This week we turn our attention to one of the most swashbuckling of openings: the Evans Gambit. Unlike some other openings whose first use was surrounded by mystery and uncertainty, the origins of the Evans Gambit seem fairly clear. ...
What in the world is a chess dream? And how can such a thing help your game? This series is all about dreams (okay, it’s also about imbalances and patterns), and it’s presented in a question-and-answer format. Some of the positions w...
"We have to play by the !@#$ rules!" -- Amanda Young, Saw II. In last week's article, we discussed a dangerous strategic concept, the saw. So, what should you do if your opponent turns it against you? Well, as Amanda put it, you should ...
"I want to play a game." -- John '"Jigsaw" Kramer (from the movie Saw). You all probably know this cliche from many horror movies: A group of people are having fun (like a bunch of drunk college kids partying in a remote location), upbeat...
Zugzwang in chess seems like a simple concept: being forced to move even when it's disadvantageous. To me, zugzwang is the saudade of chess; a straightforward idea on the surface, but a profound and fascinating concept on the in...
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...
Topic for next month: Losing (Please start submitting questions concerning the above topic for the next column. Questions outside of that theme should be submitted to other Chess.com departments. If I get the opportunity to answer a different kin...
Last week, we dissected Magnus Carlsen's positional mastery by examining two of his finest strategic victories. However, modern chess demands universality, and it is impossible to become world champion and attain the highest rating in history thro...
At the recently concluded Grenke Chess Classic in Baden-Baden, Magnus Carlsen defeated German grandmaster Arkady Naiditsch in a scintillating blitz playoff for first place. It was the latest success in a dazzling career, an encore to his resoundin...
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 game we are going to analyze today is quite typical for the style of Mikhail Tal. It features sacrifices, crazy attack and a lot of fun! Also, as it happened to many Tal's sacrifices, it was proven incorrect. Of course it took "only" a...
Two active bishops working in tandem are a mighty force. Indeed, the bishop's long range enables it to dominate vast swaths of the board, and to simultaneously play both a defensive and an attacking role. While the power of two bishops is...
When I have lessons with students, we usually go over their games. Invariably, the student comes to me thinking that the errors in the game are based on blunders, missed tactics, a bad opening, or some form of positional atrocity. Of course, thes...
Last week, we examined the origins of the Chigorin Defense at the end of the 19th century. In the following years, Chigorin used his defense many times and demonstrated its basic themes. Let's look at some of them. Black's play on t...
As beginners, we are invariably warned that pawn grabbing in the opening is a cardinal sin. Indeed, what could be more incautious than throwing your development to the wind and setting yourself up for tactical calamity? Pawn grabbing usually st...
The concept of overprotection, invented and verbalized by Nimzowitsch in My System, is defined by IM Jeremy Silman as "a strategically important pawn or square that is given more protection than it seemingly needs. Essentially a prophylactic ...
These games might or might not be masterpieces; the criterion for this series is that they taught me an extremely important lesson(s) that made me well rounded and much stronger. I’m hoping that these games will teach you the same lessons, t...
This series is all about the classic games that, as a young teen (15 years of age), affected me in a profound manner. In general, they were positional games since, for a kid that grew up on attacking chess and combinations (12 to 14 year...
This series is all about the classic games that, as a young teen (15 years of age), affected me in a profound manner. In general, they were positional games since, for a kid that grew up on attacking chess and combinations (12 to 14 year...
Bobby Fischer was one of the most well-rounded players in history. He was at once a tactical wizard and a positional genius, a theoretical expert and a peerless endgame player. He was essentially unbeatable in match play largely because his oppo...
This series is all about the classic games that, as a young teen (15 years of age), affected me in a profound manner. In general, they were positional games since, for a kid that grew up on attacking chess and combinations (12 to 14 years of age),...
Last week, we looked at which chess pieces and pawns were least likely to make it to the end of a chess game. Unsurprisingly, the central pawns and belligerent knights were the least likely to survive, regardless of the game’s opening. W...
Pins are very popular and powerful chess weapons, and I am sure you've used them in dozens of your own games. If you just started playing chess and never heard about pins, I strongly recommend you check the Tactics Trainer. But even if you are...
Before we even play our first game of chess, we learn how the pieces move. The fact that the pieces travel the board in different ways is our first clue that the pieces themselves are not interchangeable. After a while, we find out about the &ld...
