I noticed in your notes to the game J Donaldson - De Guzman, People’s Open 2002, that you made a decision to switch from positional advantages to a more tactically focused plan. Might you advise an amateur player with a class “A” rating [1800-1999] how one decides when to make such a major transition? Also, what books would help others find the kind of plan change you did in this game?

Thanks, Davar

WHITE TO MOVE FOUND 29.b4-b5!

Dear Davar,

Good question. When I was considering what move to play in the position before 29.b5 [to see that article, click HERE], I sensed there should be a knockout blow due to my large positional advantage and the fact that all my pieces were well placed. You could say that the move came from my intuition, but what is that exactly? (The book SECRETS OF CHESS INTUITION is worth looking into. Click HERE for Donaldson’s review of that book, and click HERE for Silman’s.). One way to define intuition might be to say that it is the sum of one’s knowledge both conscious and unconscious. And where did this knowledge come from? The answer is well known to all professional players: primarily from playing over high-quality, well-annotated games. From these I saw the idea of b5 in analogous positions. I have also picked up many ideas watching games in tournaments and analyzing with strong players.

Trying to dig deeper, I think I first saw the idea b4-b5 in a game played by the late IM Boris Kogan in a tournament in Atlanta around 1986 or 1987, from a 4.Qc2 Slav. This was a more dramatic example, as in a queenless middlegame White played b4-b5 (without a- or c-pawns) while Black had pawns on a6 and c6. Due to a weak pawn on d5, Black was forced to take with the a-pawn and White invaded down the a-file. The game made a strong impression on me, but for Boris it was just technique. I’m 100 percent sure he also acquired the idea from earlier games.

I would recommend that you go over well-annotated (prose) games in the openings you play and try to predict the moves for your side. This is a very effective training tool and will definitely improve your intuition.

I can heartily recommend Jonathan Tisdall’s IMPROVE YOUR CHESS NOW for those looking for different training techniques. (To see Watson’s review of Tisdall’s book, click HERE. To see Silman’s review, click HERE.).