Christians have it easy when it comes to going to hell. Here are some depictions of hell at a popular tourist attraction in Thailand: Cruelty to animals Rapist having his gentiles removed. Adulterers climbing a thorned tree. Liars A...
I've recently been asked by a few players how to approach post game analysis. I've finally had time to sit down and put together this blog explaining my approach to post game analysis. The first thing I would like to address is whether or not pos...
It is not uncommon in the Chess.com forums to see threads with titles like "How can I improve?", "Why can't I improve?" and "I'm quitting chess because I can't improve!". And, just recently, a new Chess.com friend of mine said, "I wish someone c...
In April of this year I began a structured and intentional system for learning openings. My goal was to learn just enough to get a more solid start in my games. Well, after almost 6 months I am beginning to really see the fruit of my labors. Toda...
The English Opening is a chess opening that begins with the move: 1. c4A flank opening, it is the fourth most popular[1][2] and, according to various databases, anywhere from one of the two most successful[1] to the fourth most successful[3]...
When I am not playing chess or gracing the Chess.com forums with my presence, I am either programming or teaching. Yesterday I saw one of my students was playing checkers (Makot in Thai) on his phone. I asked him about it and he said he plays eve...
Take a moment to read about the Sicilan Defense to get some basic ideas. Named after Ilya Kan. By playing 4...a6, Black prevents Nb5 and prepares an eventual ...b5 advance. White's most popular reply is 5.Nc3, when Black's development of...
Before reading this, take a moment to read my blog about the Queen's Gambit for some basic ideas. The Slav Defense is a chess opening that begins with the moves: 1. d4 d52. c4 c6The Slav is one of the primary defenses to the Queen's Gambit....
The Queen's Gambit is a chess opening that starts with the moves: 1. d4 d52. c4The Queen's Gambit is one of the oldest known chess openings. It was mentioned in the Göttingen manuscript of 1490 and was later analysed by masters such asGioach...
If you have not already done so, take a look at my Queen's Gambit blog for some basic information about the Queen's Gambit. Playing 2...e6 releases Black's dark-squared bishop, while obstructing his light-squared bishop. By declining Whit...
Last year, after deciding to begin studying chess, I read Reassess Your Chess by Silman. To be honest, I didn't get far. Mostly because I didn't have any real chess skills yet that could be reassessed. I do plan to get back to within the next 6 m...
In my blog articles about openings, you will find a section called My Take. This section is just my observations after going over games with the topic opening. You will also find a link to the games I used for these observations. Here is the pro...
Take a moment to read about the Sicilian Defense to get some basic ideas behind this opening. In chess, the Dragon Variation[1] is one of the main lines of the Sicilian Defence and begins with the moves: 1. e4 c52. Nf3 d63. d4 cxd44. Nxd...
The Sicilian Defence is a chess opening that begins with the moves: 1. e4 c5The Sicilian is the most popular and best-scoring response to White's first move 1.e4. "Indeed, most statistical surveys suggest that 1.d4 is the most successful fir...
Before reading this, please take a few minutes to read my blog about my opening study: http://www.chess.com/blog/kleelof/my-opening-study White aims to dominate the centre by exchanging his d-pawn for Black's e-pawn. Black usually plays 3...exd...
When I began studying chess at the end of 2013, I read many times something like "Don't waste your time studying openings until you are at least 1800(2000 sometimes).". Usually, such statements are supported with com...
At the most basic level, White's third move attacks the knight which defends the e5-pawn from the attack by the f3 knight. White's apparent threat to win Black's e-pawn with 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.Nxe5 is illusory—Black can respond with 5...Qd4, forki...
The King's Indian Defence is a common chess opening. It arises after the moves: 1. d4 Nf62. c4 g6Black intends to follow up with 3...Bg7 and 4...d6. The Grünfeld Defence arises when Black plays 3...d5 instead, and is considered a separate open...
