Intended level: late beginner/early intermediate Let us put it bluntly, without us Pawns there would be no chess. Just imagine this possible scenario at the start, there is no phalanx of pawns on the two confronting sides. What would follow? A...
The 1960s had SO MUCH GOOD CHESS. There were so many games by Fischer, Tal, Petrosian, Spassky, Botvinnik, Smyslov, Korchnoi, Larsen, and many more players that could go on this list. I really think the 1960s may be the richest decade in chess his...
Alex Dunne, Fred Reinfeld: The Man Who Taught America Chess, with 282 Games. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 2019. Paper. $45.00. Fred Reinfeld (1910-1964) helped teach me chess. In fact, he was “the man who taught Amer...
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. ...
A few months ago I came across an amazing game in which Lev Alburt, playing Black, won against Vlastimil Hort, at a time when Hort was a top-10 player! The game was astounding, for Alburt sacrificed his Queen, but dominated the whole board! He mad...
Would you like to play me in one of the largest online chess simuls ever and help support Doctors Without Borders? On October 31 at 8 a.m. Pacific time, I will be playing 77 opponents in a simul on Chess.com. IM Levy Rozman (twitch.tv/gotha...
Dear Chess Friends! It’s time for Simultaneous Exhibition! I almost recovered from COVID-19 and I’m ready to prove that this disease doesn’t affect intellectual abilities. I know examples when people who had COVID-19 couldn&rsq...
Hi ChessKids and Parents, There has been a LOT of new ChessKid content lately. With so many new announcements, it can be hard not to miss a few. We've rounded up all of the new ChessKid TV info here so you don't have to look. Our daily content t...
If you've been reading my blog for some time, you know I've made a few posts on the knight + queen smothered mate. It's a classic combination that every strong beginner/intermediate player should be aware of. If you are aware of it, then you fir...
As I posted last week, I have started to award beauty/best game prizes in all Dojo-organized events that I do commentary for. Here are the past week's crop of prize winners; enjoy! The past two weeks I've filled in for Kostya on Sunday Night Fig...
Hi All, Nudged by high demand we are back with the series "Master Analysis of Your Games" - episode #7! What has happened since last session? Well, there is a bit of news - finally FIDE approved my IM title, so I can officially call myself an ...
Want to hear some inspiring news to start your week?I just finished the qualifying stage of the 'Asian Online Nations Cup', where I represented Australia on Board 3.Australia finished in 4th place in the tournament, with 13 match points (out of a ...
Afternoon Everyone. A few days ago there was an article on this site where the term 'Pillsbury Bind' was used. My memory being what it is, I forget where that was, so feel free to enlighten me! Anyway, the use of that term dragged some games out o...
The 1970s were a remarkable chess decade in many ways. After the action-packed 1960s—possibly my pick for the most high-quality chess decade of all time—the early 70s were awash with the drama of Bobby Fischer's run at the title of Wor...
Hi chess lovers. Some friends and students have asked me before how do professional players read Chess Books. This week, I was thinking about this and prepared a post/video with some interesting ideas and advices to read them and get the most from...
Hi friends, I hope you are doing well, and welcome to my blog! If you are new here, this is where I post things, mainly games and thoughts that inspire me and that I want to share with the chess world. What is the Chess.c...
Starting the game with 1. d4 is thought to be a more positional approach than playing 1. e4. It's easier to pick a system after 1. d4 and consistently play similar setups with the white pieces. Two of the most popular systems are the London System...
Such a title bodes the unraveling of a mysterious plot. There is no maudlin 007 mystery here; nevertheless there is a plot. Didn't your grade-school marm teach you that every story fact or fiction must reveal a plot?...
When I first started playing chess from absolute zero, I was too shy to play against real opponents. Like many of my pure beginner chess friends, I would play against a computer and GMs would keep telling me that I should play against real people ...
Montenegro is a beautiful Mediterranean country with picturesque coastal regions and majestic mountains (hence its Italian name, for Black Mountain). Cruel and graceful, the fascinating nature of this small state across the Adriatic Sea from Italy...
Vasily Vasilievich Smyslov learned chess in 1927, at the age of six and a half. His first teacher was his father, Vasily Osipovich Smyslov, and he was quite a strong player himself. After all, how many amateurs could claim victories over not just ...
Hello guys! The thumbnail gave away everything in the video! Just kidding. But still, hop along. Below is the no-looking zone. The thumbnail is all you need to read, unless you can't read. Some people, like me, learn much better through med...
Hi all! It's Saturday again which means a video analysis of today's daily puzzle! The lesson today? Don't snap-take pieces that look free. Analyze, even if it's only briefly, the resulting position and make sure your opponent doesn't have any tric...
The 1972 World Chess Championship match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky was a tremendous contest that ultimately concluded Fischer's untouchable 1970-1972 period (and even his career...). Leading up to the match, Fischer put together an ...
Hey chess friends!This post is to let you know that in less than an hour (7pm GMT+7 Vietnam time), I will be going LIVE on my Facebook page! The subject of my LIVE Grandmasterclass is 'Playing The Opening Like A Grandmaster'! In th...