One of the most important things in chess is willpower (a branch of chess psychology). Most players glance at a possibility, shrug it off as too risky or just plain bad or boring, and toss out some generic move instead. This, of course, is...
After sharing positional puzzles to the raging masses, I thought that it was only right to offer tactical puzzles and sharp attacks. However, there’s a tiny blip: All these games won brilliancy prizes. Anyway, whether you solve it or not,...
Welcome again to another learning chess experience. You will look at eight positional puzzles and, as you finish each one, you will click the question mark (“?”) underneath the board next to the light bulb. This will allow you to se...
In last week's article, we discussed chess players' behavior. The big questions were if trying to flag your opponent in a dead-drawn position or playing out a completely lost position or some other perfectly legal things are ethical. Judgin...
I’ve done positional puzzles twice. Since a lot of people enjoyed them, I’ve decided to do it again, and perhaps again and again. It’s certainly a good way to learn positional ideas. Here are the original two articles: ...
Not sure how to celebrate International Chess Day? Join thousands of other Chess.com users in our 24-hour arena from 12 a.m. PT to 12 p.m. July 20! The tournament will be played at Chess.com's most popular time control, 10|0. Play the Arena W...
I get so many questions and statements about chess, but being old (yep, 108 years old…don’t worry though, the friends that are still alive tell me that I don’t look more than 98) means that all those questions have been asked ov...
"We work 25 hours a day." "But there's only 24 hours in a day!" "We just wake up an hour earlier." —Eternal Call, a Soviet TV series (1973-83) Our society's obsession with time knows few bounds. It is the golden age of at...
The Chess.com member KBToys7 wrote: I am writing to you out of frustration. I’ve bought several books on chess; on openings, middle games, endgames, tactics, strategy and more. I’ve completed dozens of lessons offered here on Chess....
Note: The cover image was modified from that of a novel of that name written by John Donoghue. The story, set in Auschwitz, is much deeper and serious than this article. There has never been any doubt that chess ...
This series on Wilhelm Steinitz isn’t about every detail of his life. It’s about some basics and, most important, the games. I’m writing this since whenever chess players get together and talk about the past top players...
Note: The cover image was modified from that of a novel of that name written by John Donoghue. The story, set in Auschwitz, is much deeper and serious than this article. There has never been any doubt that chess ...
The 1860s were very good for Adolf Anderssen, who was still at his peak. He won several important tournaments and was also successful in most of his matches. However, new players were appearing, such as Ignatz von Kolisch, Steinitz, and Zukertort....
Adolf Anderssen (born 1818) was born in the German Empire (Breslau, which is now Wroclaw, Poland). He learned how to play chess at the age of nine, and learned much of his chess understanding by going over all the games of the legendary Labourdonn...
I have gotten lots of people asking about positional chess. Some think it’s one or the other (either positional play or tactics), and others think that positional chess is out of their reach. Both are wrong. Anyone can learn solid posi...
Editor's note: IM Silman publishes a roundup of messages received from Chess.com members. The Chess.com member RuleDomain said something about a group called the “Silman Stalkers.” After hearing that, I make sure I lock the door and ...
Frank Marshall played quite a bit in 1915, but all his games were in the U.S. There were two reasons for this: First, World War I. Second: Marshall opened the Marshall Chess Club in New York! With new responsibilities and an inability to go to E...
In part 3 we left Frank Marshall playing in one tournament or match after another. Nothing changed in 1912. The guy seemed to live for chess and he continued to compete all over Europe, Russia, and the U.S. Since he couldn’t fly to all those...
In the end of October 2000, I played a traditional chess tournament: Cap d'Agde. It was a memorable event for me. First, it is not every day you mingle with such legends as Anatoly Karpov. Also, the way we entered the stage was quite remarkable....
What do you do when you've failed to win the world chess championship and, more important, you've realized that the biggest title will never be yours? Well, you play chess of course! Yes, the top players dream of the world championship, but ...
With the upcoming semifinals and finals of the 2018 Professional Rapid Online (PRO) Chess League also marshaling in the era of chess as an esport, many exciting changes are afoot. One of them will be musical -- not usually something that play...
The tournament of the year is over and we have a deserved winner. The quality of Fabiano Caruana's games was higher than anyone else's in the Candidates' Tournament and he kept his cool throughout the whole competition. Now we all are waiting fo...
Don't worry, I haven't lost my mind when insist that you are stronger than Magnus Carlsen even if your rating is just 1400. Also, it is not a April Fool's Day joke. It is pure math and logic, so let me explain. If you forgot what transitivity ...
We left part one with Frank Marshall on top of the world due to his total domination of the Cambridge Springs 1904 tournament. The world wanted to know if he was really that good. Marshall, a fearless competitor, leaped into battle. 1905 Marsh...
Let’s talk about Frank Marshall. This man was U.S. Chess Champion from 1909 to 1936. He was a man who beat Emanuel Lasker once and Capablanca twice, a player who feared no one. He won many tournaments against world class competition. He was ...