A big part of the ‘mental game’ is learning how to manage our emotions, so that we control our actions rather than being a ‘slave’ to our emotions.
The influence of our emotions is well summarised by the ‘Law ...
Discover how to defend better in your chess games
Introduction
The importance of defending well in chess is a pattern in the games of both my students and the best chess players in the world. As the saying goes in team sports, 'Offence w...
Background
In a monumental turn, the chess world was rocked by the news of 17-year-old Gukesh's triumph in the 2024 FIDE Candidates, securing a remarkable 9/14. This victory has catapulted him into the spotlight as he prepares to challenge Ding ...
Have you ever found yourself saying, 'I want to read more books' more often than you actually read? What do you think has changed in your life that led to this shift in your reading habits? I used to be like that - reminiscing about my childh...
A Step-By-Step Process To Getting In A 'Flow' State During Our Chess Games
Introduction
In this post, I will describe how to get in 'the zone' or 'flow' during our chess games.
'The Zone' refers to a state of complete focus and concentratio...
A common challenge when trying to improve at something is that we place conditions on what we'll do to improve. We see limited options (or even only one choice) for overcoming an obstacle because we 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦. A c...
What makes a great student?
Over the years, I’ve taught individuals from various backgrounds, each with unique qualities. Reflecting on these experiences, I’ve observed specific characteristics that stand out in those who excel. ...
Discover how to change your environment for the better so that you can live a better life and play better chess!
Introduction
Hello chess friends!
I took a break from posting for a few weeks (as I was overwhelmed with IRL things), so I h...
Hello chess friends!In today's post, I will share with you the Carlsen Variation of the Exchange QGD, and how to play it as Black!You may be wondering - what exactly is the Carlsen Variation?The Carlsen Variation arises after the following moves: ...
𝐀 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐧 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐨𝐦𝐛, 𝐈𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐡𝐲 𝐒𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞
While working with a student, I discovered a sophisticated opening bomb in the London System, which I'd like to share with you.
Our position arises after 𝟏.𝐝𝟒 𝐝𝟓 𝟐.𝐍𝐟𝟑 𝐍𝐟𝟔 𝟑.𝐁𝐟𝟒 𝐜𝟓 𝟒.𝐞𝟑 𝐍𝐜𝟔 𝟓.𝐍𝐛𝐝𝟐 ...
Hello chess friends!Would you like to discover what's stopping you from getting a chess rating over 1600?Then check out my new training video, 'Potholes & Detours From The Road To 1600'! Would you like to discover what's stopping you from...
IntroductionWhy is it that some chess improvers will achieve their chess goals in 2024...but most won't? Something I often talk about in my recent content is the 'mental game' of chess and chess improvement. The mental game is a broad sp...
In this post, I will share with you an interesting idea against the Caro-Kann, which was first played in a Grandmaster game in 2017 (and once before that in 2014), but is now a quite trendy answer to the old main line of the Caro-Kann, with 1...
You may be wondering...What is 𝐔𝐧𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠?Why does this especially matter for 𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬?How can we 'unlearn' the things 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭?Let's discuss each of these.Unlearning means 'to make an effort to f...
IntroductionWhat is the most annoying system for Caro-Kann players to face?The easiest answer would be 'The line that scores best for White', but we can't purely rely on the statistics to determine this. For instance, White's best scoring lin...
Do you want to retain much more of what you learn in your study for the day?
Allow me to share a short story.
When I resumed coaching privately in April 2023, I had a lot of new experiences from the last few years:
- Selling low-tic...
How many opening variations are there in chess?If you've looked at the Chess.com Explorer, under 'Master Games', you'll notice that the branches quickly become very wide:
For instance, we see here that 3.Bb5 is played more than all other moves c...
Today I want to discuss the role of approval/recognition in our chess improvement journey.The fundamental process of how we improve at chess is to:1. Do something2. Get feedback3. Adapt or reinforce a pattern based on that feedback. Howe...
Looking at it from a broad perspective, I consider the greatest significance of chess to be as a model for effective decision-making in life.In fact, this significance - of simulating life in a way where the constraints of the game give us a sys...
Would you like to play the opening like GM Hikaru Nakamura?Here's the short answer to that question. For the long answer, continue reading!In this post, I'll share with you some games by played by Hikaru with his most effective system with Bl...
Dear chess friends,I have some big news to announce - however, it's not what you may think If you've read some of my previous posts, or watched some of my Youtube videos, you will probably know that I retired from competitive chess play in early 2...
Discover the simplest ideas of 1.d4 for White, through some dynamic games of the old masters!
Introduction
Ten years ago, I was a very dogmatic coach, who believed that was only 'one best way' to master chess.
I had only just become an Int...
In today's post, I will share with you ten of the best Scandinavian games played by the leading expert of the Scandinavian Defense (1.e4 d5).But first...who is the leading expert of this opening?Is it Hikaru Nakamura? Nakamura is certainly th...
In this post I'll share with you a recent series of mine, showing you how I like to play 1.e4 in my Chess.com games!Here is the series in video format (starting with 1.e4 e5):
In these videos I mainly focus on how my recommendations in Cru...
For a Grandmaster like myself, openings aren't a 'set and forget' thing - we're constantly scouring the databases and broadcasts for new, interesting games. By playing through games each day, we don't just get the inside scoop on new moves th...