I bet that some of you, my dear readers, think that I am going to talk about "Fool's Mate" or "Scholar's Mate." Indeed, there is no way to get checkmated faster than Fool's Mate: And there is no more popular beginner's opening than Schola...
Here we try to keep track of some of the best performances of the 2017 season of the PRO Chess League. Points Scored # Name Team Pts 1 Meier, Georg Stockholm Snowballs 29.5 2 So, Wesley Saint Louis Archbishops 26...
My last two articles were about the best game prizes for Mikhail Tal (who won the most prizes — 15) and Rashid Nezhmetdinov, who came in tied for 3rd and 4th with Anatoly Karpov (10 prizes; Garry Kasparov came in second with 12). ...
Anthony Edward Santasiere - This name evokes images of the New York chess scene during the 1920, 30s and 40s: Frank Marshall, Edward Lasker, Albert Pinkus, Fred Reinfeld, Sammy Reshevsky, Abe Kupchik, Isaac Kashdan, I.A. Horowit...
![How Chess is Like... [FILL IN THE BLANK]](https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/article/17541.449e2da2.300x169o.810797651e4a.png)
Chess is many things. A game. An art. A hobby. A science. A sport? But it is also a metaphor that is used in the media to tap into the symbol of intellectual struggle. If you want to show how intricately strategic and thoughtful and craf...
There is one thing chess players at all levels have in common: we want to play better. From the player who just learnt how to move the pieces all the way to Magnus Carlsen. And the good news is that there is always room for improvement. Bu...
As I explained in this article, modern life forces me to recollect the episodes from my childhood years. One such memory is something that every Soviet schoolboy was supposed to know if he wanted to get into a good college, something I t...
Chess.com has always offered a great platform to recruit new students and provide online (live) lessons, but are you - as a titled player or professional chess coach - fully aware of all the tools and opportunities available to you?...
After showing all of Tal’s 15 best game prizes in my previous article, it struck me that many Chess.com members might not have heard of Rashid Nezhmetdinov (born 1912, died 1974), who tied with Karpov for the third and fourth place...
In a recent interview, the man who's a perfect five-for-five in writing New York Times bestsellers explained that he now has to chase his audience. And that means podcasting. Fittingly, renowned author Malcolm Gladwell explained t...
© 2017, José Diaz Links Interview with José Diaz
In the beginning of the 1990s, I established a certain routine. Whenever I set foot in Moscow (and I did it pretty frequently), I would visit the Central Chess Club and climb a narrow staircase to the third floor to meet Botvinnik in his labo...
Setting up a chess game is easy. It’s playing that can be hard. Here is how to set up a game. Step 1: Decide where to play. Do you want to play on a real board with a friend near you? Or do you want to play with one of m...
Millions of people around the world play chess regularly—but how do you become good at chess? Define what "good" means Practice lots of puzzles Review your games Create a study plan Be patient 1. Define what “good at chess...
Before you read this article, have some fun and try to guess who has won the most best game prizes (usually a brilliancy prize but sometimes a positional masterpiece). Did you pick a player? Okay, then let’s see if you’ve picked the ...
No matter where you are in chess, you can always get better. And with the right habits and attitude, getting better at chess can be both fun and simple. To get better at chess, you will need to learn the rules, play a lot of games, review your pla...
You have probably heard someone say “I can beat all my friends at chess” or “I’m the best chess player at my school!” After rolling your eyes, you may have wondered: Who is the best chess player in the world? The be...
Hello, dear friends and chess fans! From today onwards I'll be writing my own blog in Russian. Please follow my articles and kindly share opinions and feedback. Today I would like to talk about a very important elem...
Preface: An official U.S. Women's Chess Championship has existed for nearly 80 years. The USCF lists 1937 as the first year. There have been many strong and important women players over the early...
"It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you wil...
"I detest endgames!" said Dawid Janowski more than 100 years ago. He elaborated further by saying that a good chess game should be decided in the middlegame. Today such an opinion would make most professional chess players smile, but please reme...
After a thrilling conclusion to the regular season, the playoff field is set for the inaugural PRO Chess League. [UPDATE: Winners are below. All winners have been notified and have been sent their prizes.] While the world's best playe...
Back after truly underwhelming reader demand, Pete's Pathetic Chess is the "instructional" column where I subject my awful moves and chess ideas to analysis by an actual grandmaster and the best chess-playing computer ...
One of the biggest open tournaments of the year (Gibraltar) was marred by a bizarre incident that happened in the last round. The women's world champion, Hou Yifan, lost her game in just five moves! Media instantly spread the news thro...
