There is no need to explain the importance of tactics for a tournament player. I bet you've all heard the cliche "chess is 99% tactics," or an anecdote about a grandmaster who was a famous endgame specialist. (Was it Smyslov? I don't remember.) ...
Even devout Petrosian fans cannot deny that combinations are aesthetically pleasing by definition. However, keen tactical vision is no longer a unique commodity. Sharp combinatorial awareness has become a required skill of all serious chess play...
The majority of chess players like opening traps. I believe the main appeal of setting a trap is not the chance to win the game instantly. What really makes an opening trap attractive for chess players of all levels is the thrill of a hunt...
The game from round 17 of the Soviet Championship 1957 was more proof that Tal was getting back to his great form. Even though it was just a draw, this game was one of Tal's favorites. In his book, Tal wrote that he always loved the b...
Let's attempt to define a good trap: "Setting up an attractive, but faulty, sequence for the opponent that, if followed, would allow a tactic or, at least, a forcing sequence unfavorable for that opponent. However, if the opponent avoids that mov...
About a year after I learned the rules of the game, I became practically obsessed with rook lifts. In my (inexperienced and naive) opinion, no attack was truly complete without an aesthetically pleasing rook lift. Indeed I had a rook (or two) on...
If the title of this article sounds like the action movie "The Bourne Ultimatum," it is pure coincidence, since here we are talking about Mikhail "Chess Terminator" Tal and his first win in the national championship. As you probably remember, af...
Last week, we left our amicable chess terminator at a position where his opponent set a devilish trap for him. Many of you, my dear readers, correctly found the refutation of the trap. In his book, Tal wrote that White's move (25.Rd2) made him ver...
This year we celebrate the 30th anniversary of one of the most influential movies of all time: The Terminator! Is there any person on Earth who hasn't said "I'll be back," imitating the great Arnold? Even though The Terminator is just a sc...
How many of you could get a winning position against Magnus Carlsen after just eight moves of play? How many chess players in the world could do it? I know one of them, and his name is Bill Gates! Image: NRK/YouTube Not only did he achiev...
Endgame attacks? Aren't these two words mutually exclusive? Indeed, with limited material left on the board, the king is usually able to play a crucial role in the battle without worrying about its own safety. Nevertheless, you should not forget t...
Today we'll continue learning typical ideas of the Modern Benoni using Velimirovic's games. But first, I would like to address the concern of one of our readers who, in his comments, expressed disappointment that none of Velimirovic's opponents pl...
"When I asked Fischer why he had not played a certain move in our game, he replied: 'Well, you laughed when I wrote it down.'" -Mikhail Tal (1936-1992) Neither Mikhail Tal's life, nor his personality, nor his playing style, nor his ailments can ...
In last week's article we discussed the chess heritage of GM Dragoljub Velimirovic. You probably noticed that all the games used for the article shared the same opening - the Sicilian Defense. This is, of course, not a coincidence s...
Chess is a reflection of life. Our modern lives go faster and so too do the time controls we play today. When I tell kids that I played the so-called Capablanca's time control (two hours and 30 minutes for the first 40 moves) and then the game wou...
The question in the title of the article might sound stupid. We are called Homo Sapiens for a reason: translated from Latin it means "Wise Man." By accumulating the knowledge of the previous generations, humankind has made tremendous progress in t...
In last week's article, we discussed how alcohol affects a chess player's abilities. There I mentioned the Soviet grandmaster Ratmir Dmitrievich Kholmov. I don't want the readers to have an impression that this great chess player was mostly famous...
Last week, I discussed a three-step method which you can (and should) apply to every move you are planning to make in a complex position to diminish the risk of blundering. As promised, today, we will actually test this method out and determine if...
There are not many duels between elite chess players that generate as much interest as the games between the World Champion Magnus Carlsen and the U.S. number one Hikaru Nakamura. Indeed, everyone can find something of interest. What will prevail:...
A few weeks ago, I was surfing through some of my earliest games, played in 2003 and 2004 and recorded in a tattered blue scorebook that has been gathering dust in my closet forever. As I expected, positional blunders appeared in alarming quantiti...
Kasparov's My Great Predecessors series of books is a trove of invaluable information. Garry is a real King Midas of chess since whatever chess subject he touches, he turns into gold. Whether you want to improve your tactical skills, le...
Let me start from the very end of this story. Sousse Interzonal 1967 will always be remembered for Fischer's withdrawal after ten rounds. At that point he had seven wins and three draws. Even though the participants were supposed to play 22 game...
As beginners, we are taught a surprising amount of various tricks, sacrifices, and mates that rarely occur in serious tournament practice. Scholar's Mate, Fool's Mate, Legal's Mate - all of these are aesthetically pleasing to an amateur, but requi...
Last week we discussed one of the most powerful chess weapons: a discovered check. Today you can hone your tactical skills by solving our big test. These puzzles have many different tactical themes, but all of the combinations are based on discove...
