Who is the best chess player of all time? Today, World Champion Magnus Carlsen leads Vishy Anand 1.5-0.5 after two games at the world chess championship in Sochi, Russia. Carlsen is the 16th classical world chess champion — mor...
No one sets out to lose a chess game. Before the opening moves, chess players want to win, or at least save a draw if winning chances slip away. But losing is part of the game. Even the best players in the world lose. Play enough games and los...
The last two weeks, we looked at the chess pieces most and least likely to survive the game. Most of the time, those chess pieces will be the normal Staunton tournament set we all know so well. When playing online, though, you can choose ...
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...
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...
Most of us have our favorite openings to play, and lots of players know their favorite chess piece. Despite our preferences and best intentions, though, most of the actual pieces on the chessboard don’t survive to the end of the game. Ch...
GIFs are a fun and quick way to share an animated image. These animations are short and soundless, so they do not require the viewer to invest as much time and attention as full videos. It’s no surprise that GIF animations are some of the ...
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...
The Internet is full of seemingly elegant chess pictures, whether they are stock photographs or staged poses by individuals who want to appear interesting and cerebral. Unfortunately, the chessboard positions in many of these photographs do not ...
Most chess players have found themselves lost deeply in a game, so consumed by the position on the board — or the tactics brewing in their heads — that they all but ignore their surroundings. Usually these games are played ...
In Part One of Riding The Winds Of Fashion, I talked about the Hübner Variation of the Nimzo-Indian and how, at one time, it was one of the most fashionable openings in the world. In the main example (Bruce Leverett – Silman, National O...
(This article was written/translated from the original Russian by WilhelmThe2nd ) In its day, in its particular place, in its brief moment in time, the Warsaw Café was a well-known establishment in Kiev. Even the building itself couldn'...
Magnus Carlsen is a phenomenon. He could recently be seen on enormous billboards all over the world posing next to supermodel and Lord of the Rings actress Liv Tyler; he’s been a guest to The Colbert Report; and he has featured on the cover ...
Benjamin Franklin - 1706-1790 Born the ...
In this series, and especially in this particular article, I’m trying to instill a love of chess history with Chess.com members. For those who simply don’t like to read, or those who hate chess history, just go right to the puzzles. Ho...
Today we continue our series on positional exchange sacrifices. Last week we saw some examples of exchange sacrifices to create a general situation which benefits the minor pieces. This week we will be focusing on examples of exchange sacrifices w...
In my new weekly column "Pros and Cons" I am aiming to show that a well known strategical concept can be both an advantage and a disadvantage for you, depending on the position. Today is the special Holiday edition of the column and for your ...
IMPORTANT: [At the end of the puzzles, you should click MOVE LIST so you can see my instructive notes and variations. If you are having trouble solving a problem, just click SOLUTION, and then MOVE LIST. Even if you solve everything, DO click MOVE...
IMPORTANT: [At the end of the puzzles, you should click MOVE LIST so you can see my instructive notes and variations. If you are having trouble solving a problem, just click SOLUTION, and then MOVE LIST. Even if you solve everything, DO click MOVE...
Mr. BallsofSteeel brings us yet another movie-based name (for some reason, with a 3rd "e"), this time from Christopher Walken’s ping-pong film, BALLS OF STEEL. BallsofSteeel (1512) vs. The Butcher’s Daughter (1879), Tournoi De Culo 2...
rvkoivu said: “I have one interesting game to offer. It was a 15 10 game played at Chess.com against an opponent rated 2152. I was rated 1521 at that moment, currently 1596 (1930 in CC). I have played chess for three years, and I tend t...
member BCG1 asked: In Andrew Soltis’ book BOBBY FISCHER REDISCOVERED, page 278, he states (regarding the rematch in 1992 with Spassky), “In fact the match games were of a fairly high quality particularly when compared with Kasparov’s championship...
Paul asked: When should a player resign? I’ve heard that a good rule of thumb is when you’re the equivalent of a rook down. Is that a good rule of thumb? Dear Paul: There is no dyed in the wool answer to this question – it really depends on you...
BCG1 asked: As one of our foremost pedagogues I am asking for your advice on students who insist on repeating mistakes over and over and over again. I have pleaded, cajoled and finally, in desperation, resorted to corporal punishment, with some s...
