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 Checking yourself in for the draw Recently I played a (bad) live chess game where I was losing (objectively speaking) even before the opening phase of the game had fully concluded. Since there was enough play left to go on, I decided to go for th...http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/checking-yourself-in-for-the-drawTue, 17 Nov 2009 12:39:56 -0800http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/checking-yourself-in-for-the-draw http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-throw-away-the-ending-part-2Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:01:17 -0800http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-throw-away-the-ending-part-2Starting out: the grünfeld Recently I have been reading about the grünfeld defense against 1. d4, which is supposed to give black a dynamic game with lots of attacking chances. I consider myself to be a fan of tactical play (which is why I usua...http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/starting-out-with-the-grunfeldFri, 23 Oct 2009 06:53:15 -0700http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/starting-out-with-the-grunfeldThe Italian game is not played often at the GM level because it is considered drawish with best play from both sides. But much depends on the variation chosen. If white goes for the two knights defense and white 'accepts' with Ng5 then things can ...http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/italian-fun-in-the-two-knights-defenseWed, 21 Oct 2009 13:54:08 -0700http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/italian-fun-in-the-two-knights-defenseThis is my last club game, which I was happy to draw. After an overly bold knight manoeuvre it pretty much fell apart, but I survived the middle game and reached an ending that would have been drawn with best play. I missed that line and found mys...http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/happy-to-drawTue, 20 Oct 2009 15:14:55 -0700http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/happy-to-drawTuesday evening I played the first game of the external competiton of my chess club. It took place at a medium distance from my hometown (45 minute drive) and it was a 6 boards event. I have no rating yet so I was put on board six, where I played ...http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/club-competition-round-1Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:45:33 -0700http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/club-competition-round-1My first Live Chess 2.0 Game So today I played my first game after the official release of Live Chess 2.0. The new interface lacks some familiar features, delivers a few new ones and works in a stable manner. All in all it is good enough for me, ...http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/my-first-live-chess-20-gameSun, 04 Oct 2009 11:40:27 -0700http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/my-first-live-chess-20-gameClub Game 4 - Alekhine Defense Tuesday evening has been chess club evening for the last month, and in good tradition I'm sharing my game with you. I think it was a game well played and I consider it my best club game so far - even though I lost i...http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/club-game-4---alekhine-defenseTue, 29 Sep 2009 16:57:45 -0700http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/club-game-4---alekhine-defenseThe 10 minute Blitzing Knight Recently I started playing OTB games at my local club. Though I really like it I must admit it is taking me some time getting used to it. (The longer time controls haven't enabled me to play higher quality games yet....http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/the-10-minute-blitzing-knightSun, 27 Sep 2009 07:16:36 -0700http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/the-10-minute-blitzing-knightRC vs Nokia 6300 Recently I downloaded Chessmaster Mobile on my Nokia 6300. Put at the 'Skilled' level, I collected the following win. (without using takebacks, which is a pretty lame option anyways): http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/rc-vs-nokia-6300Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:20:52 -0700http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/rc-vs-nokia-6300Losing in the worst way In my third club game I played a 1300 player. I got an advantage fairly quickly and I played, in general, a good game with perhaps only 1 or 2 inaccuracies. There was nothing to suggest that I wouldn't take the point home....http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/losing-in-the-worst-wayTue, 22 Sep 2009 17:23:10 -0700http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/losing-in-the-worst-wayThe second game Last week I played my first club game. I got a winning position against a player rated 1630, but I managed to lose the game after a number of subsequent inaccuracies.This week I got my second game, against an opponent rated 1290. ...http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/my-second-club-gameTue, 15 Sep 2009 15:07:56 -0700http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/my-second-club-gameInaccurate Fireworks Sometimes I get taken away by this beautiful game and it may happen that I stay up longer than I should, playing on. I have found that this affects my ability to calculate, which should be no surprise. The game below falls in...http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/inaccurate-fireworksMon, 14 Sep 2009 17:33:15 -0700http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/inaccurate-fireworksTaking that knight down Sometimes all it takes for white to get an attack is removing the black f6 knight from the scene. It may be a case of personal preference, but a nice way to do this can be with a rook. (A friend of mine has a particular li...http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/taking-that-knight-downSun, 13 Sep 2009 12:57:10 -0700http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/taking-that-knight-downMy first club game Below is my first game played OTB in a chess club. I played against the oldest member (apparantly 91 years old) who was rated around 1630. There was a very nice atmosphere, but I was still a bit tense. Maybe that would help exp...http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/my-first-club-gameWed, 09 Sep 2009 05:47:46 -0700http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/my-first-club-gameHow a good strategy can save a game In the game below I played a decent opening until I blundered away my e-pawn. Though I wasn't lost immediately I knew that in a quiet game this disadvantage could become rather troubling. After a moment of con...http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/how-a-good-strategy-can-save-a-gameFri, 04 Sep 2009 16:18:54 -0700http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/how-a-good-strategy-can-save-a-gameStruggle in the Berlin Defense In this game I played black against the Ruy Lopez, and I decided to go with the Berlin Defense. Usually, that results in an early queen exchange and a relatively safe game for black. After an inaccuracy from my oppo...http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/a-struggle-in-the-berlin-defenseThu, 03 Sep 2009 15:01:35 -0700http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/a-struggle-in-the-berlin-defenseSaving the game with one move - can you find it? My opponent played a poor opening, but just when I had to start cashing in I blundered into equality. From that equality I played some very aggressive moves that put me in a most troubling position...http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/the-one-saving-moveWed, 12 Aug 2009 17:32:16 -0700http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/the-one-saving-moveDealing with the Kings Gambit as BlackLet me start this blog post by admitting that I used to dislike the Kings Gambit. I never played it as white, but every time I encountered it as black my heart skipped a beat.That is because I have never been ...http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/dealing-with-the-kings-gambit-as-blackMon, 10 Aug 2009 17:49:18 -0700http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/dealing-with-the-kings-gambit-as-blackA french game played against a good friend. Played on live chess 20 minutes with 10 sec. increments. I found the game very tense while playing, and I tried to annotate it properly with Fritz and the comments of my friend given through msn. In th...http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/clash-of-titans---a-french-prooz-gameThu, 06 Aug 2009 17:26:03 -0700http://blog.chess.com/RC_Woods/clash-of-titans---a-french-prooz-game