This week, we’ll take a look at a young Indian player, Sakshi1234567. She had this to say: “I am 13 years old. My father taught me chess when I was 10. I’ve been taking the game seriously from October 2015. I want to become a g...
The Chess.com member te_amo (from Kolkata, India) asked me to point out his weakness in his games. He said: “I undergo no sort of professional training, and I aspire to be over 2000 someday.” Mr. te_amo, the fact is that people start...
The Chess.com member Olaspecial wrote: “I am keen to become Nigeria’s next titled player (I hope this makes you smile) and I believe you can help me get there. I am diligent and I have been working hard at developing my opening repe...
There are basically three ways a tactic can occur, both for and against you: The opponent makes a threat for a tactic (or a check or capture), which either can't be met, or can be, but is missed. There is no existing threat of a tactic, bu...
I always mention the importance of patterns in chess. Unfortunately, many laugh at the thought, others prefer to ignore a reality (patterns) that demands hard work for those who dream of being a master, and some view patterns as nothi...
The Chess.com member yoavb2 said: “I read your ‘How to Reassess Your Chess 4th’ but fail in the opening, which makes me start with a disadvantage. How can I fix it?” ANSWER: I looked at several of your games (whil...
I get countless questions that ask about taste in chess (No, don’t eat the pieces!). Taste, in this case, refers to a preference for positional or tactical situations. (However, if you MUST eat the pieces, please buy a chess cake or a ches...
SPOTTING THE ELUSIVE TARGETS Chess.com member speedyg2 asked: “I have been reading your book How to Reassess Your Chess 4th Edition and I was wondering if move 23 for White (Rfe1) is following the imbalances. My imbalance breakdown was that Bla...
Chess.com member Mahilewetsll asked: “Hello. I’m almost 17 years old. What can I reach in chess? How long will I need to do it?” Dear Mr. Mahilewetsll, I get this kind of question a lot (from people 10 to 60). Think about this in a logical manner...
From time to time I put together various reader questions and comments (while ignoring the, “Die Silman Die!” raves) and share them with the good folks on Chess.com. I try to give a heady mix of subjects so that there will be a bit of ...
In this video series, IM Daniel Rensch is here to educate us all on some chess fundamentals. You will want to go through these courses more than once. This video series will cover everything from basic tactical patterns to complex mating nets. T...
In general, most players view imbalances as positional commodities. However, though that’s certainly true, one also has to learn to recognize dynamic and tactical imbalances. To be a good player, you need to learn as many tactical and posi...
In part one, I discussed a game that I feel is extremely instructive. There were opening nuances, tactics, and the usual highs and lows. But the main thing that fueled the game’s soul was the existence of two potentially weak squares on e5 a...
The last couple of months were a real paradise for true chess aficionados. The world's top events (including the world championship!) followed one after another. Today, I offer you an opportunity to test your chess skills and find the star moves...
GOOD OR BAD? Mordecai10 asked: I have just completed part 1 of your Test Your Chess Understanding articles, and I wasn’t completely satisfied by one aspect of your solutions. In your solution to puzzle 2, you say the following: &lsquo...
A VERY BASIC BENKO This continues the Classic Pawn Structure series as seen in Classic Pawn Structure, Part 1a and Part 1b. In general, chess professionals know the ins and outs of every structure, non-titled experienced/strong pl...
Usually an article discusses a particular player, or tactic, or some positional concept. When I teach tactical motifs, you know that all the puzzles are going to be about tactics. If I am discussing a particular idea concerning a pawn structure, y...
Recently I've received a lot of emails from prospective students who ask me “How do I get better at chess?” In my opinion, there are three important methods of improvement that I feel are key to everyone's growth as chess players. This article wil...
Quite a few amateurs become a bit confused when game annotations talk about the enormous importance of the dark squares in one position or another. Yes, everyone knows what the dark squares are, but in most cases, one is left wondering why they ar...
Most tournament players scoff at the notion of Coffeehouse Chess. Even so, some of the most famous brilliancies in chess history were produced under dubious, non-tournament circumstances: The Immortal Game (Anderssen-Kieseritzky) was played at the...
About a year and a half ago, I had the honor of working with GM Yasser Seirawan for two days during his visit to the Bay Area. Yasser is a four-time U.S. Champion whose storied professional career spans more than 30 years, and he also possesses th...
WHY I WRITE ABOUT THE CHESS GREATS In my view, it’s important for chess fans to embrace a chess hero, and after studying his life and games, moving onto another chess hero. It’s fun, you learn a lot, and it makes the whole chess expe...
Every chess player dreams of improving his game. He might simply want to smash his friends. He might want that 1200 rating to turn into a 1600 rating. Or he might be sick and tired of not knowing why he lost games X, Y, and Z. Study certainly help...
Curse of the Hasty Pawn Advance EvgeniyZh (1192) – raj475 (1324)ICC Live Game (30-0), 2014 1.e4 b6 2.e4 e6 3.e5 I’ve seen many sub-1500 rated players make this kind of hasty pawn advance, and I will take this opportunity to make a comment abou...
