Like a Jewel
Reporting the death of Adolf Anderssen, on April 12, 1879, "The Saturday Magazine" wrote: Paul Morphy has a world-wide reputation, and he deserves to have it, because he simply mowed down every one he came ac...
Planning The Perfect PRO Finals Weekend In San Francisco
Headed to the PRO Chess League's in-person semi-finals and finals in San Francisco April 7-8? You've probably read over the schedule of official events, but that may still leave you worried about how to tailgate before the event and where to host ...
What Is The Best Chess Nation?
What is the strongest chess country in the world? There are many ways to measure the strongest chess nations. By sheer volume, Russia dominates, with 2,559 titled players, including a remarkable 243 grandmasters. In fact, Russia has more grand...
Final 3 Playoff Spots Up For Grabs In PRO Chess Last Round
We already have 13 for the 13th. Thirteen of the Professional Rapid Online (PRO) Chess League's teams already know they'll be playing more chess during the opening week of the playoffs on March 13. That leaves only three openings left heading in...
My Favorite U.S. Chess Magazines, Part 3
CHESS REVIEW Chess Review (from 1933 to late 1969) was without any doubt the best American chess magazine until, in 1961, it ran into a remarkably improved Chess Life. Both tried to beat the other (interest exploded due to the advent of Tal and,...
Rook Endgame Essentials - Part 3
Hi guys! It is been a while since my last post - "Rook Endgame Essentials - Part 2". It is time to enhance our understanding. In this article, we are going to cover the third part of the rook endgame essentials. Let's begin with an example ...
The Dean of American Chess
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...
What Are The Best Chess Streams On Twitch?
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...
MVL-Grischuk Preview: The Basketball Player vs The Tennis Player?
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...
Has The King's Indian Attack Been Forgotten?
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...
Playing Goliath: What Goes Wrong
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 ...
Dancing
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...
What I Learned From My 1st Chess Tournament
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...
Advance to Ventnor I
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...
How I Learned My 1st Chess Openings
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 ...
Santasiere's Thoughts and Remembrances
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...
Santasiere's Folly
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...
PRO Chess League Week 3: The Critical Showdowns
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...
How To Understand Chess Openings
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? ...
The Curse Of Undefended Pieces
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...
3 Ways To Learn New Openings
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 Teach Chess
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...
How To Analyze Your Own Chess Games
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 ...
GM Blitz Battles
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...