Submitted by
ogerboy on Mon Jan 5, 2009 10:16pm.
"Why did you switch from 1.e4 to 1.d4?" I asked a friend of mine in the local club. And their reply, was the same of every other in my local area - "because of the Sicilian..."
Despite how outrageous and ridiculous that sounds, that is the most c... Read more »
84 reads | 1 comment | 0 votes:
Submitted by
Patzer24 on Mon Jan 5, 2009 10:09pm.
Here is a game from the 2008-2009 Hastings Chess Congress, IM Aikhoje - IM Bates with full annotations and commentary:
Sometimes in chess you must throw caution to the wind and play for the win without fear of losing. In this game ... Read more »
349 reads | 5 comments | 1 vote:
Submitted by
chessowns on Mon Jan 5, 2009 9:02pm.
I have playing a few games, and I have discovered a quick pin. It does have its flaws, however I will post it for now as the unfinished version. The pin is quite an enjoyable one; keeping a knight from fear of the death of the queen. I got this mo... Read more »
60 reads | 1 comment | 1 vote:
Submitted by
Ilovegambits on Mon Jan 5, 2009 7:09pm.
The Endgame: The fundamentals of pawn endgames
Pawn Endings:
Pawn endings constitute a basis of all endings. One should study them most carefully, because each ending can eventually transpose into a pawn ... Read more »
116 reads | 3 comments | 1 vote:
Submitted by
FM FM_Eric_Schiller on Mon Jan 5, 2009 3:32pm.
Most beginners know that f7 is their target as White until Black castles. You need to know that f7 doesn't get ignored after castling. It is often still the target. The games in this article show you how important it is to keep f7 on the target li... Read more »
999 reads | 7 comments | 0 votes:
Submitted by
jk00750 on Mon Jan 5, 2009 3:09pm.
I'm just going to throw this puzzle out in the open. Personally, I found this quite intriguing although the position is physically impossible. There are multiple move orders that win, but only one move order is accepted by the puzzle, so I apo... Read more »
61 reads | 0 comments | 1 vote:
Submitted by
FM FM_Eric_Schiller on Mon Jan 5, 2009 2:07pm.
Although the Exchange Variation isn't aything to worry about, some players just don't like to suffer under the pawn structure. There is an easy way to avoid this, and it doesn't require knowing much theory. I'm tralking aout Cozio's 3...Nge7. The ... Read more »
525 reads | 12 comments | 2 votes:
Submitted by
IM AndrewMartin on Mon Jan 5, 2009 12:55pm.
International Master Andrew Martin from England presents a regular series of articles to answer any questions that Chess.com readers have about the game of chess.
If you want to ask Andrew a question, then send an email to askandrew@chess.com and... Read more »
728 reads | 2 comments | 3 votes:
Submitted by
jubilousfire on Mon Jan 5, 2009 4:41am.
The Cochrane Defense is a method for drawing in the chess endgame with a rook versus a rook and bishop, shown here. It was discovered by John Cochrane. This combination of material is one of the most common pawnless chess endgames. Accurate play i... Read more »
125 reads | 2 comments | 0 votes:
Submitted by
hippochess on Mon Jan 5, 2009 1:22am.
Below is listed the annotated game GM Baburin (2590) – GM Miles (2584), 4NCL Birmingham, 2000. It was a powerful dark-squared Benoni ended with a great ‘light-squared’ rook sacrifice (which is difficult to be ‘seen’ even from some very... Read more »
164 reads | 4 comments | 0 votes:
Submitted by
FM FM_Eric_Schiller on Sun Jan 4, 2009 8:06pm.
For some reason some players get scared when faced with1.g4. There is no reason to fear this. True, if you waslk into the jaws of the beast, your head can get chopped off. But if you play sensibly there is no danger. Here are two examples of solid... Read more »
1045 reads | 12 comments | 1 vote:
Submitted by
jk00750 on Sun Jan 4, 2009 12:20pm.
There are multiple variations of Legall's Mate, and sometimes forcing defeat cannot be so simple. Here is an example of Legall's Mate appearing in the King's Gambit. However, black has a response that is challenging to meet....
... Read more »
233 reads | 3 comments | 1 vote:
Submitted by
benws on Sun Jan 4, 2009 11:54am.
Keres is out for blood here. With Byrne rolling a dangerous pawn front down his queenside, he goes after Byrne's seemingly safe king. However, a crushing rook sac brings an end to the game, despite the extra queens.
Read more »
640 reads | 5 comments | 0 votes:
Submitted by
Third_Degree on Sun Jan 4, 2009 12:30am.
We all know games that come down to long range tactics involved with such pieces as rooks, queens, and kings can be just as frustrating as cluttered boards. As I was playing live chess, I found myself in a situation involving more than two queen... Read more »
96 reads | 0 comments | 0 votes:
Submitted by
FM FM_Eric_Schiller on Sat Jan 3, 2009 10:40pm.
Fans of Scandinavian Openings might want to look at the Icelandic Gambit (1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.c4 e6!?) for a bit of fun. Here is a brief introduction.
Read more »
1163 reads | 25 comments | 0 votes:
Submitted by
NM GreenLaser on Sat Jan 3, 2009 9:27pm.
Helmut Pfleger was born June 8, 1943 in Czechoslovakia. He was a world class junior player by 1960. He tied for first in the West German Championship in 1963 and 1965. He became a grandmaster in 1975. He practices internal medicine and psychothera... Read more »
438 reads | 5 comments | 1 vote:
Submitted by
cjus on Sat Jan 3, 2009 8:47pm.
It turns out that it's actually difficult to tell. The answer depends on how you define the word "strong". For example, does "strong" imply any of the following?
strong because she plays quickly rather than taking days to consider her next mov... Read more »
140 reads | 3 comments | 0 votes:
Submitted by
Johnny_Chess on Sat Jan 3, 2009 8:43pm.
On Chess Endings and Piece Values…
J.R.Capablanca’s ‘Chess Fundumentals’, Part I, Chapter I, section 5. Relative Value of the Pieces must the best description of this matter possible in one page of writing. In so many words it sum... Read more »
80 reads | 1 comment | 0 votes:
Submitted by
benws on Sat Jan 3, 2009 2:25pm.
After Tal beat Botvinnik in the 1960 WC Match, many thought that the old master would retire in the face of such an opponent. Howeber, Botvinnik proved them all wrong by winning the return match a year later. Here is one of his favorite games.
(n... Read more »
468 reads | 5 comments | 1 vote:
Submitted by
melzerh on Sat Jan 3, 2009 11:25am.
Here is a trap in the ruy lopez
Read more »
222 reads | 7 comments | 3 votes:
Submitted by
cjus on Fri Jan 2, 2009 10:59pm.
For many players the desire to improve their play pits them in a life and death struggle to win each game. Many players agonize over lost games and fluctuations in their ratings. Rather than carefully reviewing their games (and reliving pain... Read more »
158 reads | 3 comments | 1 vote:
Submitted by
Johnny_Chess on Fri Jan 2, 2009 12:42pm.
On Chess Clocks…
Howard Staunton proclaimed himself the Chess Champion of the world. He ran British chess and also a regular newspaper column. He used this to ward off defeat by Paul Morphy after two consultation games, isolating th... Read more »
157 reads | 0 comments | 0 votes:
Submitted by
SonofPearl on Fri Jan 2, 2009 12:33pm.
Here is what you've all been waiting for - the answers and winners of the Chess.com Holiday Puzzler competition!
The standard of entries was incredibly high, so a BIG thank you to all members who submitted answers.
Where necessary, equal scores... Read more »
1581 reads | 26 comments | 3 votes: