Submitted by
WGM Natalia_Pogonina on Mon Feb 8, 2010 11:47pm.
The more experienced we are in chess, the more subtle our understanding of the game is, and the easier it is for us to tell which move is good without even calculating the variations. It’s a mixture of feelings, experience, knowledge of the key ... Read more »
2475 reads | 19 comments | 4 votes:
Submitted by
FM FM_Eric_Schiller on Mon Feb 8, 2010 10:18pm.
The Sicilian Dragon remains a deadly weapon in the tournament arena. Black is still turning out miniatures, and exploring new vistas. Today I present three short interesting wins for Black, in some of the interesting Dragon landscapes.
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568 reads | 6 comments | 0 votes:
Submitted by
spassky on Mon Feb 8, 2010 9:12pm.
In this game, White plays the initial phase of the opening well enough, but then he starts to drift with some questionable and unnecessary moves, which allow Black to work up a strong queenside initiative. At that point, White: recognizes the pr... Read more »
284 reads | 5 comments | 2 votes:
Submitted by
FM FM_Eric_Schiller on Sun Feb 7, 2010 3:20pm.
How should you play when you face an opponent who is hundreds of points higher rated than you are and has a wealth of experience? Should you play your regular opening or choose something tricky that might catch the opponent in a trap? Should you g... Read more »
1977 reads | 19 comments | 3 votes:
Submitted by
GM Gserper on Sat Feb 6, 2010 9:40pm.
It is difficult to find an opening which is misunderstood by more chess players than the Caro-Kann Defence! Former World Champion Anatoly Karpov once remarked, "I always had a very sad impression of this opening due to its desperate passivity."... Read more »
6825 reads | 35 comments | 6 votes:
Submitted by
benws on Sat Feb 6, 2010 6:13pm.
Sacrifices of the major pieces used to be fairly common among top chess players, but nowadays are rarely seen when top grandmasters square off. However, in the game that follows, Nigel Short sacrifices his queen...after a mere seven moves have ... Read more »
1191 reads | 12 comments | 0 votes:
Submitted by
NM GreenLaser on Sat Feb 6, 2010 5:19pm.
I have stated that chess pieces are connected. As a result, I have been asked to explain how pieces are connected. The way a player deploys the pieces should take into consideration their coordination. The first part of this is simply development.... Read more »
787 reads | 8 comments | 1 vote:
Submitted by
spassky on Fri Feb 5, 2010 11:57am.
In this game, the players castle on opposite sides, which usually signals attacks on both sides. Both players pursue their chances on each side, but Black misses something that costs him the exchange. But he stays calm and uses the time White ... Read more »
1171 reads | 14 comments | 4 votes:
Submitted by
WIM energia on Thu Feb 4, 2010 11:27pm.
 I usually set aside time on Wednesday evening to write my weekly column. It has already become a routine, though for such tasks I typically rely on my mood to determine when and what to write and not a schedule. Tonight, I am in no mood to talk ... Read more »
8161 reads | 61 comments | 4 votes:
Submitted by
GM thamizhan on Thu Feb 4, 2010 12:39am.
Petroff's Defense is one hard nut to crack when Black plays with a proper understanding. It guarantees solid play for Black without any longterm weaknesses and that is precisely the reason why we see so many Petroff games played at the top level. ... Read more »
3939 reads | 24 comments | 6 votes:
Submitted by
spassky on Tue Feb 2, 2010 11:06pm.
This article is the first in a series that will illustrate what a player needs to do and how he needs to think when facing a losing position or one that appears to be going from bad to worse. The first step is to realise that we all throw in a f... Read more »
2022 reads | 31 comments | 4 votes:
Submitted by
GM Julio_Becerra on Tue Feb 2, 2010 10:23pm.
Aaron Nimzowitsch (7 November 1886 – 16 March 1935), one of the most influential players and writers in chess history, was born in Riga, (the birthplace of two chess geniuses: Mihail Tal and Alexei Shirov!) Latvia, one of the Baltic states, alon... Read more »
2869 reads | 28 comments | 2 votes:
Submitted by
WGM Natalia_Pogonina on Tue Feb 2, 2010 12:37am.
The most difficult thing in chess it is to win a winning position--Emmanuel Lasker, 2nd World Chess Champion
All of us have faced a situation when we had a totally winning position and didn't win it for one reason or the other. This can be quite ... Read more »
4972 reads | 42 comments | 5 votes:
Submitted by
FM FM_Eric_Schiller on Mon Feb 1, 2010 2:23pm.
Now that Hikaru Nakamura is our leading player let's take a look at his first victory over a GM, played back in 1998 when Hikaru was just 10 years old.
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Read more »
1799 reads | 24 comments | 3 votes:
Submitted by
IM Silman on Sun Jan 31, 2010 8:24pm.
Reader Comments To Articles – Love Letters to a Chess Writer!
Ah, time to revisit all my previous articles and mention a few of the many comments that appear under them. I’m sure they will all be positive … perhaps offering me riches and pr... Read more »
1590 reads | 20 comments | 3 votes:
Submitted by
IM Silman on Sun Jan 31, 2010 8:23pm.
More on the Study of Master Games
Ali Khoshechin asked:
I followed your advice about studying master games and I already can see that my planning and transition from opening to middle game is much better now, and I can actually understand the re... Read more »
3179 reads | 13 comments | 7 votes:
Submitted by
FM FM_Eric_Schiller on Sun Jan 31, 2010 5:22pm.
Sometimes games with interesting ideas are overlooked because they were played in a casual online game. In this article I present a fascinating Evans gambit game played against one of America's most serious opening analysts. Black uses the move ..... Read more »
1324 reads | 8 comments | 0 votes:
Submitted by
GM Gserper on Sun Jan 31, 2010 12:09am.
The French Defense has a reputation of being a very solid, but not a very exciting opening from Black's point of view. Says Wikipedia: "The French has a reputation for solidity and resilience, though it can result in a somewhat cramped game for ... Read more »
4945 reads | 27 comments | 2 votes:
Submitted by
benws on Sat Jan 30, 2010 7:45pm.
Capablanca possessed terrific tactical powers. In this game, he gives a brilliant display of them. After sacrificing a queenside pawn, he proceeds to hunt down the enemy queen and capture it.After that, he has a material and positional advantage. ... Read more »
1029 reads | 4 comments | 3 votes:
Submitted by
NM GreenLaser on Sat Jan 30, 2010 6:50pm.
Henrique Mecking was born January 23, 1952 in Brazil and became an International Grandmaster in 1971. He won the Petropolis Interzonal in 1973 an the Manila Interzonal in 1976. After each interzonal win, he lost a quarterfinals Candidates Matc... Read more »
567 reads | 2 comments | 2 votes:
Submitted by
WIM energia on Thu Jan 28, 2010 10:43pm.
How does one plan a sacrifice? Sometimes the position requires for one side to sacrifice a piece or the exchange. It is often apparent when the position is bad and some active measures need to be taken. What about the positions that are better, bu... Read more »
3410 reads | 20 comments | 3 votes:
Submitted by
GM arunabi on Wed Jan 27, 2010 7:50pm.
The Catalan is one of the most difficult openings to play against in our opinion. With reasonable play, White can almost guarantee that he will not lose and in addition get a good chance of securing a small advantage that will allow him to push ... Read more »
4762 reads | 26 comments | 7 votes:
Submitted by
WGM Natalia_Pogonina on Mon Jan 25, 2010 10:08pm.
Continuing last week's story about the '09 Russian Superfinal, I would like to share with you my game from round 3 against the experienced 2-time vice-World Champion IM Alisa Galliamova, who also happens to be the ex-wife of GM Vassilii Ivanchuk... Read more »
4700 reads | 40 comments | 8 votes:
Submitted by
chessbibliophile on Mon Jan 25, 2010 8:18am.
Caissa is a fickle goddess. Every player is at her mercy. She has no favourites.She treats them all alike, be it grandmasters or patzers. The tragedy of Lajos Portisch at the Stockholm Interzonal 1962 bears testimony to this sad truth.At that ti... Read more »
1470 reads | 14 comments | 1 vote:
Submitted by
IM Silman on Mon Jan 25, 2010 12:31am.
Explanatory Opening Books and a Reader’s Pet Line
James asked:
I hope I’m not writing this to you in error, but I seem to recall a recent article of yours on choosing an opening, when someone asked if there was a text that explained the plan... Read more »
3815 reads | 17 comments | 2 votes: