When sitting at a chessboard, what are players thinking about? Much of their time is spent answering a simple question: "Is this position good or bad?" They might have incredible vision, they might never miss a forcing line... but if at the end of...
The other day I played a game here on chess.com where I reached the magical Holy Grail of which I have never achieve before in tens of thousands, most likely over 100.000 games played online and live. The perfect 4-square "Holy Grail" pawn center!...
When you play 1. d4 in Bullet and Blitz you're sure to see a lot of 1...e5?. Some people of course just play it as a premove. However, the majority try to make you waste a lot of time and beat you in their pet line. In fact, 1...e5? lead...
Hi everyone. A little bit late this week, but here we are. Today we are going to talk about mate with two knights. Is it possible? If not, why not and when is it possible then? Those are some of the questions we will answer. Also, we will see some...
The fourth season of the LCWL (Live Chess World League) got under way last week and the first games in the 1st division were played over the weekend. LCWL is now in it's 4th season and keeps growing every season. The league has four divisions with...
Evening Everyone. A few days ago my friend @RoaringPawn threw an 'oblique', as he put it, suggestion my way that it might be nice for 'someone' to do a post on the great Carl Schlechter. It is in the comments here with thanks f...
I've discovered him while searching some on King's Indian Defense. Against 1. d4 it seemed to be his main choice during his short career and life. Leonid Stein, born in Ukrania on Nov 12, 1934, won 3 Soviet championships and many international e...
Aleksandra Goryachkina's interview to the RIA Novosti reporter Oleg Bogatov, given on 20th June. https://rsport.ria.ru/20190620/1555738799.html Aleksandra, your victory was quite unexpected for many. Which goals did you set for yourself before...
Hey Everyone! Here we are, taking a step into the Taimanov Variation in the Sicilian Defense. This is part 2, where we are getting more serious. Part 1 was about: Plans in the Taimanov, Mark Taimanov (the creator), Ideas in the hedgehog,...
Here I present to you a wild boar of a blitz game that features the move Qf2!?!?!?! offering black the plan to invest tempos and get a pawn and a full rook for his trouble! But imbalances like this are not without consequence. White rec...
When you were first learning to play chess, you probably were told that each piece was worth a certain amount. A pawn is worth 1 point; bishops and knights 3 apiece; rooks 5; and the queen a full 9 points. Then you might have been told that one sh...
Hi chess mates. I am glad to post twice this week. This time we are going to analyze an attack game, a miniature, where Black took a pawn in the opening, as White got some compensation and attack possibilities for the material down. And that&rsquo...
Brazil Update: Aman is sitting at 5/7 after scoring a win last night. Today, he's been paired with a 2000 rated player who is having a good event! Tournament Standings You can watch the games LIVE here on chess.com! Rounds start at 7 pm eas...
One of the most important things in chess is to find the right plan. During the game, every playerfaces that challenge. The first time to evaluate is right after the opening and usually 2-3 times lateron. There is even a saying, “better to p...
Carlsen is winning everything. I have to admit that I like that. I enjoyed watching Kasparov win everything in the 90s. Perhaps I feel that chess is a game of kings and it needs a proper king to rule and show his strength. In 1959 t...
Hi everyone. As you already know, I love studies and artistic endgames. How helpful this kind of puzzles can be? I think very. But that is a question for another post maybe. The studies I bring today are taken from “Domination in 2545 Endgam...
In the summer of 1972, when Gennadi Sosonko left Russia for the West, his luggage consisted "entirely of a strong desire to leave the country, a rather sketchy impression of the world that lay beyond its borders, and a suitcase full of books." A...
Welcome to the second edition of this series on the classical Dutch! In this one, we will look at a different pawn structure that can arise from this opening. Again black manages to play … f4! securing decent attacking chances on the king...
Afternoon Everyone. This week the World Champion played a game that caught my eye. I think he did it deliberately, knowing what I was working on!! Thanks Magnus! I have always wondered if our mutual friend Ole ever showed your my game agains...
Hi All, Here comes the final part of the blog-series "Ritvars adventures in 4NCL strongest league with the Celtic Tigers". The final weekend of the league was really important for the Tigers - we needed to score some wins to stay in the highes...
Prepare your little heart! Former World Junior Chess Champion GM Alexander Ipatov and yours truly will play against Naycir's viewers on July 6, 2019 at 3pm PST (July 7, 2019 1am Turkish time) in an exciting hand and brain battle! Wil...
Hi, everyone! Have you ever tried the Budapest Gambit? The gambit for Black goes 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e5!?. Black is trying to distract White from their harmonious setup in the center while organizing an at...
Many people think of the Caro-Kann as a dull, dry opening that old men play to try to draw with black. (Indeed, I can't recall a single time I've met someone younger than me who plays the Caro!) Historically, the Classical variation hasn't done ...
Welcome! It is well known that the classical Dutch defence is one of the most volatile openings going, when black congregates all of his pieces on the kingside and at the appropriate moment blasts through, like storming the bastille. Sometimes i...
At the end of the 19th century Siegbert Tarrasch, one of the strongest players at this times, invented and popularised an active way of playing against Queen's Gambit - 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 c5He admired c5 move to that point that he always put...