Win a won game?
Hello! It's me, Midna! I mean... er... uh... Stacia Melinda. And I'm on a mission. I have been studying hard and ready to prove that I'm better at chess so I'm playing games on chess.com and I'm ready to break 1700. ...
I was on the Perpetual Chess Podcast again :)
Hello Chess Friends, So I was lucky enough to be featured on the Perpetual Chess Podcast hosted by Ben Johnson this past week along with another adult improver, Andrzej Kryzdwa to talk about how chess has been going after my rapid 400 point rati...
A Theoretical Scuffle | Fischer v Euwe | Caro Kann Panov Attack
Hello there, Last month I finally obtained a classic book written by my 2nd favorite player, Bobby Fischer! I spent the entire month analyzing just a handful of games and learned many useful ideas I feel compelled to share. Bobby F...
Use Tempos Wisely!
Hello it's Stacia! In this online training game on chess.com I receive every attackers dream... free tempos! I face a very peculiar line of the King's Gambit, but a very risky one in my eyes. Black decides that they will take my f pawn and then...
Sneaky Trap in the KG
Here I present a sneaky, sneaky yet devastating trap you can set in the King's Gambit! My coach showed me this months ago and I've won many quick games with it since then so I'm going to share it with you. Hope you enjoy! Sorry, no pg...
My Chess Trainer Changed My Openings to Gambits?? Part III
Hello! Stacia here and I'm going to continue my story about how I changed all my openings per my chess trainers. PART ONE was basically a story at how I came to this crazy, dubious decision and PART TWO was basically what happened ...
My chess trainer made me change all my openings!? Part II
Hello! Stacia here and I'm going to continue my story about how I changed all my openings per my chess trainers (yes, I technically feel I have two). Part one was basically a story at how I came to this crazy, dubious decision whi...
My chess trainer made me change all my openings!? Part I
Ah yes I remember it well. It was Fall of 2018 when the idea was first suggested to me by National Master Michael Joelson, my new boss at non-profit chess organization, Progress With Chess. “Just play 1. e4,” he said candid...
Attacking Training Pays Off! (King's Gambit)
Hello it's Stacia! In this training game I played online all my attacking practice shows itself when I have to face my own favorite opening; the King's Gambit! Instead of getting attacked and mated, I manage to flip the stakes and quickly at...
How Did I Blunder Mate In One???? (King's Gambit Declined)
Hi there! It's Stacia, your favorite adult chess improver! (I hope) In this game which was played at the Parma Chess Club on 3/10/20 I faced Dave Bumba (1800 USCF) who unknowingly walked right into a computer line I prepared in the King's Gambit...
Attacking Chess!! Wedge the Kingside
Sometimes it's a powerful idea to open up the kingside and watch the bare King run around try not to get checkmated, and sometimes a better idea is to wedge it shut! Hi there. This is Stacia and I hope your attacking spirit is ready...
Attacking Chess!! Queen in the Castle
Fox in the hen house! oh wait... I meant queen in the castle. hehe Hi there. This is Stacia and I hope your attacking spirit is ready for some more action because we are going to continue looking at attacking ideas this ...
Attacking Chess!! Knight & Bishop Orchestration
Rawr!!! hehe Hi there. This is Stacia and I hope your attacking spirit is ready for some more action because we are going to continue looking at attacking ideas this month! If you missed the previous post on this topic, fear n...
Attacking Chess!! Bishop Clearance
Hi there, This is Stacia and I hope your attacking spirit is ready for some action because we are going to be looking at some attacking chess ideas this month! One of the best things you can do for your chess game is focus on tactics, t...
Miniature #12: Navigating a Mess (King's Gambit)
Hi there! This is Stacia and I wanted to share an interesting mess of a game I fell into on chess.com. This was a fast time control game of 3/2 blitz, and I must admit when this game proceeded to get muddy, I was left holding the mud...
My Cleveland Holiday Open Games
Happy New Year! At the end of 2019 I played one last slow time control tournament called the Cleveland Holiday Open. This was the first tournament where I aimed to play my new opening rep with the black pieces (without studying it! risk...
Winter Flashcard Session With Stacia
Hello my chess friends, I hope you had a Happy Holiday and Merry Christmas! Today I'm going to share my Flashcard Session with you guys. Every month I have a theme for my morning studies and this month my theme is No More Petroff!...
Creation of a Monster
Hey there, Stacia here and I'm at it again with another training game on my quest to 1700 by the end of the year (which is going badly I might add!). In this 15/10 standard game I face the Caro Kann and answer it with........ a Panic Attac...
Moving Too Fast! (Benko Gambit & Alapin Sicilian)
Hey there, Stacia here and I'm at it again with a two for one sale in honor of Cyber Monday! I'm on a quest to get to 1700 before the end of the year and I better hurry so here I present to you not one training game, but two with the same theme....
The Sky Walker (Urusov Gambit)
Hey there, Stacia here and I'm at it again with another instructive training game. In this 15/10 standard game I play SkyWorker2005 who played more like a "Sky Walker" who hits me with the Urusov Gambit! Exciting stuff. I accep...
A Mouse Slip Trap! (Morra Accepted)
Hey there, Stacia here and I wanted to share another recent training game I played on our favorite chess site. I'm currently on a mission! I have set an ambitious to goal to reach 1700 by the end of the year. I am curren...
Faced With a Weird Line (Smith-Morra Declined)
Hey there, Stacia here and I wanted to share another recent training game I played on our favorite chess site. In this 15/10 standard game I was taken out of book early when my opponent declined my gambit in an interesting, but...
A Scary Attack (King's Gambit Declined)
Hi! Stacia here. It is Halloween so I thought I would share a game that had me shaking in my boots. There I sat in the warmest of company, with a new friend, Lisa Sharon, who I met at the Cleveland Senior Chess Club which I...
Isolation (Benoni Defense)
Hi! Stacia here. I wanted to share a game of isolation, and of course by that I mean the IQP (Isolated Queen Pawn). In this 15/10 standard training game I played here on the wonderful chess.com, I knew that black was strivi...
Winning a Won Game (Austrian Attack)
I'm the type of person that actually enjoys studying openings way more than I should actually, and as a result I do get a lot of nice positions and sometimes even winning advantages out of the opening! What more could a chess player dream of...
