Ready for Battle!

The above chess pieces were painted by me in between games and work.

I am currently reading two books, the first is chess based fictional book called: Pawn's Gambit by Darin Kennedy. People are given a chess piece, and that chess piece gives the person superhero type of abilities. Once you are given a piece you are part of the game. When you are killed your piece is removed from the board. The book is aimed for the young adults, but more seasoned readers will find it a quick and playful read.

The second book I picked up from recommendations in the forums here at chess.com: Logical Chess Move by Move Every Move Explained by Irving Chernev. This book is a study book and not for leisure reading. The book takes famous games and breaks down the moves explaining why the move is good, bad or questionable.

A quick example: he mentions the chief objective of all opening strategies is to get your pieces out quickly, off the back rank and into active play. A good way to do this is to release two pieces in one move - move one of the center pawns. Moving E4 opens up lines for the queen and bishop. As I get further into the book I will start giving it a "grade"

Lastly, here are the people I am currently playing against. Feel free to give them a challenge:

KUFU

Sila2008

CheckCheck123Check

Ondoyjoiel

Mathiesh (as always)