For nearly 20 years computers have dominated chess. These advanced devises not only defeat the best players, but have become indispensable as training tools, analyzing partners and always-ready opponents. &...
Chess is so much more than simple squares, pieces, letters and numbers. But it certainly helps the learning process when you bring the game to life! Below are some of the animated GIFs that ChessKid uses in videos that teach kids how to play and...
The news about the four-year old Misha Osipov beating a grandmaster spread the world like wildfire. It must be a new record by a wide margin. Many people think that little Misha is going to be the world champion one day for sure. Photo: Che...
You've bought your kids extra pencils, notebooks, and brand new shoes. What's left for your back-to-school shopping? Hint: It's something you can't even put in a backpack. A shiny gold membership to unlock all the fun and training tools of Chess...
Fulgencio Batista, president of Cuba during WWII and again from 1952-1959, backed by the US government as well as by organized crime, enriched himself at the expense of his citizenry. One of his methods of enrichment was to e...
Challenge yourselves and you will challenge the world. —Garry Kasparov, "Deep Thinking" In last week's article we stated the obvious fact that the Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz tournament was effectively ruined for Kasparov by his ext...
IvnKaramazov: I feel like one of my recent games demonstrates my problem quite well. I thought I was gaining a positional advantage and at first glance it seems so: by move 15 I had a bishop pair and an outposted knight (which couldn’t be ...
I used to do a lot of reader question columns but, for some reason, I haven’t done it in a long time. Why, I don’t know. However, I’m finally in the mood to discuss some of the Chess.com members' thoughts. THE MAN WHO CAN&rsquo...
When I first came to chess.com, it was to avail myself of its wonderful blogging tools and its chess-centric community. After 6 years of blogging, I chose to devote my time instead to the generally more involved pu...
By Rob Goodman and Jimmy Soni If anyone has a claim to be considered the founder of the information age, Claude Shannon does. In his groundbreaking work at the intersections of mathematics, engineering, and computer science, Shannon (1916-2001) ...
I recently told a friend that I had been playing a lot of chess. “How good are you?” she asked. I brightened, interpreting the question as an invitation for a game. “No, I don’t play,” she waved me off. “I&rsq...
The question whether to trust computers might sound pointless since we really have no choice in the modern world. Think about it: if a computer of one of the nuclear superpowers goes berserk, then it can potentially end humankind as we know it. Si...
In general, amateur chess players do their best to push their pieces forward and attack. However, sometimes they think they have to retreat due to the opponent threatening something or starting to take over the game (I said “think” bec...
Last week we analyzed the situations where promoting a pawn into a rook, bishop or knight was a logical way to achieve a goal (whether to win or draw the game). Today we'll see the games where underpromotion didn't make much sense and wasn't ...
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 ...
In this article we’ll take a look at "deep squares" (6th, 7th, and even the 8th!). So far we’ve used knights as the conqueror of squares, and most of the games will indeed highlight knights. However, this time I’ll also give exam...
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...
Most of the classical attacking games have a similar scenario: the winner brings his pieces close to the opponent's king and then sacrifices something to deliver a winning combination. But what can you do if your pieces are far away from your oppo...
[Editor's note: David Levy is the president of the International Computer Games Association.] The history of chess programs competing in tournaments is exactly 50 years old. In February 1967 the program MacHack VI, developed at MIT pr...
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...
1943 The 1943 tournament was held from July 5th - July 11 Anthony Santasiere and Pfc. George Shainswift shared the $50 first prize award. Santasiere, who espoused Romanticism, played defensi...
Many chess players have a limited understanding of the game. They think it’s all about mating the enemy king. They think it’s all about tactics and attack. They think it’s about creating threats. Of course, all these things are i...
Many years ago I wrote a Novice Nook column, "The Fun of Pros and Cons." This column was directed at the many players who play way too fast in long time-control games. The column and its sequel "Chess is Decisions" have proven very helpful as refe...
When I read the recent news that the Azerbaijani GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov crossed the magic 2800 mark, I wasn't surprised. Well, actually I was surprised that it didn't happen many years ago. You see, while it is difficult for me to tell wh...
