I love chess, but...
I love chess. "How much?", I hear you cry. A lot - honest. Most of my spare time is taken up with chess which makes what I am about to admit all the stranger. I like to read my chess books (I've got about 50 so far,...
Teaching chess to my wife
I have been happily married to my wonderful wife Catherine for 7 years and although she loves me, she doesn't share my passion for chess. As a result, she has tolerated my addiction with (mostly!) good humour but has never expressed any ...
Is playing chess good for you?
The great Benjamin Franklin (pictured) was a big chess fan. His essay on the 'Morals of Chess' is well known. A flavour of his opinions can gained from this quote: "The Game of Chess is not merely an idle amusement. Severa...
Chess gamesmanship - a confession
I have something to confess. I wish to seek forgiveness from the Goddess of chess, Caissa (pictured!) My actions as a foolish youth have troubled my conscience for over two decades and I feel that I the time is right to prostrate myself before h...
The best advice I ever received
A while ago on my blogger blog I received what I think is perhaps the best chess improvement advice I have ever received. I thought it might be of interest to Chess.com members, so I repeat it below: For background info, I'm 35 yo...
Pawn Power
The theme of my last blog post – the terminology used in chess leads me nicely onto a book that I recently started reading. ‘Pawn Power’ by Hans Kmoch was originally published in 1959 and I have the more recent Dover reprin...
Zwischenzug (bless you!)
Chess has many technical terms for various concepts that are unfamiliar to those who haven't sampled the delights of the game. If you say you are having trouble with "interference" for example, most people will probably think y...
Too old for Chess?
As I surveyed my face in the mirror this morning I reflected on the fact that although my hair may be starting to turn grey and also wear inexorably thin on the crown of my head (damn that male pattern baldness), at least I have gained the wisdom ...
The Hitchhikers Guide to Chess
Here's a question for you. Just answer quickly with your gut feeling: Bishop v Knight - which is stronger?Of course, the standard answer to this question always begins with "It depends on...", but is there really an ultimate answer?...
Game Over at Last?
This month marks the 10th Anniversary of Garry Kasparov's infamous match with Deep Blue. That match marked the first time that a chess computer beat a reigning world chess champion in a match. Of course, much recrimination followed that result...
Fidelity Chess Challenger
Despite today's chess software for PC's being much stronger than older dedicated desktop computers, I still have a soft spot for my first chess computer, Fidelity's Chess Challenger 7 (pictured). Some of the other models in the fidelit...
