Ludek Pachman was born May 11, 1924 in Czechoslovakia and died March 6, 2003 in Germany. He played in six interzonal tournaments from 1948 to 1976. He wrote numerous books on chess openings and strategy. When I encountered his 1992 loss to the yo...
33speedy asked: I was playing in a tournament today with the black pieces. I played the Budapest and my opponent declined it (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.Nf3). I thought the way I responded was reasonable (3…exd4 4.Nxd4 b6 5.Nc3 Bb7), but when I went home...
When a chess player remembers tournaments he played, the first ones that come to mind are obviously those that he won. But in my case, when I remember the International tournament in Oslo that took part in 1994, even though I tied for first there...
One of the difficulties of playing the black side of an open game is that your opponent may choose to play the boring Four Knights Opening. You can obtain a perfectly respectable gain by following the mainlines, but there are some exciting altern...
I would like to share with you my recent experience playing in the 2010 US Women’s Championship. One of the most prestigious tournaments of the year took place July 9-20 at the already famous Chess Club and Scholastic Center of St. Louis. Along wi...
Most of the time both sides castle on the kingside in the Queen's Gambit Declined. Not always, however. In this game Garry Kasparov shows us the power of queenside castling for White.
Chess learning has evolved so much over the past ten years that I pretty much belong to the older generation of chess players. Becoming a Grandmaster by 21 used to be a great thing when I learned the game, but by the time I actually made my title,...
Géza Maróczy (3 March 1870-29 May 1951) was a leading Hungarian chess master and also a practicing engineer. He learned to play chess at the age of fifteen, and soon acquired the skill of a master in competition with the best players in the Intern...
Sometimes during a game we have to make a decision: to risk or not to risk? Let me explain. “Risking” means choosing a continuation which is not necessarily the strongest objectively, but may either make your position worse or, if the other player...
Here is an unusual line I have frequently played in both the Caro-Kann and the Scandinavian defense. It arises on 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Qxd5 3.Nc3 Qd6 4.d4 c6 or 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5!? 4.Nc3 Qd6. It goes by several names, some associated with me ...
NN asked (he’s a chess.com reader but I left his name out since I took some liberties with his question): I would like your opinion on how to study the middlegame? At the moment I rise at 5AM, eat a 4,000 calorie breakfast, do training tactics wi...
In today's article, I want to show you a strategy of using a sacrifice at g7 to set up a powerful pin that will allow your kingside attack to succeed. Another WC example:
Artur Yusupov or Jussupow (pictured) was born February 13,1960 in Moscow, USSR. He won the World Junior Championship in 1977. He became an international master in 1977 and an international grandmaster in 1980. He came first in the Tunis IZ 1985 an...
While I was researching material for my article on the Sokolsky Opening ( http://www.chess.com/article/view/openings-for-tactical-players-sokolsky-opening ) , I found a little known game of Alekhine. The game featured a combination which doesn't...
What is up with all these strong players leaning more and more towards variations where they develop their light-squared bishop to g2? Maybe it is my imagination or it is just a pure coincidence, but it does feel like strong players these days are...
Please look at following position: Black has given a knight for 3 pawns . This looks good if black can manage to bring the both ones on fifth row forward. But there is a danger. White is threating Nc4+ Nxb6 + Rxf2. If he would succeed wit...
Milan Vidmar (22 June 1885 – 9 October 1962) was a Slovene electrical engineer,chess player, chess theorist, philosopher, and writer born in Ljubljana, Austria-Hungary (now Slovenia). He won renown especially in the field of electrical engineering...
Playing in strong events is essential for a person’s improvement in chess. Also, one should have distinct goals and try to attain them. Thus, when I recently received an invitation to visit France and play in a GM-norm round robin, I heartily agre...
Anemone asked: I would like to start to study imbalances. I have the basics of chess but mainly try to find tactics or find the best move to improve my position. Which of your books should I start with? I am also starting to use chess mentor. Are...
One of the best things I ever watched on TV is the episode of "Seinfeld" called "The Opposite". There George Costanza announces "My life is the complete opposite of everything I ever wanted to be!" and then Seinfeld convinces him that “if every ...
The opening of a chess game resembles three card Monte or the shell game. The vital difference is that in chess both players see the same things and they both handle the game pieces. After each player moves, the opponent gains information. The ...
Here's a remarkable game that I came across recently. The players are largely unknown, and Karmov, playing black, unleashes a neat combination in the opening that leaves his queen hanging for several moves. Musaiev puts up a resourceful defense, ...
This article wraps up the column that we had for half a year on planning. I believe that we covered some of the main ideas on how to plan and you can always go to the archive to review the relevant topics. My next column will be on endgames. I am ...
In the recently concluded World open, Grandmaster Viktor Laznicka came out with flying colors winning the tournament with a clear half point lead. The best part for the Czech Grandmaster was his 6/6 start that allowed him to relax in the last thre...
