It was on July 17, 2019, that I lost all faith in humanity. That was my first loss to the shameful Englund Gambit, which left me wondering what type of person does this. Why would someone play a dubious opening trap that either gives them a quick ...
Just as with everything else—hopefully—we learn more and more about chess as the years go by. Opening theory gets consistently deeper, tablebases have solved endgames with up to seven pieces on the board, and computers teach us more th...
There are many well-known world champions, challengers, candidates, world-class players, national champions, and grandmasters in chess circles. The best players our game has ever seen are constantly celebrated and for good reason! However, there a...
Chess tricks and traps have always caught the imagination and appreciation of chess fans as long as chess has been played. A nice trap shows tactical ideas, combinations, and fascinating concepts that capture our attention and stand the test of ti...
1886 was an epic year. Though past players were viewed as the world chess champion, there never was an official title. Now the two best players in the world (Zukertort and Steinitz) would butt heads and the fans of both players would have to accep...
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...
Target Skill Range: Advanced (Rated 1800-1999) Acquire the knowledge you need to approach the opening with confidence and achieve success! Tasks: Expand your Knowledge of Common Structures and Plans Learn About Creating an Opening Re...
I’ve gone out of my way to write articles about the importance of balance; everyone needs both tactical and positional/strategic skills (you also need endgame skills, but at the moment we will concentrate on tactics and strategy). To add a...
Alexander Alekhine won the title from Jose Raul Capablanca in their 1927 match. The Franco-Russian master had an unusually wide opening repertoire compared to the earlier champions, and he loved to experiment with different openings. So while A...
Reaching One’s GM Chess Potential Chess.com member Philippe Silex777 asked: I have been reading your articles for a while now and have a question that I can’t find a satisfying answer to. It’s pretty simple: You wrote books a...
By now many Chess.com members have seen the first trailer for Pawn Sacrifice, the Hollywood movie based on the rise of Bobby Fischer to world chess champion. We've known for a while that Spiderman, or rather Tobey Maguire, was to play the fiv...
Why study traps? There are several good reasons why studying traps might be considered important. First, of course, to avoid becoming a victim of one. Second is to recognize when the opportunity of gaining a quick victory appears. But the ...
I recently took a train from Amsterdam to the quaint little Belgium town of Bruges. Looking for a book to keep me occupied for the four hour ride, I remembered my review copy of Richard Pert’s Playing the Trompowsky, which is certainly thinner tha...
It has been said that the second World Champion, Emanuel Lasker, was unique among the top players of his time period in that he didn't create a chess school of thought. Others have said that he did create a school - the "psychological school." It ...
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...
"I know doing basic tactics puzzles is good for me but I don't have much fun doing them. How can I make them more fun?" A great question. But of course the answer depends on a large part of what is preventing that study from being fun. It might b...
Rudolf Spielmann was born in Vienna on May 5, 1883, and he learned how to play chess at a very young age. Reti, in his classic book Masters of the Chessboard, said this: “He learned to play while still a boy and was exhibited in public as ...
by GM Magesh and GM Arun Last week we saw how Morozevich used his sharp tactical skills and his creative play to use this opening successfully against strong opposition. This week we shall see how one would normally counter a counter-gambit! T...
by GM Magesh and GM Arun The last few weeks we have studied some conventional openings such as the Lasker Defense, Caro-Kann and the Petroff, now it is time again to switch gears and study some Kamikaze attack. The Albin Counter-Gambit, as su...
Jackson Showalter, born on February 5, 1860 in Minerva, Kentucky, was the first officially-crowned Chess Champion of the United States! According to some sources he won the title five times! After being defeated in a match against Frank Marshall (...
Perhaps the most aggressive reply to the Queen's Gambit is the Albin Countergambit 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4. It is sound enough for use in amateur games and has even been used by the pros in Interzonal competition. Here are a few examples with m...
razorblade12 asked: Ever since I have started playing chess over a year ago, I have always come unstuck when playing against 1.d4 as Black. Is there any defense that you recommend I could use that would suit my style of play? Dear razorblade: T...
The Chigorin Defense was never a popular opening, but this situation has been changing in the last decade. A super GM Alexander Morozevich managed to prove that in the good hands (see the picture) it is a very powerful weapon. The idea of the open...
Rudolf Charousek (September 19, 1873, Prague – April 18, 1900, Budapest) was a Hungarian chess player. He had a tragically short career, and he was once called by Reuben Fine the John Keats of chess. A brilliant player and a tremendous talent,...
The Albin Counter Gambit is one of those openings that people love to hate. It starts with the moves 1.d4 d5 2. c4 e5!?, so Black sacrifices a pawn as early as move two! Indeed, it breaks one of the major rules of the classical school of chess t...
