Here and there we hear all types of things about “home prep”, but how do grandmasters prepare for their games in real life? The pre-game stage is often as important as the game itself. So, what is the most efficient way of preparing for your next ...
The Major Georg Marco was born on September 29, 1863 in Czernowitz, Romania, later moving to Vienna and becoming secretary of the Viennese Chess Association. He was a professional chess player and journalist.In tournament play Marco debuted in Dre...
Sure, he was a great writer. Yes, he was a mighty political force at times. Always a great storyteller. But what about the chess? Here are some moments from a fine career, not necessarily the best known. An actual checkmate: Drsagonslay...
Oldrich Duras, born October 30, 1882 in Bohemia is one of the most famous Czech Grandmasters and a renowned master of the early 20th century. He was also an outstanding composer. Duras became Czech Champion three times, in 1905, 1909 and 1911; an...
Grigory Levenfish was born on the 9th of March 1889 in Poland which was then part of the Russian Empire. He was the second Soviet chess player, after Botvinnik, who was awarded the title of grandmaster of the USSR in 1937. He played chess since th...
Right on the heels of the Chess Olympiad came another strong team tournament. The European Club Cup has a long history. The first event of this type was held in 1956. Women’s teams have been participating since 1996. This year the tournament took ...
It's playoff time, in the US Chess League!! The most exciting chess event in the US is sponsored by Pokerstars and involves four board matches between 16 teams representing a variety of American cities. For more info check here or here. My goal t...
A few weeks ago, Joanne Addison, widow of International Master Bill Addison, saw an article I wrote at chess.com about players that quit chess. I used a statement that Pal Benko wrote in his autobiography that wasn't quite true, and Joanne correc...
Alexander Kotov was born on the 12th of August 1913 in Tula, Russia. His trilogy of books “Think Like a Grandmaster”, “Play Like a Grandmaster”, and “Train Like a Grandmaster”, are his best coverletter! The first one is one of the best-selling ...
In the recent Olympiad in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia, Judit Polgar played in the Men’s Olympiad. The Women’s Olympiad is for women only. The Men’s Olympiad is not limited to men and is now called the Open Olympiad when you can find that term used. J...
Alexander Tolush was born on the 1st of May 1910 in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was a Soviet Russian chess grandmaster and also one of Boris Spassky's mentors! He got the title of International Master in 1950 and Grandmaster in 1953. He also earned...
One of the key ingredients in a team’s successful performance is choosing the strategy and tactics of team play: the correct team composition, chess preparation for the round, and team tactics during the round. Let’s take a look at these component...
Janis Klovans was born April 9, 1935 and died October 5, 2010. He was Latvia’s champion nine times from 1954 to 1986. He competed in the Soviet Championship a number of times. In 1997, 1999, and 2001 he won the World Senior Championship. In 1976,...
Rashid Nezhmetdinov was born on December 15, 1912 to a peasant family then living in the Kazakh town of Aktyubinsk. Both his parents died when Rashid was very young and it was left to his elder brother to care for him. He learned chess by watch...
The World Chess Olympiad. Intrigue, unpredictability, a holiday for all the participants. The strongest team tournament, held every two years, identifies the number one team in the world. It is a must-follow for any chess fan. This year's host of...
Louis Paulsen was born at Nassengrund, in Germany, on January 15th, 1833 and at an early age he learned chess from his father. In 1854 he immigrated to America and was the number one player when Paul Morphy wasn't playing. He was a resident of Dub...
Promoting chess and helping other people is very important to me. That’s why I reply to lots of messages every day and give many interviews. Of course, many of the questions are getting asked over and over again. To avoid acting like a parrot and ...
Amos Burn born on the 31st of December 1848 in Hull, Yorkshire, England, was one of the world's leading players at the end of the 19th century, and a chess writer. He became apprenticed to a firm of ship-owners and merchants. He only learned chess...
Erich Eliskases born February 15, 1913 in Innsbruck, Austria, was a leading chess player of the 1930s and 1940s who represented Austria, Germany and Argentina in Olympiads! He played for Austria in 1930, 1933 and 1935, for Germany in 1939 and for ...
People often ask me whether they will be able to become a grandmaster. Another question that derives from it is: “How much will I be making?” Young guys are especially pragmatic, so for many of them the choice between getting a job in the office a...
You have robably already seen the obituary article with Larsen's wins over World Champions, so here are some more examples of his fine play:
Garry Kasparov was born April 13, 1963 in Baku, Azerbaijan, USSR. He began to play chess at the age of six. In 1976, he won the Soviet Junior Championship. In 1980, he won the World Junior Championship. He became a grandmaster in 1980. In 1982, he...
Salomon Flohr was born November 21, 1908 in what is now Ukraine. He lost his parents during World War I and together with his brother was orphaned as a child and relocated to Czechoslovakia, where he learned chess and became a professional chess p...
One of the most popular questions that is asked by amateurs and pros alike is “How many games per year should I play?” Of course, no one in the world knows the right answer. In fact, the one and only solution doesn’t exist since this is highly ind...
