These days only a lazy person doesn't speculate about the year when GM Alireza Firouzja will become the World Champion. Indeed, it is very difficult for me to imagine what kind of an event could prevent the current world #4 (he actually hit the #3...
As we all know, Hamlet's famous question "to be or not to be?" essentially meant "to live or not to live?" In chess, when you're deciding whether to castle or not to castle your king, in many cases you are choosing between the life and death of yo...
For many generations of chess players, Aron Nimzowitsch's famous book My System was sort of a chess bible. World Champion GM Tigran Petrosian admitted that as a kid he kept this book under his pillow. Another world champion, GM Mikhail Tal, regret...
For many readers, the title of this article might look weird. The possibility of stalemating your opponent usually means that you are in charge of the game. If you are in the driver's seat, why would you settle for a draw? Moreover, just earlier t...
Any experienced player knows that chess is all about pattern recognition. At least this is true of chess played by humans. In this article, I argued that one of the biggest competitive advantages World Champion Magnus Carlsen has is his unique mem...
For an average beginner, the road to a rating in the range of 1400-1600 is pretty straightforward. Learn as many tactical patterns as possible, get yourself familiar with some basic opening principles, and you are there! Notice, I said that the ro...
Are your ready to stretch your chess thinking? When you're playing a chess game, no one tells you which positions require tactical or positional solutions. GM Surya Ganguly provides several practice examples. See if you're up for the challe...
Learn the best way to use your pawns to help you win the game! Simon Williams, the Ginger GM demonstrates the best uses of each pawn and their unique strengths and weaknesses. Try The Challenges! Not what you're looking for? Go back to the...
In chess, beginners find that they don't know much about the openings, have a small amount of tactical understanding, and positional play is something from Mars. Fortunately, after a while, you will get a bit better. However, if you really want to...
How should you handle tough positions? NM Jeremy Kane has faced his share and demonstrates three techniques to handle trouble. You can complicate and get counterplay. You can simplify to a draw, or you can persistently improve your pieces until th...
How do grandmasters avoid losing, even when they get into trouble? Join GM Dejan Bojkov as he demonstrates his five key strategies for defending bad positions: recognizing key priorities, fortresses, stalemates, perpetual checks, and "the sticking...
Do you ever find yourself confused in closed positions? GM Jon Ludvig Hammer knows just what to do. Check out how he closed positions stop them from winning good positions. See how Vishy Anand ground out a beautiful win against Hammer. Chec...
When I reflect on the earliest stages of my chess career, it's not the thrill of victory, the five-foot trophies that I could barely lift from the ground, or even the accolades, certificates and triple-digit rating gains that dominate my recollect...
The 10th world champion Boris Spassky was married three times, but unfortunately all three marriages ended in divorce. Describing his first marriage, Spassky famously said, "we were like bishops of opposite color." When I saw this catchy phrase ...
Positions with material imbalances are difficult to play, especially for less-experienced chess players. You will never see a positional queen sacrifice or an exchange sacrifice in games played by people rated below 1700 or 1800. At this level, ...
GM Dejan Bojkov is back with a series about how top Grandmasters create counterplay and defend the most difficult looking positions! Try The Challenges! Not what you're looking for? Go back to the video guide. Get Rid Of Annoying Pieces:...
How should you avoid the most common mistakes in chess? GM Romain Edouard explains how to stay object and focused, how to make concrete concessions when needed and maintain your fighting spirit! Try The Challenges! Not what you're looking for?&...
Chess is a very complicated game that requires utmost concentration. Therefore most of the time chess players have a very serious facial expression. I doubt that a fianchettoed bishop or a semi-open file would make many people laugh. Yet th...
Life is easier when you have a good pawn structure. GM Aman Hambleton demonstrates five pawn structures that give you a great chance to win the game. Try The Challenges! Not what you're looking for? Go back to the video guide. The Marocz...
What should you do when you're losing a chess game? If it's not time to resign, it's time to swindle your opponent! WGM Qiyu Zhou demonstrates the tricks you need to survive lost positions! Try The Challenges! Not what you're looking for? ...
Siegbert Tarrasch was one of the best players of his time and definitely deserves to be included in the list of strongest chess players who never became world champion. Tarrasch. Photo via Wikipedia. Just like Reuben Fine, Tarrasch wa...
What is a pawn structure? From my online glossary, I define it as “the positioning of the whole pawn mass. Also referred to as the pawn skeleton. This positioning of the pawns is what usually dictates the types of plans available...
Making forecasts is not one of my best skills. Actually it is quite the opposite: Usually my predictions of the future are quite bad. Yet one of my forecasts was a no-brainer, since I couldn't possibly have gone wrong with it. Almost four ...
What is pawn structure? From my online glossary, I define it as "the positioning of the whole pawn mass. Also referred to as the pawn skeleton. This positioning of the pawns is what usually dictates the types of plans available in a gi...
Destiny makes its urgent way to the mighty and those who do violent deeds. This is the beginning of Stefan Zweig's famous Die Weltminute von Waterloo (The World Minute of Waterloo). While this short novel describes the decisive moment of the his...