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Any real fan of chess can tell you that, in many ways, chess is a lifelong addiction. Hundreds or even thousands (in some case, tens of thousands!) of chess books take over an apartment or house, chess sets can be found in bathrooms, bedrooms, kit... | Read More
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William Ewart Napier was born in England on January 17, 1881. His family soon moved to the United States, and because they did American chess has been all the richer. Napier first played correspondence chess, participating in one of the Continenta... | Read More
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The Pin is a must-know tactic, and it’s particularly feared by amateurs who find themselves pinned in a myriad of different ways. As with all tactical devices, pins range from very basic to beautifully complex.
Our first example goes way, way b... | Read More
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On Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2013, I returned to my old stomping ground in San Francisco: The Mechanics’ Institute Chess Club. The first thing my visit to San Francisco did was reaffirm Mark Twain’s old comment, “The coldest winter I eve... | Read More
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One of the major strategic rules of chess is "Keep your King safe!". It is precisely due to this rule that a very common pin from many openings which start with 1. e4 e5 is especially dangerous. For example this one:
We've all had a similar ex... | Read More
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Due to (my) technical error, the show got started late, but we got in the full 90 minutes - the show must go on ! At the start and end of the show I made two announcements:
Congratulations to Chess.com for getting to 6,000,000 members! What a fe... | Read More
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In any series of Candidates tournaments for the world championship of chess, you can count on your fingers and toes the realistic contenders for the crown - about 20 people - out of over 7 billion people in the world. Magnus Carlsen is one o... | Read More
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Today, possibly 90% of chess is played on the internet and possibly 90% of the chess games on the internet are played at fast time controls. Classical chess is still the Gold Standard, but fast games seem to be coin of the realm.
... | Read More
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Collopy: “This game was played in a serious manner (about an hour each spent on it) - although without clocks.”
David S (2066) – R. Collopy (1722), Friendly match 2012 ECO: E10
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 Nc6
... | Read More
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In the course of updating the Caxton Named Opening list I have been reading both the New in Chess Yearbooks and SOS series. Opening novelties are not dead. New ideas have been aided by computer tools, which have also rescued many obscure old ideas... | Read More
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After Paul Morphy, the next great chess player was Harry Pillsbury (1872-1906).
Harry Nelson Pillsbury was born on December 5, 1872 in Somerville, Massachusetts, located just north of Boston. His father, Luther Batchelder Pillsbury (1832-1905... | Read More
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Franke: “This is a game I’m quite proud of, even though I came away from it with a half point fewer than I should have. With a USCF rating of 1984 and a recent peak at 2037, Ted is the strongest opponent by far whom I’ve ever achieved a draw... | Read More
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Dr. John Watson: In real life. People don't have archenemies. Sherlock Holmes: That sounds a bit dull. So what do people have in their REAL lives?
"Sherlock" (TV Series 2010-)
The last three weeks we concentrated on endgames that feature the a... | Read More
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Everyone has heard the saying “an attack on the wing should be met by a counter in the center”. Or, if you haven’t – now you have. But what does a central counterattack look like, and why is it so strong?
Every attack uses up some kind of... | Read More
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In the first part of this article we started analysis of the classical position with an Isolated Queen Pawn where Black's e6-pawn is moved to c6. This kind of position happened in many games of the famous match La Bourdonnais - McDonnell. Tod... | Read More
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Last week you had the chance to compare your chess skills with the famous American GM Frank Marshall. This time your task is harder as the new benchmark you are supposed to keep up with is the legendary Paul Morphy. In one of my previous art... | Read More
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The Snowdrops vs Oldhands match has been taking place in the Czech resort Marianski Lazne for fourt years in a row. The name of the event is connected with a movie which was quite popular in that country. There are two teams of 4 players each: mal... | Read More
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I want to share my frustrations with you, my dear readers. I find it extremely annoying that these days you cannot turn on TV, read a newspaper or browse the Internet without being attacked by the Kardashians' news. Their weddings, divorces, fragr... | Read More
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Mr. BallsofSteeel brings us yet another movie-based name (for some reason, with a 3rd "e"), this time from Christopher Walken’s ping-pong film, BALLS OF STEEL.
BallsofSteeel (1512) vs. The Butcher’s Daughter (1879), Tournoi De Culo 2... | Read More
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Target Skill Range: Intermediate (Rated 1400-1799)
Acquire the knowledge you need to approach the opening with confidence and achieve success!
Tasks:
Extend Your Base Knowledge of "Tournament Openings"
Choose and Apply a Consistent Approa... | Read More