On February 26th, 2024, one of the biggest, proudest moments of my professional life (so far) happened – the publication of the Chessable course Gustafsson’s Aggressive 1.e4 – Part 1, which I co-authored with none other but the renowned Grandmaster, commentator and opening theoretician, GM Jan Gustafsson.

To celebrate this moment and my part when it comes to the marketing of the course, I have decided to write an article in which I will talk about how the course came to be and what kind of lines and “style” a prospective student should expect out of it.

I hope you will enjoy it and find it useful.

Gustafsson’s Aggressive 1.e4 – Part 1

Basic Information About The Course?

Gustafsson’s Aggressive 1.e4 is a repertoire aimed at providing you with an overall 1.e4 repertoire. In the first part of this repertoire, we will be covering everything apart from the French, Caro-Kann, and the Sicilian. In other words, we are covering 1.e4 e5 complex and everything else Black can throw at us after 1.e4.

The course consists of:

• 579 Lines/Variations available to the user to “train”
• 59 Informational Variations
• 37 Annotated Model Games
• 166 Tactical and Strategic Puzzles
• 285.175 Words
• 20 hours and 28 minutes of video, presented by GM Jan Gustafsson

Which Lines Are Recommended In The Course?

A) After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 the Italian with 3.Bc4 will be our choice

and now:

A1) After 3…Bc5, we will be going for the sharp Dubov Italian after 4.c3 Nf6 5.d4 exd4 6.b4!?

A2) After 3…Nf6, we will be going for what I – for some reason – called the Three Knights Variation with 4.Ng5, when the principled line in the absolute mainline is 4…d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5 c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Qf3!?

B) After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nf6 we will be going for 3.d4. In the absolute main line of the system after 3…Nxe4 4.Bd3 d5 5.Nxe5 Nd7 6.Nxd7 Bxd7 Jan has decided to recommend the move 7.Nd2!?, which was used by Magnus in his World Chess Championship against Ian Nepomniachtchi. And Jan was a member of Magnus’ team!

C) After 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Be7, Jan has decided to go for the move 6.g3!?, which doesn’t look so aggressive at first, but can quickly lead to wild stuff after 6….d5 7.e5 Ng4 8.Bg2!?. Otherwise, we will want to secure a stable space advantage and slowly suffocate Black.

D) In the Philidor Hanham after 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 e5 4.Nf3 Nbd7, Jan has come up with a rare move 5.a4!?, seizing space on the queenside immediately. Once again, the idea is to suffocate Black. And if they play 5…a5 we go 6.g4!? and claim we are getting a better version of the 5.g4!? Gambit with the moves a4 and a5 included.

E) Against the Scandinavian Defence, we will be going for the absolute main variation with 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 and play principled chess, since White has a good chance of seizing the initiative and fighting for the advantage without necessarily trying to sacrifice a pawn or do something crazy at all costs.

F) Against the Alekhine Defence, we have decided to go for the maximalist approach with the Four Pawns Attack, arising after 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.d4 d6 5.f4! This line is not very challenging, but also quite practical, since it significantly reduces Black’s options compared to the other variations of the Alekhine.

G) Against the Pirc/Modern, Jan has decided to go for the not-so-aggressive-looking Classical Variation after 1.e4 d6 2.d4 Nf6 3.Nc3 g6 4.Nf3 at first glance, this setup doesn’t fit into the repertoire with the word ‘Aggressive’ in the title. But it is a rather practical choice because it allows us to play it against both Pirc and Modern move orders. Besides, this setup still has a lot of ‘aggressive’ potential due to the possibility of advancing the e-pawn rather quickly. For example, one of the main variations of the Pirc complex arises after 4…Bg7 5.Be2 O-O 6. O-O c6 7.Re1 Nbd7 8.e5 Ng4 9.e6 where we once again sacrifice a pawn for long-term compensation, fully in the spirit of this repertoire.

I) Finally, the last two chapters deal with all the other 1st moves Black can throw at us after 1.e4, such as 1…Nc6, 1…b6, 1…a6 and many others. In these last two chapters, we didn’t try to reinvent the wheel but occupied the center and tried to play principled chess.

(Do note that all the other moves after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4, as well nonsense such as 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5?! or 1. e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5?! are also all covered)

What Is The Philosophy/Style Of The Course?

As the title of the course suggests and the lines above demonstrate, throughout this repertoire, Jan has tried to suggest combative and aggressive lines where White tries to pose immediate problems to the opponent and fight for the initiative from the get-go. Often, we should be willing to sacrifice at least one pawn to achieve our aims.

However, there are also places (most notably the Three Knights chapters) where we are the ones willing to grab some material and then fend off our opponent’s initiative. Although the positions are again crazy-looking and highly tactical, as the following example demonstrates:

The general idea was to avoid playing strategical positions and “typical” structures as often as possible, but rather to prefer a more concrete, move-by-move approach. The idea is to get our opponent into a position where the better-prepared player has better chances – and we hope that it will be us after going through the material in this repertoire.

Of course, as much as we try, it is not completely possible to avoid playing quieter positions and typical structures. Most notably in the Scandinavian chapters, where one often gets the structure where White has the pawn on d4 and the opponent has the pawns on e6 and c6 (albeit usually a good version). Some positional variations can also be seen in the Pirc, Open Philidor, and Philidor Hanham chapters, but we don’t necessarily mind entering a positional variation if it is considered to be better for White.

Can I Expect To Obtain A Won Position Directly Out Of The Opening?

Depends on the opening we are talking about. One very important thing to mention is that our approach in the 1.e4 e5 mainlines was different than the approach in the rest of the course.

Against other openings, White is objectively able to fight for the advantage. In most cases (most notably the Scandinavian and Alekhine) we have tried to maximize our chances and go for the most principled and aggressive setup. But even in the Pirc and the Philidor, where we have opted for a more practical and fresh approach, we have tried to be as ambitious as possible and objectively fight for the advantage, instead of just “getting a game”. Against all of these openings, Jan has been able to demonstrate a path toward an advantage. Although one could debate

However, in the 1.e4 e5 complex, it is objectively very difficult to fight for the advantage in the mainlines – especially in aggressive ones. Therefore, Jan was trying to come up with variations that are aggressive, lesser-known, and not total nonsense. The verdict is that both The Dubov Italian and the main variation of the Three Knights with 8.Qf3!? are comparatively fresh, challenging, venomous – and objectively not that bad for White.

Of course, we are not claiming that White has an objective advantage in these lines. But the same can be said about any variation in the 1.e4 e5 complex. The good thing is – even in the worst-case scenario where Black finds all the best possible moves, we are not seriously risking to be worse. Our hope when playing these lines is that most of our opponents will not be that well-prepared and able to find the best moves.

True, such an aggressive way of playing does entail a certain degree of risk, because even if we reach an “objectively equal” position, it might still be a rather difficult one to handle for both sides. But we figured this degree of risk is acceptable and something we are willing to live with.

How This Course Came To Be?

When this repertoire was first announced, I am sure many of you were wondering: ‘How on Earth did a schmock like you get to collaborate with someone like Jan?’ To be completely honest, I am still in disbelief. But to explain how exactly this collaboration came to be, let me take you on a brief stroll down memory lane.

For a long time, I have had an idea to do a very specific opening repertoire for the White pieces. However, back in 2021 (or was it 2022?), when I was still working for Chessable in the capacity of the Publishing Manager, I received an email from Jan where he pitched that very same idea. Given his stature and the fact that specific repertoire fits rather nicely with the ‘Chicken Chess’ brand, I figured my ideas of executing it myself were not very likely to materialize, so I more or less gave up on that idea.

However, by mid 2023 a lot of water under the bridge has passed. And still, there was no news about Jan’s new repertoire/return to Chessable. I had the suspicion that Jan might find the writing part of course production challenging, so I figured I might ask if he would be interested in ‘joining forces’ and collaborating on this project. In June 2023, I reached out to our mutual ‘acquaintance’ Mr. Dodgy, and pitched the idea. Fortunately, the response was positive and after the ‘summer break’ we agreed to collaborate on a repertoire together.

True, the final topic of the repertoire was not the one we initially envisioned. But we still put our hearts and minds into this project that has been in the works since October 2023.

How Was The Work Between You and Jan Divided?

One common question people have when they see a project that includes the collaboration of two (or more) is: ‘I wonder how the work on this project was exactly divided?’. In the case of this repertoire, the answer to this question is comparatively straightforward.

Jan was responsible for the analytical portion of the work. That includes choosing the variations, doing the analysis, and providing me with files featuring this analysis. My input in this domain was restricted to double-checking the databases and doing my best to ensure, say, that the moves relevant at the lower levels (according to the lichess database), are also covered.

As for my part, I was primarily responsible for writing all the annotations in this course. As well as anything related to the course design, such as organizing the material in chapters or deciding which lines to present as trainables and which to include as clickables. I did all the work on the non-filmed chapters (such as selecting and annotating the Model Games) independently.

Conclusion

I hope this article provides you with a good introduction/overview of this repertoire. If you are interested but are still unsure about whether the course is for you – you can also check the Free Short & Sweet version on the course on Chessable.

Looking forward to seeing you inside the courses :).

The post I Published A Course With Jan Gustafsson! appeared first on Chessentials.

Introduction

After covering the Alekhine-Chatard variation of the French Defence, today, we are going to continue our explorations of the 4.Bg5 Classical French and analyze arguably the best reply available to Black, the move 4…dxe4 leading to the so-called Burn Variation of the French Defence.

Burn Variation Of The French Defence

Overview and main ideas

The main variation analyzed in this post will be the variation of the French Defence that arises after the moves 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 dxe4

Even though as beginners we are taught not to release the tension in the center prematurely as it activates the opponent’s pieces and gives them more space, Black’s argument is that drawing the knight to e4 will create some opportunities to challenge it and potentially exchange it. And since we have less space, exchanging the pieces is very much in our favour.

This variation is similar to the Rubinstein Variation that arises after 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3. Nc3/Nd2 dxe4:

,but here Black tries to make an argument that the version with the bishop on g5 is even more favorable because Black will play Be7 and seek to exchange the bishops, too. On the other hand, the bishop does create a potential pin/pressure on the f6 knight. As usual, when it comes to modern chess openings – there are two sides to the same coin.

In any case, the Burn variation continues 5.Nxe4 and now Black has a choice. The “pure” Burn move is 5…Be7, while it is also possible to play the move 5…Nbd7 and transpose to a variation of the Rubinstein defence where White has developed the bishop to g5. In this article, the focus will be on the former, while the latter will be analyzed in greater detail in a separate article devoted to the Rubinstein Variation.

Black plays with f5

After 5…Be7, the knight on e4 is under attack and White’s best way of dealing with the pressure on it is to capture the attacking knight on f6. Experience shows that the move 6. Nxf6 is a bit toothless (and you can check the analysis to see why) and the only challenging move is 6.Bxf6 when Black’s best and most common reply involves capturing with the g-pawn and reaching the starting point of the Burn Variation after 7.Nf3:

At first glance, it is not 100% obvious how Black should develop and where should the king castle. But actually, the quintessential question here is – should Black play the move f5 to kick the knight from e4? There are both pros and cons to this move – on one hand, it does remove the knight from the center and gains some share of space. But on the other hand, the knight can immediately jump to c3 and start preparing ideas connected with the d5 breakthrough. As the analysis and variations demonstrate, this idea has a lot of potential and can lead to some very fascinating lines:

Black plays without f5

As we have just seen, the variation where Black chases the knight away to c3 is not without its dangers due to the tricky knight sacrifice. Therefore, the question is – should Black bother kicking the knight away? What if Black plays without the f5 move and just continues with the development?

It is a legitimate way of playing, but it also has a certain drawback. Namely, with the knight on e4, there is the option of jumping to c5 – especially if Black goes for the standard a6-b5 setups and weakens this square in the process. I am far from the expert of this line, but it seems to me this is the case of going from frying pan to the fire and that Black should decide to play f5 sooner rather than the later. The analysis provided below can partly demonstrate why:

Free Lichess Study devoted to the Burn Variation

Youtube video devoted to the Burn Variation

Free Download of the Burn Variation .pgn file

French Defence Burn Variation

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Introduction

After covering the McCutcheon Variation of the French Defence in the previous article, today, we are going to continue our explorations of the 4.Bg5 Classical French by analyzing another very topical 4th move by Black – 4…Be7, that very often leads to a very popular and sharp gambit, called The Alekhine-Chatard Attack.

The Alekhine-Chatard Attack

Overview and main ideas

As mentioned earlier, the main variation analyzed in this post will be the variation of the French Defence that arises after the moves 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7

The main idea of the move is obviously to break the pin and reinforce the threat to the e4 pawn. White’s most common (and only real reply worth analyzing) is the advance of the e-pawn with 5.e5 when after 5…Nfd7 the following critical position arises:

White has two big options here – the first one is the natural move 6.Bxe7, while the other one is the move 6.h4.

By far the more common and popular move is the latter (6.h4), leading to the so-called Alekhine-Chatard Attack. This move was played back at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century by a strong master of the time Albin – and also by a relatively lesser-known player Chatard – but it was taken seriously only after the game Alekhine – Fahrni, Mannheim, 1914.

White’s idea is to give up the pawn to open up the file for the rook. This variation will be the main focus of this entire chapter.

Black declines the sacrifice – 6…c5

Now, before we get to the actual variations where Black accepts the gambit, let’s first take a look at some ways in which Black can try to decline it. One potential way of doing so involves the immediate central counterstrike with c5. It is a very logical French move – but it allows White to demonstrate one of the points behind having the bishop on g5.

Black declines the sacrifice – 6…a6

In the previous variation, we have seen how pushing c5 immediately can lead to some trouble due to the weakness of the b5 square. Therefore, a logical question is – can Black afford to take a moment to control the square on b5 before pushing c5?

Black declines the sacrifice – 6…h6

Last but not least, Black can try to avoid the gambit by forcing the bishop to move immediately. This seems to be a very solid option available to Black as it forces the issues and it also doesn’t involve the weakening of the queenside (such as the move 6…h6).

Black accepts the sacrifice – 6…Bxg5 7.hxg5 Qxg5

Last but not least – according to Capablanca’s old saying that the best way of refuting the gambit is to accept it – this is the most popular and arguably the critical move in this position. Black accepts the bait and asks White to demonstrate what is the idea. Thus, after 6…Bxg5 7.hxg5 Qxg5 White should remember the non-standard and creative move 8.Nh3!?.

This is a very important move to remember and understand. Instead of going to f3, the knight goes to the “Rim” and attacks the queen. There are two reasons for it:

A) The knight on h3 doesn’t block the queen from reaching g4!

B) The knight on h3 can sometimes go to f4 which may be relevant, while the knight on f3 would be unable to do so.

Free Lichess Study devoted to the Alekhine-Chatard Attack

Youtube video devoted to the Alekhine-Chatard Attack

Free Download of the Alekhine-Chatard .pgn file

French Defence – Alekhine Chatard Attack

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Introduction

After introducing the Classical Variation of the French Defence in a previous article, today we are going to continue are explorations of the variation with 4.Bg5 and analyze a very combative, sharp, and critical response – 4.Bb4 – leading to the so-called McCutcheon Variation of the French Defense.

McCutcheon Variation of the French Defense

Overview and main ideas

As mentioned above, the McCutcheon Variation is a line that can arise in the Classical Variation of the French Defense via the move order 1.e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nb4 4. Bg5 Bb4!?. According to some sources, it was named after a relatively unknown American player John Lindsay McCutcheon, who used it to defeat the World Champion Wilhelm Steinitz in the Simultaneous Exhibition in 1885:

At first glance, it looks as if this move loses a piece due to the advance of the e5 pawn, but it is not really the case, as elaborated below:

Thus, instead of advancing the pawn or trying to maintain the pin with 6.Bh4, White most commonly retreats the bishop along the c1-h6 diagonal. Actually, it transpires that three out of four retreats – to e3, c1, and d2 are very much possible and we will examine each and every one of them in turn.

White plays 6. Be3

First of all, White can try to retreat the bishop to e3. This seems like a very natural retreating move, placing the bishop on a square where it is defending the d4 pawn and also hindering the c5 pawn push. However, the drawback of this move is that it doesn’t defend the knight on c3, allowing Black to jump in immediately with 6.Be3 Ne4.

Furthermore, there are also some nuances due to which it may be worth considering the bishop to c1 instead of e3 – in a very specific line, it may turn out to be surprisingly relevant.

It is hard to explain it all in words, so let’s rather check the next chapter of our study:

White plays 6.Bc1

As mentioned above in my analysis of 6.Be3 – if White doesn’t intend to defend the knight on c3 with the bishop on d2, then going back to c1 might be worth considering. Not only does the bishop keep the option of potentially going to a3 in the future if Black takes on c3 – but there is also a very specific point in a very specific variation that showcases how having the bishop on the back rank can be useful, as follows:

White plays 6.Bd2

Last but not least, this “obvious” move, defending the c3 knight and breaking the pin, is the most common move in this position. It is not as aggressive and combative as 6.Be3 or 6.Bc1, but it is still nevertheless very ambitious and provides White with good chances of playing for the advantage.

Free Lichess Study devoted to the McCutcheon Variation

Youtube video devoted to the McCutcheon Variation

Free Download of the McCutcheon Variation .pgn file

French Defence McCutcheon Analysis

The post McCutcheon Variation of the French Defense appeared first on Chessentials.

Introduction

Back in 2020, I published an article on this blog devoted to the French Defense, titled What Every Ches Player Should Know About The French Defense. And even though it was relatively well-received, at the time, it turned out to be a one-off type of article. Not long after I wrote it, I started working for Chessable and put the opening articles ¹ into a hiatus. Even though I have always wanted to continue this series and cover more and more openings on this blog ² I never really managed to find the time to get to it.

Until now.

Given that I am currently working as a chess freelancer, I felt I really don’t have any more excuses not to start executing some ideas I have had for a long time. Especially since I have also wanted to devote more attention to my Youtube Channel – and the opening material is very suitable to be presented in the video format. ³

Thus, without further ado, I am happy to announce the return of the opening articles on this blog. In this post, we will continue our coverage of the French Defense by taking an introductory look at the Classical Variation of the French Defense.

Classical Variation of the French Defense

Overview and main ideas

The Classical Variation of the French Defense arises after the moves 1.e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6!

The idea of this move order is quite logical – Black develops a piece and creates pressure against the pawn on e4, prompting White to do something with it. It is true that this allows White to advance the e-pawn with the gain of tempo, but Black makes an argument that this fixing of the pawn chain will lead to a position where Black will have the opportunity to undermine it with thematic French pawn breaks, in the true spirit of the opening.

But before we get to the advance of the e-pawn, let’s take a look at some other options available to White on move 4.

Rare 4th moves by White

One of the advantages of the Classical Variation of the French Defense for Black is that it provides White with somewhat limited options on move 4. White should really go for one of the two main moves (4.Bg5 or 4.e5), as the alternatives are not really appealing (which is not necessarily the case with some other variations of the French Defence).

For example, White can try to play 4.Bd3!?, defending the e4 pawn. This move is very much viable against the Winawer move order with 3…Bb4, but against 3…Nf6, is not as effective due to a very concrete and specific variation that involves Black attacking the d5 pawn and also preventing the queen on d4 from attacking the g7 pawn.

Alternatively, 4.exd5 is possible, but it merely transposes to the Exchange Variation.

The Normal Variation (4.Bg5)

Therefore, trying to defend the pawn or exchange it on move 4 doesn’t really yield White any tangible benefits. It is not surprising, therefore, that two more popular moves involve a much more aggressive approach. The first of these is move 4.Bg5, leading to the so-called Normal Variation. ⁴

The idea of this move is simple – White defends the pawn on e4 indirectly by pinning the knight on f6. There are several ways in which Black can reply:

• Black can take on e4 with 4…dxe4, leading to the so-called Burn variation
• Black can break the pin with 4…Be7, when play most often continues 5.e5 Nfd7 6. h4!? – the so-called Alekhine-Chatard Attack
• Black can play 4…Bb4, leading to the so-called McCutcheon variation. At first glance, it seems as if Black is losing the piece, but after 5.e5 h6!? it transpires that it is not the case.
• Black can even try to gamble a pawn with 4…h6 5.Bxf6 Qxf6 6. exd5, although that variation seems more suitable for the master+ level

The Steinitz Variation (4.e5)

Last but not least – the natural advance of the e-pawn with 4.e5 is by far the main move in the position, leading to the so-called Steinitz variation of the French Defence. It was named after the first World Chess Champion Wilhelm Steinitz who employed this variation with great effect in a game against Sellman in 1885. ⁵

The idea of the move 4.e5 is obvious – White removes the pawn from the attack and gains some space with the gain of tempo – as the knight on f6 is attacked. On the other side, Black makes an argument that this releases the tension in the center and provides the second player with the possibility to play against the center with the help of the thematic pawn breaks c5 and f6. Black claims this is especially powerful because the knight on c3 is blocking the c-pawn and preventing White from reinforcing the center so easily with the move c2-c3.

Conclusion

This brings me to the end of this introductory article devoted to the Classical Variation of French Defence. In the subsequent posts, I will continue the coverage of the Classical variation by examining the variations that can arise via the 4.Bg5 move order in great detail.

In the meantime – make sure to check some of the material related to the topic of this article (and the French Defence) provided below!

And keep on improving and having fun!

Cheers!

Vjeko

Additional resources/Self-promotional material

Free Lichess Study with the material covered in this article

Youtube Video Devoted to the Classical Variation

Free Lichess Study devoted to the Normal Variation with 4.Bg5

Youtube video devoted to the Normal Variation with 4.Bg5

Free Download -Introduction to the 4.Bg5  Classical Variation .pgn file

French Defence Classical – Introduction

Free Lichess Study devoted to the Steinitz variation with 4.e5

Work in progress, coming soon

Youtube video devoted to the Steinitz variation with 4.e5

Work in progress, coming soon

The post French Defence, Classical Variation – Introduction appeared first on Chessentials.

When Aiden reached out to me and asked me for an opportunity for a guest post, I was a little bit skeptical. As some of you might recall from my review of the Chess Experience Podcast, I am always a little bit careful in regard to the new products on the chess landscape – especially when they are accompanied by typical promising marketing slogans.

However, through my subsequent email exchange with Aiden, I very much got an impression of a very authentic person who is genuinely passionate about chess, learning and helping others improve. Rarely have I met someone who was so receptive to my initial – not very pleasant – email and with whom I have had such an open, honest and pleasant conversation about chess, chess improvement and other aspects of life.

I also realized there might be quite some value in his approach to chess learning focusing heavily on chess visualization. Even though it is not a skill that is typically emphasized when chess improvement is discussed, it can’t be denied that all strong chess players develop it to extreme heights.

I did enroll in his Don’t Move Training Program and have solved a few exercises and have to say that it is at the same time challenging ¹, yet very rewarding. Even though I still think there are “many paths that lead to Rome” and that the best improvement method is – having fun and enjoying the process, I do think that many people might find a lot of value in the method and the exercises Aiden offers.

Now, without further ado – I give it to Aiden!

Chess Visualization: The Master Skill

If there is one skill in chess that could be regarded as the game’s “Master Skill”, it would probably be the chess visualization. Without strong visualization skills, we limit our ability to make good decisions, avoid blunders, and seize the opportunities presented to us. To play our best, we need to take this key skill seriously.

Yet, even though it influences every aspect of our game, its importance is often overlooked and misunderstood. There aren’t many resources out there that allow you to train it specifically – and many chess players don’t even try to do it.

And while it is true that visualization indirectly gets improved via other forms of chess training, I believe that focusing on it can be even more effective.

So, what is it about visualization that makes it so important? And what should we do to train it?

We’ll get to that.

But first – let’s take a small detour through another favorite game of mine: Poker. 

Games of Hidden Information

What is it about Poker that captivates so many Chess players?

Grischuk, Vallejo Pons, and Jan Gustafsson were each serious poker players at some point. Magnus and Hikaru both spend quite a bit of time on it too.

One of the best chess players of the last two decades –  GM Alexander Grischuk – enjoying himself at the poker table (Image source: https://twitter.com/chess24com/status/1340324208681885696)

I also find myself drawn to the classic card game. I love the tension of it, the mathematics mixing with the bold bluffs and deduction. I often reflect on the two games, Chess and Poker. They always seemed linked in some way.

The link, after a great deal of pondering, came to me one night: Chess and Poker are BOTH about dealing with hidden information.

Poker’s clearly a game of hidden information. We can’t see what our opponents are holding or what’s still in the deck. We have to use the information we have to try and make the best decisions we can. The more information we have, the better the decision we can make.

Chess seems like a game with no hidden information. All the pieces are in front of us. There are no dice rolls. No one’s going to pull an ace on us.

But in reality, it’s full of hidden information. Fog rests over the board, stopping us from seeing it clearly, calculating into the future, and making decisions we can trust. Our success or failure depends on how well we deal with it all.

The Fog of Chess

Psychological studies have shown that the human brain can only hold between 5 and 9 pieces of information in short-term memory at once. (Most people get 7.) If we try to push beyond that limit, things get fuzzy.

Therein lies a problem: We can hold 7 things in our heads; there are 32 pieces on a Chessboard. One of those numbers is bigger than the other.

We experience mental fog when we start to hit that limit. For beginner players, that happens fast. Beginners hang their Queen in one move. Or miss simple mate-in-1 threats. Even when they’re looking right at the board, their limit of short-term memory is strained.

For more advanced players, the fog is often further back, the brain more adept at dealing with Chess information. But still, they feel its presence.

The fog, like face-down cards in poker, represents information that we don’t have access to.

Image source: Pexels

But unlike in poker, there’s a way we can get access to the hidden information in Chess.

Piercing through the Fog

We must train our brains to make better use of those 7 slots of short-term memory. If we’re going to have any hope of holding all that information in our heads, to see a board with clarity, explore variations deep into the future, we need to train our visualization skills.

Two-time world championship challenger Fabiano Caruana calls visualization “probably the most important skill in Chess.” He says that visualization errors are the bare essence of all mistakes and blunders.

That’s a lot of importance he’s giving to a skill that is largely ignored.

There isn’t much mainstream discussion on how to train visualization. Most experts believe that your visualization skills will improve passively as you do.

If Fabiano Caruana calls this the most important thing in Chess, why are we leaving this up to chance?

When we decide to train visualization actively, the impacts on the rest of our game are astounding.

Most of us are victims of this mental fog. It blocks us from accessing the information we need to make good decisions quickly. It causes us to make mistakes.

Training visualization is actually very simple. I’ll show you how. But first I need to explain something.

Identify, Isolate, Intensify

I love learning new skills. I love that moment when I realize I’ve learned something new. When it’s “clicked”. Over the years I created my own learning methodology. It’s strange, and gets me a lot of funny looks from the experts, but it’s never failed to yield me good results.

There’s one particular principle that literally changed the game for me with Chess. You’ll want to write this down somewhere.

Identify, Isolate, Intensify

For our purposes, this means we need to:

• identify the skill we’re trying to learn (in this case, visualization)
• isolate visualization from the rest of Chess so we can focus on it
• train visualization at an intensity higher than we would ever need in an actual game.

When we do this successfully, we rapidly improve our skills in the target area.

We’re going to achieve each of these goals using Chess audio. Recorded audio of games read aloud. It sounds simple, but you will feel the difference when you’ve done it.

Audio games isolate the skill of visualization. We don’t need to make any of the decisions that we would need to do in blindfold Chess. We don’t need to try and calculate a variation. All we are trying to do is build the raw visualization abilities required to track an entire game with no visual reference. It’s about visualization and nothing else.

Audio games also intensify visualization beyond what’s required in a regular game of Chess. After trying to keep track of a full game of Chess with no visual reference, your brain will feel stretched, perhaps a little overwhelmed. But when you return to a regular Chess game, you will have access to visualization powers you have not had before. After trying to keep an entire board and 32 pieces in your head for 12 moves, your brain will feel relieved that it only needs to remember that the knight, queen, and a couple pawns have moved.

Audio is the secret to the rapid improvement of chess visualization.

Image source: Pexels

How to Train Your Chess Visualization

For simplicity, I’ll break this section into two.

How to Record Your Chess Audio:

(In case you aren’t in a position to record anything right now, I’ve prepared an audio game for you to use here.)

1. Prepare an audio recording device of some kind (I started with the Voice Memos app on my iPhone)
2. Go to chessgames.com and find a game that lasts up to 15 moves (or longer if you’re more advanced). Here’s a filtered search I’ve prepared. Pick one of those games, but don’t spend much time looking at the game before the next step.
3. Record yourself reading the moves out loud one by one. Leave 1-3 seconds of silence between each move. The silences between moves will give your brain a chance to picture everything. Err on the side of longer silences than you might need. It’s better to have extra time between moves than to feel rushed in your training.

Note: be sure to include turn numbers and the extra details (like checks and promotions).

How to Train with Your Chess Audio:

When you have your Chess audio file recorded and ready to go (or you’re using my example one), it’s time to get to work! Set aside at least 10 minutes for this exercise.

We’re going to listen through the audio file, attempting to follow each move on our mental board as we hear it.

With each move made, we need to be able to answer the following questions:

• What did the last move do?
• Did the last move attack or defend anything?
• Did the last move open up any sightlines for other pieces?
• What are the threats in the position?

Make sure to take your time and work to see each position with total clarity in your mind. When you lose track of the position (and you probably will, there’s no shame in that), start the recording again from the beginning. Each time you repeat it, you’re creating a clearer picture and improving your skills.

Repeat this over and over until you either reach the end or at least 10 minutes have gone by.

Remember, this is hard. It’s meant to be hard. We’re isolating and intensifying the skill of visualization. This challenge is what will give you rapid results!

It’s not success that matters here, but effort. It’s not your goal to complete the exercise. Your goal is to keep trying to complete the exercise! Do you see the difference?

I’ll let you in on a secret. I failed a lot when I first did this. Like the optimist I am, I recorded a 25-move game for my first attempt. It seemed like a hard-but-doable number at the time for some reason. I lost track of the position before the end of move 2. But then I tried again, and managed to reach move 3! Then 4. Then 5. Then 7!

It felt like a failure because I couldn’t get to 25. But without realizing it I had more than tripled the number of moves I could track in my head!

And I felt the impact in my Chess immediately. It doesn’t matter if you get to the end, only that you keep improving.

Better Information for Better Decisions

When we train visualization, we get access to more information. Higher quality information. And, like in Poker, the more information you have the more likely you are to make a good decision.

We can see more clearly, deeper into the position than our opponents. We still need to play the right moves, and we may still miss things. But like a WFM who uses my method said: “I still make mistakes, but much less than I used to.”

This method works fast, but it’s not a magic trick. You won’t immediately become a visualization master from your first go at these techniques. They’ll take regular practice to create lasting improvement.

My recommendation is to spend 10 minutes per day doing this, right before any games or study for the day. This kind of training primes your brain to handle any other chess work far more easily.

Sitting Opposite a Mirror

Poker is a game of making the most of the limited information you have. The only way to get more information is to cheat. Maybe you get someone with binoculars in a building across the road eyeing off other players’ hands. Or you sit opposite a mirror and see your opponent’s cards in the reflection.

Image source: Pexels

In both of these cases, you better hope your opponents don’t work out what you’re doing.

In chess, we get more information by developing raw skills. It’s legal, and it’s straightforward. The better we are at visualization, the more information we have, and the more we can trust our decisions.

If we have better information than our opponent, much like in Poker, we have a powerful advantage.

When we no longer allow the fog to defeat us, we have a much better chance of defeating our opponent.

Visualization is the Master Skill of Chess.

And it’s gone ignored for far too long.

P.S. To go deeper into any of these ideas and learn about Don’t Move Until You See It, you can get my free Master Skill Series of newsletters here.

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