Critical squares
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...
Move to Victory: Online and Offline
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...
Is chess a sport?
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...
Trapped queen in the London and brilliant blunder in the endgame against Pham Tran Gia Phuc
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...
March Blitz & Memes
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...
Bishop and Exchange sacrifice in the Grunfeld defense against IM To Nhat Minh
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 Releases New Ebook For Beginner Chess Players | Spring Break Promo
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...
Q & A With The Writer of FARZI
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...
Long endgame in the Exchange Slav with Felix Xie
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...
Exciting King Hunt against International Master Laszlo Krizsany
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 ...
Chess Books--1951-1968
Chess books abounded in the 1951-1968 period! Various works on chess tactics and strategy, the parts of the chess game, as well as game collections came on the scene. If this was a time when you were expanding your 'chess horizons,'--this was 'a...
Sicilian Grand Prix Attack against Grandmaster Valeriy Neverov
In round 2 of the Vezerkepzo Spring International Master tourney I played with Grandmaster Valeriy Neverov from Ukraine. He is an aggressive player, so I decided to use his own weapon against him and I played the Sicilian Grand Prix Attack. He p...
Drama at the 2023 Florida State Scholastic Chess Championships
Last weekend, I was lucky enough to participate in the 2023 Florida State Scholastic Championships. My performance was mediocre and uninteresting, so I decided to not write about my games. Instead, what I will be writing about is much more interes...
Positional chess against WIM Srishti Pandey
In the 1st round of the Vezerkepzo Spring International Master tourney I played against Woman international master Srishti Pandey, a young indian girl. In the preparation I used the Mindset ideas from the Next Level course, which I recommend and...
Anfield Cup: The New Chess Tradition in Ukraine
For quite a while I have not been able to find the time to update my blog here.Despite the realities of war, chess life in Ukraine is far from being completely frozen and hopefully later I will be able to write about events in my area (the Odessa ...
Women As Pioneers for ALL Players
Can you name the first chess player on the cover of Sports Illustrated? No it wasn’t Bobby or Karpov. No it wasn’t Kasparov, Vishi or Magnus. It was former US Women’s Champion, Lisa Lane. WGM Jennifer Shahade describes why ...
The Societal Impact of Chess, Part 2: The Armenian Poster Child
Below is another excerpt from Chessays: Travels Through the World of Chess, Chapter 6, Far Transfer: (...) Whenever you encounter a “chess should be a mandatory part of the school curriculum” type, two things will become...
2023 Chess.com Daily Chess Championship
This year I decided to play in Chess.com Daily Chess Championship.To be honest with you, I’m not a big fan of Daily Chess. Once, I played around 20 games simultaneously, which was a nightmare. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, and it&rsquo...
Great Chess Books--1935-1950
The years 1935-1950 was a rich period for chess literature. Books that have had significant and long-lasting effects were published during these years. The Crossword below highlights some of these books and their authors. There's some chance '...
I Fell For a Beginner Checkmate in OTB Classical!
Well, this is embarrassing. I hope this game teaches you that anything can happen. You can beat experts, masters, etc. They all make blunders, even beginner ones sometimes. It can also teach you not to let your guard down! Sometimes we lose sigh...
My Chessable Course: Razor-Sharp Tactics: Women’s World Rapid & Blitz 2022
Hi everyone! It's been a while since I've had the chance to write a blog post, even though there were so many good reasons to do so: the Olympiad in India, the Sunway Sitges Open Chess Tournament in Spain, and the World Championship in Kazakhst...
Missed Wins in Osaka
Hello, my fellow over-the-board fanatics, and welcome to another edition of the Osaka Papers. Recently, our benevolent overlords here at Chess.com, added the term "Miss" to game analysis. In layman's terms, a "miss" is a move that would have won m...
More Alexandr Zaitsev - Chessboard Warrior. The Art Of War
Afternoon everyone! I'm back with some more beautiful and baffling chess battles. A follow up to my last humble offering https://www.chess.com/blog/simaginfan/does-anyone-know-whats-going-on-alexandr-zaitsev-two-insane-games-and-some-rare-pi...
A Century of Chess: St Petersburg 1914 (Part 2)
Capablanca started the finals of the 1914 At Petersburg tournament with a commanding 1.5 point lead. He had put on a master class in the preliminaries. His biographer Miquel Sanchez wrote, "It is difficult to find a collection of games of such ser...