Maybe you read my previous blogpost in December 2025, the original announcement that I won't cut my hair until I reach a 2100 FIDE rating. If you've seen the thumbnail to this article at the top, you already know that the haircut hasn't happened y...
“Improve your worst piece” is one of the most common pieces of chess advice, and in many positions it is absolutely useful. But I think many players run into problems when they apply it automatically, without really checking what the p...
Summer is here, and with it comes a little extra time to focus on your chess. Whether you're aiming to sharpen your opening repertoire, finally get to your endgames, or simply build a consistent study habit, summer is the perfect opportunity to t...
Pins showcase the power of long-range pieces. In pins, not only is an opponent's piece directly under attack, also additional pieces and squares behind the pinned piece come under fire. Bishops, rooks, and queens can create pins - the most powerfu...
Dear Chess Friends! I'm excited to share highlights from my recent workshop "The 7th Rank: Rooks Gone Wild", where we explored one of the most powerful and satisfying strategic achievements in chess: placing your rooks on the 7th (2nd) rank. Two ...
In order to improve your game, you must study the endgame before everything else. For whereas the endings can be studied and mastered by themselves, the middle game and opening must be studied in relation to the end game. - José Raú...
Problem positions with few pieces tend to be more enticing to solve, a natural preference that is happily compatible with the principle of economy of force in chess composition. The latter states that the amount of material used to show a problem&...
Back to Top INTRODUCTION Back in January, the biggest online chess tournament of the year in terms of field size kicked off, the Chess.com Daily Chess Championship. For the third year in a row, I decided to sign up and participate. In my first...
Welcome to another blog! And welcome to the world, dear Lucca ♥️ That’s right! My beloved son was born on 26 May 2026. Mum, Dad, and the whole family are obviously delighted at the arrival of our newest member. He has already receive...
Checkmate & Chill Adult Chess Camp You do so much for everyone else in your life, it’s time to be a little bit selfish and treat yourself and join fellow chess enthusiasts this summer for a multi-day chess camp held on the beautiful ca...
These last few months I've been busy building out my new Youtube channel: FunMasterMike. I have been teaching chess for 30+ years and it is joy to create creative content directly to chess fans. As you'll see after the obligatory "like and subscri...
It can be easy to think about chess improvement as something that only happens on a personal scale. If you’re reading this article, I imagine you’d love to be better at the game and you may spend some amount of time on opening courses,...
We are now looking for adults that would like to play some fun Hand & Brain on June 14 together with African talents from humble backgrounds. Your participation will help the children change their lifes. The details follow below and contact us...
Dear Chess Friends! I'm excited to share highlights from my recent workshop "The Second Weakness: How Masters Break Solid Positions", where we explored one of the most important strategic concepts in chess. A single weakness is rarely enough to w...
Before asking whether an opening is good for beginners, maybe we should first ask a different question: What is a chess beginner in the first place? If we don't understand the key term we want to discuss, or we don't take the actual player's lev...
Hey everyone! I’m just stopping by to say something… chess is hard! I just played the Madrid Absolute final, and I have to say I didn’t prepare as much as I should have. I had a lot going on: learning how to drive, growing the C...
Afternoon everyone. I am back with a quick follow up to my last humble offering - there I mentioned that I may post something on Endre Steiner - centre standing in the above picture - so here it is. I went back into the book and went to the rel...
There is one silent opening mistake most players make. In many opening positions, your opponent creates a threat and your first instinct is to defend. That feels natural, but very often, this is exactly how you slowly give away the initiative. I...
#chessrobot #senserobot This is just a quick update... I started a new job in January and have been very busy, leaving little time for chess! I haven't abandoned my channel and blog, though, content will likely come at a lower frequency a...
When the Broadway moguls decided to revive the musical Chess, I was practically giddy with anticipation. I dropped enough hints throughout the holiday season that I fully expected to find show tickets stuffed in my Christmas st...
Because the answer is simple: get a chess coach and follow their advice. Not working? Get a different one and follow their advice. Repeat until you get good results. And before I forget, stop asking online how to improve your chess. I know some o...
Today we're going to play a game. Some people can recognize a chess game from a single move. Others can tell who played it just from the style. You think you know chess history. You've seen hundreds—maybe thousands—of games, read biog...
Welcome everybody, to a special Championship edition of Blitz 'n' Memes... If you're a fan of puzzles taken from amateur chess tournaments, then you have come to the right place, because that is what I do. A special treat this month, as our tact...
Hello, dear readers! Following the success of my blog post interviewing my grandfather about chess, I decided that now would be a good time for a sequel. However, before writing it, I had to ask myself the obvious question: Who should I interview...
Hey Impressive Chessers! In this blog, we are going to go over my Round 2 game from the last OTB tournament I played in at the beginning of the month because: “Plenty of authors expound on the advantages of going over their own games i.e....
