People spend too much time reading opening books. There you go, I have said it. Think what you may of this statement, but it seems to me that the chess market is saturated with opening books. So many people will blindly buy a book, add to their ...
Two months ago, one of the oldest grandmasters in the world, Mark Taimanov, turned 90. Just like any professional chess player he had many ups and downs in his career, but due to his limitless optimism he is still a very active person. ...
You may be winning, but you haven't put the game away yet! In this series, you'll see what might lead you to fall short when possessing a material advantage. Make sure you've fine tuned your technique and are accurately evaluating your oppo...
You've pushed relentlessly to gain an advantage. Finally, you're in the endgame and slightly better, but you are facing a strong opponent. How do you sustain the mental toughness to close it out? Use the principle of two weaknesses! In this...
Everyone’s had the unfortunate experience of playing an opposite-colored bishop ending. Like a mirage, you never know how they got there, and you definitely didn’t intend on it. Nevertheless, they have arrived. These mirages don’...
When a group of individuals come together for one mission, anything is possible. History tells us that one group can accomplish more together than any individual, no matter how much inner Chuck Norris that individual can harness. But sometimes, ...
The Chess.com member yoavb2 said: “I read your ‘How to Reassess Your Chess 4th’ but fail in the opening, which makes me start with a disadvantage. How can I fix it?” ANSWER: I looked at several of your games (whil...
Chess.com's first-ever GM Blitz Battle Championship is right around the corner, and the field's two most experienced players will kick things off April 6 at 10 a.m. Pacific (GMT-7), 1 p.m. Eastern, 6 p.m. London. What does experience come w...
Endgames should be simple. Right? With a majority of pieces removed from play, calculation becomes minimal. Wrong! At one time or another, you may have found yourself on the losing side of a winning endgame. Perhaps you've been fortunate e...
As I did in the first Test Your Understanding article, I implore you to read the notes to the puzzles: The prose and variations are what makes this new series worthwhile, so PLEASE try and solve the puzzle and then go back (whether you got it righ...
It's time for another installment of Pete's Pathetic Chess, where I subject my awful moves and chess ideas to a brilliant grandmaster and the best chess-playing computer in the world. Joining my foolishness with his own (lucid) annotations...
Every chess player knows that losing a game is no fun! Some of us take it better than others, but it is always a little tragedy. We all cried after losing a game when we were kids, but even some adults cannot tolerate what Korchnoi called o...
The Chess.com member JN wrote: I took up chess about a year ago when a friend introduced me to the game. Since then, he and I have taken to playing quite often; we typically play about four or five days a week, two or three games in a sitting. ...
Francis Eugene Brenzinger has been mostly forgotten. It's true that he wasn't even close to being a world champion contender, maybe not even a likely U.S. champion, but during his chess-playing days, he was...
Part 1 of our previous instalment offered a theoretical framework for blunders. This second part suggests a way to combat impulsiveness and blunder-tendencies. Chess players are often encouraged to read chess books and watch DVDsto improvetheir ...
His whole life, Robert James Fischer was fighting against someone or something. Thousands of books, articles and videos have been produced to describe the outlandish behavior of the chess genius. It is difficult to count all the social, moral...
Blundering in chess is one of the worst feelings that we experience while playing the royal game. A well-played strategic masterpiece can be completely spoiled with a single careless move. Anyone, including the very best...
The best way to improve your tactical skill is through practice; the more you solve, the stronger you'll become. If you're not sure how to go about solving tactics, this three step guide is for you: First, look at all the possible checks ...
During a road trip, GM Walter Browne once told me, “I would happily buy a huge steak dinner for my upcoming opponent since the blood would rush to his stomach, and his brain wouldn’t function properly.” He repeated this ma...
Did you miss any live games from the 2016 Candidates' Tournament in Moscow, where the best contenders in the world battled it out for a shot at Magnus Carlsen's world championship? This guide serves to showcase the top-notch coverage o...
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[Update: winners and prizes below.] lifetime diamond membership -- zuros four years diamond membership -- ryansth16 three years diamond membership -- not-here-to-play two years diamond membership -- Epicjosh one year...
When it comes to playing good positional chess, all strong players know the importance of improving the activity of your pieces. As the great Tarrasch once said, "One badly placed piece makes your whole position bad." Here are three tips for impro...
Just like many chess players I like to solve chess problems. I especially love problems with a limited number of pieces where it is all about chess logic. Here is one of my all-time favorites and also one of the first I ever solved: Yes, it ...
Having trouble perfecting your study habits? Without a coach, training to perfect your chess game can feel like shooting in the dark. After all, how do you know your identifying every important concept in a position? Your daily tactics are ...