Before I begin the blog, I'd like to thank Chess.com for Top Blogger. Ever since I started blogging in September 2021, the Top Blogger status was something I sought to earn and I'm very grateful to have achieved this feat. I'd ...
In round 10 in the Vezerkepzo Spring International Master Tourney I played with the Hungarian Junior player Bank Szalay-Ocsak. The most important preparation for the game was to go to sleep around 10:00 pm. I realized my biggest challenge of the...
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...
Chess books continued to be popular during the 1969-1986 period. Varieties of books from this time are seen in the Crossword below. I hope you enjoyed reflecting on these chess books! For more Crosswords, see my Blog: https://www.che...
Artistic endgames, also known as compositions or studies, could be a more than useful resource for our progress in chess. Let's not think that because they are created positions and not part of international practice, this means that they serve on...
Hello there, welcome to the Lightning Reports! Ask and you will receive... I've had a surprising number of people persistently reminding me that I owe y'all another Questioning Non-Chess Players About Chess blog. Basically I asked 3 people (with t...
In round 10 of the Vezerkepzo Spring International Master tourney I played with Woman-FIDE-Master Boglarka Erdos from Hungary. I played the modern h4 line in the Scotch opening, which She replied with a5, Ba6 to attack on the a6-f1 diagonal. Aft...
Dear Chess Friends! I’m excited to announce our upcoming chess mastermind "Defining Weaknesses," designed for players looking to take their game to the next level. This masterclass will focus on identifying and exploiting weaknesses in y...
In round 8 of the Vezerkepzo Spring International Master tourney I played with Grandmaster Zoltan Varga from Hungary. He made a pawn sacrifice and a weakening move in the same time in the opening. I looked the way to use it, but misevalu...
The “unfinished tournament” has become a part of chess lore. The tournament was the biannual German chess congress, which, befitting the pre-war spirit of international cooperation, was really just a very strong masters’ tourna...
Chess is a struggle against rating. We tilt, and tilt, and when we move up it seems like we immediately hit a plateau. But it is possible to strike it rich and make huge progress in rating. These moments are, unfortunately, pretty rare, but in thi...
Below is another excerpt from Chessays: Travels Through the World of Chess, Chapter 6, Far Transfer (visit our website for more details HERE) (...) And if the case of Armenia doesn’t independently win ...
World Champion, undoubtedly it is the title dreamed of by any athlete, many great geniuses never achieved it, others held glory for a short period of time. However, we will all agree that to achieve such a coveted award, a special mastery is requi...
I won a long king's indian game against Jeevan Karamsetty from the USA in the 7th round of the Vezerkepto International Master Spring Tournament. On the Kingside the position became blocked and balanced and on the queenside I had more space and ...
Generally speaking, every focal-point is a weak square in the defender’s territory and a potentially strong one for the attacker.’ This is especially so when such a point is adjacent to the opponent’s king. A focal point is a squ...
On 5th March 2023, on behalf of the Odessa Region Chess Federation, I organised the MOVE TO VICTORY (in Ukrainian: "HID DO PEREMOHY") international online blitz with 318 participants. In was 9-round Swiss system tournament with 5 GMs and no less t...
Stoics and Zen masters would be proud of me if they saw my inner peace and the level of stillness I was in. But they would die from laughing if they saw how after a few hours I got so angry, that I threw my phone into the garbage basket. Every...
Chess is considered a sport because it involves both physical and mental activity, requiring complex skills and strategies played competitively. Although there isn't a significant physical component to the game itself, chess players need to mainta...
In the 6th round of the Vezerkepzo International Master Spring Tourney I played with FIDE-Master Pham, Tran Gia Phuc from Vietnam. I trapped my queen in the London system. Slowly improved my bad position. In the endgame he missed a pin a...
Hello, my fellow tactic solvers, 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 always the puzzles...
In round 5 of the Vezerkepzo International Master Spring Tourney I played with International Master To Nhat Minh from Hungary. I played a new line in the opening which did not work out well. I misjudged the position. I got development advantage,...
ChessKid launched its third ebook, "ChessKid Beginners' Guide To Chess," in addition to its successful preceding guides for Parents and Educators, "ChessKid's Survival Guide For Parents" and "ChessKid's Guide For Teaching Chess," respectively.&nbs...
Meet Suman Kumar, a talented writer, comedian, and chess enthusiast from Bangalore, India. With an impressive list of accolades including Filmfare, Asian Academy, and Critics Guild awards, Suman has made a name for himself in the entertainment ind...
I was able to win in a long endgame in round 4 of the Vezerkepzo Spring IM tourney: I use and recommend these courses: Next Level Training: https://nextlevelchesscourses.teachable.com/p/next-level-training?affcode=1152624_ckdrdbyy Che...
In round 2 of the Vezerkepzo Spring International Master tourney I played with International Master Laszlo Krizsany from Hungary. He surprised me with 1.b3 It was a pleasant surprise. I got a great position from the opening and sacrificed ...