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 In the Southern Open, which I played on August 1-2, I did myself the great disservice of losing for the SECOND time to Gregory Kimmel on the black side of the Scotch opening.  After examining many of the Scotch lines in detail, it appears black ...http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/retooling-the-black-repertoireSat, 05 Sep 2009 15:45:53 -0700http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/retooling-the-black-repertoireAfter taking a little time off in my quest for 2200, I'm now ready to get active again.  Accordingly, my first tournament "back" after a six-month layoff was the 2009 Southern Open in Kissimmee, FL (7/31/09-8/2/09).  Thanks to the TDs for an exc...http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/back-in-the-saddleTue, 04 Aug 2009 01:24:00 -0700http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/back-in-the-saddleThis past weekend I had the good fortune to play in the first club championship of the Tampa Chess Club.  I am not a good fast time-control player, so I had serious reservations given the G/1 hr time control.  Coupled with the fact I would be ne...http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/reaffirmationMon, 17 Nov 2008 02:31:51 -0800http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/reaffirmationWho says you can never go home again?  This past weekend, I took the opportunity to play in the 2008 Oscar Shapiro DC Open in Washington, DC.  I grew up there, and through some very hard times indeed.  I was only 12 in 1968 when riots erupted f...http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/reconnectingTue, 21 Oct 2008 01:25:13 -0700http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/reconnectingHaving continued to overhaul my opening repertoire, tweaking even up to the last minute, I expected my results at the 2008 FL State Championship to be underwhelming.  What I didn't  expect after the first two rounds is a perfor...http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/dodging-a-bulletTue, 02 Sep 2008 12:11:33 -0700http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/dodging-a-bulletThis past weekend, I had the opportunity to play in the Southern Open in Altamonte Springs, FL (just NE of Orlando).  While this "learning experience" didn't match my Boca Raton experience, it did come with some genuine lessons that made it w...http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/more-lessons-learnedMon, 18 Aug 2008 13:40:19 -0700http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/more-lessons-learnedJust as I'm enjoying building my relationship with the Pseudo King's Gambit (1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nf6 3. d3 Nc6 4. Nc3 Bc5 5. d3 d6 6. f4!) -- despite results of its recent rollout -- I purchase a copy of the new "Dangerous Weapons 1.e4 e5" book b...http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/everything-old-is-new-againMon, 21 Jul 2008 10:13:53 -0700http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/everything-old-is-new-againA "learning experience".  That's my code language for an OTB tournament in which I sucked.  This past weekend, at the Summer Solstice Open in Boca Raton, I had a wonderful learning experience. What did I learn? Well, firstl...http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/a-learning-experienceMon, 14 Jul 2008 14:07:55 -0700http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/a-learning-experienceLOL, OK maybe that doesn't deserve an exclam by anyone else's measure, but if you knew how much I've been wrestling with a putting together a workable repertoire for my push to NM (and then to FM) you'd sympathize. One of the reaso...http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/repertoire-holes-filledFri, 04 Jul 2008 16:26:38 -0700http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/repertoire-holes-filled  WIth only one weekend between now and the next tournament, my white repertoire is still full of holes.  On the Sicilian front, I thought I was happy with 1.e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. d3 d5 4. e5 and  on 1. e4 c5 2. c3 d5 3. d3 and on 3......http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/repertoire-hole-sicilianTue, 01 Jul 2008 13:16:05 -0700http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/repertoire-hole-sicilianThe upcoming Independence Day in the United States (July 4th) means only one thing to non-history buffs -- that we are officially entering the dog days of summer.  As for me and my goals, it means I need to get a handle on what chess tourname...http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/summertimeTue, 01 Jul 2008 11:53:38 -0700http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/summertimeThe next step in retooling my game (and this will apply to many reformed mate-happy attackniks out there who want to improve their results) are dreaded endings.  I hate studying them.  I positively hate them.  But sometimes, to reac...http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/i-hate-endingsFri, 27 Jun 2008 10:08:31 -0700http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/i-hate-endingsHaving happily rediscovered my copy of Bookup Express, I started digging around in my software collection to see what other gems I may have neglected that might contribute to my development.  I discovered a copy of Fritz 8 I had bought long a...http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/adding-more-toolsFri, 27 Jun 2008 08:52:45 -0700http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/adding-more-toolsIn my blog post "Rebuilding the Repertoire", PeterKirby and I had an informative exchange about the goals of an opening repertoire.  Sometimes disparate goals can be reconciled; sometimes they can't (in which case you ...http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/addressing-the-sicilianThu, 19 Jun 2008 04:17:48 -0700http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/addressing-the-sicilianAfter some reflection on my performance, it was now time to get ready for the next tournament.  The one I chose to play in was the Orlando After Memorial Open and Scholastic. In my previous blog, I pointed out the possibility of adopting Fabi...http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/reloadingWed, 18 Jun 2008 08:44:38 -0700http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/reloadingArmed with some pieces of a new repertoire, along with a library of unread new books on positional, strategic, and middle-game play (many of which I've owned for sometime, knowing the problem was on the horizon), I played in my first tournamen...http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/the-first-testTue, 17 Jun 2008 14:03:02 -0700http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/the-first-testThe process of rebuilding my opening repertoire begun conceptually several years ago.  Although I have been generally dormant in USCF tournaments over the past several years, with my membership lapsing on more than one occasion, I have always...http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/rebuilding-the-repertoireTue, 17 Jun 2008 13:52:28 -0700http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/rebuilding-the-repertoireAs mentioned earlier, openings have always been the fun part of chess for me.  Here on chess.com, although I've just joined, I'm hoping to make many contributions to the Openings forum. Again, my theory on openings is simply: If ...http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/openings7Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:37:00 -0700http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/openings7As mentioned earlier, I've never been a fan of endgame study.  I've always been of the opinion that investment in opening study yielded far greater rewards, mostly coming from quick wins when someone stepped into an opening trap. I&#3...http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/endingsMon, 16 Jun 2008 15:46:38 -0700http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/endingsIn the previous blog, I spoke briefly about assessing my strengths weaknesses.  Now I have to lay out a plan for rectifying them...quite another matter altogether. When I began to think about this quest several months ago, I thought I could j...http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/assessmentMon, 16 Jun 2008 15:20:58 -0700http://blog.chess.com/chuckg99/assessment