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 As a class player, the master title has always seemed like a distant level of chess ability. I have had a few decent games against masters in my life, but of course I've lost nearly all my games to them. I do have a few draws and the game I'll sho...http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/drawing-a-masterTue, 18 Aug 2009 08:27:54 -0700http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/drawing-a-masterIn a recent game I played an opponent well known for his intense opening study. We had played a semi-slav about a month prior and I felt I shouldn't repeat that line having put no effort into learning about the opening we played. So I chose to avo...http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/a-surprising-miniatureThu, 30 Jul 2009 13:55:46 -0700http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/a-surprising-miniatureToday I want to share a position where you are challenged to find the winning move. This is from a casual (I take these very seriously!) game I played recently and my failure in this position highlights two of my weaknesses. Also, I later went on ...http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/find-the-winning-moveMon, 06 Jul 2009 12:08:28 -0700http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/find-the-winning-moveThere are lots of familiar and easily assessable positional features -- bad pawns (isolated, doubled, backward), the bishop pair, central occupation, knight outposts, rooks on open files and the 7th rank, king safety -- and there are some that are...http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/the-value-of-threatsMon, 13 Apr 2009 15:07:23 -0700http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/the-value-of-threatsIt's been famously said that chess is 99% tactics. It's also been said that tactics flow naturally from superior positions. In my experience in play below the expert level, quite often a superior position crumbles due to an overlooked tactical blo...http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/overcoming-positional-problems-through-tacticsSun, 05 Apr 2009 20:30:22 -0700http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/overcoming-positional-problems-through-tacticsIn a couple of games recently I've had positions that by any positional measure had to be winning for me. Here are two positions where material is even, but everything else seems to be in my favor.     White's advantages include a protecte...http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/this-ltemgthasltemgt-to-be-winning-rightSun, 29 Mar 2009 07:27:48 -0700http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/this-ltemgthasltemgt-to-be-winning-rightOften when an attack is being mounted there is a tendency to look for decisive moves. And for good reason, forcing moves -- checks, captures, threats of checkmate -- are often the most effective. But sometimes there is no overpowering blow and the...http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/patience-in-attackingSun, 22 Mar 2009 07:10:27 -0700http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/patience-in-attackingOne of the fundamental reasons a successful mating attack occurs is that the defense does not have adequate pieces near the king. One of the chess teachers near where I live told me he first noticed in his students games that mating attacks occur ...http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/return-of-the-off-side-queenSat, 14 Mar 2009 17:19:01 -0700http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/return-of-the-off-side-queenIt happens to everybody. You have played a brilliant game and you throw away hours of hard work on one monumentally stupid move. It even famously happened to World Champion Vladimir Kramnik when he allowed a mate in 1 in his match against the comp...http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/ultimate-blundersSat, 31 Jan 2009 09:39:24 -0800http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/ultimate-blundersEvery so often we'll see a forum topic here at chess.com along the lines of "hey, my opponent won't stop checking me so that I can finish beating him." The poster seems to think this is unfair, that he's being denied his right to win by a player w...http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/perpetual-checkSat, 24 Jan 2009 11:51:18 -0800http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/perpetual-checkLearning typical mating patterns is one of the keys to being able to create checkmating combinations. In a few recent games I had mating combinations with somewhat unique patterns. Give them a try: In the first puzzle white has some extra materi...http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/checkmate-puzzlersThu, 31 Jul 2008 06:09:02 -0700http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/checkmate-puzzlersI have been playing some strong players lately and I hope to be able to fill the blog with good losses that help me learn what I'm doing wrong. In the game I will show here I have two chances to play good moves and blow it. So what was wrong with ...http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/mutual-attacksMon, 28 Jul 2008 05:19:51 -0700http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/mutual-attacksI recently played a Sicilian Defense where white played a line I rarely see. Probably because black gets a lead in development. White's compensation seems to be getting out of the main line and trading queens. But even without the queens on bo...http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/sicilian-sidelineThu, 03 Jul 2008 04:49:28 -0700http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/sicilian-sidelineFirstly, the title deserves an explanation. I see frequently enough people abbreviating Bishops of opposite colors, BOOC. This post is about the opposite, Bishops Of the Same COlor, BOSCO. Bosco is also George Constanza's favorite chocolate sa...http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/george-costanza-endingSun, 29 Jun 2008 21:56:08 -0700http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/george-costanza-endingPeople always say that the value of pieces depends on the position on the board. One of the most dramatic ways a piece changes it's value is when a pawn becomes a passed pawn and creeps closer to it's new life as a queen, or short of getti...http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/powerful-passed-pawnThu, 26 Jun 2008 06:12:17 -0700http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/powerful-passed-pawnMiniatures (games concluding in less than 25 moves) are often the result of one side leaving the king in the center. Sometimes you can delay castling, but if pawns are exchanged in the center you're better off scooting to safety as quickly as ...http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/king-in-the-centerSun, 22 Jun 2008 21:43:25 -0700http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/king-in-the-centerThis is a game I played a few months ago and I think it stands as an example of how the outcome of an amateur chess game can never be certain.   http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/amateur-see-sawWed, 18 Jun 2008 21:48:59 -0700http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/amateur-see-sawA while back I posted on the thematic Greek Gift sacrifice (Bxh7+). In the games I posted black could have drawn with proper defense but failed to find some difficult moves and lost. I have to more examples now. One where the sacrifice was temptin...http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/two-more-greek-giftsSun, 15 Jun 2008 21:15:28 -0700http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/two-more-greek-giftsI notice that good players often point out that a position will have weak white or black squares. I understand this a little bit, but I still have questions as to how we know there is a weakness and more importantly when and how can this weakness ...http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/weak-whiteblack-squaresThu, 12 Jun 2008 05:32:27 -0700http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/weak-whiteblack-squaresSometimes during our games we find an awesome tactical blow to win material or checkmate. We confidently play our masterpiece move only to have it refuted by our opponent or later in analysis. I suspect this happens to players at most (if not all)...http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/not-all-tactics-are-made-of-goldSun, 08 Jun 2008 21:04:35 -0700http://blog.chess.com/Loomis/not-all-tactics-are-made-of-gold