King's Gambit Accepted
The King's Gambit probably has more traps than any other opening. Here is a recent game that White wins when Black tries a new move in the opening and gets greedy.
Bishops of Opposite Colors
It is very difficult to win an endgame with Bishops of opposite colors, even if you have more pawns. In this endgame I had a Bishop and two Pawns against a lone Bishop and King, and could not find a win. I did have a chance to win, but...
Death of Chessplayers
On January 2, 2005, Grandmaster Arnold Denker died at the age of 90 of brain cancer in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He was less than two months from his 91st birthday. I knew him for many years.A few chess masters have made it to ag...
Dutch Treat
The Dutch Defense (1.d4 f5) is a good alternative to 1...d5 and 1...Nf6 when faced with 1.d4. Here is a recent example in which Black wins in the Dutch and White doesn't follow best opening theory. It leads to a back rank mate in j...
B+P vs R+P
Can White draw this game? It's Bishop plus Pawn vs Rook plus Pawn.
Humans vs computers
White to move and draw. The humans missed it in time pressure. Can you find the only drawing move?
Principles of Chess
Principles of Chess01. Develop your pieces quickly.02. Control the center.03. Try to put your pieces on squares that give them maximum space.04. Try t...
Correspondence Chess - A History
A correspondence chess game was thought to be played between the Emperor Nicephorus and the Caliph of Baghdad, Harun al-Rashid (763-809), in the 9th century. A correspondence chess game was thought to be played in 1119 by King Henry I (1068-1135) ...
The Chess Pieces - A History
The earliest chesspieces from India (the birthplace of chess) were called shah (king), wazir (counsellor), fil (bishop), asp (knight), rukh (rook), and piyade (pawn). The earliest Persian names were shah, farzin, pil, asp, rukh, and piyada. In Ara...
Humphrey Bogart and Chess
Humphrey DeForest Bogart was born on January 23, 1899 in New York City. He was the son of a noted Manhattan surgeon. His mother was was a popular illustrator. Humphrey probably learned chess in 1912. His father taught him chess during their stay ...
Biography of Bobby Fischer
Robert James (Bobby) Fischer was born at 2:39 pm on March 9, 1943 in Chicago, Illinois (Michael Reese hospital) to Regina Wender Fischer Pustan (born in Switzerland of Jewish parents on March 31, 1913) and Hans-Gerhardt Fischer (born September 28,...
Opening Frequency
I did a little survey of chess opening frequencies from several chess databases. After looking over a million games or so and keeping tabs of the first few moves, these are the results. 1.e4 was the most common opening, representing 70...
How to Annoy Your Opponent
It was my ex-coach Bill Lombardy who said, "In chess, winning isn't everything. It is the only thing!" As you know, chessplayers can't stand losing a game of chess. Therefore, it is quite necessary to know how to win easily without just mastering ...
The Chess Addict
Ok, I admit it. I am a chess addict. I have played thousands of games over 38 years. I've probably played over 10,000 games on the Internet. I have over 2,000 chess books and magazines. I can't possibly read them all. I have millions of games on...
The Middlegame - What to Do
After you played your opening, from memory or from good sound principles (control the center, develop you pieces, protect your king), now what? Now you are in the middlegame. Most players don't make it to the endgame, or if they did, they have...
Cheating and Chess
In July, 2006 two players were accused of cheating in chessby using computer assistance at the World Open in Philadelphia. One player had a wireless device in his ear, claiming it wasa hearing aid. The other player got rid of his wireless devic...
Endgame references on the web
Here are some of the best references to endgames on the Web. One of the best endgame engines on the web is the web query for the Nalimov Endgame Tablebases. It is limited to 6 pieces or less (including kings) but it is excellent at solving any end...
Scholastic chess
I've been involved in scholastic chess for many years and have seen the benefits of seeing chess promoted in the schools. I was a coach and trainer at Alexander Central High School in Taylorsville, NC, and it won the state championship three y...
Chess and IQ
An intelligence quotient or IQ is a number derived from a set of standardized tests developed to measure a person's cognitive abilities, or intelligence, in relation to thier age group. Originally, IQ represented the ratio between a person...
19th century chess
In 1800, Pierre Saint-Amant (1800-1872) was born. In 1802, Ercole Del Rio, the anonymous Modenese, died. In 1802, James Humphreys published the first chess book in America, Chess Made Easy. In 1803, the Turk was being exhibited in London. In ...