I write and publish chess articles regularly on the Net - unfortunately, I'm not an OTB expert, only an Internet expert lol!  My chess rating on the site I work for peaked at 2081, but I realize that this in no way indicates my actual strength USCF or FIDE.  Dang.

 

Anyhow, I have over 30 articles published.  Go to this link: http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/208387/derek_odom.html and type "chess" (with no quotes) into the search bar on the right and it will search only my articles.  I'd be happy to contribute to chess.com!

i wonder how to vote the forum news or article?

"I thought that expert was 2000 to 2199."

 

It is.

I thought that expert was 2000 to 2199.

ih8sens, if you pay me 10% to be your editor I'll negate some of those ellipses.

I'm always glad to help... I'm techincally an expert (assuming that's still considered 1800+) and I have written articles before... if you'd like a few samples...

 

Edit - actually, I'm being too passive.. this is really a job I'd love!  I do it as a hobby even now!  To be published would be wonderful. 

Edit #2 - Here's a sample...

 

 

UNDERSTANDING THE TRAXLER COUNTERATTACK

Part 1 

 

White stares at the board dumbfounded… how did this so-called expert miss that?!  Well, I guess I’ll take the rook and wait for him to tip the king… wait a minute, is this a trap… hmm… doesn’t look like it… okay lets go, I’ve called your bluff, game over.

 

Sound familiar?  Well, to me it does… this was my exact reaction the first time someone played the Traxler against me.  I lasted 8 moves beyond taking the rook… my jaw dropped… I shook hands… and walked away shocked… then the whole room erupted in laughter… I guess they thought it funny seeing a recently smashed opponent smash his recently dropped jaw into the closed door!

 

A few pain relievers later I loaded up my computer, found a database, looked up the moves (how could you forget!) and found the name…

 

Since then I’ve been in a world of bliss if not ignorance.  The Traxler Gambit has got to be the single most aggressive display black could possibly demonstrate so early in the game. 

 

There is one problem… to play this line black (you!) have to be willing to give up a rook and then some.  Yeah, that’s a heavy price to pay, especially if you don’t know what you’re doing.  If it wasn’t for my buddy Karel I’d be tipping my king once the rook is dropped.

 

So, lets take a look at this line.  These articles have been designed to be good for everyone, whether a real student of this line or a brand new beginner who just found out that those little corner pieces were called rooks (it’s okay, you won’t need them anyways).

 

Our next article will do it’s best to give everyone a basic knowledge of the opening and hopefully whet your appetite to learn it.  The history behind the line will be covered very quickly and then we’ll get into the fun stuff!

 

-Matt