It goes without saying that in order to improve you have to play ("make") better moves. But most players striving to improve don't think about the fact that there are two distinctly different ways to play better moves. One either has to: Find ...
Afternoon everyone. I was motivated to repost this article I wrote a number of years ago - with a couple of additional bits - by an article on anther site. There we see this bit of 'good story journalism'. Quote. ''What makes Steinitz great as a...
When you sit down for an important game, what does your brain remind you of? If you’re like most chess players, it helpfully replays that time you hung a piece in a winning position. Or when you lost on time with mate in two. Or that embarra...
Hey Impressive Chessers! In a strange change of tact, today’s blog is going to be all about me! Okay… I’m kidding... Kind of. What this blog is really about is one of my biggest weaknesses (especially in the past) and one th...
Below are some of the main junior events in the English junior calendar for 2026. ENGLISH YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS March 7-8, 2026 Nottingham High School 2 Qualification places for U18, U16, U14, U12, U10, U8 – Open and Girls &nd...
We love a little sequence break. I'll update the bracket after the voting ends I've been informed that Santa will be gifting me the recently published George Mackenzie biography by John Hilbert, which has partially influenced me to write ab...
#dicechess #variant #demonstration Click to subscribe to my YouTube channel! As we’re moving towards the end of the year, I’ve had some opportunity to cover topics in my channel and blog that I just hadn&rs...
Hey everyone, In November, there were 126k accounts closed for fair play violations. This number remains relatively consistent with previous months. November also saw 16 titled players banned for fair play violations. All but a couple of these...
Trading queens is one of the most transcendental decisions you need to make in a game. In this post, I will give you some tips and examples to help you make that decision correctly. If you prefer video format, checkout this content in my YouTube c...
Hello chess friends! As I get to the end of the year, I like to look back on some of my personal chess highlights. Fortunately, 2025 had many! Let's jump in. 2900 Blitz! I first hit 2800 blitz in 2023, after years of work. My practice has c...
At the beginning of September, we made Proctor (our Fair Play monitoring program) mandatory for all players participating in prize events. Since its debut, we are excited to announce that we've had significantly fewer instances of engine cheating ...
In the third episode of Masters and Matches, Arne Moll and I discuss the infamous Toiletgate scandal, when Vladimir Kramnik was accused of cheating during his World Championship match with Veselin Topalov in Elista in 2006. The episode (Spoti...
IM John Donaldson Discusses his new book “Inside the Mind of Bobby Fischer” Published by Siles Press https://www.silmanjamespress.com/shop/chess/inside-the-mind-of-bobby-fischer/ To purchase cli...
In a game historically dominated by men, WGM Adriana Nikolova stands out - not just as a competitor but also as one of the most dedicated women coaches. A seasoned Olympiad player, Adriana claimed the Bulgarian Women’s Championship title ...
#englund #queensac #smug #satisfaction Click to subscribe to my YouTube channel! Today, I started my morning with a game of 5 | 5 blitz and I was blessed with this cracker of a game! I’d played this on my laptop as ...
Sharing a terrific interview with Ben Johnson (Perpectual Chess) and IM John Donaldson Discussing "Inside the Mind of Bobby Fischer" Purchase link https://tinyurl.com/5dpavtr9 Full Interview below https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x4heIRO6g4
Let's keep the good times rolling. Going purely by seeding, Gunsberg is actually the underdog in this match, perhaps contrary to expectations. This is primarily because of his horrid result at his debut tournament, Nuremberg 1883; take that o...
#fun #romanticstyle Click to subscribe to my YouTube channel! This morning, I played my most enjoyable game of chess of 2025! 🤩👍 Indeed, this inspired this video and article! To keep it brief, I had the black pie...
Time flies, and I have uploaded two more episodes of The Chess News Podcast. Let's check out last two weeks of chess news in audio! In Episode 9, I talk about the London Chess Classic, chess played underwater, and more. I wrap up the London Ches...
Hello, and welcome to the final episode of this series! Today, I will be covering the first two decades of the 21st century, from 2000 to 2020. As you know, the idea is to explore the world of chess during significant historical events, and how ...
Hi! I am NM Dan Heisman and - I hate to say it - I have been coaching chess for over 50 years and it's still my full-time profession, coaching players of all ages and levels both online and at my home outside of Philadelphia. Starting in 2011, I d...
A couple of new points show up on the atlas of chess history — with the first-ever international tournament in California followed by the first-ever in Mexico. Both were opportunities to benefit from the celebrity of Alekhine and for Alekhin...
#traps #tactics #romanticstyle #quickwins Click to subscribe to my YouTube channel! Another week, another chess noob Quick Wins article and video! And today, I’m going to show two games that follow the same theme...
Inspired by GM Aman Hambleton's challenge in 2017, when he didn't cut his beard until he achieved the grandmaster title, I decided—in my infinite wisdom—to go down a similar route, and I'm still on it. In this post, I'll share with you...
Afternoon everyone. My long suffering - and believe me, they have my sympathies - readers will be glad to hear that this is, by my standards, a quick blog! However, a fair bit of text, and then I will throw in some fun chess at the end. A few da...
