WEBVTT 00:01.130 --> 00:01.880 Hi there. 00:02.300 --> 00:04.940 In this lecture, we ask the question. 00:05.210 --> 00:11.930 In particular, we ask Can positional chess be seen as making continually slight improvements? 00:12.290 --> 00:20.840 And do these improvements slight improvements actually result in an engine graph which escalates? 00:20.970 --> 00:23.390 Well, here is a vivid example. 00:23.990 --> 00:32.720 You can see the graph here is of Adams against Simon Williams in the 2010 British championship encounter. 00:32.720 --> 00:39.800 And you can see the gradual improvement of the advantages and the strengthening of the position is actually 00:39.800 --> 00:40.550 evident in the game. 00:40.550 --> 00:41.720 I'm going to show you. 00:42.260 --> 00:49.970 We can see that sometimes positional play is a one way accumulation of advantage graph, so it seems 00:49.970 --> 00:55.970 to link quite well to strengthening the position more and more and no chance is given to the opponent. 00:56.780 --> 01:04.760 So we strengthen the position quite often in the highest priority way specific threats dealt with during 01:05.840 --> 01:09.230 any proposed activity if we're going to make activities. 01:10.730 --> 01:17.870 But yes, generally we see this amazing link between strengthening the position even slightly all the 01:17.870 --> 01:18.500 time. 01:18.500 --> 01:24.260 We might not be thinking about the top moves, just maybe the third or fourth best move, which maybe 01:24.260 --> 01:25.550 is a slight improvement. 01:25.550 --> 01:31.160 The important is the important thing is a lot of slight improvements accumulate and accumulate and actually 01:31.460 --> 01:36.050 correlate to engine evaluation being more and more positive. 01:36.890 --> 01:45.830 And what might be really surprising about this is in the British championship with 2010, the speed 01:45.830 --> 01:47.870 of the games was absolutely amazing as well. 01:47.900 --> 01:55.340 Adams won six games in less than 30 moves, so you might think, well, the positional player, it's 01:55.340 --> 01:56.240 long and drawn out. 01:56.240 --> 01:57.560 Not necessarily. 01:58.010 --> 02:02.600 So here's an example game that this graph is based on. 02:02.600 --> 02:04.580 Adams against Simon Williams. 02:05.870 --> 02:13.430 This was in round ten, so Adams plays E four and we see that E four can be used for positional players. 02:13.430 --> 02:15.620 C five, 93d6. 02:15.620 --> 02:19.220 We have an off beat line here, relatively off beat. 02:19.220 --> 02:20.180 Bishop B five check. 02:20.180 --> 02:26.810 Of course Adams has played the Open Sicilian as well in a positional manner, but this is in my my view 02:26.810 --> 02:29.570 really aligns to Adams positional style. 02:29.570 --> 02:36.110 Just avoiding counterplay generation in the opening, just exchanging on D seven and setting up a proxy 02:36.110 --> 02:38.870 bond, you can see that there's harmony in the position. 02:38.870 --> 02:45.980 There isn't a hemmed in line Square bishop and we've got this kind of bind structure and it's kind of 02:45.980 --> 02:50.600 kind of frustrating sometimes for opponents to be in a positional bind. 02:50.990 --> 02:55.940 We see d4c takes d49 times D for Bishop G seven, so F three. 02:55.940 --> 03:00.560 So this strengthens white a little bit, depriving black of the G four square. 03:01.550 --> 03:08.300 We see black casting bishop e free, adding support for d for Rook and now another strengthening move. 03:08.320 --> 03:10.280 Well, protecting the c pawn. 03:10.280 --> 03:13.790 It seems fairly logical and useful to do that. 03:14.660 --> 03:22.430 So e six and out of frustration there's this D five break and sometimes the positional players need 03:22.430 --> 03:26.720 to know what the state of exploitable advantages or disadvantages are. 03:26.720 --> 03:31.490 Exploit ability is key, so we can't really do too much to dissuade D five. 03:31.490 --> 03:36.920 Sometimes we can embrace what seems to be potentially a liberating pawn break. 03:36.950 --> 03:38.420 It's kind of embraced here with Rook. 03:38.420 --> 03:40.550 C1 So D five actually happens. 03:40.550 --> 03:45.590 It's actually an inaccuracy though, and Adams transitions the position. 03:45.620 --> 03:49.430 E five This is a very, very good move. 03:49.430 --> 03:55.790 If C takes D five, E takes five, Black may have a point to generate counterplay after a rookie eight 03:56.360 --> 04:02.510 here, for example f49g4 and this is not a position we want when there's a bit of counterplay. 04:02.960 --> 04:10.820 So now e five make sure that the e file is shut, that there isn't an active, lively rook on the E 04:10.820 --> 04:11.480 file. 04:11.750 --> 04:15.080 So 98 and this is a good sign piece is going backwards. 04:15.080 --> 04:19.490 We have C takes D five now E takes D five. 04:20.030 --> 04:24.020 If bishop takes E five, D takes E six is good here for white. 04:24.020 --> 04:25.640 This position will be good. 04:26.240 --> 04:30.050 As example where black has the worst pawn structure. 04:30.050 --> 04:32.000 So e takes D five. 04:32.270 --> 04:37.310 We have 49c6 white castles 9c7. 04:37.430 --> 04:40.430 And this is the beauty of accumulating advantages. 04:40.430 --> 04:44.180 Sometimes paradoxical decisions are made or seemingly know someplace. 04:44.180 --> 04:49.820 Well, maybe you might have this belief that all the estate queen's pawn is really weak, but sometimes 04:49.820 --> 04:56.090 we can transform advantages from one to another if there more exploitable exploitable weaknesses is 04:56.090 --> 04:56.450 the key. 04:56.450 --> 04:59.810 And evidence plays 90 8c6 seemingly doing black. 04:59.940 --> 05:05.360 Little bit of a favor in healing the structure, at least not having an isolated Queen's pawn. 05:05.660 --> 05:12.050 Now, if Queen C six was played, there is 94 and a knight going to DD six is huge for white. 05:12.710 --> 05:13.790 So B tanks. 05:13.790 --> 05:18.020 But now there is a potential outpost square in front of this backward pawn. 05:18.380 --> 05:21.410 So that could be used to further enhance the position. 05:21.410 --> 05:24.500 94 tactically making use of the pin. 05:25.070 --> 05:30.230 And this game, by the way, is featured with more detail than in the course. 05:30.230 --> 05:32.270 It's one of many Adams games we look at. 05:32.300 --> 05:35.390 So here now, the knight actually goes back for a moment. 05:36.560 --> 05:39.620 Queen E six, Queen three and F five. 05:39.920 --> 05:41.810 Sorry, A five is played. 05:44.090 --> 05:46.640 And now the knight goes back to that alt post square. 05:46.640 --> 05:49.550 So black's really under control here. 05:49.550 --> 05:53.940 The position is really under control, and White makes a slight improvement here. 05:53.960 --> 05:59.930 This gives the bishop slightly more scope on this side of the ball for maybe Bishop H for being useful. 05:59.930 --> 06:07.670 So a very delicate slight improvements in the position which also potentially correlates to the engine 06:07.670 --> 06:08.690 graph we see. 06:08.690 --> 06:11.150 So we see Queen H three. 06:11.150 --> 06:17.300 This is a slight improvement on the position the Queen wasn't doing too much on on F3 and now there 06:17.300 --> 06:22.040 is a support for sometimes for Bishop H four but also the Queen is looking at C eight, which means 06:22.040 --> 06:23.750 if for example, the move we have Queen. 06:23.880 --> 06:29.300 Okay, so black's getting a little bit more tied down subtly, a little bit more tied down. 06:29.300 --> 06:32.750 And five is an unfortunate move. 06:32.750 --> 06:34.670 It's creating commercial weaknesses. 06:34.670 --> 06:39.380 It's making this pawn of protected possible and we can see subtle improvements being made now to the 06:39.380 --> 06:42.110 position or the opponent damaging their position. 06:42.110 --> 06:46.610 So either you make subtle improvements or there's subtle damage being created in the opponent's position 06:46.610 --> 06:47.700 by themselves. 06:47.720 --> 06:53.390 Now here Queen C4 is looking at a five rook and inaccuracy. 06:53.390 --> 06:56.480 It seems as though Queen might be more accurate. 06:56.480 --> 07:02.330 This position is still very pleasant for whites, for example, you had 96 here for nine takes for this 07:02.330 --> 07:04.160 is going to be a nice advantage. 07:04.160 --> 07:06.860 Winning a pawn and white can work with that. 07:06.860 --> 07:15.470 But Rook eight we see a four and all of a sudden actually Knight B six is a bit of a nuisance, right? 07:16.040 --> 07:18.410 So it's difficult for black. 07:18.410 --> 07:22.790 Black's under pressure here and black tried rook a six. 07:22.790 --> 07:27.620 And believe it or not, guess what Adams played which ended the game move 27. 07:29.050 --> 07:33.820 So, yes, a lot of the black pieces are really made miserable positionally. 07:34.720 --> 07:37.360 These guys are just like passive. 07:37.840 --> 07:42.970 And this next move shows how bad the position is really concretely. 07:42.970 --> 07:49.690 So all of a sudden, we've gone from the abstract notions of slightly improving the position to a concrete 07:49.690 --> 07:52.000 material gain with this next move. 07:52.300 --> 07:57.280 And that move is queenly free and it's very, very difficult for black to perilous. 07:57.700 --> 07:59.170 So black actually resigns. 07:59.170 --> 08:00.170 Simon Williams resigns. 08:00.190 --> 08:03.970 If Queen B seven, there's 95 winning material. 08:04.090 --> 08:07.540 If rook A if rook eight, then knight B six. 08:07.540 --> 08:08.830 Folks, the two rooks. 08:08.830 --> 08:13.780 This is a miserable position and it's going to be made more miserable once it's going to build up. 08:13.780 --> 08:21.310 So, yes, a cute little game, less than 30 moves where White really didn't have any worries in the 08:21.310 --> 08:21.580 world. 08:21.580 --> 08:22.860 You know chosen would be proud. 08:22.870 --> 08:23.760 He doesn't like losing. 08:23.770 --> 08:31.090 Where were the worries or concerns for why and the positional choice of opening is really of interest 08:31.090 --> 08:36.340 as well that we might be worried about all the different flavors of the Sicilian offense. 08:36.340 --> 08:37.270 But you know what? 08:37.270 --> 08:41.830 We can work with modern engines to look at, you know, maybe the second best move, the third best 08:41.830 --> 08:43.630 move, you know, eighth best move. 08:43.660 --> 08:49.240 As long as we have a slight edge, which we can make slight improvements with and yet the engine go 08:49.240 --> 08:50.400 off above. 08:50.410 --> 08:54.910 So if you're doing it right positional player, you'll get more and more games where you look after 08:54.910 --> 08:58.960 with an engine, you see the engine graph and it looks like climbing a mountain, you know, a little 08:58.960 --> 09:00.160 bit by little bit. 09:01.390 --> 09:09.610 So yes, So I am an absolute admirer of Michael Adams's positional controls, calm chess and even the 09:09.610 --> 09:14.050 way, you know, he plays chess with elegance and calmness and gliding pieces. 09:14.050 --> 09:19.450 It's really amazing to watch ADAMS, you know, play play in real life. 09:19.450 --> 09:21.700 So when I have seen him in British events. 09:21.700 --> 09:27.790 So, yeah, this is this course there's a lot of Adams Games examples because I think, you know, he's 09:27.790 --> 09:31.930 one of those grandmasters that has been over 2700 for so many years. 09:31.930 --> 09:37.210 So and his play is is really great positionally to admire. 09:37.210 --> 09:38.680 And this is one of those games. 09:38.680 --> 09:42.580 So can positional chess be seen as making slight improvements? 09:42.610 --> 09:44.980 I would say absolutely. 09:44.980 --> 09:47.260 And you know, we're even asking another question. 09:47.260 --> 09:52.750 You know, are those slight improvements actually related if you looked with an engine after to to the 09:52.750 --> 09:54.970 advantage technically being in your favor? 09:54.970 --> 09:55.930 Absolutely. 09:55.930 --> 09:59.440 And can we win games quickly with such approach and approach? 09:59.440 --> 10:00.550 Absolutely. 10:00.550 --> 10:07.810 The transition from abstract slight improvements to material gains is quite evident in this game example 10:07.810 --> 10:14.710 that Black's pieces are just unable to cope with the questions posed by the white position. 10:14.710 --> 10:20.350 So yes, I hope you really enjoyed this game example, but you see this in more detail later on in the 10:20.350 --> 10:24.490 course as well as a large number of other games of Michael Adams. 10:24.490 --> 10:26.830 Okay, So much.