Chess Reflections

 After gathering dust on my bookshelf for many months, I finally decided to pick up Silman's Complete Endgame course. This is a book that I used to own during my time in Boulder, but I never managed to progress through it. On this occassion though I found the book much easier to read and even interesting. I blazed through almost 200 pages (till the part meant for Class A players) and found many endgame concepts that I didn't know or never learned (like how to mate with two Bishops). Or the many draws possible when passed rook pawns are involved. For example, I still haven't figured out the right technique on how to win when you have the same coloured bishops and two passed pawns that are connected knight and rook pawns. The stronger side's bishop is of the wrong colour of the rook pawn's square. It's a surprisingly hard endgame to correctly win because of various drawing combinations where the defending side can sacrifice their bishop for the knight pawn. It was...

Yesterday was the first time that I played a blindfold game to completion, where I actually won! I used the Blindfold Trainer on the "Dont' move until you see it" site. Granted the engine I was playing is weak. In fact it deliberately makes mistake. But I was proud of the fact that, not only did I mate the engine, I also didn't make a single illegal move. This was the game (I am white):