Dan Heisman's Improve Your Chess
Fast and Faster - Again
National Master Dan Heisman is a name that is synonymous with excellence in chess coaching and teaching. Dan authors the award-winning Novice Nook column (winner of three Chess Journalists of America "Best Instruction" awards), aimed at improving adults, for chesscafe.com that are clearly written and offer very practical advice and tips on how to improve your game . In the new Improve Your Chess series, Dan provides instruction by reviewing amateur games played on ICC and showing where the players went wrong and how to improve.
Today's show: I picked a random student "slow" game which, not surprisingly, proves to be just as instructive as a submitted game. Both sides play fast, but White plays faster. White allows Black (my student) easy equalization and then even more. Black misses a fairly easy win on move 10 (!), and settles for a nice advantage. Finally he offers White a poisoned pawn, which White takes, losing immediately...except Black doesn't play the winning move! Two moves later White blunders again and this time Black has his choice of winning the queen or checkmate. Instead White rudely disconnects and forfeits.