A recent survey of junior players who attended the Chess Kids Elite Coaching session said that the activity the players enjoyed the most was playing against their coach. This is a great way to get immediate feed-back from your coach when you make an error in your game and helps develop your understanding of chess.
Lately I have been watching junior players in the RJ Shield and the Vic. Junior Masters Events and it is clear to me that juniors are very good at moving, but less good at thinking before they move! With this in mind the coach usually gives his players some basic rules to try to follow such as “develop your pieces onto good squares” and “castle early to make your king safe”.
Today I’m going to show you a game where the student clearly understands these principles but now must move onto the next stage where he also understands what strategy he should be playing in each position. Once you know how to avoid blunders then you need to know how to plan.
The game is between Chess Kids coach Carl Gorka and student Jack O’Shaughnessy.
Carl Gorka 2170
Jack O’Shaunghnessy 1169
Chess Kids Elite Training
11.10.2009
Caro-Kann Defence
1.e4 c6 {I’ve suggested to Jack that he take up the Caro-Kann Defence as it is a solid opening not used by many juniors so he will probably have a better understanding of the opening than his opponents.}
2.d4 d5 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 e6 5.c5 {An unusual reply. Normal is 5.Nc3 Nc6 etc.}
5…Nc6 {With the pawn on c5 White has a majority of 3 pawns to 2 on the queenside so he will attempt to consolidate his space advantage by pushing a pawn to b5 whilst preventing Black from breaking in the centre with e5. If Black had understood this he would have played 5…b6 to immediately break up the pawns. Note that White cannot maintain his advanced pawn as 6.b4 is answered by 6…a5 when 7.a3 is not possible as the “a” pawn is pinned.}
6.Nf3 Nf6 7.Bb5 {Note how White is trying to stop Black from supporting the …e5 break.}
7…Be7 8.O-O O-O 9.a3 Bd7 10.Bxc6 {? Exchanging before he is forced to so perhaps wasting a tempo. 10.Nc3 or 10.Bd3 were better.}
10…Bxc6 11.b4 {White wants to get in b5 but this can be easily stopped so either 11.Nc3 or 11.Qd3 were preferrable.}
1…b6 {Black gets the right idea now, but misses the even better move 11…a5 which disrupts White’s plans and may allow …Bb5 shortly, giving Black good control of the white squares. When you have a light squared B and your opponent doesn’t, then the issue is whether it becomes locked behind your pawn chain (also on white squares) or whether you can activate it outside the pawn chain (say on b5 or c4).}
12.Nc3 Ne4 13.Bb2 Bf6 {13…Ncx3 14.Bxc3 15.Bb5 Re1 16.Bf6 would have left Black with a strong light-squared B.}
14.a4 {Now the B is stuck behind the pawn chain.} 14…Nxc3 {? Black should have played 14…bxc5 15.bxc5 Rb8 16.Qc2 Qd7 when he can just double his rooks on the b file with a solid position.}
15.Bxc3
Carl Gorka v Jack O'Shaunessy
15…b5 {? A very bad move. Now the B is locked in. 15…bxc5 16.bxc5 Qd7 was OK.}
16.Qd3 bxa4 {?? The losing move which allows White to get his pawn to b5. Black should have played 16…a3 blocking the queenside, but his bad B would still have left White with the advantage.}
17.b5 Be8 18.Rxa4 Rb8 {? This leaves the “a” pawn undefended. Better was 18…Qb8.}
19.Rb1 Be7 {?? What about the “a” pawn? 19…Qc7 was necessary.}
20.Rxa7 Ra8 21.Rba1 Rxa7 22.Rxa7 Bd7 23.c6 {Perhaps 23.Ne5 was even more powerful.}
23…Be8 24.c7 Qc8 25.b6 Bc6 26.Ne5 Bb7 27.Qb5 Bf6 {? 27…Bd6 was better.}
28.Nd7 Re8 29.Nxf6+ gxf6 30.Rxb7 Qxb7 31.Qxe8+ Kg7 32.c8=Q Qxb6
33.Qg8+ Kh6 34.Bd2+ Kh5 35.Qxh7+ Kg4 {White has a choice of 4 checkmating moves!}
36.Qcg8# 1-0
