Are you looking to increase your rating?
Here's my recap of game two in the FIDE World Championship 2023 between Ding Liren (White) and Ian Nepomniachtchi (Black), without spoiling the ending. Ding Liren surprises us first with an early h3 in the opening. They head towards a Queen's Ga...
Round 1 of the World Chess Championship 2023. Ian Nepomniachtchi has the white pieces against Ding Liren. The players went for a Ruy Lopez, and this wasn't a boring old draw. We see some winning chances right out of the opening and pressure applie...
I was on a good run in the last Titled Tuesday with a perfect score. You'll never guess who I got paired against. Magnus Carlsen! We played a Catalan/Ragozin-type structure, and I had the black pieces. This is a game I'll never forget, and I wante...
Well, this is embarrassing. I hope this game teaches you that anything can happen. You can beat experts, masters, etc. They all make blunders, even beginner ones sometimes. It can also teach you not to let your guard down! Sometimes we lose sigh...
About 50% of your opponents play 1.e4. For a response, I recommend the Caro-Kann. What do you play against 1.d4 or some rarer moves (1.c4, 1.Nf3, etc.)? Here's an introduction to a complete repertoire against anything that isn't 1.e4! You can st...
Round 3 of the February Swiss 60+30 over-the-board event featured a Caro-Kann Advance variation. I consistently missed the main idea of playing f6 in that pawn structure. Something to learn from! I was afraid of the kingside attack, and hopef...
Round 5 of the Winter Swiss OTB event. A win in this final round secures at least a tie for first place in the event with 4.5/5 points. I'm playing the White pieces against Kevin Gaustad, who is rated about 1800 and always plays exciting chess. He...
The fourth-round OTB recap from the Winter Swiss tournament. I played white against Daniel Garrett, the second-highest-rated player in the event. I played 1.e4 to see if Daniel would play a Caro-Kann, to which I had some ideas in mind. He played t...
My third-round OTB recap of the local Winter Swiss tournament. I was black against Michael Kern, at his peak rating of 1825 and rising. I thought he would play the London System, so I went for a King's Indian Defense setup. I planned to play aggre...
Second round OTB recap of the Winter Swiss event. I played against Isaac, a new USCF player who beat a 1400 in his first tournament game! I went for a Catalan-setup against his Tarrasch structure. After some early tension in the center, there was ...
OTB recap of the first round of the Winter Swiss event. I played against Alejandro, an aggressive player that put me on my heels right out of the opening. We played a Caro-Kann Two Knights variation with a knight sacrifice on f7. There is a mix of...
The 2022 Speed Chess Championship is starting soon! Sixteen of the biggest names in chess compete to be the world's best online speed chess player. If you predict a perfect bracket, you can win $10,000! Check out the bracket announcement for more ...
Happy November! It's time to get back into the swing of things and improve your chess. In a previous post, I went into detail about how to gain 400 points in 12 months. Two activities stand out as the most important for chess improvement. Play...
Recap of the fifth and final round of the Rochester Championship. I played against National Master Thompson, always a formidable opponent to face. We played a Caro-Kann Exchange variation with an early Qc7. The game had an interesting dynamic beca...
Round 4 recap of the Rochester Championship. I played against the Daniel Garrett, an adult improver pushing for the National Master title. We played a Caro-Kann Gurgenidze System out of a Caro-Kann Advance. The game includes an interesting bishop ...
Round 3 recap of the Rochester Championship. I played against the David McNeil, an old friend from childhood Minnesota chess. David is rated 2085 and has been making a push for the National Master title. We played a Bogo-Indian that came out of a ...
Round 2 recap of the Rochester Championship. I played against the co-leader Michael Kern. Michael is a young adult who is making a push now towards expert level (2000+ USCF). We played a Slav Exchange and had a tense battle throughout. The game in...
Here's the round 1 recap of the Rochester Championship. I played against Vihaan Pendse, a fast-improving junior player rated about 1900 USCF. We played the Caro-Kann Tartakower Accepted, which is chapter 5 in the ChessGoals Caro-Kann Course. I was...
The Sinquefield Cup 2022 takes place from September 2-11, with a rest day on September 7th. Eight of the top eleven players in the world are competing this year, including World Champion GM Magnus Carlsen. In round one, Magnus played the winner of...
The FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022 has finished! Coach JD and I highlight Armenia's Gabriel Sargissian against Spain's Alexei Shirov. We have ChessGoals courses that are currently 25% off during the olympiad with coupon code olympiad. We have a ...
Round 10 of the FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022 has finished! Coach JD and I highlight India's Gukesh D versus Uzbekistan's Nordibek Abdusattorov. These are the 2nd and 3rd highest-rated juniors, only behind Alireza Firouzja. Gukesh D is only 16, and Nor...
Round 9 of the FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022 has finished! I highlight America's Fabiano Caruana versus Greece's Mastrovasilis, Dimitrios. The game starts with a Sicilian Sveshnikov, and Fabiano plays aggressively out of the gates. Dimitrios misses a f...
Round 8 of the FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022 has finished! Coach JD & I highlight America's Fabiano Caruana versus India's prodigy Gukesh D. The game starts with a Sicilian, and Fabiano chooses a positional sideline. Caruana was able to get a good ...
Round 7 of the FIDE Chess Olympiad 2022 has finished! Coach JD & I highlight America's Wesley So versus Armenia's Melkumyan, Hrant. The game starts with a Caro-Kann Two Knights variation. An excellent offbeat system that is gaining popularity ...
