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Leonard Nimoy, known worldwide as Mr Spock in the original Star Trek television series, has died. He was 83. His wife, Susan Bay Nimoy, told the New York Times he died of of pulmonary disease, which he attributed to a smoking habit he had ended 30 years ago. He was hospitalised in Los Angeles earlier this week. i.guim.co.uk/static/w-{width}/h--/q-95/sys-images/Sport/Pix/columnists/2015/2/27/1425059578782/Leonard-Nimoy-giving-the--007.jpg"> Leonard Nimoy Read more Nimoy co-starred with William Shatner on the original Star Trek TV series from 1966 to 1969. His half-human, half-Vulcan character was a perfect counterpart to Shatner’s Captain Kirk in the series, which spawned several films and later TV reboots. He appeared as “Spock Prime” in the 2013 film Star Trek Into Darkness, in which actor Zachary Quinto took on the role of Spock. He last tweeted on Monday, closing as he often did with Spock’s familiar line, “live long and prosper”

Hello everyone!! I am FIDE Master Dalton Perrine, one of the lead instructors for Chess.com University (specifically for the Prodigy Program) and I wanted to let you all know about my Twitch.tv livestream you can find at Twitch.tv/mattydperrine! I stream myself playing high-level chess and commentate my games as well as watching other games too. I explain my thought process behind all of my moves and aim to make sure that every viewer gets some instructional information each time they watch the stream that will help them to improve their game. I really enjoy interacting with my viewers and we all have an awesome time during the streams too! I stream each week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 4-8pm EST. Fridays are special because I do "Friendly Friday" where I play against anyone who decides to challenge me, no matter how high or low your rating! I specifically try to play against the viewers of the stream and those who have me as a friend here on Chess.com. Today (Tuesday February 24th) I will be doing a special stream starting at 2pm EST where I will be playing in the "Titled Tuesday" tournament on Chess.com against all of the toughest players online! Come watch me play against other master-level players and feel free to ask questions and improve your chess as well as hang out and have a good time with the other viewers and myself Don't forget to click the "Follow" button below the stream in order to get free alerts when I go live so that you can tune in each time. I hope to see you soon! -Dalton Perrine

If you would like to post a game, please be free!

If you would like to post a game, please be free!

If you would like to post a game, please be free!

Chess, one of the world’s oldest games, reflects the times. Though the rules have not changed in 500 years, how the game is played has been profoundly affected by technology. The use of chess computers has helped uncover new sequences of moves, particularly in the opening phase of games, and has made players better prepared and more knowledgeable than their predecessors. The Internet has made it possible to find opponents day and night, opening up opportunities for players who might otherwise have never developed their interest or abilities. The current world champion, Magnus Carlsen, who is from Norway, is a prime example. Norway had almost no tradition of great players before Mr. Carlsen, but he honed his skills playing thousands of games over the Internet. Technology has also accelerated how quickly players mature. There has been an explosion of prodigies in the last 20 years. Mr. Carlsen, now 24, became a grandmaster, the highest rank, at 13, and Samuel Sevian, a Massachusetts boy, who will be 14 on Dec. 26, became a grandmaster last month — the youngest ever American grandmaster and the sixth youngest in history (trailing Carlsen by exactly six months). The best games of the last 20 years also reflect the times. The following is a list of 10 of the best and most interesting ones. Not surprisingly, Garry Kasparov, the former world champion, who pioneered the use of computers and the Internet in chess shows up in three of them. Game 6 of the Deep Blue – Garry Kasparov match, May 11, 1997 The players: Garry Kasparov: world champion since 1985, youngest world champion in history, ranked No. 1 since 1985, capable of calculating up to three moves per second. Deep Blue: Chess-playing super computer developed by I.B.M., capable of calculating up to 200 million chess positions per second (though, admittedly, most of them of limited value) The game was historic as it was the last game in the series and decided the match in the machine’s favor. The game itself was not a well-played game by Kasparov. In fact, he made a rudimentary mistake in the opening — though it may have been intentional as he did not yet fully understand the computer’s capabilities. Deep Blue responded brilliantly. After only 19 moves, Kasparov threw in the towel and resigned. It was the first time that a human world champion had lost a regulation match to a computer. Chess, and the field of artificial intelligence, would never be the same. Kasparov vs. Veselin Topalov, Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands, Jan. 20, 1999 The players: Garry Kasparov, see Deep Blue game Veselin Topalov: Bulgarian grandmaster ranked in the top five in the world, who would eventually become No. 1 after Kasparov’s retirement, as well as a world champion This is Kasparov’s so-called Immortal Game (named after the original game called the Immortal in London in 1851 between Adolph Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritsky). It was played during an annual super tournament in the Netherlands. At Move 24, Kasparov started a startling combination by sacrificing a rook. A move later, he offered the sacrifice of his other rook (which Topalov could not take). In total, the combination stretched 13 moves, with an incredible concluding move of sacrificing the remaining rook again, which Kasparov had to foresee ahead of time. Topalov resigned a few moves later. Kasparov vs. the World, the Internet, 1999 The players: Kasparov, see Deep Blue game The world: Players from around the world voted on moves suggested by four elite players — – Etienne Bacrot of France, Florin Felecan of the United States, Irina Krush of the United States, and Elisabeth Paehtz of Germany Really the first great chess Internet event. The match was hosted on MSN Gaming Zone. The game turned into an incredibly complex four-month, 62-move marathon, which Kasparov eventually won, but not without a supreme effort. Afterward, he said that he had spent more time analyzing this game than any other game. Game 12 of the world championship match, Topalov vs. Viswanathan Anand, Sofia, Bulgaria, May 16, 2010 The players: Topalov, see Kasparov vs. Topalov game Anand: India’s first grandmaster, undisputed world champion from 2007 to 2013 (until defeated by Carlsen), former No. 1, and the player whose popularity and success single-handedly revived the interest in chess in the country where the game was created The match – a best-of-12 games for the world championship — was tied. If this game was drawn, it would go to a series of rapid games, in which Anand has always been noted for his prowess (early in his career, he won the world rapid championship). Topalov, perhaps unwilling to take a risk in the playoff, decided to press ahead in a position in which chances were equal. As Topalov directed his pieces toward the queenside, Anand did not miss his chance and forced open the king side with two rapid pawn advances. The king hunt was on. Though Topalov squirmed and squirmed, Anand was unerring, finding deadly move after deadly move. Topalov soon had to give up his queen to avoid mate. The resulting endgame was a cakewalk for Anand and Topalov eventually resigned, leaving Anand in possession of the title. Game 14 of the world championship match between Vladimir Kramnik and Peter Leko, Brissago, Switzerland, Jan. 15, 2004 The players: Kramnik: Russian grandmaster, the man who dethroned Kasparov in 2000 to take the world championship, former No. 1 player in the world Leko: Hungarian grandmaster, the first player to become a grandmaster before the age of 15 (in 1994, when he was 14), former top five in the world In 2004, Leko played Kramnik for the world championship in a best-of-14 match. Leko, a rock-solid player, was at the top of his game and he took the lead going into the last game. Kramnik had to win to tie the match, in which case he would retain the title. (It was the last time that the old rule that let champions retain the title in case of a tie was ever used. Now, there is a playoff system.) At least Kramnik had White. He opened with 1 e4 and Leko chose the Caro-Kann Defense, which can be extremely hard to crack. Leko strove for an early exchange of queens, believing that if the queens were gone, his chances of losing would be reduced. Kramnik, realizing that the exchange would allow him to tighten the strategic pressure on Leko’s position, did not avoid the trade. Gradually, he built up his advantage. Though the game moved toward the endgame, with fewer and fewer pieces, Kramnik’s advantage actually increased. In the end, he marched his king up the board, and though he only had a rook and a knight left, he wove a mating net around Leko’s king. Facing checkmate, Leko resigned on Move 41 and Kramnik kept his title. It was, given the pressure and circumstances, one of the greatest strategic victories in history. Levon Aronian vs. Anand, Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands, Jan. 12, 2013 The players: India’s Vishwanathan Anand attends a championship match in Moscow on May 10, 2012 before a match with Israel’s Boris Gelfand. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images) Levon Aronian: Armenian grandmaster, long the No. 2 player in the world, though he has recently slipped to No. 5; for several years probably the best player of the middle game in the world Anand, see Topalov vs. Anand game The tournament in the Netherlands, held in a small sea-side town, has been one of the world’s top competitions for decades. Though Anand was the reigning world champion, his play had deteriorated in recent years. Aronian was one of his likeliest future challengers. The opening was in one of the most currently popular openings. Aronian played a very double-edged move, and Anand responded with an even more complicated idea. He followed it up in extraordinary fashion with not one, but two piece sacrifices. By the time Aronian realized what was happening, the trap had been sprung. He resigned after only 23 moves, as he would have had to give up his queen and a rook to stop mate. One of Anand’s greatest victories. Magnus Carlsen vs. Sipke Ernst, Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands, Jan. 10, 2004 The players: Carlsen: Norwegian grandmaster, current world champion and No. 1-ranked player in the world, one of the greatest prodigies of all time Ernst: Dutch grandmaster who will probably be best remembered after his career is over for this game This tournament, and this game, announced to the world that Carlsen was something special and possibly going to be world champion. He was 13 and in the C section of the tournament – reserved for up-and-coming players. Though he was the youngest participant, he ran away from the field, scoring 12.5 out of 13 points. This game simply stunned observers and fans around the world. Ernst chose the rock-solid Caro-Kann Defense and seemed to be doing fine. Then on Move 18, Carlsen, without warning, sacrificed a knight. Ernst did not have to take it and, in retrospect, he should not have. The result was a series of explosions and sacrifices around his king. First a bishop, then a rook. Carlsen concluded the attack with a beautiful epaulette mate on Move 29. Ironically, Carlsen soon dispensed with this take-no-prisoners style and evolved into what he is today – perhaps the best strategic end-game player in the game’s history. Alexander Morozevich vs. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Biel, Switzerland, July 28, 2009 The players: Morozevich, a Russian grandmaster, has been ranked as high as No. 2 in the world; he is one of the most creative players of the last 20 years and, when he has been on, one of the most dangerous Vachier-Lagrave: a French grandmaster, who has been ranked in the top 10; had the misfortune to be born in 1990, so he is known as only the third best-player to be born that year, behind Sergey Karjakin of Russia (the youngest grandmaster in history at 12 years, 7 months) and Carlsen, the world champion Morozevich started a fierce and brilliant attack, sacrificing a knight to rip open the center and destroy the pawns protecting Vachier-Lagrave’s king. In an extraordinarily complicated position, Vachier-Lagrave kept finding ways to create problems for Morozevich and, a couple of times, he missed the knockout blow. Soon, Vachier-Lagrave’s king found shelter on the king side, but his rook was trapped in front of it and could be taken at any time by one of Morozevich’s pawns. Somehow, that time never came. Eventually, Vachier-Lagrave was able to survive the threats and untangle his pieces, leading to a winning endgame. Morozevich, facing mate, resigned on Move 76. It was a titanic struggle, with errors on both sides, but was also chess at its most entertaining. Mikhail Krasenkow vs. Hikaru Nakamura, Barcelona, Spain, Oct. 19, 2007 The players: Krasenkow: Polish grandmaster, two-time national champion Nakamura: American grandmaster, three-time national champion, top American player for last two-years, currently ranked No. 7 in the world, he is uncompromising and always aggressive On Move 20, Nakamura, playing Black, seemed to walk into an attack by a rook on his queen. Only he had seen further. Instead of moving his queen away from the attack, he sacrificed it for a pawn, drawing Krasenkow’s king out into the open. Krasenkow resigned seven moves later, as he could not stop mate. It was the cap to a remarkable two days for Nakamura. The day before, playing White, his own king had been brought out into the open by a sacrificial attack by a Spanish international master named Jordi Fluvia Poyatos. Nakamura’s king wound up on h7, almost surrounded by Poyatos’s queen, rook and bishop. But, instead of being in danger, Nakamura’s king was perfectly safe and Poyatos resigned, his pieces a victim of a “checkmate” by Nakamura’s king. Nakamura would go on to win the tournament. Anish Giri vs. Levon Aronian, Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands, Jan. 14, 2012 The players: Giri : Dutch grandmaster, 20 years old and already ranked in the top 10 in the world Aronian : See Aronian vs. Anand game Yet another fantastic game from the annual tournament in the Netherlands. It is a sign of how well prepared players are these days that Aronian said after the game that he had cooked up the exchange sacrifice he played on Move 13 in this somewhat obscure sideline of the Queen’s Gambit Declined at home. Though Giri put up quite a fight, and actually played relatively well, he stood almost no chance. The game was a tour-de-force example of how computers have reshaped people’s understanding of the game. Aronian finished with a beautiful knight sacrifice to clear space for his queen and Giri, facing mate, resigned. Dylan Loeb McClain covered chess and other subjects for the New York Times until earlier this year. He is a master level player (FIDE rating of 2320) and lives in France.

Chess, one of the world’s oldest games, reflects the times. Though the rules have not changed in 500 years, how the game is played has been profoundly affected by technology. The use of chess computers has helped uncover new sequences of moves, particularly in the opening phase of games, and has made players better prepared and more knowledgeable than their predecessors. The Internet has made it possible to find opponents day and night, opening up opportunities for players who might otherwise have never developed their interest or abilities. The current world champion, Magnus Carlsen, who is from Norway, is a prime example. Norway had almost no tradition of great players before Mr. Carlsen, but he honed his skills playing thousands of games over the Internet. Technology has also accelerated how quickly players mature. There has been an explosion of prodigies in the last 20 years. Mr. Carlsen, now 24, became a grandmaster, the highest rank, at 13, and Samuel Sevian, a Massachusetts boy, who will be 14 on Dec. 26, became a grandmaster last month — the youngest ever American grandmaster and the sixth youngest in history (trailing Carlsen by exactly six months). The best games of the last 20 years also reflect the times. The following is a list of 10 of the best and most interesting ones. Not surprisingly, Garry Kasparov, the former world champion, who pioneered the use of computers and the Internet in chess shows up in three of them. Game 6 of the Deep Blue – Garry Kasparov match, May 11, 1997 The players: Garry Kasparov: world champion since 1985, youngest world champion in history, ranked No. 1 since 1985, capable of calculating up to three moves per second. Deep Blue: Chess-playing super computer developed by I.B.M., capable of calculating up to 200 million chess positions per second (though, admittedly, most of them of limited value) The game was historic as it was the last game in the series and decided the match in the machine’s favor. The game itself was not a well-played game by Kasparov. In fact, he made a rudimentary mistake in the opening — though it may have been intentional as he did not yet fully understand the computer’s capabilities. Deep Blue responded brilliantly. After only 19 moves, Kasparov threw in the towel and resigned. It was the first time that a human world champion had lost a regulation match to a computer. Chess, and the field of artificial intelligence, would never be the same. Kasparov vs. Veselin Topalov, Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands, Jan. 20, 1999 The players: Garry Kasparov, see Deep Blue game Veselin Topalov: Bulgarian grandmaster ranked in the top five in the world, who would eventually become No. 1 after Kasparov’s retirement, as well as a world champion This is Kasparov’s so-called Immortal Game (named after the original game called the Immortal in London in 1851 between Adolph Anderssen and Lionel Kieseritsky). It was played during an annual super tournament in the Netherlands. At Move 24, Kasparov started a startling combination by sacrificing a rook. A move later, he offered the sacrifice of his other rook (which Topalov could not take). In total, the combination stretched 13 moves, with an incredible concluding move of sacrificing the remaining rook again, which Kasparov had to foresee ahead of time. Topalov resigned a few moves later. Kasparov vs. the World, the Internet, 1999 The players: Kasparov, see Deep Blue game The world: Players from around the world voted on moves suggested by four elite players — – Etienne Bacrot of France, Florin Felecan of the United States, Irina Krush of the United States, and Elisabeth Paehtz of Germany Really the first great chess Internet event. The match was hosted on MSN Gaming Zone. The game turned into an incredibly complex four-month, 62-move marathon, which Kasparov eventually won, but not without a supreme effort. Afterward, he said that he had spent more time analyzing this game than any other game. Game 12 of the world championship match, Topalov vs. Viswanathan Anand, Sofia, Bulgaria, May 16, 2010 The players: Topalov, see Kasparov vs. Topalov game Anand: India’s first grandmaster, undisputed world champion from 2007 to 2013 (until defeated by Carlsen), former No. 1, and the player whose popularity and success single-handedly revived the interest in chess in the country where the game was created The match – a best-of-12 games for the world championship — was tied. If this game was drawn, it would go to a series of rapid games, in which Anand has always been noted for his prowess (early in his career, he won the world rapid championship). Topalov, perhaps unwilling to take a risk in the playoff, decided to press ahead in a position in which chances were equal. As Topalov directed his pieces toward the queenside, Anand did not miss his chance and forced open the king side with two rapid pawn advances. The king hunt was on. Though Topalov squirmed and squirmed, Anand was unerring, finding deadly move after deadly move. Topalov soon had to give up his queen to avoid mate. The resulting endgame was a cakewalk for Anand and Topalov eventually resigned, leaving Anand in possession of the title. Game 14 of the world championship match between Vladimir Kramnik and Peter Leko, Brissago, Switzerland, Jan. 15, 2004 The players: Kramnik: Russian grandmaster, the man who dethroned Kasparov in 2000 to take the world championship, former No. 1 player in the world Leko: Hungarian grandmaster, the first player to become a grandmaster before the age of 15 (in 1994, when he was 14), former top five in the world In 2004, Leko played Kramnik for the world championship in a best-of-14 match. Leko, a rock-solid player, was at the top of his game and he took the lead going into the last game. Kramnik had to win to tie the match, in which case he would retain the title. (It was the last time that the old rule that let champions retain the title in case of a tie was ever used. Now, there is a playoff system.) At least Kramnik had White. He opened with 1 e4 and Leko chose the Caro-Kann Defense, which can be extremely hard to crack. Leko strove for an early exchange of queens, believing that if the queens were gone, his chances of losing would be reduced. Kramnik, realizing that the exchange would allow him to tighten the strategic pressure on Leko’s position, did not avoid the trade. Gradually, he built up his advantage. Though the game moved toward the endgame, with fewer and fewer pieces, Kramnik’s advantage actually increased. In the end, he marched his king up the board, and though he only had a rook and a knight left, he wove a mating net around Leko’s king. Facing checkmate, Leko resigned on Move 41 and Kramnik kept his title. It was, given the pressure and circumstances, one of the greatest strategic victories in history. Levon Aronian vs. Anand, Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands, Jan. 12, 2013 The players: India’s Vishwanathan Anand attends a championship match in Moscow on May 10, 2012 before a match with Israel’s Boris Gelfand. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images) Levon Aronian: Armenian grandmaster, long the No. 2 player in the world, though he has recently slipped to No. 5; for several years probably the best player of the middle game in the world Anand, see Topalov vs. Anand game The tournament in the Netherlands, held in a small sea-side town, has been one of the world’s top competitions for decades. Though Anand was the reigning world champion, his play had deteriorated in recent years. Aronian was one of his likeliest future challengers. The opening was in one of the most currently popular openings. Aronian played a very double-edged move, and Anand responded with an even more complicated idea. He followed it up in extraordinary fashion with not one, but two piece sacrifices. By the time Aronian realized what was happening, the trap had been sprung. He resigned after only 23 moves, as he would have had to give up his queen and a rook to stop mate. One of Anand’s greatest victories. Magnus Carlsen vs. Sipke Ernst, Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands, Jan. 10, 2004 The players: Carlsen: Norwegian grandmaster, current world champion and No. 1-ranked player in the world, one of the greatest prodigies of all time Ernst: Dutch grandmaster who will probably be best remembered after his career is over for this game This tournament, and this game, announced to the world that Carlsen was something special and possibly going to be world champion. He was 13 and in the C section of the tournament – reserved for up-and-coming players. Though he was the youngest participant, he ran away from the field, scoring 12.5 out of 13 points. This game simply stunned observers and fans around the world. Ernst chose the rock-solid Caro-Kann Defense and seemed to be doing fine. Then on Move 18, Carlsen, without warning, sacrificed a knight. Ernst did not have to take it and, in retrospect, he should not have. The result was a series of explosions and sacrifices around his king. First a bishop, then a rook. Carlsen concluded the attack with a beautiful epaulette mate on Move 29. Ironically, Carlsen soon dispensed with this take-no-prisoners style and evolved into what he is today – perhaps the best strategic end-game player in the game’s history. Alexander Morozevich vs. Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Biel, Switzerland, July 28, 2009 The players: Morozevich, a Russian grandmaster, has been ranked as high as No. 2 in the world; he is one of the most creative players of the last 20 years and, when he has been on, one of the most dangerous Vachier-Lagrave: a French grandmaster, who has been ranked in the top 10; had the misfortune to be born in 1990, so he is known as only the third best-player to be born that year, behind Sergey Karjakin of Russia (the youngest grandmaster in history at 12 years, 7 months) and Carlsen, the world champion Morozevich started a fierce and brilliant attack, sacrificing a knight to rip open the center and destroy the pawns protecting Vachier-Lagrave’s king. In an extraordinarily complicated position, Vachier-Lagrave kept finding ways to create problems for Morozevich and, a couple of times, he missed the knockout blow. Soon, Vachier-Lagrave’s king found shelter on the king side, but his rook was trapped in front of it and could be taken at any time by one of Morozevich’s pawns. Somehow, that time never came. Eventually, Vachier-Lagrave was able to survive the threats and untangle his pieces, leading to a winning endgame. Morozevich, facing mate, resigned on Move 76. It was a titanic struggle, with errors on both sides, but was also chess at its most entertaining. Mikhail Krasenkow vs. Hikaru Nakamura, Barcelona, Spain, Oct. 19, 2007 The players: Krasenkow: Polish grandmaster, two-time national champion Nakamura: American grandmaster, three-time national champion, top American player for last two-years, currently ranked No. 7 in the world, he is uncompromising and always aggressive On Move 20, Nakamura, playing Black, seemed to walk into an attack by a rook on his queen. Only he had seen further. Instead of moving his queen away from the attack, he sacrificed it for a pawn, drawing Krasenkow’s king out into the open. Krasenkow resigned seven moves later, as he could not stop mate. It was the cap to a remarkable two days for Nakamura. The day before, playing White, his own king had been brought out into the open by a sacrificial attack by a Spanish international master named Jordi Fluvia Poyatos. Nakamura’s king wound up on h7, almost surrounded by Poyatos’s queen, rook and bishop. But, instead of being in danger, Nakamura’s king was perfectly safe and Poyatos resigned, his pieces a victim of a “checkmate” by Nakamura’s king. Nakamura would go on to win the tournament. Anish Giri vs. Levon Aronian, Wijk aan Zee, the Netherlands, Jan. 14, 2012 The players: Giri : Dutch grandmaster, 20 years old and already ranked in the top 10 in the world Aronian : See Aronian vs. Anand game Yet another fantastic game from the annual tournament in the Netherlands. It is a sign of how well prepared players are these days that Aronian said after the game that he had cooked up the exchange sacrifice he played on Move 13 in this somewhat obscure sideline of the Queen’s Gambit Declined at home. Though Giri put up quite a fight, and actually played relatively well, he stood almost no chance. The game was a tour-de-force example of how computers have reshaped people’s understanding of the game. Aronian finished with a beautiful knight sacrifice to clear space for his queen and Giri, facing mate, resigned. Dylan Loeb McClain covered chess and other subjects for the New York Times until earlier this year. He is a master level player (FIDE rating of 2320) and lives in France.

Chess.com University plans to offer a new level of chess instruction. We will offer a variety of courses and seminars taught by top chess players and teachers: openings, middlegames, endgame, very specific, or more general, as well as courses about how to study and improve your game. We are still developing this, and as new teachers get involved they will develop their own curricula, and their own course requirements. We anticipate that most courses would be designed for 8-30 students, to allow teachers to get to know their students well and provide feedback. Many courses will also involve assignments for students, so try to select courses that have the level of involvement and intensity that is appropriate for you. Please use the forums in this group to help us develop Chess.com University with your feedback, and to ask any questions you may have. Cheers!

just don't cheat by going on the web. Ps. admins please do not delete this forum game. 1st to answer gets a trophy!

I am looking to sign up for the Chess.com University but I do not know how to pay nor do I know how to get my lessons. My AIA rating is 765 so I think maybe I would fit well with the 1500+ class but I'm not sure. My USCF rating is very low(1100) duo to lack of games. How do I sign up? How do I get my classes, homework, etc. Any response will be greatly appreciated. Please help.

I would like to start a thread where people can recommend chess literature or ask questions about literautre that they have read; but also to ask each other if they have read a chess book that they are interested in to see if their investment is worth it! Am thinking about picking up a book from the seirwan series - does any one have any opinion about this? Also has anyone read Silmans endgame books - the beginners to masters one? (question is that focussed on beginners or can stronger players get something from it?).. your answers would be greatly appreciated! yesterday danny rensch suggested ivan sokolovs pawn structure book (just ordered it) but I would also recommend nimzowichs my way and the john watson opening books. John Nunn is a legend too - at the london chess classic aronian said nunns endgame course helped him - not sure if recommendations come better than that. I would also recommend john nunns understanding chess middlegames - after reading that I always feel like I have a plan - also nunns puzzles are good for a laugh... tried to read karpovs book life and games- found it quite dense and never finished it.. if I can make it through foucault I can make it through this one day im sure!!

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Hello everybody, Today I'd like to ask some questions to students and potential future students of Chess.com University. The purpose of this survey is for us (Chess.com University) to get additional feedback so we can improve to meet your needs and wants! Please post your answers to the following survey questions here or message me if you prefer not to post publicly. 1) Why have you not taken any of our seminars or courses? (a) Schedule Conflict (b) Cost of the Seminar/Course (c) Seminar Topics Are Not Interesting (d) Don't Know When Seminars are Scheduled (e) I Have Taken a Seminar :) 2) Is the payment method type a problem for you? (Yes or No) 3) What time zone are you in and when do you prefer to take seminars? (Day of week / time range) 4) For those of you who have already taken a seminar/course, what is your opinion regarding the length of the seminar? Do you prefer participating in 2 hour seminars or prefer taking more seminars that are shorter in length (1 or 1.5 hours)? 5) Do you have any other suggestions? Please give us feedback. No silly posts please. Kairav

Can someone please help me and tell me the best way to improve my game? I do the tactics sometimes and I play on live chess quite often. Do have any other ideas? Thanks!

Wonder why there isn't a class for members below 1000 rating, or even below 800 (as myself)?They need it more!I only see class for 1200 or higher.

Youth camp announced. Sign up early! http://www.chess.com/news/chesscom-universitys-online-youthnovice-chess-camp---sept-27-28-2014-5352

Dear Chess Parents, *Kids, have your parents read this. We are considering starting courses, camp, and/or "prodigy programs" for youth chess players and want your opinion. Please answer the following questions: (1) As a parent, would you be interested in enrolling your child into a chess prodigy program, a program that essentially makes your young one a chess prodigy? Such programs would involve about 3 hours of live lessons per week almost every week delivered online. Homework would be provided to students each week and all students/parents would get complete email support. Online tournaments and training games among students would be common as well as follow-up game analysis sessions. This is essentially one super-coaching program that would be designed by Chess.com's best-selling coaches to eliminate the need for one-on-one chess coaching and allow youth students to learn and excel at chess very quickly. Such programs would probably cost about $150/month, which is inexpensive for the amount we intend to offer. However, we would only be able to offer such programs if we get over 50 students. The length of the first stage of the program is under consideration right now but 3 months sounds like a reasonable length. Regardless, this would be the absolute best chess coaching program in the world available to youth players if we choose to go forward with it. Let us know what you think. (2) Would you instead prefer youth chess camps? Camps would last a few days and involve about 15 hours of instruction. This would be like our camp with Gelfand. Camps are great for getting kids more involved in chess and giving them the proper guidance for improving at the game. (3) The final option is youth chess courses that would be like Chess.com University's college-like Chess 012-014 and Chess 024 courses. Each of these courses last about a month and come with a syllabus and pretest. During the course, homework and a study schedule is provided and there is about 1 hour of instruction each week. This format is less ambitious than the prodigy program we are considering but nonetheless, still very useful for improving at chess. Let us know what you think!

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We're at the root of a chess revolution on Chess.com. «The Americas' Slow LIVE Chess Week-End Championship» is a four (4) round LIVE 90|30 WEEK-END tournament and is something that has never been done before in internet chess history. Rounds 1 and 2 will be played on Saturday, May 31 whereas rounds 3 and 4 will take place on Sunday, June 1. You can enter the related group by clicking the red link above and see for yourself. This is serious stuff, as I'm using a software for pairing up the players, which enable me to handle an infinite number of participants. The schedule is: Round 1: 31/5 @ 12:00 USA ET; Round 2: 31/5 @ 17:00 USA ET; Round 3: 1/6 @ 12:00 USA ET; Round 4: 1/6 @ 17:00 USA ET; No starting times need to or can be negotiated with the opponent. Please sign up here by posting your comment below. We will accept the late sign-ups until 31/5 @ 10:00 USA ET, that is, 2 hours before the first round begins. Shortly after you're signed up, a related tournament group invite will be sent to you. It's crucial that you accept to join this (sub)group, when all the pairings will be published inside it. Once they're in, all the players will have to read the given instructions, as this is where no one has gone before. Good chess!