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 Wow ... lose time for chess for a month or so and my rating takes a sky dive ... Guess I have to make time and put in a lot of work! http://blog.chess.com/Variable/arrrghMon, 09 Feb 2009 04:12:45 -0800http://blog.chess.com/Variable/arrrghIt seems like if I get to many games going, I start to rush through them like I am playing blitz. I might try to avoid them for a while until I get my lines of thought down again. So for now, fewer games, higher quality! http://blog.chess.com/Variable/ugh--tournamentsTue, 16 Dec 2008 06:43:55 -0800http://blog.chess.com/Variable/ugh--tournamentsRight now I am working hard to get my tactics back to where they were when I was at my best. It is a little harder than I thought, but I think what I have to do is get more methodical again about how I look at the positions on the chess board! Th...http://blog.chess.com/Variable/where-my-chess-is-headedTue, 16 Dec 2008 06:35:33 -0800http://blog.chess.com/Variable/where-my-chess-is-headedI love chess! I play chess to enjoy the game. So my priorities have to do with that, and alowing others to do the same.   My first priority is to enjoy the game and to play in a manner to allow others to do the same. After all, when playing che...http://blog.chess.com/Variable/prioritiesMon, 17 Nov 2008 09:54:19 -0800http://blog.chess.com/Variable/prioritiesSo, what could be more important than mobility?  Well threats are very important. It doesn't matter how mobile your pieces are, if you are checkmated. The player at the top of a club I was in once told me that 'Threats are what chess is all about...http://blog.chess.com/Variable/threatsMon, 25 Aug 2008 14:02:32 -0700http://blog.chess.com/Variable/threatsWhy is mobility so important? There are many reasons. To me, the most important one is that by checking mobility of pieces, it helps you to see more candidate moves. Seeing more moves helps you to calculate better and I don't know anyone who ...http://blog.chess.com/Variable/mobilityTue, 19 Aug 2008 04:09:54 -0700http://blog.chess.com/Variable/mobilityDesperado was one of my first 'favorite chess terms'. When I first heard this term, it helped me to find the right moves in some fairly complex positions. For people who don't know, when a piece that is attacked but does not move and another ...http://blog.chess.com/Variable/desperadoWed, 06 Aug 2008 10:58:59 -0700http://blog.chess.com/Variable/desperado