{"id":44,"date":"2021-05-11T11:05:58","date_gmt":"2021-05-11T11:05:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandbox.forwardchess.com\/blog\/?p=44"},"modified":"2021-10-27T13:27:55","modified_gmt":"2021-10-27T13:27:55","slug":"the-power-of-thinking-half-a-move-ahead-of-your-opponent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/the-power-of-thinking-half-a-move-ahead-of-your-opponent\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Thinking Half-A-Move Ahead of your Opponent"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s a tricky position to get the ball rolling. It&#8217;s a simple position and easy to understand, which makes you go <em>&#8220;OMG&#8221;<\/em> every single move.<\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerBefore\"><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"rpbchessboard-6adf66e8ccf9c-1\" class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboard rpbchessboard-diagramAlignment-center\">\n    <noscript>\n        <div class=\"rpbchessboard-javascriptWarning\">\n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess diagram visualization.        <\/div>\n    <\/noscript>\n    <div class=\"rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor\"><\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n            var selector = '#' + \"rpbchessboard-6adf66e8ccf9c-1\" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessboardAnchor';\n            RPBChessboard.renderFEN($(selector), {\"position\":\"6k1\\\/8\\\/4b3\\\/8\\\/8\\\/6b1\\\/1R6\\\/3B3K w - - 0 1\",\"squareSize\":32,\"coordinateVisible\":true,\"turnVisible\":true,\"colorset\":\"original\",\"pieceset\":\"cburnett\"});\n        });\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerAfter\"><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>So, you think the first Rook move that pops into your mind is winning? No? Did you find the pin that pins the pin? Well done! But if you look closely, you&#8217;ll figure out there&#8217;s another pin in this position.<\/p>\n<p>In chess one move denotes one white move and one black move, which means that in the above position, your evaluation of the position changes like a pendulum every half move!<\/p>\n<p>Got it?<\/p>\n<p>In practical play, it makes a lot of difference, even in higher levels of professional chess. In the 2006 Chess Olympiad at Turin, Italy, the following position appeared between India&#8217;s GM Adhiban and Netherland&#8217;s Erwin L&#8217;Ami. After a bit of thinking Erwin player Rd1. Now, what do you think is the problem with this move? How will you continue?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"imageUploaderImg\" src=\"https:\/\/images.chesscomfiles.com\/uploads\/v1\/images_users\/tiny_mce\/ForwardChess\/phpzyaSIC.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"454\" height=\"454\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>[Take a few minutes to calculate this position. Black to play.<br \/>\nSpoiler below! ]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"imageUploaderImg\" src=\"https:\/\/images.chesscomfiles.com\/uploads\/v1\/images_users\/tiny_mce\/ForwardChess\/phpVEgJnG.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"528\" height=\"290\" \/>I drew what chess players call an analysis tree for the variation. If you look closely, you&#8217;ll notice that Erwin&#8217;s hasty calculation missed out on the move highlighted in blue. After realizing his mistake, he played Bf3 (move highlighted in green).<\/p>\n<div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerBefore\"><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"rpbchessboard-6adf66e8ccf9c-2\" class=\"rpbchessboard-chessgame\">\n    <noscript>\n        <div class=\"rpbchessboard-javascriptWarning\">\n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        <\/div>\n    <\/noscript>\n    <div class=\"rpbchessboard-chessgameAnchor\"><\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n            var selector = '#' + \"rpbchessboard-6adf66e8ccf9c-2\" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessgameAnchor';\n            RPBChessboard.renderPGN($(selector), {\"pgn\":\"[Event \\\"Chess Olympiad\\\"]\\r\\n[Site \\\"Baku AZE\\\"]\\r\\n[Date \\\"2016.09.08\\\"]\\r\\n[Round \\\"6.1\\\"]\\r\\n[White \\\"Erwin L'Ami\\\"]\\r\\n[Black \\\"Baskaran Adhiban\\\"]\\r\\n[Result \\\"0-1\\\"]\\r\\n[SetUp \\\"1\\\"]\\r\\n[FEN \\\"6k1\\\/4rpP1\\\/b2r3p\\\/2pB4\\\/p1P5\\\/P1B5\\\/1P4PP\\\/2R3K1 w - - 0 36\\\"]\\r\\n[ECO \\\"E33\\\"]\\r\\n[WhiteElo \\\"2611\\\"]\\r\\n[BlackElo \\\"2671\\\"]\\r\\n[PlyCount \\\"5\\\"]\\r\\n[EventDate \\\"2016.09.02\\\"]\\r\\n\\r\\n36. Rd1 Bxc4 37. Bf3 (37. Bxf7+ Bxf7 (37... Rxf7 38. Rxd6 {Erwin stopped\\r\\ncalculating here. Oops $1} 38... Rf1# {Half-a-move makes the difference $1}) 38.\\r\\nRxd6 $18) 37... Rxd1+ 38. Bxd1 $17 {Black won on move 66.} 0-1\",\"pieceSymbols\":\"native\",\"navigationBoard\":\"scrollLeft\",\"withFlipButton\":true,\"withDownloadButton\":true,\"nboSquareSize\":32,\"nboCoordinateVisible\":true,\"nboTurnVisible\":true,\"nboColorset\":\"original\",\"nboPieceset\":\"cburnett\",\"nboAnimated\":true,\"nboMoveArrowVisible\":true,\"nboMoveArrowColor\":\"r\",\"idoSquareSize\":32,\"idoCoordinateVisible\":true,\"idoTurnVisible\":true,\"idoColorset\":\"original\",\"idoPieceset\":\"cburnett\"});\n        });\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerAfter\"><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div>\n<hr \/>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In the 2016 World Candidates chess tournament, the same error in judgment occurred in the game Nakamura Vs Karjakin. Black (Nakamura) had a comfortable but slightly complicated position (below). He decided to sacrifice his knight on g3 and win material after several moves. It&#8217;s an error that eventually helped Karjakin win the tournament and become the World Championship challenger. If Nakamura had managed to win this game, it would have been a three-way tie between Karjakin, Caruana &amp; Anand at the end of the tournament.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"imageUploaderImg\" src=\"https:\/\/images.chesscomfiles.com\/uploads\/v1\/images_users\/tiny_mce\/ForwardChess\/phpjcWcag.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"441\" height=\"441\" \/><br \/>\nWill you play Nxg3? Serious players can take a few minutes to calculate this position before scrolling below.<\/p>\n<p><strong>[Spoiler below! Watch out]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Nakamura calculated a five-move variation and figured that taking on g3 could be worth the risk, but Karjakin calculated a little deeper, say half-a-move more than Nakamura, and refuted the sacrifice!<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"imageUploaderImg\" src=\"https:\/\/images.chesscomfiles.com\/uploads\/v1\/images_users\/tiny_mce\/ForwardChess\/phpiEP3ll.png\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerBefore\"><\/p>\n\n<div id=\"rpbchessboard-6adf66e8ccf9c-3\" class=\"rpbchessboard-chessgame\">\n    <noscript>\n        <div class=\"rpbchessboard-javascriptWarning\">\n            You must activate JavaScript to enhance chess game visualization.        <\/div>\n    <\/noscript>\n    <div class=\"rpbchessboard-chessgameAnchor\"><\/div>\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n        jQuery(document).ready(function($) {\n            var selector = '#' + \"rpbchessboard-6adf66e8ccf9c-3\" + ' .rpbchessboard-chessgameAnchor';\n            RPBChessboard.renderPGN($(selector), {\"pgn\":\"[Event \\\"World Championship Candidates\\\"]\\r\\n[Site \\\"Moscow RUS\\\"]\\r\\n[Date \\\"2016.03.12\\\"]\\r\\n[Round \\\"2\\\"]\\r\\n[White \\\"Sergey Karjakin\\\"]\\r\\n[Black \\\"Hikaru Nakamura\\\"]\\r\\n[Result \\\"1-0\\\"]\\r\\n[SetUp \\\"1\\\"]\\r\\n[FEN \\\"4r1k1\\\/1b2qppp\\\/pb2n3\\\/1p1p4\\\/1P1Nn2P\\\/P2NP1P1\\\/Q4PB1\\\/B1R3K1 b - - 0 29\\\"]\\r\\n[ECO \\\"E15\\\"]\\r\\n[WhiteElo \\\"2760\\\"]\\r\\n[BlackElo \\\"2790\\\"]\\r\\n[PlyCount \\\"18\\\"]\\r\\n[EventDate \\\"2016.03.10\\\"]\\r\\n\\r\\n29... Nxg3 30. fxg3 Nxd4 31. Bxd4 (31. exd4 Qe3+ $17) 31... Bxd4 32. exd4 Qe3+ 33.\\r\\nQf2 (33. Kh2 Qxd3 $12) 33... Qxd3 34. Rc7 $1 f5 35. Rxb7 h6 36. Bxd5+ Kh7 37. Bg2\\r\\nRe2 38. Bf1 1-0\",\"pieceSymbols\":\"native\",\"navigationBoard\":\"scrollLeft\",\"withFlipButton\":true,\"withDownloadButton\":true,\"nboSquareSize\":32,\"nboCoordinateVisible\":true,\"nboTurnVisible\":true,\"nboColorset\":\"original\",\"nboPieceset\":\"cburnett\",\"nboAnimated\":true,\"nboMoveArrowVisible\":true,\"nboMoveArrowColor\":\"r\",\"idoSquareSize\":32,\"idoCoordinateVisible\":true,\"idoTurnVisible\":true,\"idoColorset\":\"original\",\"idoPieceset\":\"cburnett\"});\n        });\n    <\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p class=\"rpbchessboard-spacerAfter\"><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The lesson that we should be taking from this blog post is this&#8230; <em><strong>Never miss out on your opponent&#8217;s ideas.<\/strong> <strong>Try to calculate half-a-move ahead of your opponent! And it makes all the difference<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0 \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a great book to get you started on the concept of finding your opponent&#8217;s idea:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/product\/recognizing-your-opponents-resources-developing-preventive-thinking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Recognizing Your Opponent\u2019s Resources: Developing Preventive Thinking <\/strong><\/a>by Mark Dvoretsky (Published by Russell Enterprises). For Purchase &amp; Free book sample, click the link below.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/product\/recognizing-your-opponents-resources-developing-preventive-thinking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"imageUploaderImg\" src=\"https:\/\/images.chesscomfiles.com\/uploads\/v1\/images_users\/tiny_mce\/ForwardChess\/phpQIeTqw.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"251\" height=\"377\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/product\/recognizing-your-opponents-resources-developing-preventive-thinking\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"imageUploaderImg\" src=\"https:\/\/images.chesscomfiles.com\/uploads\/v1\/images_users\/tiny_mce\/ForwardChess\/phplmmqfi.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"70\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>We hope you enjoyed reading this blog!<\/p>\n<p>See you next time,<\/p>\n<p>Arun, from Forward Chess team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s a tricky position to get the ball rolling. It&#8217;s a simple position and easy&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":258,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44\/revisions\/258"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forwardchess.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}