Dan Heisman's Improve Your Chess
Center Game Crumbles on Opening Mistakes
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: White plays the rare Center Game (1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4) but it's his minor mistakes afterwards that allows Black to build up a threatening position. Minor mistakes continue to pile up and Black's attack becomes overwhelming. Finally White develops his king's knight, blocking his queen's defense of checkmate, and it's over.