My relationship with International Master John Grefe was complex, with many ups and downs. I met him two days after I arrived in San Francisco. At that time I was a penniless 18-year-old chess professional who was sleeping on a friend’s floo...
When, in 1995, Garry Kasparov employed the ancient Evans Gambit, I was thrilled - in part because I was a live witness to it, in his game against Jeroen Piket, at the Euwe Memorial tournament. But I was also a tiny bit annoyed, because I realized ...
"I read chess books and I understand them but when I get the same situations in a game I don't do the right things." This is a common complaint, but it is so generic that, unless I knew exactly what the viewer read and his chess situation, it is ...
Master Files 3.5 Contents Introduction Staying Protected The Importance of a Pawn Break How to Beat a Grandmaster The Twelve Puzzles of Christmas Introduction Hello fellow Chess.com members, and Merry Christmas! As a young child I learned...
Playing the French is the second opening repertoire book by the Quality Chess authors Jacob Aagaard and Nikolaos Ntirlis. I was very enthusiastic about their first book, The Tarrasch Defence (2011), not because I am a great fan of this opening mys...
"I know doing basic tactics puzzles is good for me but I don't have much fun doing them. How can I make them more fun?" A great question. But of course the answer depends on a large part of what is preventing that study from being fun. It might b...
Due to the crash of my website email address (which has finally been fixed), I didn’t look at my business letters for a month and a half. There were about 60 waiting for me. One was from a guy that wanted me to give him a study program that featur...
In the last quarter of the 19th century several Berlin cafés stood out as places where chess and other games could be played. It was at theses places where the great German players who would lead the chess world into the 20th century learned...
In last week’s article about insane, surprising, or beautiful finishes, I showed a horror story of a game by Irina Krush where she overlooked a mate in one (while three pawns ahead in an endgame), which cost her the World Championship for girls un...
(This article was written/translated from the original Russian by WilhelmThe2nd ) In its day, in its particular place, in its brief moment in time, the Warsaw Café was a well-known establishment in Kiev. Even the building itself couldn'...
It’s not easy to find time to read chess books when there’s a World Championship match going on at the same time. Still, chess publishers around the globe managed to reach me over the last few months, and I felt compelled to read some ...
"Are you an aggressive player or defensive player?" Answer: Always play with confidence, aggression, and respect for your opponent's moves and ideas. Chess is not the type of game where you can just stick your head in the ground and say "Don't hu...
When amateur chess players start a game, they tend to think in terms of winning. They hope to find some combination that will wow their friends and leave their opponent in awe. They want to play a great game so they can show members of their club,...
I sometimes get asked "When reading a book of annotated games, wouldn't you learn more if you studied a game slowly than read it quickly?" Of course that is true for each game, but it skirts the real issue. And it's clearly true in absurdum: you c...
Hi all! I follow to all the best tactics of European Team Chess Championship Round 7! Let see a nice one: If you solved this nice combination, you have got 2 other challenge. Can you solve the all? Now solve a mate combination:
It was two years ago today I join chess.com but I remained inactive until April of 2012. It was on November 14, 2011 that I launched my YouTube video program designed to improve your chess play. Since that time I've created over 300 public videos ...
Occasionally I hear some intermediate level players protest that any problem that does not follow the normal "needs" of a chess game can't be helpful to your game. These "normal" concerns would include: White (Black) to play and win (if you are n...
Hi all! I come back with team results of European Team Chess Championship after round 4. You can see here: France-Czech Republic 2½-1½, Azerbaijan-Hungary 2-2, Grece Georgia 2-2, Ukraine-Armenia 3-1, Croatia-Israel 2-2, Turkey-Belarus 1½-2½, Polan...
Hi all, I'm come back. On European Team Chess Championship the 3rd round is ended. The results are here: France-Ukraine 3-1, Czech Republic-Turkey 3½-0½, Romania-Greece 2-2 Armenia-Austria2½-1½, Poland-Azerbaijan 1½-2½ Hungary-Spain3-1, Georgia-Ge...
On Wcc after round 2 the result is 1-1 by 2 draw. First game is ended after 16 and second after 25 move. Why not play Carlsen for win? I think Carlsen's tactic is win at end, not at start. Or he can't win, because he is not better than Anand? Writ...
"I don't do better as White than as Black; what is wrong?" On the average, having White against a player of equal value means you should score about 57% of the points (e.g. 40 wins, 34 draws, and 26 losses in 100 games), which translates to about ...
Two USA player plays in the First Saturday Budapest November event, IM Troff, Kayden W and FM Sevian Sam. The official website of the tournament is: www.firstsaturday.hu
Magnus Carlsen is a phenomenon. He could recently be seen on enormous billboards all over the world posing next to supermodel and Lord of the Rings actress Liv Tyler; he’s been a guest to The Colbert Report; and he has featured on the cover ...
¿Alguna vez ha jugado una partida rápida siendo derrotado desastrosamente sin darse cuenta cómo ocurrió aquello? Y si a esto le agregamos el hecho de que su rival realiza jugadas perfectas en la apertura llegando hasta la movida quince o veinte de...
