The expression "Dean of American Chess" officially refers to specific individuals whose contribution to American Chess deserves special recognition and, as such, the title is considered the highest honor the national organizat...
Chess.com was thrilled to officially announce its new partnership with Twitch in support of chess streamers, broadcasts, and events. What are some of the best chess channels on Twitch? First, the obvious one: Twitch.tv/chess Longtime fa...
By now, you know GM Maxime Vachier-Lagrave and GM Alexander Grischuk. Or, maybe you don't. There's more to them than tactics and novelties. Sure, in round one of the 2017 Chess.com Speed Chess Championship, you saw the Frenchman squash the world...
The Chess.com member Kingdom_chess2 asked: “Why is the King’s Indian Attack less popular at the top level? Is there any specific reason?” JS: The KIA (King’s Indian Attack) was explored (by very strong players!) in the 19...
The Chess.com member Souvik had a couple things to discuss. The first is his simultaneous game against an international master. After Souvic was completely outclassed in the opening (not a surprise when a 1500 player plays an IM), the IM got ...
Johannes Jacobus van Oosterom Joop van Oosterom, the Dutch business and chess maecenas, died in October of 2016. The Association Max Euwe of Monaco, which Oosterom, along with his hi...
I prepared for my first chess tournament for weeks. Every night, I played a rapid game -- and then studied it, reviewing my moves to see where I missed a tactic, where I anticipated the wrong move, where I could have pressed for better advantage...
Introduction Ventnor City is a charming resort community on New Jersey's Absecon Island, snuggled between Margate City and the more famous Atlantic City. In the Spring of 1939 Richard W. Wayne...
When I began playing chess, I had no idea how to begin a game. I would stare at the row of pawns, wondering which one I should order forward, without an idea of why. Or I’d hop a knight into the open board and hope for the best. There are ...
While wanting to write an introduction, putting my thoughts on the topic into words has proven to be a most difficult undertaking. Although I predominantly scour books, newspapers and periodicals for the bulk...
Anthony Edward Santasiere - This name evokes images of the New York chess scene during the 1920, 30s and 40s: Frank Marshall, Edward Lasker, Albert Pinkus, Fred Reinfeld, Sammy Reshevsky, Abe Kupchik, Isaac Kashdan, I.A. Horowit...
With a staggering 480 players and more than 150 grandmasters currently playing, the PRO Chess League is expanding as word of mouth spreads and new free agents and local players sign up to do battle for their teams and help bring them glory. Here...
The Chess.com member alaskan asked: “I would like to focus more on understanding rather than on lines, but almost all the opening books I can find focus on lines rather than on general ideas, so where to get this understanding from? ...
Over the years, I’ve looked at tons of games played by low-rated Chess.com members (games by low-rated players are often extremely instructive). In many instances I see undefended pieces on both sides. And, in many of those games, the defeat...
Learning a new opening can be a challenging but rewarding task. Once you have gotten used to a certain variation (e.g. the French Defense or the Catalan), it can be difficult to switch to playing something else, but at the same time it will e...
Grandmasters Magesh Panchanathan and Arun Prashad are two of the best chess coaches teaching today. In this incredible series of articles, they take deep dives on all sorts of topics, from classic openings, to unique patterns, chess history, and m...
It's never easy to critique yourself. After all, how can you know where you went wrong? Revisiting your own games, looking for areas to improve is a difficult task. In this series, we've employed our most self-depreciating experts to show you the ...
Chess fanatics dream about our famous GM Blitz Battles. These exciting, fast paced showdowns include commentary from the pros to analyze every variation. Watch as some of the world's greatest blitz players go head to head for the ultimate bragging...
Asmara the Cat wrote: I have a problem and I hope you can help me. My problem is that I don’t know how to defeat bad players (well, I’m not so good, but players who play worse than me). In real life, I’ve earned a FIDE rating b...
CAÏSSA'S BATTLEFIELD Chess at its purest is a totally abstract game that requires nothing but one's mind. While the accoutrements of the game are unnecessary, th...
It's an older archive but still worth its weight in gold. Review the best rounds from the memorable 2012 U.S. Championships with GM Eugene Perelshteyn. This tournament exceeded every chess lover's expectations. Witness the endgame prowess of GM Hi...
In our next installment of "Amazing Games," you're sure to be blown away by the time and travels of GM Jon Ludvig Hammer. Hammer is one of the best players in the world and has been a part of some of the best games in recent history. Watch just on...
Many years ago, GM Alexander Ivanov made his famous statement "Russians do not retreat!" As one of our readers, Osokor, correctly pointed out, this is not historically accurate. Indeed, in the Great Patriotic War of 1812, the Russia...
[Editor's note: The full broadcast replay of the match can be viewed on Twitch here.] This is it. Magnus Carlsen vs Hikaru Nakamura with everything on the line: the Grandmaster Blitz Battle Championship to finally decide who is the...
