Online chess community where you can play chess, learn strategies and tactics, read chess news, see book reviews, find rules & tips, get free downloads, and more! http://www.chess.com/ 2007 Chess.com Chess is a scary game – as Vladimir Nabokov wrote in his book The Luzhin Defense (which, if you haven’t read, you should!): Suddenly, something occurred outside his being, a scorching pain - and he let out a loud cry, shaking his han... http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-haunted-tournament Tue, 30 Oct 2012 23:49:59 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-haunted-tournament USCL 2012 Preview - East If you are interested in the rubric based on which I'm evaluating these teams; or in my predictions for the Western Division, they can be found here. If you don't know what the US Chess League is, it is an exciting, prof... http://www.chess.com/article/view/uscl-2012-preview-east Mon, 10 Sep 2012 17:39:57 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/uscl-2012-preview-east As I write this, we are just hours from the opening pawn pushes of the 8th US Chess League season. And what an exciting season it will be! One of the major innovations of the season is that the games will be shown on both ICC and Chess.com, and th... http://www.chess.com/article/view/uscl-2012-preview-west Wed, 05 Sep 2012 02:01:37 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/uscl-2012-preview-west Mikhail Tal once described a typical case in his book. In 1959, at the Candidates Tournament (which was won by him, and which gave him the right to challenge the world champion at the time Mikhail Botvinnik) Tal was leading by 2.5 points ahead of ... http://www.chess.com/article/view/playing-for-a-draw2 Mon, 18 Jun 2012 20:32:28 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/playing-for-a-draw2 Death-Matches are grueling, all-out battles of wit, speed, skill, and endurance. For the rules governing these matches, check here. To view recordings of past Matches, go here. This article will maintain a list of all previous Death-Match Win... http://www.chess.com/article/view/death-match-historical-archive Thu, 17 May 2012 12:30:38 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/death-match-historical-archive An easy approach to the walls must be provided against: indeed they should be surrounded by uneven ground, and the roads leading to the gates should be winding and turn to the left from the gates. - Marcus Vitruvius Pollio A wall is not a natur... http://www.chess.com/article/view/behind-the-stone-wall Wed, 16 May 2012 23:36:21 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/behind-the-stone-wall Since the chess.com staff seems to have run out of good April Fool's Day jokes, I have decided to post an article on joke chess problems. They are puzzles in chess which use humor as a primary or secondary element. ... http://www.chess.com/article/view/joke-chess Sun, 01 Apr 2012 17:07:21 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/joke-chess Aotearoa, or "the land of the long white cloud", or simple New Zealand as most of you know it hosted an exceptional event- the Queenstown Classic Chess Tournament. It is exceptional first of all for its occurrence-- only once every three years-- a... http://www.chess.com/article/view/in-aotearoa Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:01:11 -0800 http://www.chess.com/article/view/in-aotearoa This is how the German team must have felt after winning the prestigious European Team Competition. I am a kind of breaking the chronological turn of events, but so be it! What these players did was surprising, exceptional and thrilling. After all... http://www.chess.com/article/view/primus-inter-pares Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:55:54 -0800 http://www.chess.com/article/view/primus-inter-pares Chess... by the numbers! Our favorite game is amazing. http://www.chess.com/article/view/chess-by-the-numbers Wed, 17 Aug 2011 10:21:51 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/chess-by-the-numbers The cover of my new book, How to Reassess Your Chess 4th Edition, contains a secret that might take the skills of a Sherlock Holmes to unearth. The first that notices this anomaly and sends the correct answer to David Pruess (at dpruessatchess.com... http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-case-of-the-cover-mystery Tue, 26 Oct 2010 15:32:22 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-case-of-the-cover-mystery Dr. Fernand Gobet is a professor of Cognitive Psychology and an International Master.  He is a former Swiss Junior Champion and Swiss Champion, and was co-editor of the Swiss Chess Review from 1981 to 1989.  He wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on th... http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-cognitive-psychology-of-chess Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:15:17 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-cognitive-psychology-of-chess The chess club of the English coastal town of Hastings was founded in 1882 and in 1895 the club organized a tournament that was the strongest ever held up to that time. Taking place over the month of August, it included all the leading players of ... http://www.chess.com/article/view/hastings-1895 Tue, 20 Apr 2010 23:13:19 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/hastings-1895 The Best Opening Ever by meniscus The Scotch, 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6? 3. d4! is a direct attack on Black's audacious attempt to blockade the white e pawn and form a cowardly defence* of this blockade. White can claim a psychological victory as e... http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-scotch-the-best-opening-ever Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:02:29 -0800 http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-scotch-the-best-opening-ever   Theme music begins. Fade in on The Stranger, who is walking along a city street at night. He stops at a window and peers inside, where many chess games are going on. He watches as the theme music continues. When the music ends, The Stranger o... http://www.chess.com/article/view/chess-fantasies-i-the-stranger Sun, 01 Nov 2009 10:34:31 -0800 http://www.chess.com/article/view/chess-fantasies-i-the-stranger In 1968 the movie entitled The Thomas Crown Affair was released, starring Steve McQueen as Thomas Crown and Faye Dunaway as Vicki Anderson.  Thomas Crown stages a two million dollar bank heist while Vicki is the insurnace investigator who suspect... http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-thomas-crown-affair Thu, 29 Oct 2009 14:11:00 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-thomas-crown-affair   For the most part, the rules of chess are simple and easy to explain.  The object of the game, to trap the enemy king, is understandable to a five year old.  The movement of the pieces is straightforward and clearly defined.  The players ... http://www.chess.com/article/view/rule-changes-thatll-never-happen-part-2-castling Fri, 18 Sep 2009 14:14:44 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/rule-changes-thatll-never-happen-part-2-castling The Hindustantimes has been one of the numerous newspapers that has published an article on Vladislav Tkachiev's forfeit after being heavily drunk and falling asleep at a chess board. A truly grandmaster-level PR move! It's too bad that Toiletga... http://www.chess.com/article/view/chess-beauty-contests-pros-and-cons2 Tue, 08 Sep 2009 16:51:15 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/chess-beauty-contests-pros-and-cons2 Of course, you all know the story. It's practically American folklore. There at the San Mateo Chess Club one night, a blitz tournament was in progress. A long struggle took place in a game involving a Russian immigrant named Boris Hrinczechowitsch... http://www.chess.com/article/view/rule-changes-thatll-never-happen-part-1-stalemates Sun, 23 Aug 2009 08:06:01 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/rule-changes-thatll-never-happen-part-1-stalemates Doomclaw asked: When do you think is the right time to offer a draw? I have been confused by this question since I started learning about chess.Dear Doomclaw:An interesting question! There is actually a bit of etiquette related to draw offers. F... http://www.chess.com/article/view/offering-a-draw Sun, 16 Aug 2009 17:27:57 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/offering-a-draw