Today's 10 exercises are from 3 games I played in the last week's Titled Tuesday Tourney. In 2 of the games I played the Pirc defense and got a fine positions in the middlegame. In one of them I got a strong attack on his king. I overlooked this...
There are two great opening innovation stories that both come from 1918. One is the introduction of the Budapest Gambit — a group of minor Hungarian masters passing on the secrets of the Budapest at a tournament in Berlin, which led to the a...
Today I created 10 exercises from 2 games which I played in the Titled Tuesday Tourney. I got a big advantage using the Pirc defense. In the other game I won a nice bishop versus knight endgame. I prevented this finish: I missed this chance ...
This post is dedicated to Salo Flohr, one of the great chess masters of the 20th century, who unfortunately remains relatively unknown. We will delve into his life, his chess career, and analyze some of his most memorable games, admiring the quali...
In Winner's POV, we take a look at tournaments from the 19th century and see the games that allowed the top player to prevail. Some tournaments will be known and famous, others will be more obscure - in a time period where competition is scarce, I...
Today I created 10 exercises from 2 games which I played in the Titled Tuesday Tourney. I lost one against the Stone wall setup and won one with the King's Indian Defense. It was an alternative reality: How did I continue the attack? I ...
Today I created 10 exercises. 4 from the game of Jerry, one of my students from the United States and 6 from the endgames coaching we had with Kyle. How can white finish the game? How can black increase his advantage? Checkmate i...
Mikhail Tal, the most brilliant tactician of his generation and widely considered one of the best attacking players in chess history, was renowned for his brute force, uncompromising style, and powerful, creative play. For Tal, the initiative trum...
Today's 10 exercises were created from my Titled Tuesday game against FIDE-Master Thomas Thiel from Germany. How could white win? What is the best option for white? How to react to Qb5 check? How can black win? How to cont...
Welcome to my blog, and to the three month anniversary (plus some days) of me not posting! I assume that my blog just naturally dies and goes extinct without anyone noticing... but... I realized that's not the case as I entered a tournament today,...
I created 11 exercises from the games I played in the Titled Tuesday Tourney. I got an advantage in the opening and middlegame, but I waited too long and he got a strong attack on the kingside. This puzzle is from the 2nd round game. I prevented...
Today's Daily Puzzle came from a game played at the Staunton Memorial Tournament in 2006 between GM Peter Wells and GM Jon Speelman. Here is my video telling the story and explaining the game:
Yesterday in the Titled Tuesday Tourney I played a game against FIDE-Master Lefong Hua from Canada. I allowed his pawn advance in the queenside in the Ben-oni defense. He sacrificed a pawn with c5-c4 to open the c-file and the g1-b6 diagonal and c...
The adults win the ChessKid Stars vs. Streamers Rematch, 20-12, against four brilliant young opponents, tying the series at 1-1! The ChessKid Stars vs. Streamers Series ChessKid Stars vs. Streamers is a fun event series that invites popular c...
I studied my games from the last week's Titled Tuesday Tourney and I created 12 exercises. How did I finish the game? How can black continue the attack? How can black save the game? How Can Black gain material? What is the best o...
I studied my games from the last week's Titled Tuesday Tourney and I created 10 exercises. How did I finish the game? Checkmate in 1 How can white gain material? What is the fastest checkmate? I prevented this line against Grandm...
Again, it’s hard to believe that this tournament really took place. It was held in September-October of 1918 with Berlin facing food shortages and the Armistice a month away. Schlechter would die of some combination of starvation or pneumoni...
This blog was on hold for a while, as I had a lot of work with my students, the garden, the house - so something had to give way. Well, at least I can post all my league games in one go, as the team championship has ended meanwhile. Our team ...
We've all seen the videos on YouTube, a chess hustler playing a "beginner" in the park, only to realize that this "beginner" is actually a master. Though I've always wondered, what is a chess hustlers rating? Obviously, this question can be answer...
Hello, my fellow puzzle lovers, and welcome to another edition of Blitz & Memes. If you're a fan of tactics taken from amateur online blitz tournaments, then you have come to the right place, because that is what I do. As ever, the puzzles h...
I created 11 exercises from the games of 2 students, Salvador from Puerto Rico and Stéphane from Belgium. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. I wish you enjoyed the exercises. Please use the...
Good afternoon Everyone! A real treat today, so stick with it - everything here is wonderful ( for which I take zero credit) I have had my head in a book again! This one- My long standing readers will know that I really like Winawer. http...
Today I created 10 exercises from the games of Benedetto, who is one of my students from California. How can white give the checkmate? How can black finish his attack? Black played Rd8. How should white react? How can Black get...
May’s Club Affiliate of the Month is the Columbia Chess Club in South Carolina. It was an absolute pleasure to learn more about the Columbia Chess Club and their president, James Brandmair. James wears many hats within the South Carolina Che...
In Winner's POV, we take a look at tournaments from the 19th century and see the games that allowed the top player to prevail. Some tournaments will be known and famous, others will be more obscure - in a time period where competition is scarce, I...