Andrew Martin:

A full day of chess

In the coming survey I hope to give advice
about the way to structure a day-long
training

session.

I

have

conducted

hundreds

over

the

years

and

the

suggestions are based on a lot of
experience. My overall aim is twofold. I
want the students to come away really
feeling that they have strengthened their
all-round game. I also want them to enjoy
themselves. If you, the coach are well-
prepared, you should acheive this every
time.Only basic equipment is needed for a
full day session:Sets/Boards/Clocks (
preferably digitals)Paper/PensBook Prizes
( optional, but very popular)I will suppose
the session starts early. Thus the day might
be structured as follows:Welcome ,
introduction and registration 9amSession
One 9.30am –11.30 amLUNCH 11.30am
–12.30pmSession

Two

12.30pm

-

14.15pmBREAKSession Three 1445pm–
1715pmMerit points are awarded for
excellent work and results throughout the
day by you, the coach.. Thus the training is
also an internal competition for the
members of the group. At the end of the
day, you will decide how many students
receive the prizes.Let us begin.

SESSION ONE - POSITION
TRAINING

The first session of the day acts as a warm-
up and emphasizes the variety of chess. At
the board a player can be exposed to a
range of situations and the positions must
reflect this.Split the students into small
groups of three or four and let them solve
the puzzles. They should write answers out
in full before declaring them, thus
preventing superficial mistakes. I aim to
get through ten puzzles in two hours,
which gives ample time for reflection and
explanation as well as a short break half-

way through.You can select the positions
according to the overall strength of the
students. The folowing sample session is
for players of moderate to good ability of
any age.

Position one

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+k+-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+-+-+p0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+-+-+P+0
9+-+-+K+-0
xiiiiiiiiy

Moravec, 1952. White to play and win.

1.Kf2!
White simply wants to win the h pawn.
However, he must take care. 1.Kg1? does
not work: 1...Kd7 2.Kh2 Ke6 3.Kh3 Kf5
4.Kh4 Kg6=.
1...h4!
This is Black's idea. He threatens ...h4-h3,
followed by running the King to h8.
2.Kg1!!
2.Kf3 h3 3.g4 Kd7 4.Kg3 Ke6 5.Kh3 Kf6
6.Kh4 Kg6 draws.
2...h3
2...Kd7 3.Kh2 Ke6 4.Kh3 Kf5 (4...Kf6
5.Kh4+-) 5.Kh4 Kg6 6.Kg4+-.
3.g3!
Ensuring the White King can get in front
of the pawn.
3...Kd7 4.Kh2 Ke6 5.Kh3 Kf6 6.Kh4!
A neat study to begin proceedings. 6.Kg4?
Kg6=. 1–0.

Position two

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+l+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9L+-+-+-mK0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+-+N+-mk0
9+-+-+Pzp-0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
xiiiiiiiiy

Pogosiants, 1961. White to play and win.
1.Lf1!
Confining the Black King, which will be
the winning theme.
1...Lb5
Black plays for stalemate. Note that
1...Ld7 loses to 2.Sg5.
2.Lg2 Lf1 3.Lf1 g2 4.Sg3!
4.Lg2 stalemate!
4...g1D
4...Kg3 5.Lg2 Kg2 6.f4+-; 4...gf1D 5.Sf1+-
5.Sf5#
A rather nice finish. 1–0.

Position three

Perlaska – Grassi, 1907

XIIIIIIIIY
9rsnlmk-+-tr0
9zppzpp+p+p0
9-+-+-zp-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+L+-+-+0
9+-+-wQ-+-0
9P+-mKNzP-wq0
9+-+-tR-tR-0
xiiiiiiiiy

This position may serve as a gruesome

reminder about what can happen to
material-grabbers in the opening.
1...Te8??
What happened next?
2.De8!
Of course!
2...Ke8 3.Sd4 Kf8 4.Te8 Ke8 5.Tg8 Ke7
6.Sf5#
Oh, the pain.... 1–0.

Position four

Ullrich – Spengler, Berlin 1948

XIIIIIIIIY
9k+-+-+r+0
9zp-+-+-wQp0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+q+-+-0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9P+-+-sNPzP0
9+R+-+-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

White to play. What should the result of
the game be with best play and why?
1.Tb5!
The White Queen cannot move thanks to
mate on g2, but many stop after 1.Tb5,
thinking that the problem is solved. Black's
best defence is rarely taken into account.
1...Te8! 2.Tb1
It is odd that 2.Tb1 is the only move.
2...Tg8 3.Tb5 ½

Position five

Leko – Svidler, Dortmund 1998

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+-trk+0
9+-+-+-zp-0
9p+p+-+-zp0
9+p+n+-+-0
9P+-wQ-+-+0
9+-zP-+qzP-0
9-zP-+-zP-+0
9+-+RvL-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

Clearly from the Marshall Gambit. Black
to play and win.
1...Se3! 2.fe3
2.De3 Dd1–+.
2...De2!
A quiet move to finish. Brute force
methods do not achieve the objective:
2...Df1 3.Kh2 De2 4.Kh3 Tf5 5.Dd8 Kh7
6.Dd3!
3.Lf2
3.Ld2 Dd1.
3...Df2 0–1

Position six

Videki – Mansurov, Budapest 1994

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+-trk+0
9+-+lwQ-+p0
9p+-zP-wq-+0
9+p+P+-+-0
9-zP-+-snp+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9P+-+-+PzP0
9+-tR-+RmK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

Black to play and win. Calculate to the end
without moving the pieces.
1...Sh3! 2.gh3 Dd4 3.Kh1
3.Kg2 gh3 4.Kg3 Dg4#.
3...Dd5 4.Kg1 Dd4 5.Kh1 Lc6! 6.Tc6 Tf1
7.Kg2 Tg1# 0–1.

Position seven

Pulitzer, 1907

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-vL-sn-+-0
9-+-+-+-wQ0
9+-+-zplzP-0
9-tR-sN-+-+0
9+-+-mk-+-0
9-+P+-+P+0
9+-+-mK-+-0
xiiiiiiiiy

White to play and mate in two.
1.Df6!
I think this is quite tough 1–0.

Position eight

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+-+-+0
9zp-+-+-+r0
9k+-+-+-zP0
9zP-zP-+-+R0
9K+-+-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
xiiiiiiiiy

White to play and convert his superiority
into victory.
1.c6! Th6
Has White blundered?

2.c7 Tc6 3.Th6!
No! Everything is under control. 1–0.

Position nine

XIIIIIIIIY
9R+-+-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9P+K+k+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+-+-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+-+-+-+0
9tr-+-+-+-0
xiiiiiiiiy

Grigoriev, 1936. White threatens 1 a7,
winning. Can Black to move, save the
position?
1...Tc1
I am afraid that he cannot save the game.
Black is lost. If he tried 1...Kf7 (with the
intention 2.a7? Kg7=) White plays instead
2.Kb7! Tb1 3.Ka7 Ke7 4.Tb8 Td1 5.Kb7
Tb1 6.Ka8 Ta1 7.a7 Kd7 (7...Kd6 8.Kb7
Tb1 9.Kc8 Tc1 10.Kd8 Th1 11.Tb6 Kc5
12.Tc6!) 8.Kb7 Tb1 9.Ka6 Ta1 10.Kb6+-).
2.Kb5!
2.Kb7 Tb1 3.Ka7 Kd7!= 4.Tb8 Tc1 5.Kb7
Tb1 6.Ka8 Kc7=.
2...Tb1 3.Kc4
3.Ka4 Ta1 4.Kb3 Kf7 5.a7 Kg7=.
3...Tc1 4.Kb3
4.Kd3 Td1 5.Ke3 Td7 6.Ke4 (6.a7?
Kd5!=) 6...Kd6 7.a7 Te7 8.Kd4 Td7
9.Kc4+-.
4...Tc7 5.a7 Te7 6.Kc4 Ke5 7.Kc5
Winning. There is plenty of intricate play
to discuss in this example. 1–0.


Position ten

Fischer – Spassky, Game Six, World
Championship match, Reykjavik 1972

XIIIIIIIIY
9-+-+q+-mk0
9+-tr-tr-zp-0
9-+-+Psn-zp0
9zp-zp-+R+-0
9P+-zpQ+-zP0
9+P+L+R+-0
9-+-+-+P+0
9+-+-+-mK-0
xiiiiiiiiy

A famous position from a famous match.
White to play and win.
1.Tf6! gf6 2.Tf6
Demolishing Black's defences.
2...Kg8
2...Th7 3.Df4! Kg8 4.Lg6 De7 5.Lh7 is the
end of the road for Black.
3.Lc4 Kh8 4.Df4 1–0.

SESSION TWO -
TOURNAMENT

In session two you organize a short blitz
tournament for the players. I usually play
five-minute chess or if I have digital
clocks, five minutes with an increment of
three extra seconds added per move.
Players receive ten points for each win,
five for a draw and one point for a loss.
Players must be encouraged to express
themselves fully in these games and to give
100%, whatever their score. Total points
are added to the overall tally for the day.
The playing session is popular and must be
structured to last two hours. A break in the
middle is again essential.

SESSION THREE - GAME
ANALYSIS

In an earlier survey, I dealt with the
different ways a trainer might present a
game to the group. You must choose your
preference! Following the idea that this

particular day is for pretty good players, I
would present the following game using
the ' critical moments' method. I would go
through the game briefly at the demo board
without too much explanation and draw the
attention of the students to the following
moves: W5, B8, W10, W11, B15, W16,
B16, W18, W21, W22, W28. The students
are still in small groups. The groups
annotate the game in question
concentrating on the critical moments
above. They have one hour for this task. A
full discussion then takes place, with
various students coming out to the
demonstration board to explain themselves.
Points are given according to the quality of
the answers. The length of this session
would be 2hrs 30 mins including a break.
At the end of the day the overall points are
added up and top three students may
receive prizes of some kind. I usually give
out chess books.

Ivanchuk,V - Gelfand,B [C42]
Melody Amber, Nice 2010

There are lessons to be learned from each
and every game we observe or play. We
just have to condition ourselves to look for
them. The coming game is a bruising
encounter, but where did Black go wrong?
1.e4 e5 2.Sf3 Sf6 3.Se5 d6 4.Sf3 Se4 5.Sc3

XIIIIIIIIY
9rsnlwqkvl-tr0
9zppzp-+pzpp0
9-+-zp-+-+0
9+-+-+-+-0
9-+-+n+-+0
9+-sN-+N+-0
9PzPPzP-zPPzP0
9tR-vLQmKL+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

This is the favoured way to try to put paid
to the Petroff at the moment. It has a
temporary feel to it. White inherits doubled

pawns, but at the same time obtains fast
development and the straightforward plan
of pawnstorming the Black King. It's
working at all levels and games like the
one about to witness don't do any harm.
5...Sc3 6.dc3 Le7 7.Le3
Its this or 7.Lf4 apparently. Then comes
Dd2 and 0–0–0. Then White charges his h
pawn forward. You'd think Black would
have sufficient defensive resources.
7.Dd4!? is a further move which I've only
seen once from a recent Open tournament
played in India. When the Queen is
attacked she moves across to f4 and then
the pawns begin their advance. Maybe this
is the way the line will go in future; who
knows?
7...0–0
7...Sc6 8.Dd2 0–0 9.0–0–0 Se5 10.h4 Te8
11.Se5 de5 12.Ld3 Ld6 13.Le4 f5 14.Ld5
Le6 15.Le6 Te6 16.Dd5 Dc8 17.g4 f4
18.Lf4 ef4 19.The1 Kf7 20.Td4 c6 21.Db3
Kf6 22.Td6 Td6 23.g5 Kg6 24.h5 Kg5
25.h6 De8 26.Tg1 Kh6 27.Th1 Kg6
28.Db7 Df8 29.Tg1 Kf6 30.Db4 g5, 0–1,
Caruana,F (2652) - Gashimov,V (2758),
Khanty Mansiysk 2009.
8.Dd2 Sd7 9.0–0–0 Te8 10.h4
Here comes Vasily and he's not joking.
10...c6 11.Kb1
11.Ld3 Da5 12.Kb1 Se5 13.Se5 de5
14.De2 Le6 15.Lc4 Lc4 16.Dc4 Tad8
17.h5 Td1 18.Td1 Td8 19.Td3 a6 20.Dg4
Dc7 21.De4 g6 22.g4 Td3 23.cd3 Dd7
24.De5 Dd3 25.Kc1 Dd6 26.De4 De6
27.De6 fe6 28.Kc2 gh5 29.gh5 e5 30.Kd3
Kf7 31.Ke4, ½, Caruana,F (2675) -
Kramnik,V (2788), Wijk aan Zee 2010;
11.h5 h6 12.Kb1 Sf6 13.Ld3 Lf8 14.Tdg1
Sg4 15.Lf4 Df6 16.Sh2 Sh2 17.Th2 Lf5
18.Lf5 Df5 19.g4 De4 20.g5 hg5 21.Lg5
De2 22.De2 Te2 23.Le3 Te3 24.fe3 Te8
25.Th3 Te6 26.c4 Le7 27.Tf3 Te5 28.Tgf1
Th5 29.Tf7 Te5 30.T7f3 Lf6 31.c3 Te4
32.Tf6 gf6 33.Tf6 Te3 34.Td6 Kf7 35.Kc2
Te2 36.Kb3 Ke7 37.Td4 c5 38.Td3 b6
39.Ka3 Tc2 40.Td5 a5 41.Td3 Th2 42.b3
Tc2 43.Ka4 Ta2 44.Kb5 Tb2 45.Kb6 a4
46.Kc5 Tb3 47.Kc6 a3 48.c5 Ke8 49.Th3
a2 50.Th8 Ke7 51.Ta8 Tb2 52.Kc7 Tc2

53.c6 Tb2 54.c4 Tc2 55.Ta6 Tb2 56.c5
Ke6 57.Ta5 Tc2 58.Kb7 Tb2 59.Kc8 Ke7
60.c7 Ke8 61.Ta2 Ta2 62.Kb7, 1–0,
Topalov,V (2805) - Gelfand,B (2761),
Linares 2010.
11...Da5 12.h5 h6 13.Ld3 Lf8 14.g4

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+l+rvlk+0
9zpp+n+pzp-0
9-+pzp-+-zp0
9wq-+-+-+P0
9-+-+-+P+0
9+-zPLvLN+-0
9PzPPwQ-zP-+0
9+K+R+-+R0
xiiiiiiiiy

You can see why they play this line.
Before Black ever fires a shot in anger on
the queenside, the White pawns are right
on top of him. But still, my instincts tell
me Black has to be ok here.
14...Sf6 15.g5 Le6! 16.a3
A necessary timeout.
16...Sg4?
16...Dd5! was the correct move order, after
which White must pause: 17.c4 (17.De2
Da2 18.Kc1 hg5 19.Sg5) 17...Df3 18.gf6
Df6 19.Ld4 Df3 20.Tdg1 Lg4. Obviously
White still has a strong attack, but nothing
like the game.
17.gh6 Dd5 18.De2!
Recovering from the shock of
underestimating or not even seeing a move
can be very difficult at the board. Gelfand
seems dazed by what happens from now
on.
18...Da2 19.Kc1 Da1 20.Kd2 Db2
21.Tdg1
21.Sd4! was just as strong, but then we
would miss the fireworks.
21...Ld7?
Or 21...c5 22.Sg5 Sh6 23.Se6 Te6 24.Tb1.
A slightly surprising change of tack.
24...Da3 25.Ta1 Db2 26.Thb1+-.
22.Tg4!! Lg4 23.Sg5 Le6

With the breathtaking point 23...Le2 24.h7
Kh8 25.Sf7#.
24.Ld4 Da2
24...c5 25.De6! kills Black with the same
combination of h7 and Sf7 mate.
25.Tg1 c5 26.Lh7 Kh8 27.hg7 Lg7
28.Sf7!

XIIIIIIIIY
9r+-+r+-mk0
9zpp+-+NvlL0
9-+-zpl+-+0
9+-zp-+-+P0
9-+-vL-+-+0
9zP-zP-+-+-0
9q+PmKQzP-+0
9+-+-+-tR-0
xiiiiiiiiy

A superb finish to an attacking masterpiece
where not even a single move was wasted.
28...Lf7 29.Lg7 Kh7 30.Dd3 Kg8 31.Lf6
Kf8 32.Dd6
The window of opportunity for the
defender is always smaller than that of the
attacker. 1–0.