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In my last article I discussed “fetish chess moves.” I consider a move to be a fetish if it’s out of the ordinary, has serious positional clout, and gives the person who played it such deep pleasure that his reaction can almost be called org... | Read More
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My next few articles will be about the US Championship that took place from May 2-13th in St. Louis. I was a participant in the women's event, where ten players competed for a purse of $65,000 and the title of US Woman Champion. This event is gran... | Read More
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Last week I showed a couple of examples of a king hunt. This week we will see another example of a deposed king being chased across the board. First it somewhat willingly steps into the center, with the leader of the white pieces hoping that his o... | Read More
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I hope the previous five parts of this article managed to convince you that the King and Pawn endgames are very complicated. Therefore, a decision to go for such an endgame is a major commitment and shouldn't be taken lightly. In the fi... | Read More
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A viewer asked if, in the Ruy Lopez, White should play 5.d3 or 5.O-O after 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6:
I responded that while 5.d3 is currently fashionable among some higher level players, that does not make it better. Top GMs are only... | Read More
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I’m going to come clean here. It’s time to let the cat out of the bag and admit to something strange and weird. It concerns my chess, and it’s about a particular chess move. No, I’m not going to wax poetic about a favorite opening or favor... | Read More
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Chess openings are a bit like fashion - they follow trends. Certain lines become popular and then just fade away. In most cases, an elite player (or most likely his team) prepares an opening for a tournament and then everyone else follows his lead... | Read More
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For the next two weeks, I will again return to the theme of Attack and Defense - more specifically, the phenomenon known as the "king hunt."
Although nowadays many of us are eating food which is farmed - such as farmed fish, chickens i... | Read More
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No discussion about King and Pawn endgames can be complete without mention of a pawn breakthrough. The following endgame is well known and yet extremely delightful no matter how many times you've seen it. I remember it was one of the f... | Read More
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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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My first review in the "My Bookshelf" column was "Dynamic Chess Strategy" by Mihai Suba. The title of the book I am reviewing this week is almost identical. Yet the books are completely different. Both books are modern middlegame books, and both f... | Read More
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Last week we analyzed the game Koull - Stanciu where the leader of the Scotland's women Olympic team resigned in an absolutely drawn position. Unfortunately, such a case of the 'ultimate blunder' is more common in pawn endgames then you might thin... | Read More
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Chess isn’t just about playing a human or computer opponent. Chess history can become a lifelong addiction, chess news is avidly followed by people who stopped playing decades before, and going over master games can be exciting, relaxing, instru... | Read More
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It’s been several decades since the last time Paris has been the site of a top-tier chess tournament. The French city of Lyon played host to Kasparov’s title defense match against Karpov in 1990, but other than that, nobody here can se... | Read More
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Continuing on the topic of Typical Positions in 1.d4 openings, one cannot not mention Nimzo-Indian Defense! This opening is one of the most complex and the resulting positions can be very hard to handle. In my preparation for the US Women's Champi... | Read More
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Thanks to the Hatboro-Horsham High School Hall of Fame luncheon, I performed this show in suit and tie .
There was a question or two about my involvement with the Kasparov-Deep Blue matches. Although I worked at both matches, I was only involved... | Read More
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I would like to start today's installment of my column with a basic position somebody posted in the comments, which surprisingly was difficult for some of you.
You should remember this simple rule: once the King gets to the sixth rank (th... | Read More
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No time to study opening theory? Shock your opponent with an SOS! With an SOS you deviate early (usually before move 6!) from regular lines in mainstream openings. So you will reach positions you have actually studied without having memorized tons... | Read More
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In Part One of How To Play Against Old Guys, I gave the weaknesses and strengths of older players. I’ll repeat them here:
WEAKNESSES
* Old players get tired. Really tired. Often really fast.
* Old players can (and do!) easily lose c... | Read More
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He didn´t like school but has a masters degree in computer science, his nickname is "Captain Mag-Pan" (according to IM Danny Rensch) and he happens to be a fan of Gandhi... Meet Grandmaster Magesh Chandran Panchanathan from Madurai in India, ... | Read More
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Not all openings require knowledge of specific lines; this is especially true for 1.d4 openings. I have been playing 1.d4 for many years now and with minimum energy spent on openings, I manage to get high scores vs like-rated opponents. This is pr... | Read More
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If you read the first part of this article, then you already know that, despite popular belief to the contrary, King and pawn endgames can be very tricky. Even the most basic position, with just one pawn on the board, is impossible to play well if... | Read More
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The media-shy grandmaster Roman Yakovlevich Dzindzichasvili, once the number four player in the world, has rarely if ever given an interview before. We learn about his meetings with some of the true giants and geniuses of chess - Fischer, Botvinn... | Read More
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This week I will be reviewing a unique book - 200 Open Games, by the former "Vice-World Champion", David Bronstein. Rather than fully annotated games, this book presents 200 short vignettes, each followed by an un-annotated game, with one diagram.... | Read More