Too Much Opening and the Grand Plan Abhilash_007 asked: (In response to my article, HELP! I FEEL SO LOST WITHOUT A PLAN!). How do you decide it’s time to map a grand plan? Dear Abhilash_007, Grand plans are rare, even in grandmaster chess....
Creating a Study Program Mr. Svorcan asked: I am self-taught chess player. I have read a few books and have some chess software (Fritz, Chessmaster, etc). I play chess regularly on the net but my “real” rating is unknown, however on some website...
Chess training program for ratings < 1200 Disclaimer:These advice are taken from my personal (short) experience. They are written by a novice for the novice. I only release my ideas today to the public. Nobody ever tried these programs and I ...
Unknown asked: What do you think is the best food to be eaten during a big tournament? Dear whoever you are: Actually, this is quite an interesting question! Of course, most people eat all sorts of unhealthy things before an event, but shoul...
COMMENTING ON READER COMMENTS Here are answers to various comments (in regards to my Q & A articles) by readers: crowrevell says: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 is a strong answer to 2…Nc6. I’m not familiar with 2...g6, though it seems White...
Veteran Jan Timman dominated the Staunton Memorial tournament, streaking to the finish. His only stumble was his seventh round encounter with a great Viktor Korchnoi. Perhaps inspired by Korchnoi, Tim on rebounded in the next round by using t...
Veterans Viktor Korchnoi and Jan Timman displayed their bona fides in the ealy rounds. Timman soared to first place while Korchnoi maintained a respectable 50%. Jan Timman showed true understanding of the Nimzo-indian with effective play against ...
Here is a sparkling game from the second round.
We begin our coverage with a sparkling game from the first round of the 2009 Howard Staunton Memorial chess tournament. the grand tradition of this event was enhanced by the appearance of a Staunton gambit on the chessboard at Simpson's in the Str...
Emanuel asked:How much time do you spend daily studying chess? Also were you naturally gifted or did you just keep working hard at it? What did you study to rise from 1000 to IM? Anything specifically or just anything chess related that you could ...
Andrea Coda asked:I am playing online chess mostly as preparation for OTB tournaments, and I am focusing on slow games; I believe that at my level it is very important to reason through every move, trying to increase my board vision and analysis s...
Anonymous asked:I thought chess was supposed to be a gentleman’s game, but at times my opponents act rudely during tournament play. What can I do about this?Dear Anonymous:During a tournament in Los Angeles, two players got into a fight while play...
For those of you who are new to chess.com or for those of you who have enjoyed any of my articles in the past, I decided to post a list of links to all of my previous articles. There have been 19 to date, this being the 20th. Title Date Pu...
Are you embarrassed each time you thump a rook down on the chessboard in a blitz game because the weight inside rattles badly? You are not alone; my own pieces did this very thing for quite some time. Then one day I got motivated and d...
Once upon a time, chess was a game for kings! How irresistible it is to note that this graceful and imaginative game indeed inherited a touch of nobility. Everything about this game was carefully crafted yet, what brings it to life is two creative...
Figured I would share them. I analyzed them in Fritz 9. Click on "Moves List" to see the proposed variants. Some interesting games, in my opinion. I nearly blew the second one. I finished the tournament 2-1-2 (two bye's, due to a conflict on the m...
Doomclaw asks:I am fairly new to tournament chess, but in the few OTB tournaments I have played I can’t seem to avoid getting very nervous before and during my games, which sometimes causes me to blunder. Can you make suggestions on how to stay ca...
Anon asked:I’m a fairly new player with a low rating. My first question addresses the person who asked whether becoming a world class player at the age of 44 was out of the question and Andrew replied yes, it is; how about 21? I’ve bought some tac...
Rabbi Evan Gary asks: Could you recommend a good old classic book (the more classical the more interesting) giving theoretical (perhaps even some philosophical, esoteric) information about Chess? Thank you very much. Dear Rabbi Gary: One ...
Unfortunately this is the last Q&A Chess.com column from International Master Andrew Martin. I'm sure you will join me in thanking Andrew for his insightful columns and wishing him all the best for the future! But if you still have an unan...
The brouhaha over using opening tables and chess books during correspondence play has puzzled me for a little while now. I figured I’d throw my two cents into the debate and see if I come out unscathed (or unflamed) however unlikely that may be. ...
Being a chess second of #14 female player in the world WGM Natalia Pogonina, I would like to share with you her article on home preparation and advanced chess (originally published at her website - Pogonina.com). Hope you'll find it useful: The a...
This is final 3rd game of the westfield quads and god I am tired by even the third game. I was very fine with a draw, in the toss I won and took white. its a each 45 minutes game and quad championship, so I get to play the remaining 3 top rated pl...
International Master Andrew Martin from England presents a regular series of articles to answer any questions that Chess.com readers have about the game of chess. If you want to ask Andrew a question, then send an email to askandrew@chess.com an...
