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 Just a quick game I played at the club yesterday.  A few annotations are included, as I normally do.  I know a lot of people find defenses like Laskers QGD to be dry, but the fact is that many d4 players have answers to even the sharpest defense...http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/laskers-defenseThu, 09 Feb 2012 06:58:22 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/laskers-defenseI might give up on my little baby the Dragon for a while and play a more mature defense as black... I've kinda been excelling in quieter lines lately, and I see no benefit in walking a theoretical tightrope just to end up in a slightly worse endga...http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/so-im-thinkingTue, 13 Dec 2011 17:51:45 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/so-im-thinkingHere are my 5 games from this year's Sudbury championship, with light annotations.  Enjoy! Game 1 Game 2   Game 3   Game 4   Game 5 http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/2011-sudbury-chess-championshipSun, 20 Nov 2011 18:17:03 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/2011-sudbury-chess-championshipWhile preparing for the Hamilton Summer Open (Aug. 20, 21) and the Labour Day Open (Sep. 3-5), I stumbled upon a super interesting game played by Nigel Short.  I have the feeling I've seen it before which makes a lot of sense, seeing how beautifu...http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/space-and-the-marching-kingMon, 08 Aug 2011 11:13:11 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/space-and-the-marching-kingJust wanted to let everyone know that 5 of 7 rounds have now been completed in the Canadian amateurs.  Never seen so many draws in a non-master tournament.  I'm currently in clear second with 3.5/5 (3 draws, 2 wins).  I play the only player wit...http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-amateur-championshipsSun, 31 Jul 2011 19:52:43 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-amateur-championshipsReally interesting endgame tactic.  I spent just over 3 minutes on it and finally gave up.  I've never seen this motif before though so I'm really excited... one more weapon in the databank :D If you see this one all the way to the end... I'm i...http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/one-i-missedTue, 26 Jul 2011 21:23:56 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/one-i-missedThe most interesting/instructive tactics I did today. Hope you like em!  Same rule as always, don't move until you see it (all of it. no points if you forgot to calculate something).  The three I've selected get progressively harder.  Take you...http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/more-tacticsMon, 25 Jul 2011 10:49:10 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/more-tacticsI swear this will be my last one today :).  This is the hardest of the three I've recently posted.  Don't move until you see it. http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/another-tacticSun, 24 Jul 2011 15:00:40 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/another-tacticAnother tactic for you guys... same rule, don't move until you see it :) -matt http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/another-important-patternSun, 24 Jul 2011 14:00:27 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/another-important-patternHey everyone :) I'd like to present for your viewing pleasure my round 8 win against IM Lawrence Day in this, a second, blog.  This time I've done my homework, annotated my thoughts about the game, provided variations, and even explained a few i...http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-open---the-remixSat, 23 Jul 2011 14:23:55 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-open---the-remixHere's a neat little puzzle I stumbled upon while using a tactics trainer from another site (sorry chess.com, I'm working on calculation more than pattern recognition... your tactics trainer is great too though :D).   Let's see if you can see al...http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/cute-tacticTue, 19 Jul 2011 07:35:50 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/cute-tacticMy last round loss.  I just was informed by Houdini that I missed a win... which is rather annoying.   Oh well... here's the game. Anyways, for those of you who are interested... I finished with a final score of 4.5/9 and am expecting a rat...http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-open---round-9Mon, 18 Jul 2011 07:31:55 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-open---round-9Fun game against one of Canada's chess 'legends'.  He's quite a bit older than he was when he was in his prime, but it felt like a real honour just to have the chance to play him.  Hope you like the game. http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-open---round-8Sat, 16 Jul 2011 17:28:34 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-open---round-8Another short win... My opponent was having a really bad tournament.  On the bright side, I get to play IM Lawrence Day next round!  On the even brighter side... he's having a fairly rough tournament too!  Chances for an upset maybe? :)   He...http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-open---round-7Sat, 16 Jul 2011 06:57:02 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-open---round-7Disappointing loss in a complicated game... I'm very upset about this one.  No annotations right now. http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-open---round-6Thu, 14 Jul 2011 22:45:08 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-open---round-6Way too tired to annotate this.  Here's the game.  I accepted a draw in a slightly better position in time trouble.     While I have your attention :P... I'd love to share a game played in this round between Canada's Bator Sambuev (okay th...http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-open---round-5Wed, 13 Jul 2011 20:58:05 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-open---round-5No comment. :P http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-open---round-4Tue, 12 Jul 2011 22:23:17 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-open---round-4Finally I get to use some of my prep... and the guy refutes me OTB!  I was in book until move 20 lol.   http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-open---round-3Mon, 11 Jul 2011 19:20:38 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-open---round-3Quick win as white vs. one of the tournament's lowest seeds.  http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-open---round-2Sun, 10 Jul 2011 21:09:36 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-open---round-2My round one game with some thoughts about the game in the annotations.  For those interested in a 'spark notes', I lost with the black pieces to IM Arthur Calugar who ground me out in a position a little less equal than I thought. Final thou...http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-open---round-1Sat, 09 Jul 2011 23:26:49 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ih8sens/canadian-open---round-1