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 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 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 Andy Soltis' "Chess to Enjoy" column in the February, 1981 issue of "Chess Life" (yes, young'uns, he really has been writing the column for that long) opened with the provocative claim, "Immortality is hard to come by, but in case you're intereste... http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-maximum-mobility-puzzle Sun, 26 Jul 2009 20:13:07 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-maximum-mobility-puzzle I confess, I'm not much of a party animal.  I suppose in general that people suppose that persons who are interested in chess aren't really so much interested in parties.  However, such a supposition is not only somewhat prejudiced, it is also d... http://www.chess.com/article/view/have-fun-with-chess-throw-a-chess-party Sat, 30 May 2009 13:01:28 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/have-fun-with-chess-throw-a-chess-party The Euler's 8x8 magic square. A magic square of order n is an arrangement of n^2 numbers (usually 1, 2, 3...) such that the sum of the numbers in all the rows, columns and big diagonals is a constant. For example: Here the sum of all rows, co... http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-eulers-8x8-magic-square Wed, 13 May 2009 07:01:36 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-eulers-8x8-magic-square The problem consists in place 8 queen in a chessboard, but neither queen is able to attack other queen. I found this solution after 30 min, but don´t see it untill you solve the problem by yourself, totally are 12 unique solutions (92 counting r... http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-8-queens-problem Tue, 12 May 2009 09:16:19 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-8-queens-problem Here is a link some of you may be interested in. It's an interview with Rex Sinquefield, the founder of the Scholastic Center in St. Louis. http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com/2009/05/man-behind-us-championship.html http://www.chess.com/article/view/interview-with-founder-of-scholastic-chess-center-in-st-louis Sat, 09 May 2009 12:40:15 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/interview-with-founder-of-scholastic-chess-center-in-st-louis The opening ceremonies were scheduled to begin at 7:00 P.M. and I arrived at the beautiful site on the campus of St. Louis University about half an hour early. The event took place at the Museum of Art on campus, which is now presenting a Marcel D... http://www.chess.com/article/view/pictures-of-the-2009-chess-championship-in-st-louis Sat, 09 May 2009 12:23:26 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/pictures-of-the-2009-chess-championship-in-st-louis The weather could not have been nicer for the outdoor opening ceremonies. It took place on an open field behind the Museum of Art, with servers offering an assortment of delicacies.After exiting the Marcel Duchamp exhibit inside the building, I wa... http://www.chess.com/article/view/steve-goldberg-covers-us-chess-championship2 Sat, 09 May 2009 12:07:40 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/steve-goldberg-covers-us-chess-championship2 As the opening remarks began, I found an open seat directly behind Boris Gulko, Gregory Kaidanov and Yury Shulman - a nicer trio of gentlemen would be hard to find.After opening introductions, St. Louis Chess Club founder Rex Sinquefield got up to... http://www.chess.com/article/view/steve-goldberg-covers-us-chess-championship Sat, 09 May 2009 12:05:51 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/steve-goldberg-covers-us-chess-championship Folks, there is something very special about the upcoming U.S. Chess Championships in St. Louis. People here are excited, they're smiling, and the media assault is beginning. Newspapers, radio stations and television stations have started to reali... http://www.chess.com/article/view/2009-scholastic-chess-tournament Sat, 09 May 2009 11:43:31 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/2009-scholastic-chess-tournament How good do you think you are? Good? We'll see. This game is something that I found in a Chess Life. It had two masters facing off in London. This is a game that they played. Now if you think you are good enough then you can try to guess the next ... http://www.chess.com/article/view/can-you-guess-the-next-move Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:26:47 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/can-you-guess-the-next-move Greetings CLO readers! The 2009 US Championship is fast approaching, and in two days, it will also be time to enter the third annual Fantasy Chess competition! After reading the rules below, login and go to this url to enter: http://uschess.org/... http://www.chess.com/article/view/uscf-offering-fantasy-chess-2009 Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:32:55 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/uscf-offering-fantasy-chess-2009 http://www.chess.com/article/view/bishops-ending Fri, 17 Apr 2009 23:00:32 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/bishops-ending The Tangled Web We Weave   I asked (wrote a note to) the deaf, elderly man I play chess with to stop saying "STUPID" all the time.  He berates himself.  He gives no credit to the rhyme and reason of my game.  He seeks the perfect crim... http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-tangled-web-we-weave2 Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:00:15 -0700 http://www.chess.com/article/view/the-tangled-web-we-weave2