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...
In the first video on this topic we saw a good time to use chess engines is to check a game you played or witnessed where an opening you "know" (or remember, or have a hunch) is bad/refuted paid off for the underdog (the person trying it) and you ...
Stahlberg, Stoltz, and Lundin, were called “The Three Swedish Musketeers"! They made their names as world players at the Olympic Games at Folkstone 1933 and Warsaw 1935 where Sweden took the third and second place respectively.The Swedish Grandmas...
When preparing for a game (if we know the pairings), it is useful to compile a complete dossier on your opponent: what types of positions he likes and understands, which ones he doesn’t enjoy. What openings he employs. His playing style. Typical r...
Rdecredico said: Memorization is a big part of chess but hardly anyone wants to mention this because it doesn’t sell that many books. Instead, they will spew stuff like: “Don’t memorize! It is more important to understand ideas!” However, if one ...
How many of you, dear readers, can identify the man shown in this picture? This man never had a title of IM or GM and yet he managed to beat many top players of his time including Capablanca! Can you name another player who would be able to reach...
A reader sent me the following request: “In the Najdorf … after 6.Bg5 … 15...Bf8 … we have lots of moves like Qh5 and Rg1.… If you could give me some variations to help in my study, or make an article on this opening!”The opening in question is th...
As I promised you, the entertaining games from Jermuk continued. The second round saw no draws at all. Nana Dzagnidze scored her second win. So did one of the Armenian hopes. She produced a nice game as she managed to exclude the opponent’s black...
The set of the positions in the previous week was rather hard. I am sorry for giving you a tough test, but the benefit is seeing what type of positions the masters look at. Those were positions that my coach has given me to solve! This week the te...
This week we shall see the Caro-Kann's Advance Variation. Caro-Kann is a system where Black tries to maintain a healthy pawn chain and utilize White's weaknesses to win. Usually Black develops systematically in the opening without showing much agg...
Ossip Bernstein (20 September 1882, Russian Empire (now Ukraine) – 30 November 1962 in the French Pyrenees) was a chess grandmaster. Born in Imperial Russia to a family of Jewish heritage, Ossip Bernstein grew up in pre-revolutionary Russia. He ea...
In the following game we see how young super grandmaster Carlsen executed a "simple" three-step strategy: 1.step: Creating a pawn majority in center This is the white reached after 10 moves. He has a pawn majority in center but paid it...
People often ask me if they should play blitz, how helpful it is in terms of improving in chess. Experts’ views on this differ. Those who enjoy playing blitz often claim that it is very useful, and serves as an indicator of a chess player’s skills...
Peter Svidler was born June 17, 1976 in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg again). He won the Russian Championship five times from 1994 to 2008. In 1994, he became a grandmaster. Svidler was the Chess960 World Champion three times in 2003, 2004, and 20...
Consul89 asked: I have been trying to build an opening repertoire, and the Dragon is getting me killed when I run into the Yugoslav. So I have been thinking of switching to the Kan Variation of the Sicilian. I’m having trouble finding good books ...
The Sokolsky Opening (1. b4) never enjoyed much popularity , which can partially explain it's nickname "Orangutan Opening". In my opinion, there are two reasons why most chess players never seriously consider this opening. The first reason is tha...
This was a hard moment for our team, and I had to cheer them up. The karaoke bar at night sounded like a good idea given my intentions... I still constantly discover the wisdom that the classics used to have. Nimtsovitsch’s thesis of “the threat i...
Today I will provide the solutions to the previous set of exercises and give a new set to solve. Please, write down your solutions in the comments section. This will ensure that I go over the plans that are not the main ones in the position and th...
The Evans Gambit is still one of the most dangerous weapons to deal with. In the recently concluded Copper State International closed GM tournament, this opening happened to surface a few times. It was employed twice by the promising youngster Mac...
Carlos Torre Repetto was born in Yucatan, Mexico, in 1904. He is considered one of the brightest geniuses of the game of all time. His games are usually measured and qualified as jewels of beauty in books and journals. The Masters of the epoch com...
Two equally strong armies have gathered on opposite sides of the river. One commander evaluates the pluses and minuses of his and the enemy’s armies’ dispositions, comes up with a plan while taking into account possible counter-attacks, and choose...
Dr. Fernand Gobet is a professor of Cognitive Psychology and an International Master. He is a former Swiss Junior Champion and Swiss Champion, and was co-editor of the Swiss Chess Review from 1981 to 1989. He wrote his Ph.D. dissertation on the ...
Gambiteeer asked: I am having trouble learning the Queens Gambit. Recently my opponents have gotten stronger and I am not sure how to handle the different positions which arise from the Queens Gambit. I am also having trouble learning the differe...
The Dutch Defense is one of those openings where Black doesn't hide his intentions and starts preparing a King's side attack from the very first moves. The Stonewall variation is one of the most positionally sound lines of the Dutch. It is a well...
