6 4 minutes.

exd4 so the knight on e5 isn't hanging. g6 to shut down the battery and prepare to exchange off some pieces, put the knight on d5 outpost without Bxh7+

11. exd4 Nb6

12.Bg5 Nbd5

Bg5 connecting the 2 rooks and threatening Bxf6 removing the h7 pawn defender.

12...Nbd5 so it protect the other knight and puts the knight on a nice outpost.

3 minutes.

12.Ng5 g6

13.Re1 Nbd5

Moving the Knight on f6 discovers and attack on the g5 knight but looks to dangerous. To many pieces on the kingside for white.

8 minutes.

Edit: completely forget about the d pawn. Man my chess is horrible now days. 2 simple mistakes arleady. Still not back to my old chess strength or concentration. To much hard work.

13. Ngf3 Kg7

14. Bg5 Nbd5

Connecting the rooks. Putting the knight on a good outpost.

2 minutes.

14. Bg5 Nbd5

15. a3 b6

3 minutes.

15. Rac1 Bd7

16.Qd2 Ng8 10 minutes

I was considering other black moves but after white's move this is the only sensible one which still keeps pieces on kingside to defend just in case.

16...Bb4 is interesting also.

16. Qd2 Ng8

17. Rc2 Bxg5

9 minutes.

Doubling up on the c-file. Black is trading down to make his position less cramped.

17. Bxe7 Qxe7

18.Rc2 Rfc8

11 minutes.

Controlling the c-file for both side.

This is a hard one. Did anyone consider 18.Be4? I looked at it but I though after Ngf6 and Nxd5 it would basically be the same. I felt that the c-file was more important.

18. Be4! Bb5

19.Rfd1 Ngf6 7 minutes.

19. Rfe1 Qd6

20.Bxd5 exd5

Keeping the pawn structure the same. Possibility of Nf6 and Ne4 for black and the queen controlling the entry point on the c-file, c7.

5 minutes.

In all honestly I can see my chess skill has gone down dramatically. I know this isn't one of my real games so I might not be trying as hard but I didn't see

Qxd5 Rc5 attacking both pieces. Now exd5 make so much more sense!

This is the 3rd simple mistake I have made in this game so far...

20. Bxd5 exd5

21.Rc5 a6

2 minutes.

21. Qa5! a6

22.Qc7 Qxc7

Black doesn't have much of a choice here. I think white has a slight advantage here but how to convert it into a win looks diffcult.

My guess is control the c-file and get the rooks on the 7th rank.

8 minutes.

22. Qc7 Qxc7

23.Rxc7 Rab8

8 minutes.

23. Rxc7 h6

24.Rec1 Rab8

Doubling up on the c file, trying to double rooks on the 7th. Protecting the pawn for black and waiting to see what white is going to do.

5 minutes.

24. Rxb7 Rac8

25.b3 Nf6

b3 with the idea of a4 kicking the bishop out and Nf6 getting the knight back in action.

7 minutes.

25. b3 Rc2

This will be very interesting to follow. White does have an advantage but honestly I think very few people could convert this into a win for white. I don't think I would be able to but i'm curious how the master played this position.

26.a4 Be2 4 minutes.

26. a4 Be2

27.Rb1 Nf6

Protecting the pawn, and black is getting his knight active, heading to e4 possibly.

4 minutes.

27. Nh4 $1 h5

28.Nhxg6 Rfc8

6 minutes.

I think black is done. His king is going to get roasted. White's king needs some luft soon.

28. Nhxg6 Re8

29.Rxf7+ Kh6

6 minutes.

There is another curious move which I was looking at. I think it will be played soon, it's a lovely move.

29. Rxf7+ Kh6

30.h3 Rxe5

6 minutes.

h3 make room for the king and other things which I see.

Rxe5 getting rid of the knight which will be replaced by another knight but the rook isn't doing much.

30. f4 a5

31.Nf8! Rxf8

5 minutes.

Call me crazy but that's the move I think!

Edit:I see i'm not crazy! Nh4 I didn't even see, nice job fellows.

31. Nh4 Rxe5

32.fxe5 Bg4

4 minutes.

fxe5 gives white a passed pawn while controlling the d5 pawn, Bg4 to avoid e5 right away. Not much else for black.

32. fxe5 Kg5

33.Rg7+ Kxh4

10 minutes.

I have no clue. So many decent moves for white here. Hard to choose just one.

33. g3 Kg4

34.Rg7+ Kh3

5 minutes. I don't seen any straight forward mates. Maybe i'm not looking hard enough.

34. Rg7+ Kh3 35. Ng2 1-0.

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so do u want us to post our collected comments on this thread also...cause that could kill up alot of room

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Originally posted by c guy1
so do u want us to post our collected comments on this thread also...cause that could kill up alot of room
No just have it done by tommorrow. I was just posting as a sample.

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k...im done, and I realized something..I was absent for alot of moves, yet I was close to you guys at the end...I wonder if I would have won if I had been all the way through?
ex-Absent from move 7-14..theres 14 pts possible right there...and
then i was gone for 2 more moves (some of which were forced!)
Im looking foreward to reviewing. Also, are you going ot open another thread with a similar theme (so that it is easier to find where we are?)

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Could we have something like this again in the future?

I have learnt so much from everyone who had participated!

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hello?

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Originally posted by c guy1
k...im done, and I realized something..I was absent for alot of moves, yet I was close to you guys at the end...I wonder if I would have won if I had been all the way through?
ex-Absent from move 7-14..theres 14 pts possible right there...and
then i was gone for 2 more moves (some of which were forced!)
Im looking foreward to reviewing. Also, are you going ot open another thread with a similar theme (so that it is easier to find where we are?)
I was absent for moves 20-31, and there were other moves that I had righ but didn't get around to posting anything...so no, I would have scored clear first...😛😉

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It takes time to type up this the comments and i'm busy playing this new game right now. It's so cool!

give me some days.

rk

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Originally posted by RahimK
It takes time to type up this the comments and i'm busy playing this new game right now. It's so cool!

give me some days.

rk
sigh...alright... (yes this is a lame type of bump...but im getting impatient)

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Alright here it is. It takes quite awhile to type out everything, 40 minutes about. So take you sheet with your comments, moves, and time and then compare that with the actual comments. If you wrote a comment and they didn't, then it wasn't as important. If you didn't write a comment and they did then you didn't think much of the position and that was wrong. Basically figure out what you did wrong and learn from that, see how much time you spend on each move. Did you spend enough time on the important moves? Also after you are done add up all the times and see how you did. On average each side gets 120 minutes for the game so hopefully your numbers is close to that. Paste this into a pgn viewer.

[Event "Game 12"]
[Site "St Petersburg"]
[Date "1913.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Capablanca"]
[Black "Alekhine, A.."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D30"]
[Annotator "Khataw,Rahim"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "1913.??.??"]
[TimeControl "300+3"]

{96MB, DFritz8.ctg, Sunbird} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 5. Nbd2 {
A move largely based on psychological grounds; Black, having already played ...
c6, will be reluctant to play ...c5 as this would appear to be the waste of a
tempo. So the knight will be better placed on d2 in order to retake the c-pawn
should Black be so unwise as to exchange pawns, or alternatively to support
the manoeuvre Nf3-e5 by going in turn to f3.} Nbd7 {Nevertheless, 5...c5 was
the right way to take advantage of the fact that the knight, being on d2
rather than c3, fails to bring pressure to bear on d5. The game
Alekhine-Vidmar, Semmering 1926 continued here:} (5... c5 6. Be2 Nc6 7. O-O Bd6
8. a3 cxd4 9. exd4 a5 10. Bd3 O-O 11. Re1 b6 12. b3 Bb7 13. Bb2 Ne7 {
with full equality.}) 6. Bd3 Be7 7. O-O O-O 8. Qc2 {This is not so strong as 8.
b3 by which White can complete his development along offensive lines and at
the same time reserve e2 for his queen, a more effective square in this
position. One possible continuation is:} (8. b3 b6 9. Bb2 Bb7 10. Qe2 a5 11. a4
Bb4 (11... c5 {may be better}) 12. e4 dxe4 13. Nxe4 {
with the better game for White (Alekhine-Bogoljubow, 6th match game 1934).})
8... dxc4 $2 {This move plays into White's hands and gives him control of e5.
8...c5 was correct.} 9. Nxc4 c5 10. Nce5 cxd4 11. exd4 Nb6 {Black has difficult
y in developing his queenside; his plan of bringing the knight to d5, though
consuming time, seems the best available. However, White, by a series of
subtle manoeuvres, is able to reduce Black's resistance on both flanks.} 12.
Ng5 {Forcing Black to weaken his kingside by ...g6.} g6 13. Ngf3 {White intends
to complete his development by bringing the c1-bishop out, followed by Rc1
with control of the c-file. Capablanca points out that he could also have
continued:} (13. Qe2 {and then if:} Qxd4 14. Ngf3 {followed by Bh6 and Ng5,
with a winning attack. However, Black need not take the proffered pawn and
would do best to reply with the safe 13...Nbd5.}) 13... Kg7 {Preventing 14.Bh6.
} 14. Bg5 Nbd5 15. Rac1 Bd7 16. Qd2 Ng8 17. Bxe7 Qxe7 18. Be4 $1 {The d5-knight
is the centre of Black's defense and White hastens to exchange for it a bishop
which is merely biting on granite.} Bb5 $2 {
A weak move, after which White's attack proceeds on oiled wheels; better was:}
(18... Ngf6 19. Bxd5 Nxd5 {and if:} 20. Ng4 {, then} f6 21. Qh6+ Kh8 {
with a fairly solid defensive position.}) 19. Rfe1 {
Threatening Bxd5 followed by Nxg6.} Qd6 20. Bxd5 exd5 {Not} (20... Qxd5 21. Rc5
) 21. Qa5 $1 {This strong move gains command of the 7th rank.} a6 {If he wished
to prevent an eventual Rc7, Black must sumbit to a weakened pawn position
after} (21... Bc6 22. Nxc6 bxc6 {when White, by concetrating his major pieces
on the backward c-pawn and the isolated a-pawn, should win the endgame.}) 22.
Qc7 Qxc7 23. Rxc7 h6 {Otherwise White plays Ng5 with the threats of Ngxf7 and
Ne6+. It is therefore impossible to save the b-pawn.} 24. Rxb7 Rac8 {Hoping to
obtain a counter-attack by playing ...Rc2 in his turn, but his remaining
pieces are too pinned down on the kingside.} 25. b3 Rc2 26. a4 Be2 27. Nh4 $1 {
After this powerful move Black's entire kingside collapses.} h5 28. Nhxg6 Re8
29. Rxf7+ Kh6 30. f4 a5 31. Nh4 {Now Black cannot avert mate and only staves
it off for a few moves by sacrificing the exchange.} Rxe5 32. fxe5 Kg5 33. g3
Kg4 34. Rg7+ Kh3 35. Ng2 {This was Capablanca's first encounter with Alekhine
- who could have imagined, after seeing this stunning defeat, that the victim,
fourteen years later, would score a decisive victory over his opponent in a
world championship match?} 1-0

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So how did it go? How much did you learn from this game by studying it this way?

Was it like Capa/Alekhine came to life and taught you?

2 edits
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yeah it was awsome...i would appriciate it if we could do another game like this (probably in a different thread so I dont get mixed up:'()

EDIT: Alekhine has always been kinda my chess hero...so it was disheartening to see him lose like that...but o well

1 edit
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Anyone else? What did you think? There was like at least 4 of you and I just get one comment after all this work?

Is it worth doing it this way? Mostly I just grab a board and read through the books and play the game out. Not much thinking but you get through a ton of books quickly.