It has been said that the second World Champion, Emanuel Lasker, was unique among the top players of his time period in that he didn't create a chess school of thought. Others have said that he did create a school - the "psychological school." It ...
When choosing an opening system, it’s important to pick something that is within your skill set, suits your style, and makes you feel excited whenever it appears on the board. You can pick an all-gambit repertoire (it might not be completely...
When you hear the word "brilliancy," what comes to mind? A dazzling combination with multiple sacrifices? A captivating tactical melee in which both players display their calculational expertise? Without a doubt, brilliancy has a tactical connotat...
Let me start today's article with a little brain teaser. What can every single chess piece (that is king, rook, bishop, knight or pawn) do that a queen can't? You'll find an answer to this question at the end of the article. Today we'll talk abo...
"If I play for a legal trap and it doesn't work, can I still have a good game?" Sounds like you might be a lawyer (or need to consult one)! This is also a good example of how I need to "interpret" questions on my Q&A show. Since the questio...
"Pawns are the soul of chess." In general, I loathe chess clichés, but some statements are so true, so deep, that they defy the notion of banality. Think about it. An inveterate patron of the Café de la Régence, an eighte...
There often comes a time in a chess game when decisive action is needed. One must change the status quo or find a sudden solution to a long-standing problem. It is funny how this works out - chess is an equation, and decisive changes in the positi...
Professor: Hello, Class. I hope you’re having a wonderful day. Zephyr & Lucian: Thank you, Professor. We hope you’re having a wonderful day, too. Professor: I am, especially now that I’m wearing my new jacket with i...
Dear Ask-a-Chess-Openings-Expert, My husband and I were planning on taking a trip next month to Hawaii for our 25th wedding anniversary, but my mother refuses to watch the kids ever since Timmy put her cat in the refrigerator. Bill, my husband...
As we saw, Alekhine reached his ultimate prime in 1930 and 1931. For a few years after that, he was still clearly the world’s best player, but the march of time and the wrath of alcohol took more and more out of him - though everyone still v...
The term "positional sacrifice" is construed by many players as a vague concept applied only in relation to complex positional battles between grandmasters. I exaggerate a bit, of course, but the art of sacrificing for positional compensation appe...
Any chess player who is familiar with the enormous heritage of the great Nimzowitsch should know his "Immortal Zugzwang Game." The last move of the game is a treat for a real chess connoisseur: In his book, Nimzowitsch expressed h...
On 1st March we have started the event, we have 40 players now in 4 groups. In the GM section we have 10 players, the GM norm is 7 points, ELO average 2430. In the IN section we have 10 players, the ELO average is 2272, IM-norm 7 points. The w...
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I was interested in finding open-source chess tools for analysis, study and preparation. Last time I checked, I wasn't too excited, but this time I am happy to find about SCID. SCID is an open-source chess database that has a lot of the options av...
To chessify Jane Austen, it is a truth universally acknowledged that all chess players in possession of a weak square are doomed to a miserable existence. The concept of weak squares appears rather straightforward: avoid creating them, but never f...
Professor: Class, it’s good to see you. What brings you to this part of the world? Zephyr: I’m here for a chess class. I suspect so is Lucian. Lucian: Yeah, I guess that’s why I’m here, too. Zephyr: Professor, weren’t you going to talk a...
When I was new to chess, I had several fantasy scenarios of dramatic brilliancies in tournament games. Of course there was the standard "sacrifice everything for checkmate;" but also I had an unusual one - a long combination leading to all the pie...
Scrapbook Prologue: The U.S. Open chess tournament has been around since 1900 when it was called the Western Chess Association Championship and first won by Louis Uedemann, the creator of the Uedemann Code which ...
About a year and a half ago, I had the honor of working with GM Yasser Seirawan for two days during his visit to the Bay Area. Yasser is a four-time U.S. Champion whose storied professional career spans more than 30 years, and he also possesses th...
There are chess games that have their own names. Everyone knows the 'Evergreen Game', the 'Immortal Game', the 'Opera Game', etc. We enjoy the genius and tactical skills of the winners and their names are engraved in the Golden Book of Chess. But ...
If there is such a thing as a chess traveler or chess nomad, then FIDE Master Mike Klein is one of them. He is also a popular chess writer, coach and journalist, and for Klein chess is a pleasant way to make his way through life. Here at Chess.com...
"I get really nervous during important games; what should I do?" "I get really worried about my rating. Do you have any suggestions?" I think these two questions, while undoubtedly different, are in some senses closely related. As I have noted, ...
Hello everyone! It is an honor and a pleasure to be the new Friday columnist for Chess.com. Chess and writing are two of my greatest passions, and I am very excited to be able to combine them on a weekly basis. I cannot wait to start analyzing gam...
