Back in the day the ultimate opening was the Najdorf Poisoned Pawn, constantly under debate by the world's best players. It is still seen today, though not oftn in elite tournaments. Our theory includes contributions fro blind tournaments and the ...
by GM Magesh and GM Arun After writing opening articles for the last two years, I should admit that it tends to become more monotonous and less creative. So there I was just staring at the roof one day wondering 'what should I write about next we...
The Classical Sicilian is not as popular as it was in the 20th century but remains a rich and complex choice. Mikhail Tal helped define the main lines and his ideas remain relevant. Today we examine the Classical Main Line as played by World Cham...
Grandmaster in 4 years! Jorgen Bent Larsen was born in Thisted, Denmark, on March 4, 1935. He learned to play chess when he was 6 but did not begin to play seriously until he was 17. By age 19 he became an International Master, and two years late...
What other opening has a 300-page book starting at move 13? The dragon is one of the most obsessively studied openings yet the verdict is still unclear! In this installment of Megatheory we will examine some of the main lines, featuring a brand n...
Aeroflot is the strongest open chess tournament in the world. This year’s edition is the 10th. The four main features of the festival are: A group (players over 2550 with a few exceptions – female stars, prodigies, etc.) B group – strong play...
member Adam Katz asked: Do you know of any works of fiction that mention or give pride-of-place to chess? The older the better. I am a sucker for the 19th century, but, though I can find plenty enough in the 20th century (Eliot’s THE WASTELAND ha...
While researching material for the article on the best games of GM Artur Yusupov (mona-lisa-of-gm-artur-jussupow ), I found the next little known gem. The position in the following diagram is typical for the King's Indian pawn structure. Usuall...
Bent Larsen (pictured) was born March 4, 1935 and died September 9, 2010. He was Champion of Denmark six times from 1954-1964. He was a candidate for the world championship in 1965, 1968, 1971, and 1977. He won the interzonal in 1964, 1967, and 1...
I’ve written a number of opening books, and read many more, and the focus is always on the critical lines: the problem can usually be put like this, “How can Black equalize against White’s serious attempt at advantage?” For example, if you wrote ...
Today, we will look at the precision with which Bobby Fischer won an endgame against Acevedo. His play is marked by accomplishing his plans while not giving the opponent a chance to breathe. The endgame is probably not among the most known ones th...
I originally published this in my chess journal in Sept. 2006. As I find this book particulary important and timeless, I wanted to highlight it once again. The Immortal Game - A History of Chess or how 32 carved pieces on a board illuminate...
by GM Magesh and GM Arun Choosing to play a sideline sometimes helps a lot in avoiding a bunch of complicated theory that has been well analyzed and established by the elite players. It is quite common these days for players to venture into no...
Alexander Ilyin-Zhenevsky (or Ilyin-Genevsky) born in St Petersburg on the 28th of November 1894 is considered the founding father of the Soviet Chess School! From the enthusiasm of Ilyin-Zhenevsky, the official attitude to the game was brought. H...
The 9th Gibraltar Chess Festival took place in a beautiful resort from January 24th to February 4th. The field was rather impressive, including such great players are Vassily Ivanchuk, Michael Adams and Fabiano Caruana. One of the special charac...
LionHeart319 asked: I’ve been spending hours and hours of study to improve my game, I mean I’m kinda obsessed with the game. But recently (after reading a couple of books, improving my tactics, and solving a lot of chess puzzles), I seem to lack ...
Most people hate to memorize the countless opening variations published in chess books and magazines, and yet, this is unfortunately the most common way amongst chess players to master openings. Leaving aside the fact that it is a very boring thin...
Ernst Gruenfeld was born November 21, 1893 and died April 3, 1962. He was Austria’s top player and one of the world’s best in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1950, when FIDE began awarding titles, he became an international grandmaster.Gruenfeld scored 10...
Recently, I had the chance of a lifetime to celebrate chess at the Sundance Festival with the World Chess Hall of Fame and Museum. The museum and Hall of Fame are relocating to St. Louis – a young but already well known chess center in the US. I w...
by GM Magesh and GM Arun This week we shall see a very modern interpretation of the Najdorf Classical system from the Tata Steel Chess Tournament 2011 between Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura. Usually the classical system is more of a positi...
When I was young chess players used to eagerly await various chess publications containing the latest games and articles on opening theory. Certain openings were the subject of tremendous scrutiny, and most advanced chess players were familiar w...
Viacheslav Ragozin, born October 8 1908 in St Petersburg, Russia, was a respectable Soviet chess Grandmaster and the second World Correspondence Chess Champion in the period 1956-1959; additionally, he was an International Arbiter of chess, chess ...
Chess players often find themselves in a situation when they need to win at all costs, or at least draw. Most of the time it happens during last rounds, but there are exceptions. Knowing how to handle such moments is an essential skill for any str...
Member miguelnalexandre asked: What do think about correspondence chess and what do you recommend on openings, study plan, books... in sum, everything that you might feel is useful. Are unorthodox openings ok for CC? Once, someone very known in ...
