Chess Game to Talk About

The 11th Annual North American Chess Open began today at Bally's in Las Vegas. Last year's tournament drew 607 players and this year's should be about the same.


I played my first round game (out of 6) tonight and achieved a draw with the black pieces in a very difficult game. My opponent was Michael Guber, a 10-12 year old prodigy. In a few years, I won't have a chance against this kid. I've put in a few notes but haven't had any time to seriously analyze the game.


Both players are given two hours to play their first forty moves. Then, they are given an additional hour apiece to complete the game. No game can last longer than six hours.


The game:


White: Michael Guber (1671)

Black: Dynasty (1775)

Opening: Sicilian Defense, Closed Dragon Variation


1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.0-0 Nc6 6.c3


Sadly, with 6.c3, I'm now out of my opening knowledge and experience. I'm winging it now.


6...Qb6 7.d3 Be6 8.Ng5 Bd7 9.Nd2 Nf6 10.Nc4 Qc7 11.Qb3


I thought Michael was getting much too aggressive with his knights and Queen without being completely developed. His pieces look uncoordinated.


11...0-0 12.Be3 b5


I thought my 12...b5 seized the initiative in the game but it may not be as good as I first thought.


13.Nd2 Rab8 14.d4


Michae HAD to get d4 in or else he's going to get pushed around.


14...b4 15.Qc4


a mistake, I think


15...bc 16.bc Na5 17.Qd3 cd 18.Bxd4


I underestimated the option to recapture with the Bishop. I thought I was winning until I realized the resource this bishop capture gave him.


18...Bb5 19.c4 Nxc4 20.Rfc1


I thought I could overcome this pin but my a-pawn is just too vulnerable.


20...Nxd2 21.Qxd2 Qd7 22.Qa5 Rfc8 23.Qxa7 Qxa7 24.Bxa7 Ra8 25.Bd4 h6


It may have been best for me to avoid the complications that ensue since Michael has all the winning chances with his passed a-pawn.


26.e5 d3 27.Bxa8 Rxa8


a move my opponent completely missed and makes the endgame extremely difficult to play for both sides.


28.Bxe5 hg


This position is not so good for Black since White should be able to maintain the initiative with his passed pawn. Black needs to properly used his two extra pieces (exchanged for the rook)


29.Rcb1 Bc4 30.a4 Nd5 31.Bxg7 Kxg7 32.a5 Kf6


My active King will ultimately be the key to me drawing this game. The remaining moves were played rather quickly because we were both under significant time pressure.


33.Rc1 Be2 34.a6 Ke5 35.Re1


Michael had less than two minutes left and missed my defensive resource. I think playing 35.a7 could become very difficult for me.


35...Nc3 36.Rac1 Kd4 37.Rxc3 Kxc3 38.Rxe2 Rxa6


After my 38th move, I offered a draw and Michael accepted. For practical purposes, the game is unwinnable for either side at this point.


We both had used one hour and fifty-eight minutes to make our moves.


Total game time: three hours, fifty-six minutes.

>1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.0-0 Nc6 6.c3 Sadly, with 6.c3, I'm now out of my opening knowledge and experience. I'm winging it now.


Once he commits to c3, you should start thinking about playing ..d5 at some point. Also note that since his N/b1 has no useful developing squares, d3 may end up being weak. This all assumes you can prevent him from playing d4 on the next few moves. Luckily, with a B/g2, the pawn structure of d4/e4 is not as powerful as usual.


>6...Qb6 7.d3 Be6 8.Ng5 Bd7


You may have wanted him to take this bishop. With a P/e4 combined with a kingside fianchetto, square f3 is somewhat weak. Its not clear if you can take advantage of this but the pawn structure e7-e6-d6 can be powerful in the right situation.


>9.Nd2 Nf6 10.Nc4 Qc7 11.Qb3 I thought Michael was getting much too aggressive with his knights and Queen without being completely developed. His pieces look uncoordinated.


They are. He is not developing towards any particular plan. However, neither are you at the moment (other than a general plan of "get my pieces off the back rank"). You need to castle and then storm the queenside as fast as possible.


> 11...0-0 12.Be3 b5 I thought my 12...b5 seized the initiative in the game but it may not be as good as I first thought.


Its a good aggressive move. You just have to be careful along the h1-a8 diagonal.


> 13.Nd2 Rab8


Not sure I like this move. I might prefer a5-a4-a3 collapsing his queenside. I'm too lazy to check if the tactics work re; your b5 pawn. If they don't, I still think its preferable to play Rfb8 and use the a-rook to support your queenside attack.


> 14.d4 Michael HAD to get d4 in or else he's going to get pushed around.


True enough. Not clear that d3-d4 will prevent this however.


> 14...b4 15.Qc4 a mistake, I think


It certainly doesn't have much point. However, is there a better option? I don't see anything particularly appealing.


>15...bc 16.bc Na5 17.Qd3 cd 18.Bxd4 I underestimated the option to recapture with the Bishop. I thought I was winning until I realized the resource this bishop capture gave him.


You are still doing fine. Whats the big deal?


>18...Bb5


Why not Rfc8? Start pressuring the c3 isolated pawn and put your rook on a half open file? Don't forget Nimzovich's three stages: Restrain. Blockade. Destroy. This pawn on c3/c4 is going to be weak for a long time. Don't rush to grab it as fast as you can.


>19.c4 Nxc4 20.Rfc1 I thought I could overcome this pin but my a-pawn is just too vulnerable. 20...Nxd2 21.Qxd2 Qd7 22.Qa5 Rfc8 23.Qxa7 Qxa7 24.Bxa7 Ra8 25.Bd4 h6 It may have been best for me to avoid the complications that ensue since Michael has all the winning chances with his passed a-pawn.


Whahhhhht?? His a-pawn is outside and passed I'll grant you that, but it's also isolated. You should be trying to trade down the minor pieces, most notably his B/g2


>26.e5 d3


This move is not legal? I'll assume you mean de, and therefore its a winning move.


>27.Bxa8 Rxa8 a move my opponent completely missed and makes the endgame extremely difficult to play for both sides. 28.Bxe5 hg This position is not so good for Black since White should be able to maintain the initiative with his passed pawn. Black needs to properly used his two extra pieces (exchanged for the rook)


I like black in this ending. White will NEVER be able to queen that pawn and further will not be able to protect it. All you have to do is trade dark squared bishops and you should be able to win this.


>29.Rcb1 Bc4 30.a4 Nd5 31.Bxg7 Kxg7 32.a5 Kf6 My active King will ultimately be the key to me drawing this game. The remaining moves were played rather quickly because we were both under significant time pressure.


Drawing the game?? You should be attempting to win. All you have to do is force him to put the pawn on a light square, and then you can arrange three attackers against his one defender. Your king doesn't need to get involved. Take right this moment for example. His pawn can't move. Whats more, it's hard to imagine how he's going to get it to move.


>33.Rc1 Be2 34.a6 Ke5 35.Re1 Michael had less than two minutes left and missed my defensive resource. I think playing 35.a7 could become very difficult for me.


34.a6 is a terrible move. Ok so it has a tactical point, big deal. Just play 34..Ra7 (blockade), then 35..e6, then 36...Nb4 (destroy) and how is he going to defend the pawn? Once you get the a-pawn off the board, its routine victory time. I have no idea what 34...Ke5 is all about...you are taking major risks here.


>35...Nc3 36.Rac1 Kd4 37.Rxc3 Kxc3 38.Rxe2 Rxa6 After my 38th move, I offered a draw and Michael accepted. For practical purposes, the game is unwinnable for either side at this point.


Well that's certainly true.


You need to be more optimistic. Don't see every imbalance in the position as positive for your opponent. And review Pawn Power. Learn how to deal with isolated pawns. This game could and should have been a victory for you.


David Ottosen

2100 FIDE

....and Dynasty please continue to post form chess tournament. Great stuff by both of you, from one who loves the game.

Regards,

dw

OK for those who just enjoy the game, here is a game I played against IM John Donaldson about 6 years ago when he was rated approx. USCF 2540. He was giving a simultaneous exhibition. I am nowhere near that good a player and I don't play tournaments more than about once every 4 or 5 years or so. I really just like to hack around and have fun and don't study really and often make gross blunders due to oversights. This victory was one of my finer moments however;-)


White: M 1722 Black: John Donaldson 2540


Simultaneous exhibition


1.e4 c5 2.d4 cd 3.Bc4 Nc6 4.Nf3 g6 5.o-o Bg7


So far just my typical hacking around, trying to get him out of the book a bit without giving up too much and keeping a relatively open board


6. c3 d3 (declining the Smith-Morra type gambit) 7. Qxc3 d6 8.Bf4 Nf6 9.Re1 o-o 10.Nd2 Bg4

11. h3 Bxf3 12.Nxf3 Nd2 (increasing control of the dark squares and e5, a common theme for Black in many K-side fianchettos) 13.Re2 Rc8 14.Bb3 (avoiding the Knight fork and some complications) Qc7 15.Qe3 b6


16. Bh6 N/d7-e5 17. Bxg7 Kxg7 18. Nd4 Na4 19.Be6! R/c8-d8 (here my opponent looked a bit surprised and perhaps a touch annoyed) 20. f4 N/e5-c6 21.Bg4 e5 22.Nf3 ef 23.Qxf4 Ne5 24.Rf1 N/a4-c6 25.Ng5 Qe7 26.Nf3 Nxf3 27. Bxf3 Ne5 28. Rd2 f5 29.ef Rxf5 30.Qd4 (love this theme)Qf6 31.R/d2-f2 Rf8 32.Be4 Rxf2 33.Rxf2 Qe7 34.Rxf8 Kxf8 35.Qf2ch Kg2 36.Qd4 h4 37.Qe3 (a lot of maneuvering) Qc7 38.Qd4 a4 39.Bd5 b4 40.Kf2 Qb1 41.b3 b4 42.c4 Qc7 (Black has fewer moves than White) 43.Qe3 Qc5 44.Ke2(getting positioned for a more active King in the endgame) Qc7 (maybe he doesn't really want that Q trade after all now) 45.Qd4 (back to the theme) Qc5 46. Qh4 Qc7 47.g4 (threats) hg 48. hg and Black resigns. The immediate threat is g5 followed by Qh6 mate but Black can prevent this with Nf7. Sorry I can't recall much of the game from 6 years ago, hence my notes are sparse. By the way the simul time rules werre that John could think as long as he liked but everyone else had to move instantly when he came to the board. Everyone was allowed 2 or 3 passes however so that you had the option to think for another orbit before being forced to move immediately. Mr. Donalson was playing 20-odd boards simultaneously (well, technically, sequentially, but it's called a "simul";-)

6...Qb6 7.d3 Be6 8.Ng5 Bd7


You may have wanted him to take this bishop. With a P/e4 combined with a kingside fianchetto, square f3 is somewhat weak. Its not clear if you can take advantage of this but the pawn structure e7-e6-d6 can be powerful in the right situation.


My thoughts in playing 7...Be6 were (a) to prepare ...d5 and (b) Ng5 followed by Nxe6 would only strengthen my center. But, when I reached the position, it seemed problematic. After Nxe6 fe, White can play Bh3 (not neccessarily immediately)and give me headaches. I can only defend the pawn with my King. The e6 square and all my light squares are permanently weak. After about twenty minutes of thought, I reluctantly decided the bishop retreat was necessary.


13.Nd2 Rab8


Not sure I like this move. I might prefer a5-a4-a3 collapsing his queenside. I'm too lazy to check if the tactics work re; your b5 pawn. If they don't, I still think its preferable to play Rfb8 and use the a-rook to support your queenside attack.


Rfb8 was unplayable due to the double-attack by the Queen and Knight on f7- 13...Rfb8 14.Qxf7 Kh8 15.Ne6 Bxe6 16.Qxe6


I wanted to play ...a5, ...a4, and ...a3 but I didn't think I had the time. After 13...a5, White can play 14.f4 and I thought my best counter against Qxb5 (...Ne5 followed by Nxe3) was gone. However, after 13....a5 14.f4 a4 15. Qxb5 (bad), I had 15...Nd4 and 16...Nc2 winning material. An unfortunate oversight on my part.


18...Bb5


Why not Rfc8? Start pressuring the c3 isolated pawn and put your rook on a half open file? Don't forget Nimzovich's three stages: Restrain. Blockade. Destroy. This pawn on c3/c4 is going to be weak for a long time. Don't rush to grab it as fast as you can.


Rfc8 is clearly a superior move. I played Bb5 too quickly after seeing the variation a few moves ahead. This is a mistake I make too often- not looking for superior moves after a variation plays out exactly as I thought it would.


19.c4 Nxc4 20.Rfc1 I thought I could overcome this pin but my a-pawn is just too vulnerable. 20...Nxd2 21.Qxd2 Qd7 22.Qa5 Rfc8 23.Qxa7 Qxa7 24.Bxa7 Ra8 25.Bd4 h6 It may have been best for me to avoid the complications that ensue since Michael has all the winning chances with his passed a-pawn.


Whahhhhht?? His a-pawn is outside and passed I'll grant you that, but it's also isolated. You should be trying to trade down the minor pieces, most notably his B/g2


I need much more time to properly analyze this position. But, it's obvious that the key to the position is my opponent's a-pawn. Can he swiftly threaten to Queen the pawn and tie my pieces up defensively? Or, can I effectively blockade, attack, and win the pawn? My chess instincts tell me now that I should be able to restrain this pawn far better than I did in the game and eventually win it.


However, I can't agree with your analysis to trade the minor pieces. If I get into a rook and pawn endgame, with all the pawns on one side of the board, how am I going to win? That's a theoretical draw. I've found that young players usually have poor endgame skills so I may have been able to outplay him but I'm making my task harder by trading down to a rook and pawn endgame, aren't I? The fact that all the remaining pawns were on one side of the board is why I thought my opponent had all the winning chances. I still think my winning chances are slim at this point in the game.


27.Bxa8 Rxa8 a move my opponent completely missed and makes the endgame extremely difficult to play for both sides. 28.Bxe5 hg This position is not so good for Black since White should be able to maintain the initiative with his passed pawn. Black needs to properly used his two extra pieces (exchanged for the rook)


I like black in this ending. White will NEVER be able to queen that pawn and further will not be able to protect it. All you have to do is trade dark squared bishops and you should be able to win this.


I like Black's position much more than I did last night. I played very poorly by not blockading the a-pawn quickly.


29.Rcb1 Bc4 30.a4 Nd5 31.Bxg7 Kxg7 32.a5 Kf6 My active King will ultimately be the key to me drawing this game. The remaining moves were played rather quickly because we were both under significant time pressure.


Drawing the game?? You should be attempting to win. All you have to do is force him to put the pawn on a light square, and then you can arrange three attackers against his one defender. Your king doesn't need to get involved. Take right this moment for example. His pawn can't move. Whats more, it's hard to imagine how he's going to get it to move.


Don't misunderstand me. I was still trying to win. In fact, it was at this point where my views started to catch up to yours. My clock was my biggest enemy at this point.


[i]33.Rc1 Be2 34.a6 Ke5 35.Re1 Michael had less than two minutes left and missed my defensive resource. I think playing 35.a7 could become very difficult for me.


34.a6 is a terrible move. Ok so it has a tactical point, big deal. Just play 34..Ra7 (blockade), then 35..e6, then 36...Nb4 (destroy) and how is he going to defend the pawn? Once you get the a-pawn off the board, its routine victory time. I have no idea what 34...Ke5 is all about...you are taking major risks here. [i]


I completely agree. 34...Ra7 is a winner. My ...Ke5 was an inproper response to his tactical threat. In a rush, I simply blundered here.


Thanks for the analysis. If my comments sounded pessimistic, it was accidental. While the game was being played, I was expecting to win. However, my poor assessment of the endgame while playing carried over while I was writing the post and that's why I gave my opponent's opportunities more credit than they warranted.


My second round game is tonight and I'll be posting that game after it's played. I'd obviously appreciate any analysis you can offer.

I'll be posting my second round game later tonight. Play starts at 7pm Vegas time.


I have two more games on Friday and two on Saturday. I'll put those up as well.

I don't have the patience to slog through these tournaments for the most part. I played a couple games in a tournament a couple of years ago and withdrew, dissatisfied with my play. 4 hour games are a bit much for me; I like 3 minute blitz better. For those who don't play chess tournaments, let me say that from my own experience, chess tournaments are far more draining mentally than poker tournaments. In

poker you get more short breaks between hands and more of a chance to clear your mind. In chess tourneys you are "under-the-gun", so to speak, all the time, and two marathon games in a day are not uncommon.


Congratulation on playing through this regardless of whatever your final results may turn out to be.

Last April, on the last day of the Foxwoods Open, I needed to win both my games in order to have even a slim chance of winning prize money.


The first game lasted 84 moves and a little over five hours. The game was simplified down to a rook and pawn endgame (2 rooks and 6 pawns each) on move 27. I had to grind out the win over the next 57 moves.


The second game started just one hour after the first game ended. It lasted 78 moves and five and a half hours. It was another tough endgame in which I had to win with a Queen and one pawn (white pawn on d5) vs. a Queen.


I did get some prize money. I think it was a meager $60 due to a large number of players tying for several places.

I grew up using English descriptive notation, and as I posted this I was changing it to algebraic

...wish they'd left good old English notation alone;-)


sorry to all for errors in original translation

You are right on some of the tactical points; sadly I just took a quick skim through the game on a text interface so I missed a few things.


I did notice that when you left the b5 pawn hanging, I think your best bet may be ...Nb4 if he takes it and I think his Q may get trapped.


Regarding trading the minor pieces; I think you absolutely must get his B/g2 off the board as it controls square a8 and generally pressures you in your attempts to deal with the a-pawn. My main point is that if you trade off all the minors, you should have no losing chances and some winning chances (ie, you blockade his pawn and then attack it from the side with your rook, thus forcing him to use his rooks passively to defend it while your king advances and your other rook is free to run and start attacking). I think you underestimate black's chances in this ending..ESPECIALLY against a junior.


And now in a shameless display of self-ego stroking, here's my favorite game. It was played on board 5 of the Canadian Open in round 5 along with my annotations (which appeared in the tournament book...which I wrote).


Ottosen,D - IM O'Donnell,T [D45]


Canadian Open (5) 2000


I was considering during the day what opening I would play, and finally settled on 1.d4, expecting the Semi-Slav in response. I was planning an extremely sharp line of the Botvinik Anti-Meran (a bit redundant, admittedly), but while I was helping to organize the Simultaneous exhibitions earlier in the day, I let slip to GM Wells what opening I was planning to play. He told me that the newest theory was not favorable to white and when I suggested a different line, his response "hmm, I think thats still ok!" was good enough for me!


1.d4 d5


Tom later told me that he had planned to respond to 1.d4 with the Nimzo Indian but played 1... d5 out of habit. Lucky for me!


2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Nf3 c6 5.e3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.g4!


The punctuation reflects my mindset; I decided I would not go down without a fight, and introduced one of the sharpest lines available, one of the brainchilds of the Latvian school of chess. After long thought, Tom produced


7...Qe7?


This move was not played in any game I can find, and I suspect the reason is simple; it doesn't do anything! White threatens the obvious g4-g5, and black's responses generally consist of either preventing it (with ...h6), or forcing white to deal with other issues first (with either ... dxc4 or ...Bb4). The text move allows white to do as he pleases with no distractions


8.g5 Nh5 9.Bd2 dxc4 10.Bxc4 b5 11.Be2!


Black is gaining some time for development, but white has also picked up a tempo with the veiled threat against h5


11...Bb7 12.0-0-0


A common theme in this variation; white puts his king to a dangerous looking castled position, and relies on a kingside breakthrough. In this game however, black decides not to castle kingside, which originally had me casting some doubts on what exactly my plan was going to be


12...a6 13.Ne4!


An attacking aggressive move... that is primarily strategic! Black needs to play ...c5 to get adequate counterplay, so white is trying to attack it. The main idea goes 13.Ne4! Bc7 14.Ne1! (attacking the knight on h5) ...g6 15.Nd3, followed by a knight to c5, when black will not get control of the c5 square back. However, if black does not go in for this, he must surrender his good bishop, which provides white with another strategic type of advantage; the two bishops (and black loses a piece that holds influence on the c5 square)


13...c5!


Perhaps the only move; I was quite happy when I first saw this, but then became concerned. Black has a lot of counterplay on the c-file. I was nearing panic stage when I realized that I was going to get counterplay on the d-file! However, even now, I did not realize quite how much


14.Nxd6+ Qxd6 15.Bc3 Rc8 16.Kb1!


With the upcoming sacrifice in mind


16...b4!?


Provoking white


17.dxc5 Qxc5 18.Rxd7!!


Sure, why not? Wouldn't you give yourself two big fancy exclams if YOU played this move? To be realistic, it is possible that 18.Qd2! is a better move with less complications. However, when you see an idea like 18.Rxd7, it's hard to convince yourself to look very hard at anything else


18...Kxd7?


I thought this was forced but I was full of baloney; both 18... Bxf3 and 18...Bc6 give black a poor, but playable position. However, I did not think very hard about 18.Rxd7, and I think Tom might have (correctly) thought that I was guessing it worked rather than calculating


19.Qa4+ Bc6 20.Ne5+! Kc7?!


[20...Qxe5 21.Rd1+ (21.Qxc6+ Rxc6 22.Bxe5 f6!) 21...Ke8 22.Qxc6+ Rxc6 23.Bxe5 Rc5 (23...f6 24.Bxh5+) 24.f4 when the knight on h5 can no longer be defended but the position is still a mess; white's pawn structure is going to be annihilated]


21.Nxc6 bxc3 22.Rc1!


GM Wells later complimented this move, having expected 22.Nb4 with unclear complications


22...Qf5+??


Black misses his last chance to resist with [22...Qxc6! 23.Rxc3 Qxc3 24.bxc3 g6 when black's position is clearly bad, but he has chances to hold on; this position was discussed at great length in the postmortem, with the titled players generally dismissing my quizzical looks with a wave of the hand and the statement "Matter of technique!"]


23.Ka1 Qxf2 24.Rxc3 Qe1+ 25.Bd1


Black must give up tons of material to elude mate; while Tom was thinking, I was concerned about what I would do after 25...Kb7, but the answer is fairly simple: 26.Na5+ and after a few more checks, white mates on b7 with the queen.


1-0

David,


In what area of study, do you feel, a Class B Player would get the most bang for the buck? Let's say I only wish to study 60 mins./week.


When I was a kid Harry Lyman told me endings, as did a 2100 player a few years ago. However more recently a NM and a GM told me openings, get really booked up, and go over GM games.


I don't want to try to excel at the game because I know I never will; I'd just like to know that my time is being used efficiently since I don't want to study very much. As it is I don't really study at all; maybe 6 hours a year, and the rest of the time I play blitz on ICC and occasionally watch a lecture by Lazypawn.


The material on endings is incredibly vast. I wouldn't know where to start, even if I did decide to study endings a bit. I also wish I could simplify the potentially daunting task of opening study.


Thanks

I knew Harry Lyman in his last few years. In fact, I was President of the Boylston Chess Club from 10/98 to 10/99 and a member of the board of directors from 10/97 to the most recent elections in October. I was one of the BCC's most regular players until I moved to Vegas in May.


As for your question, endgame study is definitely the way to go. A good first endgame book is Lev Albert's "Just the Facts". Whoever told you to study openings is out of their mind. However, reviewing master games is excellent advice.

Here is something I posted to our local chessclub bulletin board in response to a question about the value of coaching and lessons (and specifically if I wanted to give lessons).


...

For adults, I tend to be a bit frustrated since there is plenty of available literature on how to improve, and most don't want to do the work to improve; they want to be told a magic secret that will increase their rating 200 points. I can tell you what to do to improve:


1) Buy MCO or NCO as a reference material only. Read each openings text introduction, but don't study the lines specifically. This will give you a general feel for what the themes and ideas are in the various openings without making you a theory hound. If you wanted to be a writer, you wouldn't read the dictionary. You'd use it as a reference guide to help you. Too many chess players try to write by regurgitating the dictionary.


2) Buy Basic Chess Endings and study the rook ending section. Of all endings you get into, rook endings are the most common and the most misplayed. If you feel lazy, just read the 12 rules of good endgame play in the back of the book (like me!).


3) Buy Seirawan's Winning Chess Tactics and solve every problem in it. The tactics there are explained in a nice textual introduction for each section, and the level of difficulty is a gradual increase. If you can solve all the problems in this book, your tactical skill will be plenty strong enough to reach the expert level.


4) Record all your games and enter them in ChessBase or Chessbase light (which is available for free), and then annotate all of your games; make a note of the first move out of book, the "losing move", and the "winning move". Never give a ?/!/?!/!? without a comment (my #1 pet peeve in chess annotation; if you think a move was worthy of punctuation, explain why). The first will slowly increase your book knowledge, and the last two will help you start defining what the key moments of the game were, as well as giving you a better idea of what your typical mistakes and strengths are.


Of the four, I'd say annotating your games is the best. After that, studying tactics. Then openings. Then endings. But my way isn't for everyone.


Once you've done these 4 things and played 50-100 regular time control rated games, you should be ready for a coach since you will have some experience and a good idea of what you know and what you don't know, and you will have something to give your coach to look at so he can do his own evaluation.


The end cost of all the books you will get is less than a hundred bucks. ChessBase light is available for free from the Chessbase web site.


Good luck.