Couple months ago I was preparing for the NATO Chess Championship. I wanted to try new openings so I decided to play in rapid tournament near my hometown. I won first game without any problems. In the second game, I got good position after the o...
This blog possibly isn't on chess history. But that's the point... I think that it shouldn't be part of, or at least not in the exact way it is presented. Reading and gathering material for a previous blog, I've tracked in Murray's history one of ...
The fourth round of the Xtracon Open in Denmark featured a fantastic game by Danish/American IM Kassa Korley. He had the black pieces against super solid Ukranian GM Alexander Moiseenko. Moiseenko had a peak rating of 2726 in 2011 and is a very ex...
This is a quick post about a position that popped up in a 3/2 blitz game I just played where my opponent and I both missed a key tactic. While this position is so far out of book that you can't even see the book anymore, it showcases a tactic th...
Hi chess mates. In this post we will analyze another classic miniature between two masters. This is Richard Reti vs Saviely Tartakower, 1910. It was a Caro Kann Defense, and probably the most interesting thing about this game is that White sacrifi...
Here I present to you a strategical game in a Benko Gambit Declined played in July 2019. The early decline novelty my opponent played threw me off early, and perhaps resulted in a time disadvantage, but later he drops his c pawn giving me a ...
O.K. This small two part series is now going to be a three part one! I decided that there were some games that I did not want to leave out, and some material sent to me by the indomitable @RoaringPawn means that I am still having to edit down to...
What's up, guys and gals? The first post of my series, Breaking Down A Puzzle Step By Step was a surprising success in my opinion. It was a new idea that I came up with, and I anticipated people liking and disliking it. Fortunately,...
Whew.........I'm writing this as I just reached 1900 blitz on chess.com after a lot of ups and downs . I've been playing a lot of blitz lately, with the aim of reaching 2000 rating on chess.com, and this's almost become an addiction for me. I know...
Hi, and welcome to my next blog post. Today, we will consider a question, of a chess player who was suspected of cheating. His Name is Borislav Ivanov. He mostly played chess in 2012 and 2013. He was beating a lot of strong Grandmast...
Here you can read part 1: https://www.chess.com/blog/MatBobula/how-to-create-a-plan-in-the-middlegame-part-1 Using this diagram (black to move), try to follow the steps outlined at the part 1 before comparing with the text below. I. EVALU...
The world was shocked a few days ago when a Latvian-Czech grandmaster was caught cheating during an open tournament. GM Igors Rausis confirmed in a written statement that he had used his phone during a game at the Strasbourg Open (July 10-14) in F...
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...
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...