Endgames are undoubtedly a very important part of chess, from understanding how to convert a material advantage to key concepts such as zugzwang or opposition. But how well do you know theoretical endgames? In this blog I would...
Hi chess mates. Today we are going to talk about Underpromotion. I found two amazing studies to explain this Tactical Theme. I am sure you will enjoy and learn with this puzzles. We are going to start with a little bit of theory: We have Underpr...
My blog output this year has been a bit of a patchwork quilt. Whilst away for the week I took Hans Renette's magnificent book on Paulsen with me. My friend @kamalakanta recently described it as being a book that is almost a religious experie...
The Caro-Kann is one of the most popular openings for Black. It is important to understand the plans and ideas that arise from its Pawn Structure. In this blog post, I am linking two videos. Examples of when/what pawn to push to seize the initia...
Hi Chess Friends, I've recently been reading through Game Changer, a book about AI chess engine AlphaZero, the strongest chess entity to date. Obviously no person can play at the level of the machine, but we can pick up a few of its preferred...
Deathmatches are becoming more and more popular among streamers. It is not only about emotions (who is going to win) but it also gives a great educational content. Viewers can watch games from perspective of both players - it broadens picture. L...
As much as I enjoy chess, I often find it frustrating that virtually every game I play is rife with mistakes. Every time I finish a game, I'm repeatedly reminded of my all-too-human imperfections as soon as I run a Stockfish analysis that "...
How useful is learning and playing chess for kids, particularly at-risk children? A lot, according to professors of education and nursing, probation officers, counselors, prosecuting lawyers, school teachers and administrators, and judges—in...
Here I share a USCF rated game played at the Parma Chess Club in June of 2019 against Anthony Hoag. Anthony (wisely?) declines my Smith Morra Gambit and we enter a Moroczy Bind type position which then transforms into an IQP (isolated q...
Deep Blue vs. Kasparov. Deep Junior at Dortmund. Deep Fritz vs Kramnik. Leelenstein vs jjosh? The history of humans playing computers is not a long one. The period in which chess engines and strong human players could compete on level footing wa...
I don't understand why people start with the premise that a draw is bad. When the premise is erroneous then everything that follows cannot be right. The way too many attempts at tinkering with the format of chess tournaments has led to me...
Tigran Petrosian (1929-1984) was born 90 years ago today. When he was World Champion (1963-1969), I began to cultivate my interest in chess. I attribute much of my early fascination with the game to his unbreakable defensive style of playing that ...
One way to gain flexibility in our tactical play, is by moving the king in advance. In this way, not only do we avoid checks, but we also await the opponent´s next step, on which we could base our following actions. Interestingly, this kind ...
Hi everyone. There is nothing new I can say about Fischer, he was a chess legend, and everyone knows that. But we do can analyze one of his games and learn together from his mastery. Today we are going to see a miniature: Fischer vs Reshevsky, 195...
Hi All, Finally I have pulled myself together to write another blog-post to share my experience in 4NCL. You can see the first part of this blog-series here. P.s. thank you for your comments and messages regards the first blog-post. Your...
Aleksandra Goryachkina has just won the Women's Candidates' Tournament, earning a World Championship opportunity against Ju Wenjun. I've decided to let the chess.com readers know a bit more about this young prospect. This interview was conducted...
Indeed. Finally I am posting some games by a player you have heard of - the line in the Sicilian is named after him. A fascinating man, and a true joy of a chess player. I am taking a break from packing ready to go on holiday, so no full a...
While browsing the bulletins of 1942 Kuibyshev tournament I came across an interesting article on chess improvement by Grandmaster Levenfish. Things have changed quite a bit in the 75+ years that followed, and yet the recommendations of this artic...
Thank you all for the views on my last blog post, at the time I am writing this, it is at 3500 views!!! Thank you for all of the support I really appreciate it. For those of you who don't want to read the blog post: Click HERE to reveal the Se...
Hi all, A blog twice in one week? I know, it seems strange but since I am practising/studying for the World Open, I thought I'd share a nice line I came across. Click here for the Video: https://youtu.be/K_v2cefo4F8 Make sure to watch the ...
A couple weeks ago, I made a video for the ChessPathways YouTube channel, analyzing a game for Pierre - one of our members. He had won this Game Analysis video as part of his prize from the ChessPathways Blitz Streak Challenge, so I was exci...
One of the most famous checkmate patterns in chess is smothered mate. Everyone knows it, but have you ever won that way? Or have you ever seen that live? In that post I am going to show you couple examples of smothered mate application. Let's ...
Hi everyone!Check out my latest video series on things you should always/never do during the game. Hope you enjoy them! Why You Should Always Ask What Your Opponent Is Up To: https://www.chess.com/video/player/think-like-your-opponent Why...
What's up, guys and gals? As the title may (and technically does) imply, this post is not to brag about myself on how good I am. This is blitz by the way, so it probably does not have much long-term effect on my chess moving forward. I ju...
Hi everyone! As usual, if you don't want to read the blog post, here is the link to the video: https://youtu.be/OJLXNuMT2JA I wanted to share one of my most memorable games with you guys. I hold this game dear because it helped me break out of...