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Winning a Won Game

Winning a Won Game

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I teach a bunch of kids chess. The most difficult thing for them to be able to learn is how to win the won game. So many blunder back a piece or, more common, stalemate their opponents.

Do any of you have any advice on how to teach kids to close the deal? What is it that makes it so hard to see that stalemate?

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Originally posted by byedidia
I teach a bunch of kids chess. The most difficult thing for them to be able to learn is how to win the won game. So many blunder back a piece or, more common, stalemate their opponents.

Do any of you have any advice on how to teach kids to close the deal? What is it that makes it so hard to see that stalemate?
Stalemate is a strange rule. It seems like it's a good thing to bind up an opponent to the point of total immobility.

Blundering pieces never goes away. I'm still doing it after all these years of playing. All you can do is drill them on tactics and improve their awareness of common ways to win/lose material.

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I always like to see juniors swapping off pieces (especially queens) once they are material up. Not necessarily if they have an overwhelming attack, but if they have won a piece by a fork or pin trick then every pair of pieces exchanged brings them closer to a won endgame. It's painful to watch games swing backwards and forwards as the side with a material advantage can't cope with looking after all the pieces on the board.

However in endings you should always look out for ways to simplify to an easily won endgame by giving the material back. Here is an example from a game I played earlier this evening:

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1.e4c6
2.d4d5
3.e5c5
4.c3Nc6
5.Be3cxd4
6.cxd4Bf5
7.Nc3e6
8.Bd3Bxd3
9.Qxd3Nge7
10.Nf3Nf5
11.O-Oa6
12.Rac1Be7
13.Rfe1h5
14.Qd2Rc8
15.Na4Bb4
16.Nc3b5
17.a3Be7
18.b4g5
19.Bxg5Bxg5
20.Qxg5Qxg5
21.Nxg5Ncxd4
22.Nf3Nb3
23.Ne2Nxc1
24.Rxc1Rxc1
25.Nxc1Ke7
26.Nb3Rc8
27.Nc5a5
28.Kf1axb4
29.axb4Ra8
30.Ne1Nd4
31.Ncd3Ra1
32.f3Nc2
33.Kf2Nxe1
34.Nxe1Ra3
35.Ke2f6
36.f4fxe5
37.fxe5Ra2
38.Kf3Kf7
39.h3Kg6
40.Nd3Ra3
41.Ke3Kf5
42.g4hxg4
43.hxg4Kxg4
44.Kd4Rb3
45.Ke3Kf5
46.Kd4Rxd3
47.Kxd3Kxe5

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      From move 34 onwards I knew that the clearest path to victory was to swap off my rook for his knight once I had ensured that the resulting king and pawn ending was won for me.


      When I'm a piece up that means I have two to sacrifice. 🙂

      Saccing back (what an ugly term - there must be somethis better) is the sole
      preseve of the piece up player.
      Always look to give back the material if it exposes the enemy King.

      If you can see no way of saccing back then attack the King.
      The defenders best defensive policy (swapping bits) is what you want.
      So use your extra piece, out gun him.

      Stalemates.
      Without seeing any examples I'm guessing the kids are stalemating
      a lone King v King & Queen.

      He is a fail safe method to teach the kids to win this ending.
      The Queen is a Knight.

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      1.Qc3Kd5
      2.Qb4Ke5
      3.Qc4Kd6
      4.Qb5Ke6
      5.Qc5Kf6
      6.Qd5Ke7
      7.Qc6Kf7
      8.Qd6Kg7
      9.Qe6Kf8
      10.Qd7Kg8
      11.Qe7Kh8
      12.Kf2Kg8
      13.Kf3Kh8
      14.Kg4Kg8
      15.Kg5Kh8
      16.Kg6Kg8

      +9

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      GP, I've shown them and they have mastered that very technique, but the warning you give on move 11 often doesn't stick. More common though are stalemates with more pieces.

      Some recent stalemates, white to move.

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      White decides he's going to promote the pawn. h6 1/2-1/2

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      White fiddles with the king, going back and forth and around... Kd4, Ke4, Ke5, finally Ke6, 1/2-1/2

      I have seen this one at least three times.
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      Again, white decides to promote. f8=Q 1/2-1/2

      I encourage them to promote to rooks, but they love their queens!

      And yes, the other issue is when a player wins a rook in the opening, then doesn't know how to exchange down without dropping an extra piece or two. I've got them working on tactics, but it's sometimes painful to watch them simply miss-count and exchange away more than they get.

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      Well the let's hope they learn from their losses and stalemates.
      It really is the only way. You have to lose by every method till the lesson sinks in.

      You can go on and on and on about the dangers of say, bring out your Queen
      too early. But they won't heed it till they lose their Queen in 10 moves.

      Remember your Russian proverb.

      There are two kinds of chess player.
      Those that have been back rank mated and those who will be back rank mated.

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      Compliment to magnus in round 6 that the conversion process was smooth by his opponent

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