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french defense

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  • The Power of Positional Chess, Pt. 3

    In my last article I discussed “fetish chess moves.” I consider a move to be a fetish if it’s out of the ordinary, has serious positional clout, and gives the person who played it such deep pleasure that his reaction can almost be called org... | Read More

  • "The Complete French" by Lev Psakhis

    When I introduced this column I mentioned that I probably wouldn't be covering many opening books. However, I decided to write a review of this fairly old book on the French by grandmaster Lev Psakhis from the "Complete..." series. Why? Well, fi... | Read More

  • You Must Know Your Opening Basics!

    IMPORTANT: [At the end of the puzzles, you should click MOVE LIST so you can see my instructive notes and variations. If you are having trouble solving a problem, just click SOLUTION, and then MOVE LIST. Even if you solve everything, DO click MOVE... | Read More

  • The Haunted Tournament

    Chess is a scary game – as Vladimir Nabokov wrote in his book The Luzhin Defense (which, if you haven’t read, you should!): Suddenly, something occurred outside his being, a scorching pain - and he let out a loud cry, shaking his han... | Read More

  • Initiative in Endgames, Part 4

    Today's endgame is from Sao Paulo and features a fight between Caruana and Carlsen. Carlsen playing black captured the initiative in the late middlegame and tried many resources to capitalize on it. In the end with two consecutive mistakes he let ... | Read More





  • Fred defense

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  • Abonyi, Istvan

    • 29 Reads
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    Istvan Abonyi (1886-1942) was a Hungarian master.  He was born and died in Budapest.  In 1912, he played the Abonyi Gambit (1.Nf3 d5 2.e4) for the first time. In 1916, he played the Budapest Gambit (1.a3 Nf6 2.b3 e5) against  the Dutch surge... Read More »

  • Zugzwang

    • 462 Reads
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    Pronounced "tsoog-tsvung", Zugzwang is a German word meaning "obligation to move".  The term is used for a position in which whoever has the move would obtain a worse result than if it were the opponent’s turn to play.  The term was first ... Read More »

  • ALL IN vs FRENCH DEFENCE

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    A lot of players choose to play the french defence in order to slow down the action in the center and hope to play a quiet position. Ladies and gents, here's how you can go ALL IN against the french, especially in blitz! Read More »

  • Scandinavian Defense

    • 1561 Reads
    • | 1561 Reads

    The Scandinavian Defense (also known as the Center Counter) is the chess opening characterized by the first moves 1.e4 d5. At first characterized as a beginner's move, it has recently been revived, with several GM's trying it. Although the Scandi... Read More »