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 Sergey Kaminer. White to play and win White has a material advantage, but it's well-known that two extra Knights without pawns are insufficient for a win. Two Knights and Bishop against two Knights (without pawns) also can't win. Sergey Kamine...http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/endgame-studies-with-annotations-from-world-champions-mikhail-botvinnikWed, 13 Feb 2013 04:04:20 -0800http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/endgame-studies-with-annotations-from-world-champions-mikhail-botvinnikHenri Weenink. White to play and win My choice is determined by the simplicity of the study, interesting move ideas and some elements of surprise. It's clear that White can't win with "simple" moves. If Bishop goes to d3, e4 or f5, White will lo...http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/endgame-studies-with-annotations-from-world-champions-max-euweSat, 09 Feb 2013 03:11:00 -0800http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/endgame-studies-with-annotations-from-world-champions-max-euweCompiled by Gia Nadareishvili, Grandmaster for chess compositions (1921-1991). Presented as puzzles (see move lists for variants and annotations). Alexey Troitsky. White to play and draw. An ingenious idea. White try to Queen their pawn with che...http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/endgame-studies-with-annotations-from-world-championsThu, 07 Feb 2013 05:31:40 -0800http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/endgame-studies-with-annotations-from-world-championsWhat were your sporting targets at the 1974 Championship? Essentially, I didn't play any chess in the first half of the year, but after the Olympiad, my schedule was very intense: 96 games in half a year, with short breaks. So I didn't count on a...http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/mikhail-tals-interview-after-winning-his-5th-ussr-championship-in-1974Tue, 05 Feb 2013 00:14:38 -0800http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/mikhail-tals-interview-after-winning-his-5th-ussr-championship-in-1974From the 64 newspaper, 24th July 1968 My impressions about Grandmaster Mikhail Tal were always clear enough, but only after our match I have finally witnessed his true chess make-up. First and foremost (it may even sound paradoxical for those wit...http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/viktor-korchnois-interview-after-the-1968-korchnoi---tal-candidates-matchSat, 02 Feb 2013 13:48:05 -0800http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/viktor-korchnois-interview-after-the-1968-korchnoi---tal-candidates-matchFootage from the Seven Steps Beyond Horizon documentary   Subtitles: Grandmaster M. Tal, blindfold simultaneous display Announcer: Board six, Nb8 to c6. M. Tal: c3 takes d4. Announcer: Board eight, d6 takes e5. M. Tal: e4 to e5 (? Both Ta...http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/mikhail-tals-blindfold-simul-for-documentarySat, 19 Jan 2013 13:40:03 -0800http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/mikhail-tals-blindfold-simul-for-documentaryAll ages are given at the day of the tournament's beginning.   The oldest player to take part in the USSR Championship: Vasily Smyslov - 67 years, 4 months, 1 day (1988) Vladas Mikenas - 60 years, 7 months, 8 days (1970) Grigory Levenfish - ...http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ussr-championship-statistics-and-records-age-relatedSat, 19 Jan 2013 10:16:38 -0800http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/ussr-championship-statistics-and-records-age-related The whole program was posted on Youtube on Summer. I have discovered it only recently and translated all that was said and made the TV cut. It differs from my other blog posts about that interview in one thing: I translated Tal's words directly,...http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/mikhail-tal-tv-interview-in-1987Wed, 16 Jan 2013 08:13:44 -0800http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/mikhail-tal-tv-interview-in-1987In 1919, Alexander Alekhine worked at a film studio in USSR. A man entered the lobby and asked to see someone from the educational department. "I'm listening, Mr. Poluektov", Alekhine said. "Do we know each other?" the visitor asked, puzzled. "...http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/a-small-alexander-alekhine-anecdoteWed, 17 Oct 2012 07:06:47 -0700http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/a-small-alexander-alekhine-anecdoteHere's your chance to learn some fascinating facts about the USSR Championship players, including those you probably never heard about! Most points scored in all USSR Championships, top 10: Mark Taimanov - 243; Efim Geller - 233.5; Lev Polugaevsk...http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/some-ussr-chess-championship-statistics-and-recordsFri, 14 Sep 2012 04:44:15 -0700http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/some-ussr-chess-championship-statistics-and-recordsThis game was played at the 1988 USSR Championship. Vasily Smyslov, 68 at the time, shows his 19 years old namesake that he's still a formidable opponent. Annotated by Vasily Smyslov and Garry Kasparov. Another game from the same tournament. Sm...http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/smyslov-takes-on-ivanchuk-and-winsTue, 11 Sep 2012 10:57:14 -0700http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/smyslov-takes-on-ivanchuk-and-winsI provided this classical Ilyin-Zhenevsky article (published in 1926) with some stats and links to the mentioned games. When just a year ago, at the 3rd Soviet Chess Congress, someone requested to organize an international chess tournament in Mos...http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/moscow-1925-tournament-players-diary-by-alexander-ilyin-zhenevskyTue, 17 Jul 2012 07:13:47 -0700http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/moscow-1925-tournament-players-diary-by-alexander-ilyin-zhenevskyFor the next game, let's quote Edward Lasker. "This game's result had a large impact on destinies of three outstanding chess players. The undeserved loss had become a drama of his life for Janowski. Capablanca, after winning the game, won the w...http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/quothe-who-hated-drawsquot-part-5Mon, 16 Jan 2012 04:51:26 -0800http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/quothe-who-hated-drawsquot-part-5Dawid Janowski had two passions in his life - chess and gambling. He would visit a casino whenever there's a chance, often losing hefty sums in one night. Here's a recollection of some less-known gambling episodes from Janowski's life by Oleg Skur...http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/quothe-who-hated-drawsquot-david-janowski-the-gamblerSat, 14 Jan 2012 11:05:10 -0800http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/quothe-who-hated-drawsquot-david-janowski-the-gamblerA very interesting report about the Ostend 1905 tournament from Grigory Ge, Russian actor, playwright and a friend of Mikhail Chigorin. Supplemented by Dawid Janowski's games compiled by Sergey Voronkov and Dmitry Plisetsky. Ostend, 12 June - ...http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/quothe-who-hated-drawsquot-special-feature-2-ostende-1905-reportThu, 12 Jan 2012 08:25:39 -0800http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/quothe-who-hated-drawsquot-special-feature-2-ostende-1905-report"In this game, excellently played by both partners, Janowski, as always, tried to square the circle, or, speaking in more chess terms - to win an absolutely equal position." (G. Marco)   Here, Janowski played a "semi-correct" combination, one ...http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/quothe-who-hated-drawsquot-part-4Sat, 31 Dec 2011 01:03:24 -0800http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/quothe-who-hated-drawsquot-part-4Rodion Yakovlevich Malinovsky is not a name you'd find in chess books. The famous Marshal of the Soviet Union won his "games" on real battlefields of World War II, controlling much more than 16 pieces on the board. Nevertheless, chess was his hob...http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/a-small-quotfamous-people-playing-chessquot-anecdoteMon, 12 Dec 2011 12:42:51 -0800http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/a-small-quotfamous-people-playing-chessquot-anecdoteReaders asked me to post some winning games by Dawid Janowski. So, here they are - some truly brilliant products of his imagination. These combinations are given as puzzles. This game by the young Janowski was printed in many chess magazines. ...http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/quothe-who-hated-drawsquot-special-featureFri, 25 Nov 2011 04:41:36 -0800http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/quothe-who-hated-drawsquot-special-featureJanowski often fell victim to Lasker's psychological preparation. In the last round of Cambridge Springs 1904, Lasker had to win with Black pieces to catch up with Janowski... and he did exactly that. In 1905, Janowski played a match against M...http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/quothe-who-hated-drawsquot-part-3Wed, 23 Nov 2011 01:04:45 -0800http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/quothe-who-hated-drawsquot-part-3Janowski used King's Gambit against the aging Steinitz. Steinitz tried to refute it, Janowski counter-refuted, but then made a couple of inaccurate moves and lost.   Lasker already guaranteed himself the first prize and probably didn't mind a ...http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/quothe-who-hated-drawsquot-part-2Fri, 18 Nov 2011 10:13:28 -0800http://www.chess.com/blog/Spektrowski/quothe-who-hated-drawsquot-part-2