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 for those of you who know from my avatar that i support and encourage the saving of these magnificent animals. They are the most gentle giants who use their enormous power only to defend their family group. Titus was a young male around the time ...http://blog.chess.com/PerfectGent/titus-the-gorilla-is-deadSat, 19 Sep 2009 13:25:29 -0700http://blog.chess.com/PerfectGent/titus-the-gorilla-is-deadISBN 1-85744-269-5De la Maza in common with a few other visionaries of his ilk have the ability to take a complex activity , such as chess, strip out the essentials and present them in a logical progressive manner that can be understood by players...http://blog.chess.com/PerfectGent/a-review-of-rapid-chess-improvement-michael-de-la-mazaWed, 29 Jul 2009 06:33:00 -0700http://blog.chess.com/PerfectGent/a-review-of-rapid-chess-improvement-michael-de-la-mazaAny of the better players who have  played against a Lower Rated Player (LRP), either in a friendly or a teaching game,  will be familiar with this position.The LRP will generally play good developing moves (usually following an opening book) up...http://blog.chess.com/PerfectGent/so-what-do-i-do-nowTue, 14 Jul 2009 04:44:42 -0700http://blog.chess.com/PerfectGent/so-what-do-i-do-nowFirst let me define 'benefit from' as opposed to 'using' an engine during a game.To benefit from is to use analysis done by others or oneself in previous games. Now you might think that this is rare and you would not possibly use a game analysed i...http://blog.chess.com/PerfectGent/dont-we-all-benefit-from-chess-enginesWed, 27 May 2009 03:26:25 -0700http://blog.chess.com/PerfectGent/dont-we-all-benefit-from-chess-enginesThis absurd statement is put forward many times in discussions on cheating. Quite often by titled players who really ought to know better.I would like to expose this non-sequiter for the arrant nonsense that it is.1: The high rated player could be...http://blog.chess.com/PerfectGent/you-cant-have-a-high-chesscom-rating-if-you-dont-have-an-official-ratingTue, 19 May 2009 09:10:25 -0700http://blog.chess.com/PerfectGent/you-cant-have-a-high-chesscom-rating-if-you-dont-have-an-official-ratingsorry its a day late but i was tied up. yesterday 2nd dec 2008 was my 34th wedding anniversary. 34 years with the greatest lady in the whole universe. The rock to which my life is anchored. In this crazy world of instant divorce how did we mana...http://blog.chess.com/PerfectGent/34-yearsWed, 03 Dec 2008 12:25:03 -0800http://blog.chess.com/PerfectGent/34-yearssome time agao i put a few progs in the download area. over time they have become buried so i thought i would just raise their profile a little by linking to them here. 105 games with black wins using the latvian gambit http://www.chess.com/dow...http://blog.chess.com/PerfectGent/progs-to-downloadWed, 17 Sep 2008 18:30:39 -0700http://blog.chess.com/PerfectGent/progs-to-downloadI made this video some time ago and put it on youtube, watch it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOIgnoG5YjY http://blog.chess.com/PerfectGent/video-explaining-the-en-passant-ruleMon, 25 Aug 2008 03:05:00 -0700http://blog.chess.com/PerfectGent/video-explaining-the-en-passant-rulePlease note that these are guidelines and not hard and fast rules. First learn them and then the trick is knowing when to disregard them.1: piece values so that you can judge the price of an exchangepawn = 1N = B = 3R = 5Q = 102: opening moves dev...http://blog.chess.com/PerfectGent/general-notes-for-the-less-experienced-playerFri, 22 Aug 2008 00:57:46 -0700http://blog.chess.com/PerfectGent/general-notes-for-the-less-experienced-playerin my teenage years - waaaay back in the 1960s i always said that i would rather die a happy 30 year old than a miserable 70 year oldToday (21-08-2008) i reach the grand old age of 62. I am still reasonably happy so i think i am winning.I look bac...http://blog.chess.com/PerfectGent/random-musings-on-reaching-62Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:00:23 -0700http://blog.chess.com/PerfectGent/random-musings-on-reaching-62