"Why did you switch from 1.e4 to 1.d4?" I asked a friend of mine in the local club. And their reply, was the same of every other in my local area - "because of the Sicilian..." Despite how outrageous and ridiculous that sounds, that is the most c...
Although the Exchange Variation isn't aything to worry about, some players just don't like to suffer under the pawn structure. There is an easy way to avoid this, and it doesn't require knowing much theory. I'm tralking aout Cozio's 3...Nge7. The ...
The Cochrane Defense is a method for drawing in the chess endgame with a rook versus a rook and bishop, shown here. It was discovered by John Cochrane. This combination of material is one of the most common pawnless chess endgames. Accurate play i...
For some reason some players get scared when faced with1.g4. There is no reason to fear this. True, if you waslk into the jaws of the beast, your head can get chopped off. But if you play sensibly there is no danger. Here are two examples of solid...
Fans of Scandinavian Openings might want to look at the Icelandic Gambit (1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.c4 e6!?) for a bit of fun. Here is a brief introduction.
Helmut Pfleger was born June 8, 1943 in Czechoslovakia. He was a world class junior player by 1960. He tied for first in the West German Championship in 1963 and 1965. He became a grandmaster in 1975. He practices internal medicine and psychothera...
There are many things I don't understand in this world. One of them is why some people makes such a big fuss out of Paris Hilton (sorry Paris fans, but that is my truth). Another is why most people disregard 1.f4 so quickly, without even a glance....
Here is a game from the 51st Reggio Emilia Tournament, GM Marin - IM Shytaj with full annotations and commentary: In this game we saw good execution of the reversed Sicilian starting out of the English opening. This...
In the early days, having a big pawn centre was thought to be an instant advantage to the player owning it. That was until Nimzowitsch, Reti, and others of the kind entered the chess world. Although those players have long retired from tournament ...
Can anyone please list some good opening books for both sides?
The famous Adolf Anderssen - Lionel Kieseritzky , London 1851 game is know as the "Immortal Game." Anderssen sacrificed two rooks and the queen to produce a mate with two knights and a bishop. Other games have been dubbed "immortal" by chess write...
Here is a game from the 2008 Pearl Spring Invitational, GM Ivanchuk - GM Bu with full annotations and commentary: In this game we see two high level masters playing an opening which is considered to be a "scholastic" level open...
The Classical Defense to the Ruy Lopez uses 3...Bc5. This idea has been played for hundreds of years with the aim of obtaining active piece play. White can use the position of the bishop on c5 to play c3 and d4, which gains a tempo in the struggle...
The Fried Liver Attack and the Lolli Attack are two venerable ideas for white that spring from the Two Knights Defense. They are aimed at refuting black's play after the sequence 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. ed Nxd5 ?! This captur...
All articles I wrote before this one are about a particular opening. For my 4th one, I'd like to do something else for a change. First of all, I'd like to give you, the readers, a question. Is it really worth the time to study openings? Or can y...
I used to play the Fried Liver myself - that was until i learned that sometimes, the priority of development overweighs a meer pawn. The Fried Liver seems to be especially popular in junior events. But seriously, and I try to say this in the most...
The Classical Defense to the Ruy Lopez is also called the Cordel Defense because Oskar Cordel was a player who used this system. The idea of the Cordel Defense is to play 3...Bc5 which is more active than Be7. White is invited by the position of t...
The Boden Gambit was first introduced to me by Eric Schiller's 'First Chess Opening', and ever since then, I occasionally use it in my local club, especially when playing blitz. As quoted by Mikhail Tal, 'in speed chess, it is easier to attack wit...
This is the first time I tried to write an article on Chess.com, so if you have any suggestions, please tell me. Back in the 19th and early 20th century pawns were thrown away in the openings. The only thing that mattered was a chance to attack, ...
I only play online blitz chess nowadays, as I find the faster time controls to be more intense through the game. This game was set with 5 minute time controls. I have to say, if not for this site, I never would have won this one. I was paired up...
Geza Maroczy (1870-1951) was one of the best players in the world and Hungary's top player in the early 20th century. He was awarded the grandmaster title by FIDE based on past performance in 1950. He was skilled in all phases of the game, not jus...
Here is a great trap I found on one of GreenCastleBlock's videos. For all those people who don't understand.
Salomon Flohr (1908-1983) was born in a part of Poland that later belonged to Ukraine. His parents were killed in a World War I massacre. He and his brother escaped to Czechoslovakia , which had become independent of Austria-Hungary. By the late t...
Vasily Smyslov was born in 1921 and was the World Chess Champion in 1957. Smyslov played the champion, Mikhail Botvinnik three matches for the title. In 1954, Botvinnik kept his title with a score of 12-12. In 1957, Smyslov won 12.5-9.5. Botvinnik...
