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 think many chess players assume that the ubiquitous Algebraic Notation in use today is a relatively new invention and supplanted the older English or Descriptive Notation that one finds in older chess books.  I believed that myself until I bega...http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/coordinate-chessTue, 06 Apr 2010 22:06:58 -0700http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/coordinate-chessAll but the most casual chess players are familiar with Algebraic or Standard Notation such as 1. e4  e5  2. Bc4  Nf6 and all serious students of the game are conversant in the Descriptive Notation that is still found in classic chess books:  ...http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/the-language-of-chessWed, 31 Mar 2010 23:29:24 -0700http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/the-language-of-chessWhile for Bobby Fischer chess may have been life, for most of us it is merely an enjoyable, albeit challenging pastime.  However upon deeper reflection, chess may be seen as an insightful model and guide to life, as appropriate for us as any ches...http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/chess-as-a-guide-to-lifeSat, 20 Mar 2010 21:18:43 -0700http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/chess-as-a-guide-to-lifeNearly two years ago I posted part one of this blog and since that time I have been collecting new quotations as I encounter them in my readings.  As before, I will offer a small sampling of information with each quotation in the hopes that it wi...http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/the-best-chess-quotes-youve-never-seen-part-2Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:00:57 -0800http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/the-best-chess-quotes-youve-never-seen-part-2Given the use of the web that allows individuals to play chess regardless of how far apart they actually live, we may make the following unremarkable claims.  The barrier of space is no longer insurmountable, and each year's discoveries, by facil...http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/do-you-telegraph-your-movesSun, 21 Feb 2010 23:10:15 -0800http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/do-you-telegraph-your-movesEveryone knows that the Ruy Lopez Opening is named after a Spanish priest; and that the Giuoco Piano is named after a reclusive Italian monk, as I revealed to the world in a previous blog.  But not everyone knows that the Sicilian Opening draws i...http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/who-was-the-sicilanFri, 12 Feb 2010 00:34:50 -0800http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/who-was-the-sicilanChess players are obsessive creatures.  One player may make it his life's ambition to become an expert on some arcane opening line, say the Soltis Line of the Yugoslav Attack of the Dragon Variation of the Sicilian Defense.  There is actually a ...http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/is-the-queen-worth-994-pawnsTue, 02 Feb 2010 20:11:30 -0800http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/is-the-queen-worth-994-pawnsWhen the elderly gentleman with unkempt hair shuffled in to the chess club for his first and only visit, no one paid much attention.  He was dressed in a tweed jacket with what appeared to be a gravy stain on the left sleeve, ill-fitting trousers...http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/quotmate-in-42quotWed, 20 Jan 2010 23:13:15 -0800http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/quotmate-in-42quot"Are you the famous chess master?" the young student reverently inquired. The portly Chess Master smiled indulgently, "Yes.  And you have arrived on time for your first lesson, I see." "Yes, sir", the boy remarked in a quiet voice.  "But I hav...http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/the-chess-master-and-the-boySat, 09 Jan 2010 17:43:19 -0800http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/the-chess-master-and-the-boyIt is triply ironic that the Spanish Opening, which begins 1. e4  e5  2. Nf3  Nc6  3. Bb5, is often called the Ruy López.  In 1561 the Spanish priest described this opening systematically in his 1561 book, Libro de la invención liberal y ar...http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/ruy-loacutepez-on-the-ruy-loacutepezSat, 02 Jan 2010 20:45:12 -0800http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/ruy-loacutepez-on-the-ruy-loacutepezMost chess books advocate developing a plan for your game once you get through the opening.  This plan is your strategy for the middle game, and there are a great number of texts with a wealth of knowledge on the subject of strategy.  A well-fou...http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/strategy-guides-tacticsTue, 22 Dec 2009 18:45:21 -0800http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/strategy-guides-tacticsIn my previous two blogs I discussed the First Scientific Theory of Chess and Steinitz' Theory of Perfect Play.  To briefly restate his theory, it is simply that if both players were to play perfectly the natural result of the game would be a dra...http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/strategy-for-perfect-playSun, 13 Dec 2009 08:48:05 -0800http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/strategy-for-perfect-playIn my previous blog, I claimed that Wihelm Steinitz' 1896 Theory of Perfect Play was the first occurrence of a scientific theory of chess, and I speculated that it may be the only scientific theory of chess yet offered.  Indeed, Steinitz' theory ...http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/steinitzrsquo-theory-of-perfect-playSat, 05 Dec 2009 13:13:10 -0800http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/steinitzrsquo-theory-of-perfect-playAfter receiving a request from a reader, I originally intended to write on the subject of chess strategy, but after some preparation and gathering of materials, I realized that a discussion of strategy alone would be akin to paddling a canoe in a ...http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/the-first-scientific-theory-of-chessMon, 30 Nov 2009 23:50:22 -0800http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/the-first-scientific-theory-of-chessAustrian Karl Robatsch (1928-2000) enjoyed playing uncommon opening moves. In one large online openings database, 1...g6 represents less than 2.6% of the responses to White's 1. e4.  However, Robatsch was fond of that move when he played Black an...http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/the-orchid-opening-of-robatschThu, 26 Nov 2009 21:26:09 -0800http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/the-orchid-opening-of-robatschMost chess players would be thrilled to be an International Master for 20 years, but I am certain that Ben Finegold was overjoyed to finally drop the IM title after winning his 3rd GM norm at Susan Polgar's SPICE Cup Invitational in September. Bo...http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/americas-newest-grandmasterThu, 12 Nov 2009 21:13:52 -0800http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/americas-newest-grandmasterEdward Lasker said that "An intriguing phenomenon which links mathematics, music, and chess is the fact that child prodigies have been known in only these three fields." This wonderful aphorism recently set me to thinking about the intricate conn...http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/the-tirolean-spa-had-the-chess-boys-in-itSun, 08 Nov 2009 12:14:56 -0800http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/the-tirolean-spa-had-the-chess-boys-in-itOne of Bobby Fischer's famous utterances is that "Chess is life." For him that statement may have had a more literal interpretation than for most of us, but metaphorically I do believe that chess is life.  However, life is not a chess game so muc...http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/chess-is-life5Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:56:16 -0800http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/chess-is-life5When I studied the life of Richard Réti, I discovered that I have two things in common with him.  First, we both started our chess careers with an "inauspicious" beginning, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.  They were writing about Rét...http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/the-inauspicious-reacutetiMon, 26 Oct 2009 21:53:47 -0700http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/the-inauspicious-reacutetiThis blog will begin and end with my two favorite practical chess jokes.  In my recent blog, "What's Inside YOUR Chess Mind?" I presented 10 chess positions discussed by Aagaard in his book that attempts to gain insight into the minds of chess pl...http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/chess-jokes-practical-and-otherwiseSun, 18 Oct 2009 22:28:36 -0700http://blog.chess.com/kurtgodden/chess-jokes-practical-and-otherwise