Hi all. As you know if you read my last article, I am starting a new column. Because many people have asked me for recommendation of good chess books, I will be covering a different book each week. The only thing the books have in common is that t...
IMPORTANT: [At the end of the puzzles, you should click MOVE LIST so you can see my instructive notes and variations. If you are having trouble solving a problem, just click SOLUTION, and then MOVE LIST. Even if you solve everything, DO click MOVE...
Maribor, the second largest city in Slovenia was the proud owner of this name during 2012. Many interesting activities took, and continue to take place in this beautiful town where the Drava river flows, and which is also famous for its ski resort...
If I had to choose the most popular misconception in chess, I wouldn't hesitate for a second. It is the so-called 'weakness' of doubled pawns. I cannot tell you my dear readers how many times I have encountered the same situation during anal...
With this and last week's article I am wrapping up the Endgame articles that I have been writing for the last two years. Last week we learned how to use references for analysis of one's endgames that happen to be of a theoretical nature. Today we ...
We have come to the end of our journey through Attack and Defense. I will be starting a new column next week, where I will be discussing chess books. The editors of Chess.com wanted to switch up the columns somewhat, and I realized that many peopl...
IMPORTANT: [At the end of the puzzles, you should click MOVE LIST so you can see my instructive notes and variations. If you are having trouble solving a problem, just click SOLUTION, and then MOVE LIST. Even if you solve everything, DO click MOVE...
Today we'll analyze the last case of the Queen getting to the center early in the game. This time she doesn't go there voluntarily, since she must do it to recapture a piece or a pawn to keep material even. The simplest example is the ...
Name: Eric Hansen &...
Due to (my) technical error, the show got started late, but we got in the full 90 minutes - the show must go on ! At the start and end of the show I made two announcements: Congratulations to Chess.com for getting to 6,000,000 members! What a fea...
I have been writing this column about endgames for more than two years - a genuine surprise for me because it feels like I just started. It is time to move on to a different topic but before going forward we need to look back and have a wrap up of...
It’s generally considered advisable to cover your king behind a row of pawns, such as the following: Or this: How does one go about attacking such a castled position? A solid barricade of pawns prevents the pieces from coming into di...
Is this game a composition? That's what I'll let you decide. Some say that it was. In any case, it's quite instructive. It features a classic sacrifice, but in unusual circumstances. The foresight of Perrier is also quite notable. I suggest that e...
SEE FOR YOURSELF HOW AN SOS CAN SHOCK AND CONFUSE! Every month, the editor of the SOS Secrets of Opening Surprises book series, IM Jeroen Bosch, annotates a game which was recently played with an SOS-variation. SOS Game of the Month: November...
IMPORTANT: [At the end of the puzzles, you should click MOVE LIST so you can see my instructive notes and variations. If you are having trouble solving a problem, just click SOLUTION, and then MOVE LIST. Even if you solve everything, DO click MOVE...
As you probably know, I have written quite a bit about unusual openings. A while ago John Watson and I collaborated on a very popular book, the Big Book of Busts.b, which dealt with unusual opening strategies. Well, we are at it again. So we invit...
Last week we analyzed games where an early "development" of the Queen broke a well known opening principle and led to a disaster. Today we'll discuss the exceptions from this rule. Exception #1 is when you move your Queen and immediately a...
With this article we finish the series on Initiative in the Endgame. The following selection of endgame positions is from the recent European Club Cup. The first position is a good example of when to give up extra material to achieve a draw. Bla...
Chess is a scary game – as Vladimir Nabokov wrote in his book The Luzhin Defense (which, if you haven’t read, you should!): Suddenly, something occurred outside his being, a scorching pain - and he let out a loud cry, shaking his han...
IMPORTANT: [At the end of the puzzles, you should click MOVE LIST so you can see my instructive notes and variations. If you are having trouble solving a problem, just click SOLUTION, and then MOVE LIST. Even if you solve everything, DO click MOVE...
The following opening moves are extremely popular among inexperienced chess players: When I ask my students who play Black why they trade the knights and bring the White Queen into the center the usual answer is: "it is a bad idea to develop y...
International Chess Master John Bartholomew is a 26 year-old chess professional from Eagan, Minnesota. He has more than 11 years of chess teaching experience with players of all ages and skill levels. John has run successful chess clubs and p...
As always, a wide ranging set of questions on today's TV show. And, as usual, I referred several of the new viewers to my earlier blog "What's a Good Opening?" at http://blog.chess.com/danheisman/whats-a-good-opening since that is such a popular q...
This article and the next article will wrap up the series on Initiative in Endgames. Here, I offer you a series of endgame positions from the recent 28th European Club Cup. The first two positions are unique, and the themes include zugzwang and ...
