Danish Gambit (sideline tournament)
I'm playing a Danish Gambit tourney, so here are lines posted from the game explorer for myself to peruse: 5...d6 is the choice for Black I prefer:
Openings: Caro-Kann Defense
For some reason the Caro-Kann defense seems like the most interesting idea for Black to me right now. I remember when I first encountered this opening I thought it looked like such a stupid first move for Black (when I didn't know any better). I...
Openings: King Pawn Openings
I have been reading "Winning Chess Openings" by GM Yasser Seirawan and it has been teaching me lots of openings and variations. In this blog, the positions reached and the comments in diagrams are taken from what I have learned in the book. So...
Checkmates: Chess Mentor & Daily Puzzles
Easy & Pleasing: From Chess Mentor: (IK2015) puzzle of the day 12/21/11:
Checkmates: Two Bishop Mates
from Winning Chess Combinations: The standard mate is to drive the King into the corner: Below is a combination motif known as Boden's Mate which is usually reserved for a King that has castled Queenside. The element here is to control the...
Checkmates: Bishop & Knight Mates
from Winning Chess Combinations: The top 2 diagrams show the most common Bishop & Knight mating patterns, and the third is an excerpt from a game featuring a Bishop & Knight mate: ...
Checkmates: Rook and Knight Mates
From Winning Chess Combinations: The most common Rook and Knight mate, also called the Arabian Mate, is shown below. White's Knight has taken roost on the most attractive f6 square and the Rook has conquered the 7th rank. This is a skeletal set...
Checkmates: Rook and Bishop Mates
More stuff here, straight from the book "Winning Chess Combinations," by Yasser Seirawan. I have been learning very useful stuff from this book and it is enjoyable to read. I think I may have to check out other books by Yasser. These posts are ...
Openings: Sicilian Defense
In order to try and learn how to play a variety of openings, I've gone to the game explorer and plotted some of the more popular lines of play for different openings. Here I have variations of the Sicilian Defense. The Najdorf Variation (5......
Checkmates: Queen, Rook and Bishop Mates
More good stuff from Winning Chess Combinations, these diagrams feature common checkmates with the Queen working together with Rooks and Bishops. Black is doing well and has a combination that produces a forced checkmate in 3: A Game featu...
Openings: The 4 Knights
I watched a video by GM Roman Dzindzichashvili called "The Four Knights Opening: Intro!" It was very informative and I wanted to get the main line down here so I could remember it. Roman says the 4 Knights opening is an easy one to learn and eas...
Checkmates: Queen and Pawn Mates
More good stuff from Winning Chess Combinations, these diagrams feature common checkmates with the Queen working together with pawns. Positions to strive for, paying close attention to the placement of Black's King and the pawns around it: ...
Checkmates: Back-rank Mates
The following are examples of Back-rank checkmates that I have put here in order to help me remember some useful patterns. These are taken from the book "Winning Chess Combinations," by Yasser Seirawan. A skeletal setting of a typical Back-rank c...
