Making your own chess style

A chess Bruce Lee? Not quite but how about making your own chess style? Chess style is a matter of one's personality so one person may like the raw unbalanced positions in Sicilians while another may like Capablanca manoeuvring in Queen's pawn openings for example. Someone else may like to sac something like Tal.

[Event "Reykjavik WCup"]
[Site "Reykjavik WCup"]
[Date "1988.??.??"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Mikhail Tal"]
[Black "Jonathan Speelman"]
[ECO "B08"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "67"]

1.e4 d6 2.d4 g6 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.Be2 Nf6 5.Nc3 O-O 6.O-O c5 7.d5
Na6 8.Re1 Nc7 9.Bf4 b5 10.Nxb5 Nxe4 11.Nxc7 Qxc7 12.Bc4 Nf6
13.h3 Re8 14.Rb1 a5 15.Qd2 Qb6 16.Re3 Ba6 17.Bxa6 Qxa6 18.Rbe1
Kf8 19.Ng5 Qb7 20.c4 Qb4 21.Qe2 h6 22.Nxf7 Kxf7 23.Rb3 Qa4
24.Qe6+ Kf8 25.Rb7 Qxc4 26.Bxd6 Ng8 27.Re3 Bf6 28.Rf3 Kg7
29.Bxe7 Rxe7 30.Rxe7+ Nxe7 31.Qxf6+ Kg8 32.Qf7+ Kh8 33.Qxe7
Qxd5 34.Rf7 1-0

Originally posted by z00t
A chess Bruce Lee? Not quite but how about making your own chess style? Chess style is a matter of one's personality so one person may like the raw unbalanced positions in Sicilians while another may like Capablanca manoeuvring in Queen's pawn openings for example. Someone else may like to sac something like Tal.

[Event "Reykjavik WCup"]
[Site "Reykjavik WC ...[text shortened]... 7 Rxe7 30.Rxe7+ Nxe7 31.Qxf6+ Kg8 32.Qf7+ Kh8 33.Qxe7
Qxd5 34.Rf7 1-0

Or maybe someone likes the nice tactical opportunities that arise from QP openings.

Originally posted by cmsMaster
Or maybe someone likes the nice tactical opportunities that arise from QP openings.

Even the QGA gives good tactical opportunities - I have won many games on PlayChess while opponents try to hang on to the pawn.

Here is an article on chess style not quite what I had in mind but it gives an idea :- http://www.exeterchessclub.org.uk/style.html

Edit : here is another article http://www.chessville.com/instruction/instr_novice_introstrategy_intro.htm

Originally posted by z00t
Even the QGA gives good tactical opportunities - I have won many games on PlayChess while opponents try to hang on to the pawn.

QGA with 3.e4 gives plenty, even if they don't try to hold the pawn. Although I think most people feel that the QGD offers less exciting positions, which isn't necessarily true if white plays the exchange variation.

Originally posted by cmsMaster
QGA with 3.e4 gives plenty, even if they don't try to hold the pawn. Although I think most people feel that the QGD offers less exciting positions, which isn't necessarily true if white plays the exchange variation.

Please show a few of your more exciting Exchange variation games.

Originally posted by zebano
Please show a few of your more exciting Exchange variation games.

Most of my games are 3-0 blitz, but here's a couple you might like:

[Event "Rated game, 3m + 0s"]
[Site "Main Playing Hall"]
[Date "2007.05.08"]
[Round "?"]
[White "CMSMaster"]
[Black "Pietjepukishier"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "1405"]
[BlackElo "1394"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2007.08.09"]
[TimeControl "180"]

1. d4 {1} d5 {2} 2. c4 {1} e6 {0} 3. Nc3 {2} Nf6 {2} 4. cxd5 {1} exd5 {2} 5.
Bg5 {1} Be7 {1} 6. e3 {0} O-O {2} 7. Bd3 {1} Be6 {11} 8. Qc2 {2} h6 {6} 9. Bh4
{2} Nbd7 {3} 10. Nge2 {2} c5 {5} 11. Rg1 {3} c4 {8} 12. Bf5 {6} a6 {12} 13. g4
{5} Ne8 {30} 14. Bxe7 {10} Qxe7 {0} 15. g5 {17} hxg5 {4} 16. Bh7+ {14} Kh8 {2}
17. O-O-O {7} g6 {2} 18. Bxg6 {3} fxg6 {1} 19. Qxg6 {2} Qf6 {17} 20. Qh5+ {7}
Kg8 {12} 21. Rxg5+ {2} Ng7 {1} 22. Rdg1 {7} Rf7 {15} 23. Rg6 {13} Qf5 {8} 24.
Qh6 {16} Nf6 {28} 25. Rxg7+ {3} Kf8 {2} 26. R7g5+ {Time ' 2} 1-0



[Event "Rated game, 3m + 0s"]
[Site "Main Playing Hall"]
[Date "2007.08.07"]
[Round "?"]
[White "CMSMaster"]
[Black "Andreas0706"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "1422"]
[BlackElo "1491"]
[PlyCount "37"]
[EventDate "2007.08.09"]
[TimeControl "180"]

1. d4 {1} Nf6 {4} 2. c4 {1} e6 {1} 3. Nc3 {2} d5 {1} 4. cxd5 {3} exd5 {2} 5.
Bg5 {1} Be7 {2} 6. e3 {1} O-O {2} 7. Nf3 {1} c6 {3} 8. Qc2 {1} Bg4 {5} 9. Bd3 {
4} Nbd7 {8} 10. Ne5 {5} h6 {15} 11. Bxf6 {35} Nxf6 {3} 12. h3 {3} Be6 {4} 13.
g4 {4} Bd6 {5} 14. Rg1 {8} Qc8 {8} 15. g5 {2} hxg5 {6} 16. Rxg5 {1} Bxh3 {5}
17. O-O-O {7} Nd7 {22} 18. Rdg1 {11} Bxe5 {7} 19. dxe5 {
Andreas0706 gibt auf (Lag: Av=0.33s, max=0.4s) 3} 1-0


But, to truly see the beauty of this opening you have to watch the pros:


[Event "Lloyds Bank Open"]
[Site "London"]
[Date "1992.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Ward, C."]
[Black "Van der Sterren, P."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D36"]
[Annotator "Chris Ward"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "1992.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2006.10.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 Be7 6. e3 c6 7. Bd3 O-O 8. Qc2
Nbd7 9. Nge2 Re8 10. O-O-O {So we move on to long castling ideas. Now an
obvious plan is going to be to lay siege to the black king.} Nf8 {Despite the
fact that the white king is on the other side of the board, as seen in the
previous illustrative game, this knight shuffle remains Black's most popular
continuation here. Nevertheless, there are obviously other moves available and
two others have been frequent occurrences in my own encounters:} (10... Ne4 11.
Bxe7 Qxe7 12. Bxe4 dxe4 13. g4 $5 Nf6 14. h3 Nd5 15. Nxd5 cxd5 16. Kb1 {
. Were Black suddenly able to transport his bishop to d3 then he would, of
course, be doing rather well. That aside, his bishop is obscured by the black
pawns, while in contrast White has no shortage of ideas for his knight. Black
makes no obvious mistakes in the following, but White's moves flow nicely:} Bd7
17. Nf4 Bc6 18. h4 a5 19. g5 a4 20. Rdg1 Qd6 21. h5 Rec8 22. g6 Bb5 23. gxf7+
Kxf7 24. Qd1 Rc7 25. Rg5 Bc4 26. Qg4 $1 Rg8 27. Rg1 Ke8 28. Re5+ Re7 29. Qc8+
Qd8 ({or} 29... Kf7 30. Rf5+) 30. Qxb7 Rxe5 31. dxe5 Qe7 32. Qa8+ {
1-0 C.Ward-B.Bleisch, Bern 1993.}) (10... Qa5 11. Kb1 b5 {(this aggressive
push has the downside of weakening the c6-pawn and the c5-square)} 12. Ng3 {
and now:} -- (12... Rb8 13. Nce2 Rb6 14. Nc1 Ra6 15. Nf5 Bf8 16. g4 $5 c5 17.
Bxf6 gxf6 ({or} 17... Rxf6 18. Nb3 Qb6 19. dxc5 Nxc5 20. Nxc5 Bxc5 21. Rc1 {
with control over the open file and an easy blockade of the isolated d-pawn})
18. dxc5 Nxc5 19. Nd4 Nxd3 20. Qxd3 b4 21. Rhg1 {, when White had the far
superior pawn structure and the better prospects for an attack in C.Ward-G.
Fant, Gausdal 1993.}) (12... h6 13. Bxf6 Nxf6 14. Nce2 Bd7 15. Nc1 $1 Rac8 16.
Nb3 Qb6 17. Rc1 Be6 18. Nc5 Nd7 19. Nxe6 fxe6 {(it wasn't the bishop that
White was after, but rather the weak squares that have cropped up as a result
of this recapture)} 20. Qe2 {
(White wants his queen and bishop aligned in the reversed order)} Nf6 21. Nh5
b4 22. h4 c5 23. Nxf6+ Bxf6 24. g4 {(the aim is to advance this pawn again to
prise open the h-file; opposite-coloured bishops favour the attacker and,
thanks to ...h6 being a significant weakness, White is the one ahead in the
attacking department)} c4 25. Bg6 Red8 26. g5 hxg5 27. hxg5 Bxg5 28. Rcg1 Bh6 (
{I recall hoping for} 28... Bf6 {so that I could whip out the stunning} 29.
Rh8+ $3 Kxh8 30. Bf7 $1 {- a combination, incidentally, that the earlier
versions of Fritz struggled to find, but newer ones do get eventually!}) 29.
Rxh6 $1 gxh6 30. Qf3 Rc7 31. Qf6 {, and with various unstoppable mates
threatened, Black resigned in another C.Ward-J.Parker encounter (Guildford
1991).})) 11. Kb1 Be6 12. h3 {Fulfilling two roles: facilitating the push
g2-g4, and preventing ...Ng4 in the event of the f2-f4 that actually does
appear next.} Qa5 13. f4 Rad8 {Black accepts that a queenside attack would be
too slow and hence centralizes instead. The rest of the game, though, isn't
much fun for him as White has no intention of opening up the centre with e3-e4.
} 14. g4 Bc8 15. Bh4 $5 {Rather than exchange on f6 in order to force through
the g-pawn, the bishop is withdrawn instead. With a handy space advantage,
White wants to keep the pieces on anyhow, whilst this bishop can, if need be,
defend the only weakness in his camp, the e3-pawn.} Ne4 16. Be1 Nxc3+ 17. Nxc3
Qc7 18. Bf2 a6 {Black's only real plan now is to play ...c5, but it is very
difficult to arrange.} 19. Rc1 Qa5 20. Ne2 Bd7 21. Ng3 Bh4 22. Nh5 Bxf2 23.
Qxf2 Rb8 24. f5 {Now the black king should definitely start to feel the heat.}
Rec8 25. Qf4 Qd8 ({
To highlight just how strong such White attacks can be, check out} 25... Qc7
26. Qg5 g6 27. Qh6 $1 gxh5 28. f6 {. It seems almost out of nowhere as though
Black has suddenly found himself in a desperate situation.}) 26. h4 Kh8 27.
Rcf1 c5 28. Nxg7 $3 {Yep, and just like that, it's game over. If the knight is
taken then f6+ and Qh6 is crushing.} 1-0

Originally posted by cmsMaster
Most of my games are 3-0 blitz, but here's a couple you might like:

[Event "Rated game, 3m + 0s"]
[Site "Main Playing Hall"]
[Date "2007.05.08"]
[Round "?"]
[White "CMSMaster"]
[Black "Pietjepukishier"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D35"]
[WhiteElo "1405"]
[BlackElo "1394"]
[PlyCount "51"]
[EventDate "2007.08.09"]
[TimeControl "180"]

1. d4 {1} d5 ...[text shortened]... hing.} 1-0

Other post got cut off:

[Event "Hastings"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1994.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Ward, C."]
[Black "Haslinger, S."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D36"]
[Annotator "Chris Ward"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "1994.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2006.10.01"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. cxd5 exd5 5. Bg5 c6 ({The whole story of Line
'E' in the tree was that there are several ways of reaching the same position.
In another of my games, though, after} 5... Be7 6. e3 O-O 7. Bd3 {
Black opted for the unusual} h6 {. For reasons that I have already mentioned,
and will reiterate here, it proved to be detrimental:} 8. Bh4 c6 9. Qc2 Re8 10.
Nge2 Nbd7 11. h3 {(this move will most likely figure if White castles
queenside, but by delaying committing the king Black can't afford to weaken
his queenside prematurely with 11...b5?! in case White has a change of heart
and goes short)} Nf8 12. O-O-O Ne6 ({with the pawn on h6,} 12... Ng6 {
just wasn't an option}) 13. Kb1 b6 14. g4 Bb7 15. Bf5 {(Black was aiming to
get in ...c5, but, not that White would be unduly perturbed, there just isn't
the time)} Nf8 16. Rhg1 g6 17. Bd3 Kg7 18. g5 {(possibly the biggest drawback
of an early ...h6 is that this challenge is made quicker, granting swifter
access for the white rooks to the enemy king)} hxg5 19. Bxg5 Nh5 20. h4 Bxg5
21. hxg5 c5 {
(Black's one bit of activity, but certainly not one that White is worried by)}
22. dxc5 bxc5 23. Be4 $1 {(as if Black didn't have enough problems on the
kingside, now his hanging pawns come under extreme pressure)} Ne6 24. Bxd5 Bxd5
25. Nxd5 Nxg5 26. Ndf4 {1-0 C.Ward-M.Armstrong, London 1999.}) 6. e3 Be7 7. Bd3
Nbd7 8. Qc2 O-O 9. Nge2 Re8 10. O-O-O Nf8 11. h3 (11. f3 {and 11 h4 are also
played here, but it's 11 h3 and 11 Kb1 that our repertoire (of which you
already have a choice) sticks to. Clearly the two moves are interchangeable
and not unlikely to transpose.}) 11... b5 ({
Another encounter that I really enjoyed was} 11... Qa5 12. Kb1 b5 13. Ng3 Be6
14. Nce2 Rac8 15. Nf5 Bxf5 16. Bxf5 N6d7 17. Bxe7 Rxe7 18. Nf4 Rc7 19. Nd3 Qb6
20. Rc1 g6 21. Bxd7 Nxd7 22. Nc5 {
(in any major piece endgame, the c6-pawn is likely to be a fatal weakness)} Nf6
23. Qe2 a5 24. Qf3 Ne4 25. Nxe4 Rxe4 26. Rc5 Re6 27. h4 $1 {(the rook on c5
cuts across Black's queenside ambitions and now White is free to get on with
his own attack)} h5 28. g4 $1 hxg4 29. Qxg4 f5 30. Qg5 Rh7 31. h5 {. Frankly an
ybody could have played White's last few moves. Now the black king cover is
shot to pieces and pawns soon start dropping off:} Kh8 32. Rh4 Rxh5 33. Rxh5+
gxh5 34. Qxf5 Rh6 35. Qf8+ Kh7 36. Qf7+ Kh8 37. Rc1 Qd8 38. Rg1 Rh7 39. Qe6 Qf8
40. Qe5+ Rg7 41. Qxh5+ Kg8 42. Rh1 a4 43. a3 Qe7 44. Qf5 Qe4+ 45. Qxe4 dxe4 46.
Rh6 Rg1+ 47. Ka2 Rf1 48. Rxc6 Rxf2 49. Re6 Kf7 50. Rxe4 Re2 51. Re5 Kf6 52.
Rxb5 Rxe3 53. Rb4 {1-0 C.Ward-A.Fox, Kilkenny 1996.}) 12. Kb1 a5 13. g4 a4 {
It does make a certain amount of sense to get this pawn here before taking the
queen to a5. Now Black would love to bring a knight to c4, but it does take
time.} 14. Ng3 Qa5 15. Nce2 Bd7 16. Nf5 $5 ({By way of alternatives, referring
to other textbooks I notice that an old Informator assesses} 16. Bf5 b4 $1 {
as unclear}) ({and suggests} 16. Rhg1 $5) ({
whilst 'Nunn's Chess Openings' gives} 16. Nh5 Nxh5 17. Bxe7 Rxe7 18. gxh5 {
as slightly better for White.}) 16... Bxf5 17. Bxf5 (17. gxf5 {
, opening the g-file, obviously has something to be said for it too.}) 17...
Qb6 ({Instead} 17... Ra6 18. Bd3 Rb6 19. Ng3 b4 20. Qd2 g6 21. f4 a3 22. b3 c5
23. dxc5 Qxc5 24. Rc1 Qd6 25. Bh6 {
was objectively slightly better for White in C.Ward-M.Olesen, Hillerod 1995.})
18. Rc1 Ra6 19. Bd3 {
Pinning the b-pawn and vacating the f5-square for a knight.} Rb8 20. Ng3 h6 21.
Nf5 Bd8 22. Bf4 Rba8 23. h4 $1 Ne6 ({The g-pawn wasn't much of a gift:} 23...
Nxg4 $2 24. Rhg1 h5 25. f3 {
and Black's position naturally crumbles with his g7-pawn.}) 24. Bd6 {It certain
ly doesn't look like Black will be going anywhere with his c-pawn, but there
can be no stopping White's g-pawn.} Ne8 25. Bb4 Qb7 26. g5 Qd7 27. f4 Rc8 28.
gxh6 g6 29. Rcg1 Kh8 30. Ng7 {
Returning the extra pawn in order to completely expose the black monarch.}
N8xg7 31. hxg7+ Nxg7 32. h5 $1 gxh5 ({Or} 32... Nxh5 33. Bxg6 $1 fxg6 34. Qxg6
{with a forced mate.}) 33. Bf8 Bf6 34. Bxg7+ Bxg7 35. Rxh5+ Kg8 36. Bf5 {
This pin is enough to win, but when the bishop has gone the queen zooming down
to h7 rather rubs thingsin!} Qc7 37. Bxc8 1-0



[Event "London (rapid)"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1995.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Sokolov, I."]
[Black "Short, N."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D36"]
[Annotator "Chris Ward"]
[PlyCount "95"]
[EventDate "1995.??.??"]
[Source "Everyman Chess"]
[SourceDate "2006.10.01"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. Nc3 Nbd7 5. cxd5 exd5 6. Bg5 Be7 7. e3 c6 8.
Qc2 O-O 9. Bd3 {In the final game of this chapter I am bringing to the table
the concept of (what would effectively be) 9 Nf3 in our main QGD Exchange
starting position.} Re8 10. h3 {Again we see useful delaying tactics.} ({
Upon the committal} 10. O-O-O {Black may play a swift ...b5 and, not
forgetting about the h7-pawn, possibly a swift ...Nb6-c4 could occur.}) 10...
Nf8 (10... b6 {
is another club player's attempt, which was punished most adequately by} 11.
Ne5 $5 Nxe5 12. dxe5 Nd7 13. Bxh7+ Kh8 14. Bf4 {in C.Ward-Taylor, Kent League
1998. Black evidently (and understandably) didn't fancy travelling down the
path of} g6 15. Bxg6 fxg6 16. Qxg6 {.}) 11. g4 {Sokolov prefers to delay
castling one move more, although it is now obvious that the white king is
going long.} a5 12. O-O-O a4 13. Kb1 {White is not interested in taking the
a-pawn as then the initiative would rapidly change hands.} Qa5 14. a3 Be6 15.
Ne5 {White's position has a very nice feel to it, but there are to be no quick
checkmates after the forced sequence that follows.} Ne4 16. Bxe7 Nxc3+ 17. Qxc3
Qxc3 (17... Rxe7 18. Rc1 f6 19. Qxa5 Rxa5 20. Nf3 Nd7 21. Rhg1 {
was a similar White nibble in C.Ward-K.Murugan, Wrexham 1996.}) 18. bxc3 Rxe7
19. Kc2 f6 20. Nf3 {Taking stock of this position, it isn't as exciting as
those that have occurred in our other illustrative games, but it is still
quite a good one. White has a half-open b-file that he can make use of, but he
will most likely be seeking action along the g- and h-files. He also has the
better bishop and, although I couldn't go so far as to say White is winning,
assuming vaguely sensible play he has virtually no losing chances. Though I
will end my comments here, do play over the rest of this game as there is a
delightful element of screw turning. Typically Nigel Short is an excellent
defender of the QGD, but I saw this as it was being played and it still sticks
in my mind as a very impressive encounter.} Nd7 21. Rhg1 Rae8 22. h4 b5 23. Rg3
Bf7 24. h5 g5 25. hxg6 hxg6 26. Rh1 g5 27. Rgh3 Nf8 28. Ng1 Be6 29. Rh8+ Kg7
30. Bf5 Bxf5+ 31. gxf5 Kf7 32. Ne2 Rd8 33. Ng3 Rd6 34. Kd3 Kg7 35. R1h6 Kf7 36.
Nh5 Re8 37. f3 Red8 38. Ng3 Ke7 39. e4 dxe4+ 40. Nxe4 Rd5 41. Rxf6 c5 42. Rg8
cxd4 43. Rg7+ Ke8 44. Rc6 dxc3+ 45. Kxc3 Rd3+ 46. Kb4 Nd7 47. Rg8+ Ke7 48. Re6+
1-0

Interesting quote on one of the sites above :-

"The delight in gambits is a sign of chess youth... In very much the same way as the young man, on reaching his manhood years, lays aside the Indian stories and stories of adventure, and turns to the psychological novel, we with maturing experience leave off gambit playing and become interested in the less vivacious but withal more forceful manoeuvres of the position player."

-- Emanuel LASKER

Originally posted by z00t
Interesting quote on one of the sites above :-

[b]"The delight in gambits is a sign of chess youth... In very much the same way as the young man, on reaching his manhood years, lays aside the Indian stories and stories of adventure, and turns to the psychological novel, we with maturing experience leave off gambit playing and become interested in the less vivacious but withal more forceful manoeuvres of the position player."

-- Emanuel LASKER[/b]

I guess I'm just a 49-yr.-old kid. I've been playing chess for about forty years, and for about thrity-eight of those years I played boring chess and made it to 2022 USCF. Now I like gambits!

For my thoughts on chess, please visit my blog at http://www.chuckychess.blogspot.com

According to the site on Lasker- "Wild rumours circulated about his luck in poor positions, but his mastery was not just of chess but of psychology. It was like inviting his opponents to waltz on a clifftop, confident that his footwork and nerve were stronger. It was a style impossible to imitate - you need always to be the strongest player - but elements of it may prove useful to anyone."

Anyone can extract a win from a gambit style position but Lasker's luck in poor positions would be a useful addition to one's style.