of Cafés, Politics, Arts and Chess
Cafés or Coffee Houses probably originated in 16th century Turkey and quickly expanded into Persia, Arabia, Egypt and other Islamic nations. Even there they were havens for political idealists, philoso...
How to Play Chess: 7 Rules To Get You Started
It's never too late to learn how to play chess—the most popular game in the world! Learning the rules of chess is easy: Set Up The Chess Board Learn To Move The Pieces Discover The Special Rules Learn Who Makes The First Move Check O...
Q&A with Coach Heisman Dec 27, 2013
"I read chess books and I understand them but when I get the same situations in a game I don't do the right things." This is a common complaint, but it is so generic that, unless I knew exactly what the viewer read and his chess situation, it is ...
Master Files 3.5
Master Files 3.5 Contents Introduction Staying Protected The Importance of a Pawn Break How to Beat a Grandmaster The Twelve Puzzles of Christmas Introduction Hello fellow Chess.com members, and Merry Christmas! As a young child I learned...
The Return of Readers’ Games, Part 1
When I was doing readers’ games (and I’ll return to that at some point next year) I would heap praise on good moves or even interesting moves, and I wouldn’t hesitate to call a horrible move what it was... horrible. Some readers ...
Review: Playing the French
Playing the French is the second opening repertoire book by the Quality Chess authors Jacob Aagaard and Nikolaos Ntirlis. I was very enthusiastic about their first book, The Tarrasch Defence (2011), not because I am a great fan of this opening mys...
Oh, How the Mighty Fall
There is no question that chess masters are lightyears ahead of the average player in both technical skill and understanding. Sometimes we even think of these players as superhuman at least in chess terms and that perception remains pretty ...
The Michigan Fall International, Part 1
For the past few years, since the fall of 2011, I had a really bad period in chess. I was really having trouble concentrating, not enjoying playing chess, and making many blunders. My nerves were shot and I couldn't calculate variations. In a shor...
Ashes! Ashes! The Flag is Falling Down at Death Match 19
In 1882, Australian cricketers came to London and won a test match in England for the first time ever. "The Ashes" of English cricket tradition were transported back with the victors to the Southern Hemisphere. The two countries continue t...
After There Were Books . . .
This article came about in a most curious fashion. I was looking deeply into the "celebrated" (as George Walker called it in 1838) La Bourdonnais - M'Donnell match of 1834. This sniffing around led me into a discussion with a gentleman abou...
Mouret
During the first quarter of the 18th century when Deschapelles and Labourdonnais reigned supreme at the highest level of French chess, it's said that the next level was occupied by Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint-Amant, Hyacinthe Henri Bon...
French Poisoned Pawn (part three)
The final installment, taken from my forthcoming book for Ishi Press.
French Poisoned Pawn (part two)
This article is drawn from my forthcoming book French Winawer Poisoned Pawn (Ishi Press).
French Poisoned pawn (part one)
This cartice is drawn from my forthcoming book French Winawer Poisoned Pawn (Ishi Press).
French Poisoned Pawn (Part 1)
This material is taken from my new edition of French Winawer Poisoned Pawn, forthcoming from Ishi Press. Comments and criticism are welcome.
The Romance of Chess
"After Anderssen's departure, Paul Morphy declared he would play no more even matches, and, certainly, his resolve was justified by the unheard of manner in which he had walked over all opponents." -Frederick Edge &n...
Saint-Amant
Pierre Charles Fournier de Saint Amant (also written: Pierre Charles-Fournié de Saint-Amant) After the death of La Bourdonnais, the mantle of leading chess player of France fell upon the shoulders of Pierre Char...
Ben Franklin and Chess
Benjamin Franklin - 1706-1790 Born the ...
Learn beneficial openings to improve in chess
Chessplayers have different values and tastes about different openings. One likes to play solid Caro Kann, the other one rather plays crazy gambits or sharp Najdorf. There are also different ways to play the openings phase: play what you like or f...
Lesser Known Games of Prince Dadian
I have some games of Prince Andrei Dadiani of Mingrelia that one usually can't find in any database. I had published these elsewhere, but wanted to put them all in one place. First a few...
Alexander Alekhine (Part 1): The Game of Death
Imagine this is YOU It’s 1918, and you’re one of the strongest chess players on earth. You live in Odessa, during one of Russia’s most chaotic periods. Trying to stay on top of the political upheaval, you take whatever side offers the best chance...
Q&A with Coach Heisman Jul 19, 2013
Two of the questions on today's show were: 1) Give us an example of how you evalute a position, and 2) What do you think about the line 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 b6 (a fairly rare variation of the French Defense, Tarrasch Variation)? I did not have...
Ernest Morphy, Chess King of New Orleans
Ernest Morphy was Paul Morphy's uncle. Ernest Morphy was probably also young Paul's greatest admirer. Besides sending Paul's games (and his only chess problem) to various publications, in Eu...
SOS - Secrets of Opening Surprises - July 2013
No time to study opening theory? Shock your opponent with an SOS! With an SOS you deviate early (usually before move 6!) from regular lines in mainstream openings. So you will reach positions you have actually studied without having memorized tons...