Ep. 63: The French Steiner Variation, 1. e4 e6 2. c4!? & More (Game Analysis #4)

04/02/23 • 34 min

1 Listener

This week's episode is a thematic analysis of an amateur game featuring the Steiner Variation of the French Defense (1.e4 e6 2. c4!?). Some other common French sidelines are discussed as well. Additional talking points include the following:

Queenside castling
The Hedgehog formation
Does it make sense to to "prep for an opponent" at the club level?
Blind spots when analyzing

Game Referenced: 1. e4 e6 2. c4!? b6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 Bxc3 5. dxc3 h6 6. Qd4 Qf6 7. e5 Qe7 8. Bf4 Bb7 9. Be2 Nc6 10. Qd3 O-O-O! 11. O-O-O g5 12. Bg3 Qf8 13. h4 g4 14. Nd4 h5 15. Rhg1 Qh6+ 16. Kb1 Nge7 17. f3 Nxd4 18. cxd4 Nf5 19. Be1 gxf3 20. Bxf3 Bxf3 21. gxf3 Rhg8 22. Bd2 Qf8 23. Rxg8 Qxg8 24. Bg5 Re8 25. d5 Qg6 26. Ka1 Ng7 27. Qc3 Qf5? 28. Bf6! Qg6 29. Qd4 Nf5 30. dxe6?? Nxd4 31. exd7+ Kxd7 32. Rxd4+ Kc6 33. a3 Qg1+ 0-1 If you have a question or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at [email protected]. Our links:

The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses!

Queenside castling
The Hedgehog formation
Does it make sense to to "prep for an opponent" at the club level?
Blind spots when analyzing

The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses!

Previous Episode

Ep. 62: How To Succeed At Club-Level Time Controls (G/90, G/75, etc.)

This episode covers so-called "club-level" time controls, such as G/90 and G/60. These usually include a time delay ranging from 5 - 30 seconds per move. Neal also shares his thoughts on speed chess as it relates to amateur players and improvement. In addition, some helpful resources that may be underutilized by many are discussed. Additional talking points include the following:

The (imaginary) decline of slow time controls
DAUT: Don't Analyze Unnecessary Tactics*
Your puzzle rating or online rapid rating is not your real rating...
Our inaugural Listener Mailbag segment

Mentioned: Secrets of Practical Chess (Amazon) by John Nunn* Recommended Chess.com Lessons: Errata: The tactics lessons below (the last 3) are listed here in the correct order of difficulty. In the episode, I switched the order of the last two.

If you have a question or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at [email protected]. Our links:

The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses! The Amazon and Chess.com links above are affiliate links which earn us a small commission on qualifying purchases. This helps support the podcast at no additional cost to you.

Next Episode

Ep. 64: Beating Higher-Rated Opponents: It's Easier Than You Think at the Club Level...

This episode offers some direct and pragmatic ideas for club players when facing a higher-rated opponent. Talking points include the following:

Why chess generally hates the underdog
Why there's often more pressure on the higher-rated player
Upsets happen quite often at the amateur level
Is creating complications the ONLY way to beat these players? (hint: no)
An effective mindset approach that you probably haven't tried before
Strategic draw offers to place pressure on your opponent

Referenced:Chess for Tigers (Amazon) by Simon Webb

If you have a question or topic idea for a future episode, e-mail us at [email protected]. Our links:

The Chess Angle is sponsored by Chessable. Check out a list of our favorite courses! The Amazon links above are affiliate links which earn us a small commission on qualifying purchases. This helps support the podcast at no additional cost to you.