I recently noticed an article that tried to clarify what a pattern is. I found it quite agonizing since the writer didn’t understand patterns but was trying hard to isolate exactly what it was (a noble try but quite futile). Unfortunate...
The world has gone crazy! Did I just say it aloud? I am sorry; I used to better control what I say. In fact it was something you would learn from your early childhood in the former Soviet Union. As the very popular rock group Nautilu...
Asmara the Cat wrote: I have a problem and I hope you can help me. My problem is that I don’t know how to defeat bad players (well, I’m not so good, but players who play worse than me). In real life, I’ve earned a FIDE rating b...
Preface: An official U.S. Women's Chess Championship has existed for nearly 80 years. The USCF lists 1937 as the first year. There have been many strong and important women players over the early year...
I recently received a question from one of our fellow Chess.com members. Since I've heard this question many times, I decided to share my opinion on the subject. The question goes like this: "I am 25 years old and know only basic chess rule...
PLEASE GO HERE TO SEE THE CURRENT PRO CHESS LEAGUE STANDINGS Here you will find the standings of the 2017 PRO Chess League, updated weekly after all results are in. All matches will be covered live on www.chess.com/tv with hosts taking yo...
https://www.prochessleague.com/teams.html
https://www.prochessleague.com/schedule.html
No, I’m not talking about boring, rigid or out-of-touch people who are sometimes referred to as “squares.” I’m going to discuss squares on a chessboard and just how important a “key” square is. And so, now that ...
This week we’re going to look at the games of the Chess.com member Mockingbird2, who is majoring in chemical engineering but thinks he can become a chess master in another two years. At the moment he’s 1900 USCF, 2143 in Chess.com...
The rating system is very accurate. That's obviously good... ...but it's also potentially bad. Humans can't help but be affected by perceptions. When players first start rated play, they are often unaware of ratings, but that all quickly ...
Most of us know that the legendary Emanuel Lasker was a philosopher and a world class mathematician — he earned his doctorate in math in 1902 and published a theorem which, even today, is critically important for the ins and outs of alg...
CAÏSSA'S BATTLEFIELD Chess at its purest is a totally abstract game that requires nothing but one's mind. While the accoutrements of the game are unnecessary, th...
In August of 1974 Richard Milhous Nixon became the first and only U.S. president to resign from office. But during his presidency - May 22 -30, 1972 - he made a historic trip to the Soviet Union. The History Channel s...
The Chess.com member QueensConquerer wants to know what I think about his game. JS: I’m going to be honest. This game is a total mess, with one blunder following another (from both sides). However, blunder-games are what I get from the vas...
Charles de Maurian, well known as Paul Morphy's childhood and life-long friend, developed very quickly as a chess player. He began learning the game from Morphy during the 1853-4 school year at Spring Hill College ...
EscapePlan69 asked: “I get into time trouble in most of my games while my opponents always have plenty of time left. How can I improve my time management? My tournament games are one hour and 30 minutes plus 30 seconds per move.” J...
Chess is a thinking game. Thought processes and time management are intertwined and are two of the most important skills. I break down time management into two sub-skills: Macro Time Management: The ability to use almost all of your time eve...
Sitting in a coffee shop in Tokyo that’s little known but adored by those who frequent it, I was staring at the most beautiful and delicious cappuccino on Earth. This was my second one, but before I downed my drink I thought of IM Jo...
This article is about four interesting positions. Much of this is moderately advanced to very advanced, so hold onto your hats and see if you can meet the storm head-on! I've also discovered some incredible tactical possibilities in one of ...
Once upon a time, Alexander Roshal, who was the chief editor of the famous Soviet weekly "64," called Mikhail Tal and asked for some original material for his publication. Tal answered that he would be happy to help his old friend and told ...
BeekeeperBob wrote: “I am a 19 year old who has been toying with the idea of making chess a career for me (either playing professionally or teaching chess). Unfortunately, I currently have no official ranking. So before I go spending the m...
Do you think your team has what it takes to win the $20k top prize and the title of PRO Chess League Champions? By now you've read our announcement, and you can't wait to join the PRO Chess League, right? Not only do you think your cit...
There's much more to play on Chess.com than just... chess! Fun "chess variants" can be a great way to mix things up and apply your chess skills in different and exciting ways. You can play: Bughouse Crazyhouse 3-Check King...
