Max and Dorothea
Le Roi jouant avec La Reine(Max Ernst, 1944) called "The King of Chess" in "Chess Review's" coverage of theImagery of Chess "The King Playing With the Queen" was originally a wire-reinforced plaster sculpture painted...
The Art Of Chess Defense
Every chess player has a unique style, his own tendencies and preferences. But one attribute is common to all elite grandmasters: tenacity. Consider Magnus Carlsen's performance at the 2015 Gashimov Memorial. In the first round, Magnus conf...
Bent Larsen's Monster
Today we will be taking a look at what is, on the surface, a grotesque combination of Bird's Opening and the Orangutang. Combining these two obscure openings might seem to create a monster worthy of Dr. Moreau -- or perhaps Dixon Bainbridge of The...
Can You Find These Classic Combinations?
This series is all about attacking chess and combinations and fun. And all of them are in puzzle form (some easy, some difficult) so you can see how your tactical IQ stands up to the old, sometimes forgotten greats. And, if you learn a tiny b...
5 Things You Think When Playing A Grandmaster
[UPDATE: You can play GM Anish Giri and support the Nepal earthquake recovery effort. Details here.] My first game of online chess was against a grandmaster. Decades ago, I had signed up for a now-defunct website, and logged in to play for my ...
Cross-Pins
Cross-pins or double pins are names for a rare and particularly interesting tactic. Under certain conditions it can also be called the St. Andrew's Cross, counter-pins and combination pins. A cross-pin can be absolute, relative, ...
Women In Chess: Be Aggressive
The recent Women's World Championship was a fascinating event. You could find everything we love about chess competitions: neat combinations, unpredictable results (will we ever forget Natalia Pogonina's amazing comebacks in almost every single ma...
Pandolfini's Mailbag: Speed Chess -- The Good
Topic for May/June: The Endgame (Please start submitting questions concerning the above topic for the next column. Questions different from the above theme should be submitted to other Chess.com departments.) The Good and the Bad...
Never Trust Your Opponent!
In 2007, at the Far West Open in Reno, I played the first two grandmasters of my life: Melik Khachiyan and fellow Chess.com columnist Gregory Serper. Khachiyan soundly outplayed me in a King's Indian, but my battle with Gregory was a different ket...
How To Crush Your Opponent With The King's Gambit Video Series
Novice chess players are exposed to openings like the Fried Liver and the four-move checkmate early on. At the start of any game, the king’s f-pawn is the weakest on the board for either color. Inspired by that belief, the King’s Gambi...
How To Play The Stonewall Dutch
Today we will be looking at a completely different landscape on the chess board compared to last week's King's Indian structure: the light-square focus of the Dutch Stonewall. The Stonewall is not a specific series of moves so much as a set...
Spicy Gambits Video Series
Gambits are an important part of chess. Although most of them come from White’s initiative, there are also many sound counter gambits for Black that have developed over time. Understanding how to play with and against gambits is important fo...
Die Immergrüne Partie
Dr. Hermann von Gottschall Dr. Hermann von Gottschall (1862-1933) was a reputable German chessplayer and problemist. He also edited the German periodical "Deutsche Schachzeitung" from 1892-96 (having co-edi...
The Deadly Attacks Of Romantic Chess
This series is all about attacking chess and combinations and fun. And all of them are in puzzle form (some easy, some difficult) so you can see how your tactical IQ stands up to the old, sometimes forgotten greats. And, if you learn a tiny bit ab...
Is Magnus Carlsen The LeBron James Of Chess?
Who is the LeBron James of chess? The National Basketball Association playoffs are in full swing, and the best players in the world are battling it out, hoping to win an NBA championship. LeBron James fell just short of a championship last sea...
Surprise Your Opponent!
The Benko Gambit is one of the most popular openings among club players. It is indeed very appealing to grab the initiative early in the game playing Black against your opponent who likes to play positional chess. Why do I assume that your oppon...
Vive la Egalite!
© 2015, José Diaz Links Interview with José Diaz José Diaz Official Website
5 Grandmaster Tips To Improve Your Tactics
Do you find yourself getting a good position only to spoil it by missing a simple tactic? How about getting a promising attack but failing to find a forced mate or win of material? I hope these five simple tips will help to sharpen y...
Beware Of Alekhine's Gun
The 1930 San Remo International was a rather one-sided affair. World Champion Alexander Alekhine stormed through the field, winning 13 games and conceding only two draws. Yet this tournament is remembered not for Alekhine's magisterial performance...
How To Play The Mar del Plata
Dear readers: I will be continuing to cover opening variations in my column, but a slight shift will be made. Rather than looking at the historical developments of whole openings, I will be covering specific lines -- and not as much from a histori...
Classic Combinations: Historic Attacks
This new series is all about attacking chess, combinations and fun. And all of them are in puzzle form (some easy, some difficult) so you can see how your tactical IQ stands up to the old, sometimes forgotten greats. And, if you learn a tiny bit a...
5 Things You Need For Real-World Chess
We already know that you can take Chess.com and its mobile app to play chess anywhere, but sometimes there’s nothing like playing on a real board with real pieces. If you’re lucky, you can try your hand at giant bullet chess, but eve...
The Complete Nimzo Indian
Aron Nimzowisch is one of the great thinkers in chess, and his greatest opening contribution to the opening is the Nimzo Indian Defense. The Nimzo Indian evinces some of the great struggles in chess. Bishop or knight? Are doubled pawns s...
Nellie
1892 "BCM" In 1894 Nellie Love Marshall Showalter, the wife of then U.S. Chess Champion, Jackson Whipps Showalter, played Mrs. Harriet Worrell, the wife of the renowned chess player who had died in 18...
