This will be the first (substantial) post in my GM RAM series. GM RAM is a book by GM Rashid Ziyatdinov. GM Ziyatdinov is an eccentric figure, and his book follows suit. The author views chess skill as heavily dependent on pattern recognition (rec...
I'm going to be blogging again (starting in a week or two). The blog will document my progress through the book GM RAM.
The Scandinavian Defense is unusual, and, to many players, it feels wrong. Black brings his queen out early and gets away with it. Playing exd5 seems like the only option, but there is another way! This move might seem silly or odd...
I played in a tournament that finally got my rating over 2000. Round 1 Round 2 Round 3 Round 4
Day 2 of training: I couldn't quite remember the move order for the opening in my first game, so I made a mistake that could have given my opponent equality.
I am starting a more systematic form of training in order to progress from about 2000 (USCF) to NM. 1. at least 15 tactics a day 2. annotate 1 master game 3. play and analyze a longer time control game Of course, more can be added, but t...
Frank Marshall was one of the strongest American players to ever live. He was famous for his aggressive, sometimes almost coffeehouse style of play. I have provided his annotations to one of his most famous games. His annotations are humorous,...
Just like in the last game we covered, a pawn move weakens the king. Even though the two games are 153 years apart, the idea remains the same. In the below game, Carlsen destroys Nakamura in an almost effortless fashion. Nakamura's move 8... ...
"Every pawn move creates a weakness." This is especially true of pawn moves in front of your king. In the following game, Saint-Amant makes a natural looking move the weakens his king. Morphy immediately starts attacking the weakness, and along wi...
When the enemy king stays in the center for too long, opening files and diagonals is beneficial for launching an attack. If you can open the e-file, then you can bind the king to his own pieces in the center by using a thematic heavy piece battery...
