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 I've hit a bit of a rut in my chess progress, sitting around the same level for some time now. To remedy this I've decided to shake up my training schedule and begin doing modules from the Chessimo software religiously, just like my daily CTS trai...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/chessimo-trainingTue, 27 Oct 2009 06:35:16 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/chessimo-trainingAfter 1.Nf3 c5 I almost always play 2.c4 and play enters Accelerated Dragon territory. Now, until just recently I didn't know much about Acc. Dragon theory and just thought, "OK, I get my maroczy bind and pressure black in an endgame." "Pawn Struc...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/maroczy-theory-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-bindFri, 25 Sep 2009 18:30:35 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/maroczy-theory-or-how-i-learned-to-stop-worrying-and-love-the-bindFor awhile now I've been trying to find an alternative to the Benko Gambit vs. 1.d4. The Benko is by far my favorite opening vs. d4 but the problem with it is it's so easy for white to avoid. For example, white can just play 2.Nf3 or after 1.d4 Nf...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/kings-indianMon, 24 Aug 2009 08:57:16 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/kings-indianI play WAY too many games on chess.com and as such my games are of very poor quality. Usually I just play to practice my opening theory and that seems to work out alright but I'd like to take more time with some games and practice other skills. As...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/6-games-maxWed, 12 Aug 2009 15:38:20 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/6-games-maxMy girlfriend and I are heading up north to a cottage for the week. I'm taking this opportunity to de-compress a bit and leave chess behind while I'm there. When I get back I can jump back into chess with renewed vigor!! Hopefully I'll be able to ...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/on-vacationFri, 24 Jul 2009 10:31:25 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/on-vacationToday I redeemed myself with a nice win with white in a king's indian. My opponent played a somewhat dubious system and quickly got into trouble. Some tactics followed and I emerged on top. This is the final game making my total score a somewhat d...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/canadian-open-final-roundSun, 19 Jul 2009 14:13:40 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/canadian-open-final-roundTonight I was completely outplayed in an IQP position by a 1500...I hate this game sometimes. http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/canadian-open-round-8Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:49:00 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/canadian-open-round-8Oh the sorrow! My losing streak with white continues as I sacked a piece too early and got out-calculated. Behold my losing effort! http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/canadian-open-round-7Fri, 17 Jul 2009 19:49:22 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/canadian-open-round-7So my "win with black lose with white" strategy continues with another win as black this time in the Benko Gambit declined. Yet again a player who has never played against the benko before declined with 4.b3 and yet again they get a horrible posit...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/canadian-open-round-6Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:56:11 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/canadian-open-round-6Today I played some local expert, I screwed up in the opening and dropped a pawn so I decided to be like Tal and try to mate him instead of just being ground down. After a bunch of sacs and horrible blunders by both sides we entered a queen endgam...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/round-5-this-is-not-my-tournament-with-whiteWed, 15 Jul 2009 19:48:32 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/round-5-this-is-not-my-tournament-with-whiteTonight luck was on my side as I won my game in yet another advanced french. I seem to get all my points in the advance french...maybe this is a lesson for white? Or maybe the french is just totally unbeatable? Either way I'm back to 50% with 2/4 ...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/canadian-open-round-4Tue, 14 Jul 2009 21:00:52 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/canadian-open-round-4Lost again this round, I'm mad at myself for this one even though I was playing up. I had a nice position but then blundered and quickly lost. What else is new. http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/canadian-open-round-3Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:35:38 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/canadian-open-round-3Ni Hua played a 20-player G/60 clock simul this morning which I entered. Of course he beat me but I managed to reach my goal of 30 moves against a 2700+ player! He seemed like a very nice guy and of course he was destroying everyone. I hadn't real...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/simul-with-ni-huaMon, 13 Jul 2009 11:49:34 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/simul-with-ni-huaHello everyone! Today I played a wee little kid and won in about 20 moves, a nice relaxing game is always nice after a loss. I signed up for a simul with GM Ni Hua tomorrow morning, my goal is to last 30 moves before my position becomes resignabl...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/day-22Sun, 12 Jul 2009 20:32:56 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/day-22Hello all! I've arrived in Edmonton without a hitch. Today was the first round and I was paired with International Master Leon Piasetski. After 44 moves he ground me down in a rook endgame and I resigned. In the post-mortem afterwards it was disco...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/canadian-open-round-1Sat, 11 Jul 2009 20:39:29 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/canadian-open-round-1Tomorrow morning I leave for the Canadian Open in Edmonton. Hopefully I wont completely screw up and get no points . In preparation I have gone through 1-9 of Daniel King's "Powerplay" series for chessbase. They really are excellent little DVDs a...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/off-to-edmontonThu, 09 Jul 2009 12:35:22 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/off-to-edmontonA pleasant surprise for me today as I checked the rating update on the CFC website. I was expecting to be around 1770 but in fact my rating has gone up 51 points to land squarely at 1800. I guess this means I'll be up for more money at the Canadia...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/yay-class-aWed, 01 Jul 2009 09:25:40 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/yay-class-aToday I played in the London June Open. I finished with 2/4 and a 1900 performance rating. This all sounds fine and dandy, but I drew 2 experts in this tournament, combine that with my other recent tournaments and thats quite a few draws with exp...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/whats-the-deal-with-drawing-expertsSat, 27 Jun 2009 16:40:03 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/whats-the-deal-with-drawing-expertsHere we have yet another PowerPlay DVD, this time it's on opening play. It's clear to me now what kind of a player GM Daniel King is, he loves to attack all the time and idolizes guys like Tal for their initiative-seeking ways. As such he chooses ...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/i-review-daniel-kings-chessbase-dvd-quotpowerplay-4-start-rightquotMon, 22 Jun 2009 12:36:40 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/i-review-daniel-kings-chessbase-dvd-quotpowerplay-4-start-rightquotYup, just finished the third powerplay DVD. This one was all about pushing the f and h pawns, when its a good idea and when it's not. As is the norm in these powerplay DVDs we get a series of lectures on the different themes (11 lectures on the f...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/i-review-daniel-kings-chessbase-dvd-quotpowerplay-3-pawn-stormquotSat, 20 Jun 2009 21:55:13 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/i-review-daniel-kings-chessbase-dvd-quotpowerplay-3-pawn-stormquot