Day 403: Playing chess every day until I reach a 2000 rating

Watch out Hikaru Nakamura and Magnus Carlsen! I'm coming for you!
This is another day in my quest for a 2000 rating on chess.com.
Caro-Kann Defense: Advance, Tal Variation
Join our discord to chat about my journey and see others chat about theirs: / discord
#chess

[@stephenwestland942]

A few people are commenting that you lost this on time pressure. As you know you do often lose in time pressure but that was not the problem here. And it is important to realise this. At 7:22 you didn't notice that you could play Nc6. You wanted to play it but you thought you couldn't because it would lose the c5 pawn. The problem here was that you failed to notice that after Nc6 your c5 pawn was defended twice. Not playing Nc6 here seriously hindered your development. At 7:47 you didn't notice that you had a free pawn. Not only did you not notice that you could take on e5 but you never considered capturing on e5 at all even though you had three pieces attacking it. At 9:30 you exchanged on the c file giving white a rook on the open c file before you were fully developed. You are in a bit of trouble here. Your knight is horrendous with nearly no moves. You probably have to play something like Qb8 here and try your best to play Be7 and O-O. After the exchange on the c file you still have 6 mins left. So it was not a time issue here. But your position is pretty much lost. Your knight is horrible, your rook on h8 is undeveloped and you are going to lose either the pawn on b7 or the one on f7. I love your channel Patrick. It is the first thing I watch each day. However, these three issues - listed above - are fairly basic things. I did mention in my earlier comment that you could consider the discipline of listing all the captures you could make each move. You could actually write it down on a note pad by your side. So, for example, at 7:47 you would just write down the squares e5, d4, b4 and h5. It doesn't take long. But you can't hope to progress if you are not noticing all of the things you can capture in any one position. You have to at least NOTICE them - how long you spend considering each one (and how accurate your calculation is) is another matter.

[@steve.k4735]

Yes AGAIN Patrick is just not `seeing` the board he does not look at the Bishop behind the knight AND he is so fixated on the a-pawn he does not even look at the e5 pawn which is screaming take me.

[@XFlyingDutchmanX]

Great summary stephenwestland. I agree, Patrick should take his time getting used to check all points he is attacking and all the points his opponent is attacking. Maybe a longer time format would help here until he can do the check up faster

[@tom4115]

Yeah these were all the main mistakes I saw too.

[@MaxChessman007]

Hey Patrick, just wanted to let you know how much I enjoy watching your progress. I can't even make it to 4 digits. Some days I see everything no matter who I'm playing, and some days I look at the board like it's a Rubik's cube. Lol. It's sometimes much easier to see things when your just watching, and I think "most" people are trying to be helpful. One example of something I saw that seemed a little out of character for you was at 7:36 when you took the bishop that had 2 defenders with only 1 piece attacking. It was a good trade, but there was no follow up in sight.

[@powerslave88888]

What do you Mean with Progress?He has the same elo Like 1 year ago

[@jrmelzer7446]

CCT! Checks, captures, threats every move!

[@benjaminjaton3597]

Since everybody is kinda giving their take on "what's wrong", mine is that you love being aggressive at the start of the game, you take increasing amounts of risks until you realize that the position starts getting dangerous, then you want to castle but it's too late, your king is stuck in the middle, some pieces aren't playing and you end up in very difficult positions.

[@RTAC_1234]

7:05 Other commenters have mentioned this, but the crux of this game is here. It's not just that you made a mistake, you need to understand this position as a Caro-Kann player. It's a very fundamental part of this variation, and other similar ones, to play Nc6, even if it doesn't seem that the c5 pawn is adequately defended (here it is anyway!). There are lots of lines and positions where you need to play Nc6, and invite black to take on c5. This often splinters the white pawns creating a weak pawn on c5 and another weak pawn on e5. Really, your dream outcome here is Nc6, dxc5, Bxc5. You're then fully developed, you've developed the bishop with tempo, the e5-pawn is now weak, you've got everything that you want. For me, as a 2100 OTB player, Nc6 is automatic. I know that it's a good move, I don't even have to think about it. The computer has told me this a long time ago! I would play it instantly in a bullet game, and probably instantly in a blitz game. With more time, I would double-check that I'm not missing anything for a few seconds. But I know fundamentally that it's a good move, and one that I should be looking to play when the time is right. There are two more problems here. Firstly, you swapped your developed and fairly well-placed bishop for an undeveloped knight, which looks a very odd decision. You also did this without really considering it - you said on video that you could take the knight, and then you just did it. And you're also doing all of these things before being developed and castled. That's why Nc6 is a natural move; it opens up your bishop and makes it possible for you to finish development. It's really critical for you to learn these things, rote learn them, so that you do them over and over again. You must complete your development and castle. You must learn the main ideas in openings you play so that you know what general moves work and are important. You must not swap developed pieces for undeveloped pieces without good reason. You are not good enough to completely break the rules in the opening! Not many people are!

[@jacobpallesen3558]

If you got the time chrisjames and Patrick agrees maybe you could help him over the line with these fundamentals. A lot of other players have suggested this already. But you are spot on. A lot of very very strange and bad decisions were made in this game.

[@AlexShushpanov]

I’ve been saying he needs a chess coach!

[@jamonh]

Patrick, I look forward to watching your latest video every day at lunch. Win or lose I learn something and it’s enjoyable. The day you stop I’d be bummed.

[@stephenwestland942]

I am just watching the game. Well played so far. However, at 8:11 it is frustrating me that you are looking at Nxd4 and Nxa5. However, you are not noticing Nxe5 which is a free pawn. I am sure people have mentioned before that you should check for captures and checks. Here there are no checks. And there are only four things that can be captured on e5, d4, b4 and a5. YOu really need to develop this discipline to get to the next level. It's weird that because I have been playing chess for over 50 years those captures just pop out,. I literally cannot not see them which is why it is frustrating. But until you get to that point you have to ask yourself manually each move - do I have any captures? {Edit: I was hoping you would see it - but you didn't. Your position is still ok but the chance to win a key pawn in the centre is gone.}

[@SH-dl4jk]

I was shouting at the screen to take that pawn must admit. However, I know how easy it is to overlook such things. That would have been a game changer- central pawn, initiative, liquidating some pieces with advantage..

[@stephenwestland942]

@@SH-dl4jk I agree. It is easy to do. The thing I am suggesting to Patrick is that he tries to develop his board vision by writing down - or even speaking out aloud - all of the squares on which he has a capture each move. I think this way he may get used to noticing all of the possible captures.

[@paultharp4626]

When u take the pawn around 7 thirty mark, you go from 3 defenders of it to zero

[@sethlawson8544]

"welcome to chesswithpatrick where we watch a man descend into madness"

[@manlikechocolate]

I think so much of your struggle to climb is your tedency to keep reacting to your opponents moves. Whats worked for me getting to 1700 is to respect their threats but equally put pressure on THEM with forcing/attacking moves. Be aggressive!! Plus its more fun to play imo

[@xavigarcia6207]

This Caro_Kann where you allow pawns on h4 and e5 seems like a nightmare. Your development is harder work than it should be with these 2 pawns suffocating your position. Maybe pawn to h6, not h5, so a bishop doesn't land on g5 as happened in one of your previous games?

[@RTAC_1234]

This is a good suggestion, but you need to study this variation as it gets sharp after white plays e6. Normal play would be 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. e5 Bf5 4. h4 h6 5. g4 Be4 6. f3 Bh7 7. e6...after which you still have to defend a very tactical position, and you really need to prep this position.

[@stephenwestland942]

11:07 Note that the problems you have in this position. The fact that White has Rc7 and you cannot play Kd8 stem from the fact that, as usual, you are undeveloped. You should have got your bishop to e7 and castled BEFORE all the c-file shenanigans.

[@jacobpallesen3558]

Exactly. Very strange Patrick cant see these obvious standard moves. Atleast not up until now. Hope it gets better for him of course. Gl always Patrick

[@12345678910111213858]

Patrick, what do you have against castling?

[@em4six348]

Ah, tough luck, got low on time. That's why I recommend changing time control for some time, try playing blitz and puzzle rush, helps in catching tactics and moves under low time. GG patrick!

[@montagdp]

It seems like you often get stuck under-developed and unable to castle in these Caro-Kann games. Maybe it's time to consider a different response to e4 with black?

[@mokertho]

I dont get why people disagree with the Caro Kann. Caro kann is still great. Im also in the 1400s and is it still a weapon

[@GlassOfWater87]

Ah yes, another time scramble loss.

[@Roberto-bd9fq]

You saw Nc6 and dithered around like people have said, and there was nothing wrong with it. You broke your own rule by saying what to watch for. a4 was the prelude to attacking your queen and instead holding the position you were already thinking of ways of retreating. This is wrong thinking when you are space constrained, you don't want to retreat, the board is limited in size. So, they can't maneuver, and your pieces have nowhere to go. Also think int terms of piece coordination and for the love of any higher being please start moving q rook to c8. Looks like you must place Rb8 after he plays b5. It may still lose but once the rook is on b8 then Kd8 Analysis: It's still defended twice. Counting is integral to chess. And give up arguing with computer, it's pointless.

[@allisonsutherland1144]

You seem to lose many games due to time pressures. You should consider moving quicker in less critical positions. Studying opening theory can help with this tremendously, so consider improving your opening preparation.

[@powerslave88888]

Unfortunately this Dude ist Not Open for critic. With this Attitude He will Not become better. So its Just content for people who are procrastinating Like me, you will Not learn anything from this Dude so objective speaking ITS a completely waste of time to watch those Videos

[@jeanpaulfelix4095]

I dont like h5. It allows bg5. h6 better.

[@AT-jq2ve]

How long does it take to get to 1500?

[@Misha_Ponziani]

Karo kann is shit. Never play this debut in my own chess games.

[@willbollman6246]

The caro is an outstanding opening if one knows how to play it correctly

[@Sandfox07]

Tell that GM Sosa who just lost against IM Levy Rozman in the Caro-Kann with the White Pieces.

[@willbollman6246]

@@Sandfox07 levi beat Hikaru with the caro

[@Sandfox07]

@@willbollman6246 Not in a slow game though.

[@willbollman6246]

@@Sandfox07 duh...the top 5 players in the world struggle against him in classical chess. I'm simply pointing out that the caro is not a "shit" opening. It's a beautiful opening and very tricky to deal with as white. It's not an opening that will lead to a slick checkmate...but that's not the only way to win a game

[@OurCommunityYouth]

He will throw in the towel on getting 2,000

[@AlexShushpanov]

#ChessCoach

[@lancetehira]

Grrraakk???? Too slow..... Of course I don't use the Caro Kahn as black so THAT could be it?? Play a game using analysis so the engine can show you new tactics it really helps 🙃

[@JoeyDoves-iz2ck]

Noob patrik😂

[@pokemonjynx1019]

😵‍💫📉📉📉📉

[@BigFoxyChess]

3rd!

[@pokemonjynx1019]

@@BigFoxyChess you can claim 1st now

[@scottniu8297]

I appreciate the true intent of this comment.