Pattern recognition is one of the most important chess skills.
Some time ago I even suggested an idea that Magnus Carlsen is so great in chess due to his incredible pattern-recognition ability.
Through the years I've written a series of articles called "Tactical Patterns Everyone Should Know." Some of these tactical ideas are so common that you'll see them practically in any tournament!
The pattern we are going to discuss today is truly unique since I've seen it only in a handful of...
Despite bringing top players Fabiano Caruana, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and Vishy Anand, the team of Baden-Baden scored only a narrow 4.5-3.5 victory against Solingen to clinch its 12th Bundesliga title in 13 years.
The playoff between Baden-Baden and Solingen, yesterday in the Kulturhaus LA8 in Baden-Baden, Germany was necessary as the two teams had tied for first place after the 15 rounds this season. This situation occurred at the end of the joint weekend in Berlin last month.
2017-2018 Schachbundesliga...
The 1860s were very good for Adolf Anderssen, who was still at his peak. He won several important tournaments and was also successful in most of his matches. However, new players were appearing, such as Ignatz von Kolisch, Steinitz, and Zukertort. Although Anderssen was viewed as the best player in the world again (Morphy had retired from chess) those other guys were getting better and better.
Adolf Anderssen via Wikipedia.
Anderssen played two matches with Kolisch, with the first one (in 1860)...
Fabiano Caruana is one of the most exciting players in chess today as he gears up for his world championship match vs. Magnus Carlsen later this year. Take a look at his three most interesting and educational endgames, including the one he needed to qualify for the world championship.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Chess.com acquires the Komodo chess engine and launches Komodo Monte Carlo with a probability search similar to AlphaZero.
Palo Alto, Calif., May 24, 2018—Chess.com has acquired the powerful computer chess engine Komodo, the company announced today.
The acquisition of the Komodo comes with the release of an exciting new version of the engine called Komodo Monte Carlo, where moves are chosen by win probability and not traditional evaluation. The approach is similar...
On Sunday, the sixth edition of the Altibox Norway Chess tournament begins in Stavanger, Norway. The field, topped by Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana, has eight out of the world's top 10 players.
The participants list has eight of the first 10 players on the May 2018 rating list and the other two names are so big that some will be surprised to hear that they are not currently in the top 10: Levon Aronian and Vishy Anand.
2018 Altibox Norway Chess | Participants
#
Fed
Name
Rating
World
Born
1
Carlsen,...
Find out when the top chess events and tournaments are taking place! Missing a strong event? Please let us know in the comments.
Click here for results of completed chess tournaments and events in 2018.
MAY 2018
Date
Event
Location
May 25-June 1
China-Russia MatchRussia: Maxim Matlakov, Sanan Sjugirov, Kirill Alekseenko, Andrey Esipenko, Alexey Sarana | Valentina Gunina, Aleksandra Goryachkina, Olga Girya, Natalija Pogonina, Polina Shuvalova. China: Li Chao, Lu Shanglei, Zhou...
The 2018 African Individual Chess Championship was a walk in the park for Egyptian GM Bassem Amin, the only African player to ever reach a rating of 2700. He won the tournament for the fifth time.
Amin ended the main section of the tournament on 8.5/9, won the blitz African championship and was tied for first place in the rapid, proving to be the strongest player in the continent.
Here's his game from round six which included a positional queen sacrifice.
The only challenge...
If you were to list your five favorite chess moves, how would you pick them? Would you have to research them, or do you already have them memorized?
When it comes to memory, research suggests that you are more likely to remember a move you've seen many times over a longer period of time (rather than a single game that you played over five hours). You are also more likely to remember moves—whether they are yours or from others—that made an emotional impact on you.
OK, but that's...
