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 A few videos of blitz games from the recent World Blitz Championship have emerged on YouTube.  This is my favourite, between Carlsen and Karjakin on the final day (round 34). It's great to see an actual video of the game, to remind us just how q...http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/carlsen-v-karjakin-blitz-videoFri, 20 Nov 2009 13:15:04 -0800http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/carlsen-v-karjakin-blitz-videoDylan Loeb McClain has a few nice quotes from Magnus Carlsen following on from his win in Nanjing in his latest NY Times 'Gambit' chess blog. Link here. I think 2900 Elo may be too much to ask, but the fact that he thinks it's possible shows his ...http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/magnus-2900-is-not-impossibleTue, 13 Oct 2009 03:41:24 -0700http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/magnus-2900-is-not-impossibleA few videos featuring rare photos of Bobby Fischer have recently surfaced on the internet.  I'd seen one before (with different music in the background) but the others were new to me, so I thought it was worth sharing them here - they're definit...http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/bobby-fischer-photosTue, 13 Oct 2009 03:04:18 -0700http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/bobby-fischer-photosOne nice feature of Chess.com that doesn't get much promotion is the photo section which allows all members to upload their favourite snaps of themselves, their family, their pets, their favourite celebrities etc. Creating an album and adding pho...http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/picture-this-your-photos-at-chesscomSun, 06 Sep 2009 11:53:25 -0700http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/picture-this-your-photos-at-chesscomHave you read any good novels that involved chess in the story?  I've read quite a few non-instructional chess books... King's Gambit by Paul Hoffman The immortal Game by David Shenk White King and Red Queen by Daniel Johnson Chess B1tch by Je...http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/does-chess-make-for-perfect-novelsSun, 30 Aug 2009 09:28:04 -0700http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/does-chess-make-for-perfect-novelsA huge number of chess-related videos have been uploaded by chess.com members to the free chess videos section. The section needs some improvements to it's functionality e.g. the ability to search for videos, and some way of weeding out duplicate...http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/chess-videos-at-chesscomThu, 04 Jun 2009 12:51:47 -0700http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/chess-videos-at-chesscomThe latest release of updates for Chess.com includes new 3D boards (sometimes known as 2.5D boards due to the board itself staying a square shape, rather than being distorted to give the impression of 3D). There are also new board colours and oth...http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/new-3d-boards-at-chesscomMon, 04 May 2009 00:10:40 -0700http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/new-3d-boards-at-chesscomSocial networking on the web is big news, and the biggest social networking site (according to most measures, anyway) is Facebook, with over 200 million users. Wikipedia says that..."A social network service focuses on building online communities...http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/facebook-chesscom-appTue, 14 Apr 2009 09:24:13 -0700http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/facebook-chesscom-appChess can be a source of great joy, but also terrible heartache.  In some individuals, especially gifted children, it can become an obsession which can lead to social isolation. So should you teach chess to your children?  I don't have any chil...http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/should-you-teach-your-kids-to-play-chessThu, 29 Jan 2009 07:43:10 -0800http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/should-you-teach-your-kids-to-play-chessA rare game where one side has three Queens on the board at the same time! H/T Chess Today. http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/a-game-with-three-queensThu, 29 Jan 2009 07:34:26 -0800http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/a-game-with-three-queensThe Corus website has a nice piece about Ivanchuk, illustrating his obsession with chess.  Link here. H/T Dennis Monokroussos. http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/gert-ligterink-on-ivanchuks-chess-obsessionMon, 26 Jan 2009 13:03:42 -0800http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/gert-ligterink-on-ivanchuks-chess-obsessionIf you like chess (and if you don't what are you doing on this website?!) then you will probably enjoy the previews of Chessbase instructional videos available at their YouTube channel. An nice example is below from the evergreen Viktor Kortchnoi...http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/chessbase-instructional-video-previewsSun, 25 Jan 2009 01:55:58 -0800http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/chessbase-instructional-video-previewsA while ago I discovered 21-year old Danish artist Carina Jørgensen (pictured right, engaging in some martial arts training!), who has a section of her online portfolio dedicated to chess.  It includes portraits of famous chess players as well a...http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/the-chess-art-of-carina-joslashrgensenSun, 18 Jan 2009 07:00:56 -0800http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/the-chess-art-of-carina-joslashrgensen"All I want to do, ever, is just play chess" - Bobby Fischer Rest In Peace http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/1st-anniversary-of-bobby-fischers-deathSat, 17 Jan 2009 06:48:56 -0800http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/1st-anniversary-of-bobby-fischers-deathIt's nearly 4 years since Garry Kasparov announced his retirement from competitive chess to take on new challenges in the dangerous world of opposition politics as leader of The Other Russia organisation. BBC Radio 4 has a fascinating interview w...http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/garry-kasparov---taking-a-standTue, 13 Jan 2009 13:06:45 -0800http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/garry-kasparov---taking-a-standThe sound you can hear is a can of worms being opened... Fear not; I'm not going to debate the answer to the question in the title of this blog post, but I was fascinated to read a recent article of this title which questioned the idea that there...http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/why-are-there-so-few-women-gmsSun, 28 Dec 2008 07:45:42 -0800http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/why-are-there-so-few-women-gmsIt seems that chess only hits the headlines when there's a scandal or controversy of some sort.  The popular German weekly magazine Der Spiegel has published a story on the Ivanchuk 'Doping Scandal' - English translation here. It's a good summar...http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/der-spiegel-on-ivanchuk-doping-scandalSun, 14 Dec 2008 00:15:37 -0800http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/der-spiegel-on-ivanchuk-doping-scandalWhen Erik first asked me in early October what I would be doing to cover the WCC for Chess.com, my initial reaction was that work commitments would prevent me from covering the games live. But I simply couldn't shake the idea of covering the game...http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/wcc-coverage---making-it-happenWed, 29 Oct 2008 14:03:54 -0700http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/wcc-coverage---making-it-happenWow, I haven't written a blog post in ages!  This one will be short and sweet.  I just wanted to share my discovery of a nice looking flash chess website: http://flashchess3.com/ It has very nice 3D graphics and the piece movements are very sm...http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/nice-flash-chess-gameSat, 25 Oct 2008 13:45:29 -0700http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/nice-flash-chess-gameRating (noun): a classification according to order, rank or value ... an estimated value of a person's position (From Chambers 21st Century Dictionary). Why do we have chess ratings?  Shouldn't arguments over who is the best player be settl...http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/chess-ratings-a-necessary-evilSun, 07 Sep 2008 06:59:31 -0700http://blog.chess.com/SonofPearl/chess-ratings-a-necessary-evil