Back to Playing Humans
Back to Playing Humans On February 4th, during my lesson, my coach FM Mees van Osch told me something I kind of already knew… but didn’t really want to hear. “James, you need to play real people online.” And I immediately...
You Asked, We Built: What's New in Chessalyz (Spring 2026 Updates)
This guest post is written by my co-founder Varun. Varun is the technical mind behind Chessalyz.ai. He builds the features and squashes the bugs while I focus on the chess side. Today he's walking you through everything we shipped this month, from...
A Century of Chess: Zurich 1934
It was very well, in the early 30s, to get excited about new talent — Botvinnik, Stahlberg, Lilienthal, etc — but lest anybody doubt who was tops Alekhine put in a terrifying performance in a mixed-quality tournament on the heels of hi...
From Advantage to Victory: The Art of Converting Winning Positions
Dear Chess Friends! I'm excited to share insights from my recent workshop "From Advantage to Victory: Converting Winning Positions", where we tackled one of the most critical skills in chess: transforming an advantage into a full point. Many gam...
Energy- The Unseen Factor in Chess
Chess is a mysterious game....we hear talk about a "weak square", an "outpost", a "weak pawn", etc. I remember reading once that Anand, when he played, felt that the pieces "became alive". Vishy Anand, 5-time World Champion What a beaut...
Pawn Majorities Should Be Mobilized in Endgames
Guy 1: All right, these are the group of people we’re going to fight. The sacrifices we made have led to this very moment, and I promise you this: they don't know what's about to hit them. Guy 2: What do you mean, what’s...
Romantic Rumble Semifinal: Isidor Gunsberg vs. Johannes Zukertort
The finish line is in sight. Unsurprisingly, the three World Championship Challengers have won their first two matches, but at least one of them will have met their match in this round. Will our first finalist be the first Challenger, Johanne...
Review of Netflix’s Queen of Chess
The chess world was eagerly awaiting the February 6 premiere of Queen of Chess. After the success of the series The Queen’s Gambit, Netflix has once again turned to chess, this time with a documentary. Like thousands of viewers around the ...
Last Round
In the final round of The World's Championship, a veteran player faces his most dangerous opponent—himself.Told through dramatic still images and narration, Last Round brings Kester Svendsen’s classic chess story to life with psycholog...
Coach’s Corner: Emmanuel Neiman
Emmanuel Neiman is one of France’s most respected and seasoned chess trainers, a coach whose decades of experience have shaped players of all levels: from club competitors to titled players. Having worked with a diverse range of students,...
How to Win the Game with a Triple-Exclamation Move
A brilliant move, or even a double-exclamation move, is the holy grail for many chess players. Everyone is searching for it, but finding one in a real game is not easy.But have you ever heard of a triple-exclamation move? This position comes f...
What If Your Biggest Chess Problem Has Nothing to Do With Chess?
You’ve reviewed your games. You’ve drilled tactics. You’ve memorized your opening lines through move 15. And yet, you’re still making mistakes that you know you shouldn’t make. Here’s a thought: what if your b...
2026 India College Chess Championship Spring Season Begins!
The 2026 India College Chess Championship Spring (ICCC) began on January 22, 2026, with 216 teams featuring 1079 players across 27 divisions. Shri Ram College of Commerce and Jadavpur university are leading with perfect scores after two rounds.&nb...
Loser's POV: George Mackenzie
Right, this has been quite the sequence break. However, I'm finally able to read some good material on this lad: Santa was a little late this year, but patience is a virtue and all that As this book has cleared up quite a few rumours and fa...
How to break the 2000 ELO barrier?
How to break the 2000 ELO barrier? Stop searching for the perfect game: build chess that doesn't break down Breaking 2000 isn’t a gradual “upgrade”—it’s a regime change. Up to a point, chess tolerates uneven talen...
IM John Donaldson Interviewed on Masters and Matches Podcast
Dear Chess Fans, I am pleased to share a new podcast interview of IM John Donaldson with Peter Doggers and Arne Moll. They discuss his new book, "Inside the Mind of Bobby Fischer) Listen here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7HgBAR_8kU You...
The Art of Calculated Attack: How to Sacrifice with Purpose
Dear Chess Friends! I'm excited to share insights from my recent workshop "How to Attack Without Sacrificing Blindly", where we explored the essential skill of launching a purposeful attack. A true attack is not a hopeful gamble, but the systema...
বাংলাদেশের প্রথম ব্লাইন্ডফোল্ড (Blindfold Chess) দাবা টুনামেন্টে চ্যাম্পিয়ন নীড়
পন পাওয়ার চেস ক্লাবের উদ্যোগে বাংলাদেশের প্রথম প্রাতিষ্ঠানিক ব্লাইন্ডফোল্ড দাবা টুর্নামেন্ট !পন পাওয়ার চেস ক্লাবের উদ্যোগে অনুষ্ঠিত হয়েছে বাংলাদেশের প্রথম প্রাতিষ্ঠানিক ব্লাইন্ডফোল্ড দাবা টুর্নামেন্ট। ব্যতিক্রমধর্মী এই প্রতিযোগিতায় দেশের শীর্ষ...
Shock The Slav Part 2: The Hyattsville Variation
I recently posted about my unique repertoire against the Slav Defense, discussing the fun variation, the Glendarden Gambit. Today, I'm going to show how to handle an equally common defense, which I'll refer to as the Hyattsville Variation, named a...
Shock The Slav Part 1: The Glenarden Gambit
In the last decade I've played thousands of blitz games and reviewed after many of them with Game Review and my own analysis. I've found this to be a surprisingly productive way to improve at chess and an amazing way to develop a unique opening re...
January's Blitz 'n' Memes
Welcome everybody to another exhilarating edition of Blitz 'n' Memes... If you're a fan of puzzles taken from amateur online blitz tournaments, then you have come to the right place, because that is what I do. As always, the tactics have been ...
Chess Reads Book Review and Interview - IM John Donaldson -Inside the Mind of Bobby Fischer
I am pleased to share Chess Reads book review of Inside the Mind of Bobby Fisher https://chessreads.com/review/inside-the-mind-of-bobby-fischer/ After you review, you can listen to the full interview here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSBu...
Of Kiwis and Kings: A History of Chess in New Zealand
Kia Ora! Today, I plan to keep the focus of my blog on my beautiful country, New Zealand, also known as Aotearoa, to close friends. In this post, the aim is to tell you more about the history of chess on this lovely, isolated island. And why t...
Science of Chess: Networks for expertise in the chess player's brain
There are a lot of specific reasons why you might be interested in the science of chess, but I think in general these can be grouped into two broad categories. On one hand, you might think that studying the cognitive and neural processes that supp...
A Conversation with FIDE Master Ted Wang
A Conversation with FIDE Master Ted Wang Three Time US National Champion FIDE Master at 11 National Master at 10 “When it comes to chess training, quality is more important than quantity.” Ken: When did you first start playin...