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Hello Ashley and other good people of TEAM RSK, It has been a while since I have been active on chess.com and other chess servers. Work and life got in the way, and then I started playing too much Crazyhouse on Lichess. But last year I purchased a LOT of chess lessons from iChess.net, including 5 DVDs by GingerGM (the coolest chess player of all time)... and I have been keeping up with all the Master tournaments and have been watching a lot of streams on Twitch, too, so I have been learning and improving in my own way. Anyway, I have realised that I perform better with long time-controls, and my local friends have told me to stick to classical time-controls and take part in tournaments. So with this encouragement I have entered the MUMBAI MAYOR'S CUP 2018. As I am an unrated player and this is my first OTB tournament ever, I'm playing in Category C (below 1600). The problem I am facing is: finding chess players interested in classical time-controls. Most want to play either Blitz or Rapid. Even my local friends play Rapid or Blitz tournaments while avoiding Classical tournaments.My question is: Is there anyone here interested in playing long time-controls? If so, we can co-ordinate over Facebook messenger or WhatsApp (because this site doesn't have an instant messaging feature) and set a date and time to play. I see this as preparation for OTB tournaments. The time-controls for classical tourneys in India are mostly 60|30 and 30|30. I do not mind playing 45|45, because... well it might just become the next standard in long-play games. If you are reading this, do let me know if this is something you find interesting.

I have posed this question to some of my OTB chess buddies in my city. I asked them to think about it and give me a good answer. Rather an answer I can understand. This term floats around in online videos and chess streams. It also comes up in some videos I have purchased. And it is there in the books I read. But I still can't seem to understand it, as I haven't come across a simple definition. Here are some points: There is a lot of talk about Tactical Play vs Positional Play. Personally, I don't think one is better than the other, because good positions give birth to good tactics. You can't win with just knowing how to get a good position without cashing in on a good tactical attack. Neither can you give your opponent a good tactical blow if your position has a loose thread. So what is Positional Play exactly? In Artur Yusupov's book Build Up Your Chess-1 (the first book in his 9 volume series), which I'm currently studying, each chapter is based on some chess idea. Some are subtitled Tactics 1, 2, 3; some are Endgame 1, 2, 3; some are Strategy and so on. Now here are the chapters on Positional Play: The Value of the Pieces, and Realising a Material Advantage. Isn't that basic common sense? And also isn't that basic Strategy? So, what's the difference between Positional Play and Strategy? And lastly: How do you define Positional Play? Yusupov's book contains tests. As of now, I have passed all the test I have attempted. One thing to note would be: I get really high scores on the chapters based on Tactics and Endgame, while I get passing grades on the chapters based on Positional Play. Does that mean I am a Tactical player? Or does that mean I just don't understand what Positional Play is?

Those of you who love the Sicilian as much as I do, let me assert that Judit has the greatest Sicilian games to her name. I have gone through this lecture and it is definitely a must watch. Of course, if you have played the Sicilian before you'll take away much more. This also includes an analysis of the famous Judit Polgar vs Vishy Anand: Sicilian Delayed Keres Attack at Dos Hermanas 1999. This is a replay of a live webinar. Happy learning!

I need advice from some experienced players. I always have these periods of improvement, and then I plateau... and then I book up and I start improving again. But in the last month or so, I have had a decline in game quality. Perhaps, the near-radioactive Mumbai summer heat is frying my brain, but this excuse doesn't erase the fact that my game quality has declined in the last six weeks. I have been achieving the following and am not proud of it: timing-out in many games, not being able to focus, not being able to make a choice when it's my move. I mean, the only time I am confident is when I have to make the first move (which is usually 1. e4) or if I see a mating combination. Every other move I have to make I see nothing but blunders and disaster. I have been having such a terrible month at chess, that I got Artur Yusupov's first book in his nine-volume series. It's amazing. I am scoring really well in the tests at the end of each chapter. But somehow I can't apply the knowledge to a game. I am also solving a book of composed puzzles, and that's going really well, too. So, I know I have the concepts down. But I am lost when it comes to applying them in a game. Any advice will be appreciated.

I came across this game recently. I analyzed it with Stockfish and most of the moves that Judit made were risky according to the engine. Most of the moves are beyond my logical reasoning. Can a strong player take the time to explain this? Why couldn't Vishy take advantage of her inaccuracy? Where did he blunder such that he handed the win to her on a silver platter? The YouTube video I found this on said that when Judit was asked which was her best game, she stated that this was her favourite! Which is all the more why I want to understand it.

Greetings my chess players friends. I want to apologize if you can't understand me due my english is leveling up haha. I want to ask, My friends how do you attack a chains pawn? To me, it is very hard to attack this pawns, I lose 6 of 10 games when it is against.

I wondered what peoples views are with regards to when and why you resign from a game. I imagine it becomes more obvious the higher the level you play because the edges are so small but for me I can never really decide if i should resign or not. Should i play on if i am down a fair bir of material say two pieces and 2 pawns in middle/late game or should I always play the game out to checkmate? do you learn from playing handicapped in this way? I know its not a very interesting subject but at times i think is it really worth playing this games out and wonder if its just me being lazy and wanting to move on to another game. What are your opinions on resigning? Thanks :) -FreeSolo

Recently I have become very interested in the Sicilian and my default move to e4 has been c5 in my last 20 or so games as black.I have read articles and watched videos trying to find out as much theory on this line because i believe the best way to learn something is to understand it and not just follow book moves. I have come to the conclusion that the Sicilian is a advanced opening and wondered if it is good to play against players in the 1000 to 1300 range? What i understand about the sicilian theory is that you are trying to control the center with your d and e pawns and using the opening if played correctly to give yourself a 2:1 pawn advantage, this is the open Sicilian. I often find that players at my level are either not familiar with the Sicilian lines or do not want to play d4 after e4 Nf3 and I find myself in a position where I feel i am giving a big advantage in piece development.To anyone who plays the Sicilian do you think i should be playing it at my level? Does the closed version offer a chance for black to equilize? Also how often do your oppenents play open vs closed? Thanks Iain

I have been thinking of joining a Chess club recently but i am probably going to wait until next year, I am hoping it will help with my game and there will be other individuals to discuss chess with face to face.Has anyone in the group been a member of any type of chess club? What are the Pro's and are there any Con's of joining one? Thanks -FreeSolo

I was reading a chess book about opening's and repertoires an came across a passage that really stuck with me.I thought i would share it because it made me realize that just trying to memorize openings without thinking why they are played will not help you progress. Fishing for Compliments The tlrst thing to note is that memorization of opening lines is not mentioned at aIl Contrary to what one may think, memorizing variations is a relatively small factor in enabling one to play an opening successfully. It is far more important to understand the positional and tactical themes of the opening and to appreciate what you should be aiming for in the given position. It is rather like the popular aphorism, beloved of humanitarian relief agencies: "Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish, and you feed him for life." Chess openings are rather similar. Teach a player a series of opening moves, and you enable him to play well in one specific posilion. Teach him why the moves are played, and you enable him to play well in lots of positions. The player who depends entirely on his memory with little real understanding of the ideas behind the moves, will be completelyat sea the moment his opponent deviates from the 'book', or he reaches the end of his memorized line. By contrast, the player who understands the opening will be able to find the best move or at least a reasonable move even if he is blissfully unaware of what Grandmaster Anonovich recommended in his lalest openings book. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Maybe someone else can relate to what the author is saying and it might help you with your game.-Freesolo

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has any links to good Video's or Articles on playing middle game.I use the Tatics trainer which is a great tool but was looking for more content on this part on chessThanks-FreeSolo

Hi Guys, I thought I would start a thread about how to get the best out of Chess.com away from playing. I used to play Poker to a decent level and did well, there are similar types of tools I used away from the table to improve my game, study was very important and you would fall behind if you didn't take time out to review hands, opponents etc because the game was always evolving. I don't think chess evolves as much as poker but im sure they have there similarities being games of the mind.What tool's and lessons have you found helped you progress and improve your game. There is a whole array of tools to use but as a beginning chess player what would you advise? And what Ratio of Play vs study would you suggest etc? Thanks.

I have just begun my chess career and am starting to love the game RSK has been very helpfull with tips on how to improve my game. So first a big thankyou to RSKfor the help and Inviting me to your group! I have been learning openings and just had a though that I wonder anyone could answer, Are there some players who are very good that don't pay attention to openings by name and just play a solid opening stratergy and have gone on to be 2000+ players? They are just natural chess players of very high intelligence I guess yoou could call them a "Phenom". Thanks