It’s funny how I stumbled upon the idea of chess campaigns. Most of the books I bought early in my chess career were books that were translated from Russian. I speak English and have learned to read write and speak Spanish fluently and I speak a little bit of German. In all of these languages the word for, “Campaign” is only defined in politics or war. Any other time, they translate the word, “campaign” to the word, “plan”!?! If you are bi, tri, or quadrilingual, you know exactly where I’m going with this. My chess books were telling me I needed a plan when the author had used the word campaign. That 1 word was enough to explain how the Russian Grandmasters could tell us everything and we still would never understand!! Context: A plan is the strategy and dong of 1 thing. Combine enough plans together and you get a campaign! At every BRANCHPOINT THERE IS THE OPPORTUNITY FOR A CAMPAIGN.
This is a transposition in the King’s Gambit Declined. After 1. e2-e4 e7-e5 2. f2-f4 f8-c5 3. g1-f3 d7-d6 white can play 4. b1-c3 and immediately gambit the e pawn with 5. c3-a4!? and have an equal game. It’s there earliest hope of ending the nightmare on the a7-g1 diagonal!?!
So White has to move the bishop, go after the Bishop from the center, or take the pawn. There’s a campaign for each. One of the best parts about putting together a campaign is how easy it makes it to take your opponent out of book without making mistakes! The other part to mention is there are a great many novelties to be discovered that have never been played or recorded when you know how to research and analyze!! The thing to understand about chess campaigns is that you can’t make one that will cover an entire opening. You have to pick variations, transpositions, and branchpoints that you can virtually force to be played. You must know the gift you have received if your opponent errors.
This is a branchpoint. This forces white to push or castle before the b8 knight is developed. The game is going off the grid. There must be a campaign for this position. Can you find out what a7-a5!? is for, the logic behind the move, and what the coming struggle will look like? I don’t think you can do it at the board or when you get home.
Campaigns differ from plans because of their interdependence!?! Every time a part of a campaign is eliminated, another desirable option should take its place. I’ve been making moves from a campaign as late as move 22!!! Each tournament player that enters an, “Under 1400” should be actively researching, analyzing, and creating campaigns. They save time, they save money, and make chess a lot more fun and predictable. If you don’t know how to create campaigns, it’s time you learned! If you need a “2nd”, (someone to do your research and analysis for and/or with you), look no further. Custom campaign design and/or training for white and black can be done in as little as 3 or 4 weeks!!! There’s still time to prepare for the VA Closed Championship in September! Prices vary based on the openings, your rating, and the variations you want to play. Zoom, in person, or at our office. Nobody makes you better faster than SCBC! Call today for a free consultation and quote. 804 426 6058
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Thanks,
Coach Mike C
Scholarship Chess Business Center 