Highlights of GM Igor Smirnov’s “Ask Me Anything Event”

First, let me remind you of the “RCA Crossword Contest” – we’re conducting a crossword contest that will run till 8 September. By solving it, you will reinforce your knowledge of chess terms and hopefully have fun along the way.  
Find more details about the contest here, try to solve it, and get a chance to win amazing prizes (RCA courses, premium videos, and gift vouchers worth a total of over $1500 USD!) Moreover, I’ll provide something cool for all participants – therefore, don’t miss it!

Recently, I published an article replying to the unanswered questions from my “Ask Me Anything (AMA) Event” which was conducted on the RCA Facebook page on 15 August. If you missed that article, you should definitely read it here – it contains very useful information.

Today, I’ve decided to share some more useful information from this event. I’ve picked out a few of the interesting questions from our students (you) during the event and would like to publish them below. Let’s go!

Q1: Hello Mr. Igor Smirnov! First of all, thank you for pleasing me with the fact that you are doing this and that I’ll be able to contact via my questions The Grandmaster, Igor Smirnov. I’ll start this with a question. I’ve been trying to figure out the answer to for quite a while, but was unable to do so, which is: ”Why are top Grandmasters breaking basic principles?” You said that the base principles like maximum activity and so on are the MOST important and that we MAY NOT care much about something else.

For example, in the game Carlsen – Giri, Bilbao 2016 (you actually analyzed it), Carlsen played 6. Nd2. You said that the idea is that the Knight supports c4 and/or e4 breaks. White is already thinking about plans. First of all, using the principle of the maximum activity, the Knight should go to c3, so why not perhaps c4+Nc3. Also you said we shouldn’t think about plans in the opening. Also another rule of yours Carlsen broke in this game is: If you can plan in the center – do it!
At move 10, he played a4. Why didn’t he follow this simple rule and played c4, playing in the center? At move 16, he played Qg4. But engines suggest e4! Play in the center! Why is WCC breaking these rules? On the next move he played h4, but again, according to engines e4 was the best move. This isn’t only for this game, but for 99% other games of strong Grandmasters.

And we cannot argue that World Champion doesn’t understand basic principles.  :D Anyways, to sum up the question: Why are top grandmasters breaking these basic principles? Are there special reasons? Thanks in advance for your answers! Cheers!  – Lovro Glavina

What is the difference between cacophony and improvisation (in music)? To use improvisation, you must first master all the rules. Same in chess. Thanks for your well-thought question!

Note: you can find the game between Carlsen and Giri (with analysis) that Glavina mentions in his above question here, and its corresponding article here.

Q2: I am Nicolas and I live in Colombia Sorry for the translation, speak Spanish and I had to translate it into Google. I am delighted with your courses, the truth is that I felt the change in my chess level exponentially, disciplined started training two years. Your teaching is accurate and has helped me beat several people who have had much more preparation than mine. Without any more preambles. My questions are:

1. In the Scandinavian defense (Icelandic gambit ) you recommend me that defense play in tournaments or play the Sicilian defense? I am studying in college and I have almost no time to study, but I always look for a space for your courses.

2. What do you recommend I study within 6 hours of the week?

- Nicolás Gerardo Cuéllar Canosa

1) If your rating is below the 2000 level, you may play any opening. If you are above 2000, I would suggest that you play the Sicilian in tournaments.

2) If you only have 6 hours a week – study the video lessons from my courses and play training games against a computer. Good luck!

Suggested: you can study my FREE course “Chess Training Plan for Rapid Improvement” here.

Q3: Hello Master!! Here is my question! is it true that playing blitz, getting obsessed with chess and being an empiric chess player for so long (since the very beginning, about 9 years ago) can mess up the chess career?? - Favian Mauricio

That’s true. There should be a proper balance between study and practice (playing). You need to learn something new, and then you go and implement it in real games. Then you come back home, analyze your games, find errors, and fix them. Then go playing again. And the cycle goes on.

Q4: Have you ever analyzed different playing styles? At our club we’ve noticed that certain people play much stronger (or weaker) against certain other personalities. There seems to be an attacking style, a tactical style, a positional style, a defensive style, and something, I would call a practical style, where you just play what you get. Have you ever noticed this and what style would you say you are? – Jeffrey Davis

Indeed, different players play in different styles. For instance, Nakamura could not play against Carlsen for a long time because he’s an aggressive player, while Carlsen would not give him a chance to go for the attack.

As for me, I like imitating Capablanca (classical, logical style) or Tal (attacking style) depending on my mood. 

Q5: What exactly is the playing style of Vishy Anand?? – Pawan Kulkarni

He’s a classical player. He plays ‘according to the position‘, as chess players say. This is a very good style to imitate for chess learning. Unfortunately for Anand, this style is not quite enough to overcome players like Carlsen who know that ‘classical style’ too but have some extra skills on top of that. However, for your level, it’s perfectly alright to imitate Anand.

Q6: How do you fix Inconsistency in chess? I am currently a bit inconsistent, beating strong players and even masters but losing to lower players. – Elijah Logozar

Inconsistent results are a consequence of inconsistent learning. You need a SYSTEM of chess knowledge, then you’ll perform well on a regular basis. Studying various separate lessons here and there (which most players do nowadays) is a bad thing.

Suggested: “My Thinking System” will teach you about a developed system of thinking and help you detect the best move in any kind of position. Get it now here.

P.S. Once again, I’d like to remind you of the “RCA Crossword Contest”. Only the first 50 participants who solve the crossword correctly will get a chance to become a winner. Nevertheless, all participants will get something cool – find more details and participate now!