Chess ratings are used as a tool for evaluating the current playing strength of a person. However, it is important to remember that it is the average number, while in a single game one can perform way above or below his rating. This can be connect...
From: bolshevikhellraiser I consider myself an upper intermediate player. My rating fluctuates between 1700-2050, and I've gone through GM games usually in the English and the Dragon where they move the bishop in front of the pawn usually on d3...
We continue our analysis of different kinds of blunders and today we'll discuss the most complicated one. The two kinds of blunder that I described in the first two parts of this article can be fixed relatively easily: (1) When you play a game you...
I know of very few chess players who do not like puzzles. I can't think of a more enjoyable way to pass a few random minutes here or there than in sharpening my tactical sense trying to solve some poser. One problem, though, is that unless I ...
Tigran V. Petrosian (pictured) lost the World Championship to Boris Spassky in 1969. It was Petrosian’s second defense to the same challenger. A brief opening review shows that the plus two margin of victory for Spassky came with the white pieces....
What can possibly be better than a chess tournament in a nice place with excellent beaches and beautiful sun? With easy access, excellent prize fund, and cheap accommodation? This is precisely what the Black-sea resort Albena offered to the 274 p...
Initially, I was planning to show at least 3 endgames in this article from my recent play. As I started analyzing the first endgame position, it happened to have a lot of hidden resources and I decided to split the article into a few, so we can go...
Today’s article is about the psychology of the aesthetics of chess. Why does the human chess player’s mind find a move “beautiful”? To a non-chess player, trying to explain the concept of a “beautiful” move &nda...
A Star Emerges Alexander Alexandrovich Alekhine was born on October 31, 1892 in Moscow, Russia, the third son in a family where children and adults played chess. He learned at the age of seven, and from twelve Alekhine played seriously, especiall...
Hi! :) Hopefully this isn't too vague a question... I am a 2000-2100ish rated player and have been experiencing a horrible slump lately. Despite playing pretty excellently for my first 20-25 moves or so (including a winning pawn up endgame...
Winning the World Championship was no walk in the park when Boris Spassky challenged Tigran Petrosian. Spassky earned the opportunity to meet Petrosian in 1966 in a 24 game match which required the challenger to be ahead after 24 games. A score o...
Today we'll continue to discuss the nature of chess blunders and the ways to prevent or at least minimize them. 2) Blunders due to premature relaxation This is an extremely common type of blunder and an especially painful one. It happens when y...
This is one of Tal's best games. It was played when he was just 19, and it was his first appearance in the finals of the USSR Championship. It was likely the first game to bring international attention to Tal, and he later wrote that it was repr...
Sometimes I wonder how does a slightly worse endgame position become much worse and then lost. The defending side may not make any blunders relying on a passive defense, but still it is not enough to pull the game from the void. What is the defini...
Any chess game is a clash of personalities, each of whom has a unique character and chess style. Both contenders want to win. If the opponents are more or less of equal skill, the game rarely unrolls in a straightforward fashion with one of the pl...
The Variation As I said at the end of last week's article, Polugaevsky devoted much of his considerable analytical energies to one particular ultra-sharp variation of the Sicilian, which now bears his name. Polugaevsky devoted his first book la...
The great rivalry between Boris Spassky and Viktor Korchnoi had turned in Korchnoi’s favor. Halfway through their Candidates match to determine which one would face Anatoly Karpov for his title, Korchnoi was five points ahead. After ten games, Kor...
I have used the Pterodactyl against many strong players. I don't always win, of course. Better players usually win , especially as White. But I have scored some upsets and have proven that the Pterodactyl can be a scary beast! Here are a few of my...
The Variation As I said at the end of last week's article, Polugaevsky devoted much of his considerable analytical energies to one particular ultra-sharp variation of the Sicilian, which now bears his name. Polugaevsky devoted his first b...
This is the fifth – and last – part of my series about my travels in Europe to play chess. The first three came out in April of this year, and covered my original trip to Prague, my questioning my identity as a chess player, and severa...
Dear GM Panchanathan, I am expert level chess player trying to attain master level. Do you have a studying/training program you would suggest? I think one of my weakness is finding the "correct" plan in a position. Can you suggest how would one ...
If you are a frequent participant of chess tournaments you can see a lot of different things there: different players, languages, openings, hairstyles etc. But there is one thing common to any chess tournament. You cannot miss it. It is in a tourn...
Checkmate with Two Bishops, by Mrs Jessica Prescott Hi everyone! It's Miss Jessica again. Ready for another mate? You can now checkmate with a king and a queen, a king and a rook, and I'm pretty sure you can do two rooks alone by yourself. So ...
Checkmate with the King and Rook, by Mrs Jessica Prescott Hi everyone! Now that you have all completed the King and Queen checkmate Dance, you are ready to learn the king and rook checkmate. It's amazing that all you need is one king and one r...
