Aron Nimzowitsch was born in 1886. in Riga. His father was a strong amateur player and he rose quickly to a high level. At Ostend-B 1907, he was the kid, 20 years old and needing other players to vouch for him to gain admittance to the casino wher...
I kicked off as White with 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Bb4+, and instead of the conventional Bd2, I threw a curveball with 5. Nd2, raising a few eyebrows. Who said chess can't have its own plot twists? Navigating the game, I stuck close t...
The exercises can be tactical or positional. I give no hint. I write only who to move. It can be a move which wins the game or saves the game, or just wins back some material or make a move to keep the fight. It can be an attacking or defending ...
Where to start? This game caught my attention; Ravinsky-Bronstein, Moscow Championship 1946. Now, one thing that Bronstein points out in his books is the fact that both the Moscow Championship and the Soviet Championships often featured t some ...
Today I used the games of my students Salvador, Kyle and Miguel to create 10 exercises. Miguel got a nice attacking game with the Sicilian defense. The exercises can be tactical or positional. I give no hint. I write only who to move. It can b...
Today I had a coaching session with Salvador, a student from Puerto Rico. We analyzed one of his sicilian defense game and I created 10 exercises for you to solve. The exercises can be tactical or positional. I give no hint. I write only who to ...
Hi guys! In the last couple of years, I traveled a lot with Timur and he was been not only a kind host but also my impressions of him are intensely ethical. He organized a search party for me when I lost my Greencard, offered support in numer...
Back with the final part of the story of Alekhine's rampage through the field at San Remo. Lots here - especially in the notes - so grab a beer and settle in for the afternoon! Will keep the chat to a minimum! ( sighs of relief all round, but my e...
Today I created 10 exercises from 3 games of Salvador. He is a hobby player from Puerto Rico who likes to play sharp, attacking chess. The exercises can be tactical or positional. I give no hint. I write only who to move. It can be a move whic...
In Round One of the Chicago Open, I played as White against Srikar, a 17-year-old with a 2022 rating from Arizona. We had 80 minutes for 40 moves, with a 30-minute bonus after move 40 and a 30-second delay per move. I kicked off the game with 1. d...
Today I created 10 exercises from 3 games of Salvador, a student from Puerto Rico. He likes to play sharp games and he got interesting positions from the King's gambit. The exercises can be tactical or positional. I give no hint. I write only wh...
In June of 2022, Grandmaster Timur Gareyev had his US Chess membership suspended. Not many seemed to take notice, besides small discussions here and there wondering about the reasoning behind his suspension. Maybe he had cheated perhaps? Maybe he ...
Today I created 10 exercises from the games of 2 students, one of them is from California and the other is from Puerto Rico. Salvador had a nice checkmate attack against the Scandinavian defense. The exercises can be tactical or positional. I gi...
Today's 10 exercises were created from the games of Benedetto from California and Miguel from Portugal. Benedetto played the Benoni defense against strong opponents. The exercises can be tactical or positional. I give no hint. I write only who t...
It’s the most famous, most iconic chess story ever. In the midst of the Russian Civil War, a group of prisoners are brought before a firing squad. The captain of the squad recognizes the name of one of the prisoners and asks if he is a famou...
Today I created 10 exercises from 2 games of Salvador. In the 1st game He could get an advantage with forks, in the 2nd he gave a checkmate. The exercises can be tactical or positional. I give no hint. I write only who to move. It can be a mov...
It has always been accepted that the opening play has three main objectives: to develop the pieces, bring the king into safety and control the center. As a chess beginner, you were/are taught to control the center before doing anything. "Two pawns...
From Madrid to Astana: And All The Extenuating Circumstances That Lead To The 2023 FIDE World Chess Championship Part One - Madrid KYIV On the morning of February 23rd, 2022, Vladimir Putin announced t...
Today I created 10 exercises from the games of 2 of my students, Kyle and Rainer from the United States. In one of the games we got a rook endgame to study how to defend. The exercises can be tactical or positional. I give no hint. I write...
Afternoon again! Back with part two ( kind of like it says in the title!!) of The San Remo Massacre. Alekhine with one of the organisers of the tournament, A Stuparich The link for the photos - remembered this time! https://audiovis.nac.g...
When I examine, in any detail, the games of the great Masters-Teachers whom I admire (Chigorin, Rubinstein, Capablanca, Alekhine, Bronstein, Nimzowitsch, Lasker, Tartakower, Keres, and now Romanovsky) I cannot help but feel like a firefly looking ...
Today I created 10 exercises from 2 sicilian games by Salvador from Puerto Rico. Pin is a very important tool which was used in today's examples. The exercises can be tactical or positional. I give no hint. I write only who to move. It can be ...
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...
Today I created 10 exercises. 9 of them are from a Grand Prix Attack game which was played by Salvador, one of my students from Puerto Rico. The exercises can be tactical or positional. I give no hint. I write only who to move. It can be a mov...
