A Walk on the Wild Side, Part I
Take a walk with me on the wild side . . . of chess.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . When Tarrasch wrote, ". . .S...
Pandolfini's Mailbag: Speed Chess -- The Bad
Topic for June: the endgame (Please start submitting questions concerning the above topic for the next column.) The Bad Things About Speed Chess? (For answers to all other speed chess questions received, please read my replies in the for...
Mastering Your Chess Intuition
Intuition manifests itself first and foremost in the ability, in a somewhat unconscious way, and with a high degree of accuracy, to choose between different lines of play. — GM Valeri Beim, The Enigma of Chess Intuition I ca...
When White Avoids the Benoni: The Vaganian Gambit
After the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5, not every player of the white pieces agrees to take up the baton and confront the Benoni Defense or the Benko Gambit by playing 3.d5. Some may prefer to send the game toward the quieter English Opening by playing ...
Tactics Or Positional Play? A Beautiful Imagination!
I’ve long insisted that the best way to improve (aside from playing stronger players) is to look at reams of master games. Most games between titled players have some important lesson hiding behind the moves, and I decided to make it easy for you ...
The Man Who Saved Philidor
"English chess owes more to the Rev. George Atwood than it does to any other person." - Dale A. Brandreth, chess historian and collector extraordinaire As most folks know, the custom of saving games didn't really begin in earnest un...
Game Of Thrones Or Chess Puzzles?
IM Daniel Rensch has tried live daily puzzle sessions before, racing against the clock to complete chess tactics before the timer expires. But even Chess.com’s master tactics trainer hasn’t attempted anything like this. This Sunday...
Lasker's Chess Wisdom
The second world champion in chess history, Emanuel Lasker, was a unique person. Besides being the champion for 27 years (this record will never be beaten for sure!), he was also a famous mathematician and philosopher. In his prime Lasker ...
Honest Abe
Honest Abe - Chess Player Although the documentation is rather sparce and anecdotal, Abraham Lincoln was known to have been a chess player. Below are a few of the instances where Chess crossed path with Mr. Lincoln. "The Every-day...
José Raúl Capablanca's Greatest Positional Wins
José Maria Capablanca was a busy man. A lieutenant in the cavalry division of the Spanish army, he spent his limited free time playing chess with fellow soldiers. One day, his four-year-old-son José Raúl decided to reliev...
Evaluation and Planning
Whether you’re trying to reach expert strength or a you're a beginner starting out, you will need a sound understanding of forming plans. Join GM Melikset Khachiyan in this video series as he explains the seven elements of assessing a positi...
Manny
Chess often forms a juncture with various disciplines such as literature, poetry, music, painting or films. The point where they meet can be symbolic, thematic or just a hook meant to reel in the audience. Certain artists or writers are, in fa...
4 Tips To Bounce Back From A Tough Tournament
The only thing worse than having a bad tournament is having to play another tournament immediately after. If you’re not careful, you may allow your poor performance to affect your subsequent results. Follow the tips below to bounce ...
A Guide To Underpromotion
The concept of underpromotion epitomizes the beauty of chess. Mathematically speaking, the queen is far and away the most potent force on the board. Yet there are certain situations in which the lady's subordinates are more deserving of reincarnat...
Sac A Queen To Find A Mate! A Love Story Video Series
We all have terrible ideas now and then. Typically, they stem from the crazy urge to sacrifice a piece. Even the best of the best can’t always resist. In fact, this series will pay tribute to those special moments when the game's most powerf...
Can A GM And Rybka Beat Stockfish?
Around June, Rubik's Cube extraordinaire and chess aficionado Tyson Mao approached me with a fascinating proposal. Together with his friend Jesse Levinson, Tyson was exploring the current state of computer chess engines. It is well establis...
The 7 Best Upcoming Chess.com Events
Chess fans have a lot to look forward to at Chess.com. If you like big-time chess events, you're going to love this spring. Yesterday, a charity fundraising simul hosted by world-number-nine GM Anish Giri online on Chess.com's ...
How To Be A Chess Legend
Legend: a story coming down from the past; especially: one popularly regarded as historical although not verifiable (Merriam Webster Dictionary). There are great chess players and there are legendary chess players. What's the differenc...
Can You Find These Classic Combinations?
This series is all about attacking chess and combinations and fun. And all of them are in puzzle form (some easy, some difficult) so you can see how your tactical IQ stands up to the old, sometimes forgotten greats. And, if you learn a tiny b...
Women In Chess: Be Aggressive
The recent Women's World Championship was a fascinating event. You could find everything we love about chess competitions: neat combinations, unpredictable results (will we ever forget Natalia Pogonina's amazing comebacks in almost every single ma...
Pandolfini's Mailbag: Speed Chess -- The Good
Topic for May/June: The Endgame (Please start submitting questions concerning the above topic for the next column. Questions different from the above theme should be submitted to other Chess.com departments.) The Good and the Bad...
How To Play The Stonewall Dutch
Today we will be looking at a completely different landscape on the chess board compared to last week's King's Indian structure: the light-square focus of the Dutch Stonewall. The Stonewall is not a specific series of moves so much as a set...
Spicy Gambits Video Series
Gambits are an important part of chess. Although most of them come from White’s initiative, there are also many sound counter gambits for Black that have developed over time. Understanding how to play with and against gambits is important fo...
Die Immergrüne Partie
Dr. Hermann von Gottschall Dr. Hermann von Gottschall (1862-1933) was a reputable German chessplayer and problemist. He also edited the German periodical "Deutsche Schachzeitung" from 1892-96 (having co-edi...