Two active bishops working in tandem are a mighty force. Indeed, the bishop's long range enables it to dominate vast swaths of the board, and to simultaneously play both a defensive and an attacking role. While the power of two bishops is...
For this week's edition of my column on the histories of openings, I have chosen the Smith-Morra Gambit -- a selection that might excite many readers. Most grandmasters have a low opinion of the Smith-Morra, while at the same time it is a favo...
When I have lessons with students, we usually go over their games. Invariably, the student comes to me thinking that the errors in the game are based on blunders, missed tactics, a bad opening, or some form of positional atrocity. Of course, thes...
Meisterdrittel. It's a curious fact that the informal title of "Master" ("Mаэстро"), the equivalent of today's International Grandmaster that was used in Russia during the late 19th-early...
Chess and music have been linked throughout history. Both of these cerebral pursuits live at the intersection of science and art, and both are breeding grounds for amazing geniuses and prodigies. The logic, structure, and meaning of music can ...
Chess is well known as a game of strategy. This is why it is prominently pictured in all kinds of television commercials that have to showcase long-term planning (e.g. insurance, banking, etc.). It is a popular myth among people who don't play c...
© 2015, José Diaz Links Interview with José Diaz José Diaz Official Website
Last week, we deconstructed the elements of a successful attack through the lens of Garry Kasparov's magisterial attacking displays. Simply put, his tactical vision, calculation, and imagination were second to none. Garry would pounce on the sli...
Last week, we examined the origins of the Chigorin Defense at the end of the 19th century. In the following years, Chigorin used his defense many times and demonstrated its basic themes. Let's look at some of them. Black's play on t...
Almost everyone knows of Blackburne's quick assimilation of chess, of his simultaneous exhibitions and of his blindfold skill, but less well known is his talent at both problem solving and problem creating. ...
Lately I’ve gotten several letters from chess fans who want to know what kind of chess books I like, and what books I consider to be the best of all time. That kind of “best-ever” list is very much a matter of taste, and a smal...
A new calendar year, for many people, means a chance for a new beginning. January is a month to consider new possibilities, to improve yourself, and to make a fresh plan for the upcoming year. In many ways, a new year is like a chessboard in t...
If the title of the article sounds ridiculous, don't rush to a conclusion. I'll try to prove that sometimes even very strong chess players forget the basic rules of chess. Let's talk about castling. Do you remember when it is legal and when it...
I clearly remember that day in March 2005 when Garry Kasparov announced his retirement from professional chess. I was convinced that it was all a misunderstanding, that my days of waking up at dawn to watch Garry massacre one super-GM after...
The Chigorin Defense is one opening whose history -- unlike some of others we have examined in previous weeks -- revolves around one man. And of course this is its namesake, Mikhail Chigorin. Chigorin was born in 1850 near St. Peterburg, where h...
A long, long time ago. . . in September of 1706 in Amsterdam to be exact, a man named Mr. Caze dated his manuscript on chess, "Instruction pour ce livre d'échecs : contenant les diverses manieres ...
QUESTION: Taylor_chess85 asked: “I would like to understand the type of games I am interested in playing. I am a beginner, and I thought that maybe I might make a database of every game certain people played with a certain opening. My idea is to...
We've kicked off a new year, but beginning chess players still play the same unsound chess ideas that have been tried by inexperienced players for decades. Unless their opponents are similarly new to the game, players relying on these unsophisti...
There are many basic endgame rules you can find in any chess manual: Centralize your king! Create an outside passed pawn! Rooks should be placed behind passed pawns! ...I bet you've heard them dozens of times. And yet one very...
© 2015, José Diaz Links Interview with José Diaz José Diaz Official Website
As beginners, we are invariably warned that pawn grabbing in the opening is a cardinal sin. Indeed, what could be more incautious than throwing your development to the wind and setting yourself up for tactical calamity? Pawn grabbing usually st...
Last week, we learned about the pre-war origins of the opening that would become the Modern Defense. Thus far, the Modern Defense did not have a real name, nor any kind of reputation. It was a curiosity which had been played a few time...
I had a brief, though quite interesting, exchange with a gentleman not long ago. It started with a query concerning Louisa Matilda Ballard Fagan, the Italian born English chess player who scored 2nd in the Ladies' I...
I think about chess a lot. I think about chess news, chess history, chess openings and endgames, my chess friends (living and dead), beautiful chess games, and how my 4,000 chess books are pushing me out of my home. But my main chess thoughts ar...
