I recently read an interesting article in Time, written in 2008 by then-world champion Viswanathan Anand, in which he argues that chess originated in India, and then traveled westward to Persia and ultimately to Spain. In the elegant f...
In one of my first tournament games I fell into a well-known opening trap and lost very quickly. My very considerate opponent waited till the mandatory crying was over and came to me. "Don't be upset, Greg", he said. "The move I played in the op...
One of the most interesting aspects of the recent chess960 matches (featuring Garry Kasparov) in St. Louis, was their potential to develop some kind of rudimentary opening theory. It appears that the players enjoyed this opportunity as well. As ...
Petrov's Defense is not a common opening in club tournaments. It almost doesn't exist in scholastic tournaments, either. The reason is the opening is not very exciting, and in most lines leads to slow, positional play. Therefore, as Wikipedia pu...
I love reading member comments to my articles! It is a pleasure to see how smart and intelligent our chess community is. Unlike commenters in many internet forums, Chess.com members are polite and helpful. Take for example one of my most re...
What's the weakest spot on the chessboard? Surely it must be the f7 square. Only protected by the black king, the poor pawn on f7 has been a classic victim of tricks and attacks. It's fair to say chess players have been obsessed with f7 sin...
On March 24, 1937, the leading Soviet chess magazine 64 published a theoretical article about a new opening system the magazine called the "Panov Defense." I challenge you to identify the moves of this opening line. Yes, you can Google it ...
The English Opening starting with 1.c4 is a modern way to handle the opening phase of the game. This opening is a "flank" opening since it starts with a side pawn rather than the central 1.e4 or 1.d4 moves. Many players from chess history and toda...
A popular saying insists that there are no bad questions: there are only bad answers. Well, I have a confession to make. There is a sort of question that is really difficult to answer. It usually goes like this: A student rated around USCF 1200 co...
The Ruy Lopez (also known as the Spanish Opening) is a chess opening enjoyed by chess players from complete beginners to the world champion, Magnus Carlsen! History Notable games Opening explorer History The opening bears the name o...
The Fried Liver Attack holds the award for the coolest opening name in chess. This variation of the Two-Knights Defense involves a bold knight sacrifice which forces the black king to take a walk. This variation is also known as the Fegatello Atta...
About a hundred years ago, the third world chess champion, José Raúl Capablanca, expressed concern about the death of chess due to its drawish tendences. He said that in times when there were no computers claiming "0.00" and when che...
The Accelerated Dragon may be a more positional style than other forms of the Sicilian, but it's equally effective against White. In this series, GM Melik Khachiyan offers a deeper insight into this popular opening for Black. Not what...
Is it true? Is the Catalan an easy way for White to jump out ahead? In this series, GM Georg Meier explores the depths of the Catalan for both White and Black. Will you find interesting ideas for Black up an extra pawn or just a positional co...
There's no such thing as too much Ruy Lopez. This time GM Ivan Sokolov makes his Chess.com debut with a new take on winning with White in the most popular opening. You'll enjoy the in-depth analysis and final verdicts on some of those sidelines yo...
One of our favorite installments from one of our favorite guest. In this series, GM Hikaru Nakamura best games in the KID are broken down, piece by piece, by GM Simon Williams. Try the Lessons! Not what you were looking for? Back...
During the last five years or so, most of the time that I have spent on chess has been devoted to creating things that have helped other players improve: videos, books, articles, courses and whatever else comes along. Undertaking this direc...
Dave asked for my opinion on a line in the Two Knight’s Defense. He wrote: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Be2 h6 9.Nf3 e4 10.Ne5 Bc5. Here there are a few moves to play. The move I’m look...
In this series, GMs Roman Dzindzichashvili and Melik Khachiyan explore one of the first chess openings to come into existence, the Giuoco Piano. While there are great advantages for Black in gaining the d5-square, the road to success is bumpy, to ...
One of the oddest, yet intriguing variations in the King's Gambit Accepted is one discovered by Louis Eisenberg. Louis R. Eisenberg ...
Target Skill Range: Master Path (Rated 2000-2199) Acquire the knowledge you need to approach the opening with confidence and achieve success! Tasks: Learn About Advanced Opening Preparation Expand Your Knowledge of Thematic Middlegam...
Target Skill Range: Advanced (Rated 1800-1999) Acquire the knowledge you need to approach the opening with confidence and achieve success! Tasks: Expand your Knowledge of Common Structures and Plans Learn About Creating an Opening Re...
George C. Parker was a famous con man. Here is what Wikipedia says about him: "He made his living conducting illegal sales of property he did not own, often New York's public landmarks, to unwary immigrants. The Brooklyn Bridge was th...
People are obsessed with chess openings. Amazon shows 28,265 books listed when you search for "Chess Book", but I expect the number of books written on the game is well over 100,000. If I were to hedge a bet, then I would also guess that...
