Dan Heisman's Improve Your Chess
Rare French Sideline Leads to Instructive Game
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: Black varies with 3...Nc6 in a Classical French and the game takes an original turn. White errs by allowing Black more central pawns but still could retain a slight advantage with perfect play. Instead both sides make minor errors which result in a big kingside attack for Black. White defends poorly and Black gets a winning attack, but misplays it slightly and White could hang on. Instead White chooses the wrong time to play passively and Black just ends up ahead a pawn with a better game. White finally blunders a piece and does not resign, so eventually Black ends up with a trivially winning queen and pawn endgame.