Continuing our theme of “mating tactics,” this time we’ll explore one of the most famous sacrifices in chess, the Classic Bishop Sacrifice. In our beginner mating patterns trilogy, we took a good look at the h7-square and how Qh7...
Concluding our discussion about the positives and negatives of doubled pawns we cannot miss the numerous games played by Botvinnik. He was probably the first world class chess player who loved to have doubled pawns. I could show you literally doze...
This week's featured subject is quite an eclectic person. NM Dan Heisman has written numerous chess books and he authors the award-winning Novice Nook column, and he has lived professionally from chess the last 16 and a half years. He is also a so...
Today's column is about tactics and I would like to concentrate on examples from recent games. Since tactics are a key weapon of any chess player, the topic of tactics in chess is overwhelmingly important, and there are more books and material pub...
Although I am doing a new column - "My Bookshelf" - I will from time to time revisit "Attack and Defense" for some variety. And this is one of those times. I recently played in the National Chess Congress in Philadelphia. This is a tournament wh...
In my first article on beginner mating patterns, we explored Back Rank mates, Queen mates on h7, Queen mates on g7 (while also discussing general dark-square weaknesses around f6, g7, h6, and even h8), and smothered mates. In the second article we...
In the previous part of our discussion about doubled pawns we could see that in the majority of cases such pawns are a clear disadvantage in the endgame. But what about openings and middle games? As we could see the major drawback of...
Mongoose Press graciously offered free copies of The World's Most Instructive Amateur Game Book for the best question on each of the Dec 7 and Dec 21 shows. I scribbled down seven questions which were contenders for the prize. Here they are (I apo...
Similarly to classic works of literature, chess games played by World Champions should be studied for the general understanding of how chess ideas evolved over time. There are so many games played by them that sometimes one wonders where to study....
For this week's review, I will be covering 500 Master Games of Chess by Savielly Tartakower and J. du Mont. I have had this book since soon after I started playing chess, and it was a big influence on me. I spent many hours playing over the games ...
No time to study opening theory? Shock your opponent with an SOS!With an SOS you deviate early (usually before move 6!) from regular lines in mainstream openings. So you will reach positions you have actually studied without having memorized tons ...
In my first article on beginner mating patterns, we explored back rank mates, Queen mates on h7, Queen mates on g7, and smothered mates. This week we’ll explore the two beginner favorites: Scholar’s Mate and Fool’s Mate. However,...
In the second part of this article we continue the presentation of the new champions: Without a clear rating favorite of the group (about whom you will read below), the girls under 14 championship was won by M. Mahalakshmi from In...
Last week we analyzed games where doubled pawns were a liability in the endgame and unless they were compensated by something else (like a pair of Bishops for example), the game was doomed. The next basic endgame is another example that in m...
Today's article is dedicated to the technique of calculation in chess and the examples will show different aspects of this skill. I will also try to give some recommendations for how to train this invaluable skill. Let's jump right away into...
[Scene: Courtroom hearing on Chess Coaching. Dan on witness stand, a few hundred inquisitive spectators watching the proceedings...] Bard:Â You are aware of the accusation that chess coaches can't really help people play chess better - that they a...
A reader commented on my last article asking to review Larsen’s Selected Games of Chess, and I thought it would be a good idea, because this is one of my favorite books. Bent Larsen was a Danish grandmaster and – being a few years ...
The ins and outs of a mating combination are, on one level, simplicity itself, and on another level deep, complex, and (like a fine wine) full bodied and intoxicating. In this new column we will explore how beginners can create mating combos, whil...
*Please be warned, this is part article, part shameless book plug* Hey guys this is IM Jonathan Hawkins from England. My book 'Amateur to IM' was published last month, where I discuss some of the study material I worked on over the last 7-8 ye...
Last week we started our investigation of the so-called 'weakness' of doubled pawns and I asked my readers to find a position where the mere existence of doubled pawns ruins the position. Many of you guessed correctly that the main drawback ...
Today's show featured a bit more use of the demonstration board, which usually makes for good TV. One player said that no matter what his opponent did, he always brought out his two knights first, and was this OK? So I set up a board and said "Wel...
Welcome to a new column called "The Best Moves Never Played" -- this article is a short introduction of what this column will or will not cover. During any real game some of the best moves were never played because the players did not find them ov...
Happy Thanksgiving! This very interesting game features an unexpected series of sacrifices that culminate in mate. Blackburne always seems to one up his sleeve at every crucial junction in the game. Each time, he is able to revive what seemed li...
