Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Interesting lesson tonight.  Round One of the Waukesha Chess Club Championship was tonight.  Prior to my game I was speaking with a local expert and I was telling him that I felt that one of the main items to work on for me to progress to the next level would be learning when to violate certain chess principles.

For example, when we first learn to play we are taught that doubled pawns are weak.  So we try to avoid them at all costs.  Later on you learn that there are many positions in which doubled pawns aren't weak at all, or when there are other dynamic factors that compensate for the doubled pawns.

I believe that learning when to violate these principles is vital to my continued development.

I then had a conversation with another expert and a strong A player and told them that I had a lesson with a local expert who had shown me that in closed positions I tend to make inaccurate time wasting moves in the opening.

Then I was paired with a master for my game.  Seven time state champ Bill Williams.  I played the Black side of the QGD (closed position) and then about 10-12 moves in I realized that I could move a knight for the second time (sloppy move) and win the bishop pair (general chess principle.)

So what happened?  Absolute crushing defeat from that point forward.  I gave away a positional consideration that just turned into me getting steamrolled.

So the lesson?  Well...actions speak louder than words.  I spent 30 minutes speaking with several people about how I needed to learn not to do all of the things that I then went and did.