Back to a weekday! Last week featured some fantastic matchups. Wednesday's games should be no different. Here's how I think it will shake out: Eastern Division: Odisha - Gorky 7-9 Shymkent - Budapest 7-9 Amaravat...
Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's been real. I'm in the middle of 3 back-to-back-to-back (kinda, I get one week off to go to Florida) scholastic state championships, starting with the Illinois High School state finals this weekend in Peoria, IL.&...
Undeterred by the fact that I am in last place amongst the predicting crowd (week 1 did not go so well...) I carry on with my bold predictions! The PRO Chess League has been a bevy of excitement. I've always thought this was the way to popula...
Apparently, my deep and intricate method of picking teams to win purely based on their awesome name choice was severely flawed, as I managed to score less than 50% in my week one predictions, managing to accurately project the winner in only 11/24...
Recently, I was asked by FM Mike Klein, the famous "fun-master," to predict the results of the upcoming PRO Chess League. Every week. Accurately. He must've been aware of my background as a handicapper and fantasy football expert, both of which re...
My article, "The Struggle", is featured on the cover of the just-released March, 2016 Chess Life! If you are a USCF member you can view the magazine online here: http://www.uschess.org/content/view/13263/365 Or wait for your print copy. I'm ver...
Very excited for the 2016 US Amateur Team North. My own team features three masters and a class-A student of mine. I also have two student teams playing, headlined by a team with two student experts - 2130 and 2050. Perhaps the most interesting ...
And I responded, "Why, let me show you..." Game here: http://nmpetek.blogspot.com/2015/11/2015-il-open-round-4.html
Last weekend, I participated in the 61st Iowa Open, and won it with a score of 4.5/5. I am in the process of annotating my games, and have completed my round one game, which can be viewed, with notes, here: http://nmpetek.blogspot.com/2015/09/kar...
A quality chess "chef" can "cook" a problem- that is, bust it with an alternate solution. True quality in chess compositions comes from the uniqueness of the solution-- there can be only one sequence of moves which solves the problem. Revisiting...
Alois Wotawa was an Austrian chess "artist" who composed truly unique and fascinating problems. The following, however, potentially has a "bust"... there may be two solutions! Can you find one of them (or both)?
How to set up zugzwang, or, when you notice your opponent has no good moves! Black is helpless, and the right move will finish the job! YouTube Channel Five Minute Theory
The solution to the composition I posted last week. Enjoy! A fascinating study.
This is a study by Wotawa, from 1954, shown to me by my good friend NM Mike Zaloznyy. White to play and win, a very rewarding solution! I'll post the answer on my blog: nmpetek.blogspot.com later today.
The following annotated game is from round 2 of the 2015 Denver Open. I experimented with a new (for me) opening and found some interesting attacking ideas. Enjoy!
Back in the early 2000s, I was listening to a Sam Ford blitz game in the skittles room at a Chicago Open and he slammed down a bishop on d6, paralyzing black's d7 pawn and several corresponding pieces and declared, "Bam. That's an imposer." Mo...
If you see a good move, look for a better one!
Five Minute Theory: Chess Theory in ~ Five Minutes. Openings, Endings, and everything in between: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNRC_EApr7KVcsJvNRAY8mQ
Full game with analysis, in a play-through format. Kamsky - Karagianis, Denver Open 2015. http://nmpetek.blogspot.com/2015/06/kamsky-karagianis-denver-open-2015.html
