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 Benko Gambit is one of Black's modern tries against d4.  Black attempts to sacrifice a flank pawn to gain open files on the queenside and wrest the initiative away from White.  Top Grandmasters such as Carlsen, Topalov, and even Kasparov hav...http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/the-battering-benkoTue, 27 Oct 2009 19:22:59 -0700http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/the-battering-benkoHere is a fun live chess tactic that I played to deliver mate.  See move list for variations. http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/morphys-mate3Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:49:43 -0700http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/morphys-mate3Today, I was able to play in the Kansas Grade Championships.  It was the first scholastic tournament of the season.  I came into the tournament worrying only about making things crazy and dynamic.  I finished off my top two opponents (both rate...http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/bodens-mate3Sat, 19 Sep 2009 16:35:17 -0700http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/bodens-mate3It has been a while since I have blogged.  This is because I have found nothing particular interesting to blog about.  But, I would like to talk about a subject that I have been struggling with recently.  Burnout.  Virtually every chess player...http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/dealing-with-burnoutWed, 02 Sep 2009 17:19:53 -0700http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/dealing-with-burnoutLast week, I played in the Kansas Open.  It was a strong tournament and I was the lowest rated player entered in the tournament.  In round one, I drew a 1900 player as White in the French Defense.  I allowed a strong sacrifice in round two and...http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/nice-kansas-open-winFri, 17 Jul 2009 15:35:59 -0700http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/nice-kansas-open-winOkay, this is the one I meant to post for part two.  It demonstrates how deadly White's kingside attack can be.  Anand had absolutely no counterplay and could only wait to get crushed. http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/kasparov-defeats-the-scheveningen-part-iiiThu, 25 Jun 2009 14:35:07 -0700http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/kasparov-defeats-the-scheveningen-part-iiiYesterday, I tried to post a game between Kasparov and Anand.  Kasparov won fairly quickly thanks to a big kingside initiative.  However, when I hit the save and preview button, my internet froze and I was unable to post it.  So technically, th...http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/kasparov-defeats-the-scheveningen-part-iiThu, 25 Jun 2009 09:43:59 -0700http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/kasparov-defeats-the-scheveningen-part-iiI recently have begun studying the games of Kasparov.  And I decided that I would learn much if I fully annotated Kasparov victories in various openings.  So this is as much for me as you; it gives me a game to look back on after the fact.  So...http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/kasparov-defeats-the-scheveningen-part-iTue, 23 Jun 2009 13:36:57 -0700http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/kasparov-defeats-the-scheveningen-part-iViews are varied as to the best way to improve at chess.  Some say that learning about planning, key squares, minority attacks, and other positional aspects is the best way to improve at chess.  While this may generate more knowledge about the g...http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/the-road-to-chess-improvement-tacticsTue, 02 Jun 2009 11:58:35 -0700http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/the-road-to-chess-improvement-tacticsNothing in chess has more psychological power than a draw offer.  The draw offer can be a very good thing, saving time if it is obvious that nobody can make progress.  However, I am under the belief that offering the draw hurts the player who o...http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/the-draw-offerSun, 24 May 2009 16:51:34 -0700http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/the-draw-offerI recently played a game where my opponent fell into a trap and let me sacrifice on f7 for a mating combination.  He was playing moves rather quickly and probably didn't see my attacking possibilties.  Hopefully this will be a reminder to you to...http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/dangers-on-f7Sun, 17 May 2009 09:05:22 -0700http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/dangers-on-f7The purpose of this series is to let the player understand the ideas behind the Closed Sicilian rather than just main line theory.  In this game, many of the ideas of the Closed Siclian come into play, which is very instructive. http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/the-closed-sicilian-part-1Sun, 10 May 2009 19:37:13 -0700http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/the-closed-sicilian-part-1This game was played last Saturday against a 2171.  We both missed a winning move for him, but I think I played well otherwise.  It culminated into a nice finish. http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/my-highest-winTue, 07 Apr 2009 08:15:39 -0700http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/my-highest-winThis is a game I played at Supernationals.  It featured a nice closed Sicilian. http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/a-nice-closed-sicilianMon, 06 Apr 2009 12:21:29 -0700http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/a-nice-closed-sicilianI was just fooling around at a local bookstore in a two minute game against one of my friends.  I played an brilliant knight sac and decided to sacrifice my queen because I felt like it.  This lead to an aesthetically pleasing mate. http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/an-unsound-sacrifice-leading-to-a-nice-mateSat, 21 Mar 2009 18:26:04 -0700http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/an-unsound-sacrifice-leading-to-a-nice-mateThis was an OTB game that I played from a tournament on Saturday.  I was paired with a 1950 rated player who really liked tactical positions.  This was a fun game with accurate play from both sides.  I was definitely better, and probably winnin...http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/very-sharp-classical-frenchSun, 22 Feb 2009 05:06:17 -0800http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/very-sharp-classical-frenchThis was a game I played in a tournament on Saturday.  I was White.  My opponent was so focused on attacking my space advantage that he left his kingside without many defenders.  I was able to take advantage of this through a great combination....http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/sweet-otb-gameSun, 08 Feb 2009 18:51:47 -0800http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/sweet-otb-gameI know a lot of you absolutely hate playing against the Sicilian.  Some of you refrain from playing e4 because of it.  However, Nf3 after c5 is actually a very flexible move.  White makes Black show his hand.  Then White can choose the variati...http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/how-to-confuse-a-najdorf-or-dragon-playerMon, 26 Jan 2009 19:22:57 -0800http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/how-to-confuse-a-najdorf-or-dragon-playerI had a 6 month long stint with d4 and I am calling it quits.  The reasons?  I really like d4, but there are too many defenses involved and they usually know more than me.  Plus, they can prepare drawing lines against me.  Also, I am a natural...http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/going-on-back-to-e4Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:04:54 -0800http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/going-on-back-to-e4I played this game last night at a bookstore.  This game featured a fun variation that's almost a novelty with castling on opposite sides.  It also showed some good defense and some inaccuracies by both sides. http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/a-dynamic-30-minute-gameSat, 29 Nov 2008 05:42:18 -0800http://blog.chess.com/KillaBeez/a-dynamic-30-minute-game