Based on the Steps Method, I developed the following framework for Position Analysis:
It is critical that you complete your Orientation before you start looking at moves and variations.
With a complete orientation, you have a much bette...
Magnus Carlsen has never been one to shy away from innovation. With the launch of the Grand Slam Tour, he is once again challenging the status quo, pushing the boundaries of competitive chess. While this initiative excites many, it has also uns...
Spielmann, I have said, was maybe the most amusing chess player of his era. He seems to have been a very simple person who liked his beer and his creature comforts and for some reason played a wild, adventuring chess. "Spielmann plays always like ...
I love puzzles. My morning routine usually includes the New York Times Connections puzzle, the Strands grid, and the venerable Wordle. From there, it's off to Gisnep for a daily drop-quote afollowed by my new favorite, Squardle. If I need a quick ...
(I started working on this blog post in May, 2022.......)
This post has been "cooking" for a few weeks now; for some reason the world's upheavals have shaken me to the core, and caused an extra-reflective mood to set in; our heart mirrors the wo...
Many players want to get better, but they don’t know how to make a training plan that works. Without a good plan, it’s easy to waste time and not improve. In this article, I will show you the most important parts of chess training, the...
Dear chess lovers, there is a story that one time a Master was analyzing a position and Alekhine took up the opposite side. After a while, Alekhine said, "I can win from the opposite side of the original position", and proceeded to beat this Maste...
Hey Impressive Chessers!
When I first got into chess, we had to fend off velociraptors...
okay, sorry, too many dad jokes. What really happened was that the "four-move checkmate" was all the rage. As White, I either checkmated my opponent b...
The 2024 Chessable Research Awards had five student winners, including Alex Knopps, the author of this guest blog post. Knopps explores whether solving chess puzzles alone or with a partner leads to better outcomes. His research also accounted for...
In round 8 of the EUTender Master Tourney I played with the Hungarian FIDE-Master Peter Zentai.
He played the g3, Bg2 setup against the Slav defense and got a small edge, but he played too slowly and allowed me to play the e6-e5 break to equaliz...
In recent months, I have seen some great games/results from the 'old dogs' (veteran chess players past their prime and now just enjoying the game every now and then). The problem for us old dudes is that we want to keep playing our favorite ga...
SRM-A and Jeppiaar University are leading the 2025 India College Chess Championship Spring Season (ICCL) with perfect scores after four rounds!Teams SRCC and ISIK-A are currently in third and fourth positions, respectively.
Standings after...
On Sundy I played in the Hungarian league. my team Esztergom played against Szombathely. My opponent was Dr. Peter Sardy, a FIDE-Master. He played a very early Nc3 at move 3 in the Pirc defense. I think White should play there d5 to gain space and...
Yes, somehow I played literally all the Titled Tuesday tournaments in 2024 and all the games in them. Thanks to @Chesscom for mentioning it in the summarised year statistics, and to Hikaru Nakamura, who commented on that here and here.I thought th...
Afternoon everyone. My long time readers will understand the title.
Huge amount here, so, as usual, just pop in and out, cherry pick, etc. Just enjoy whatever of the material you choose to enjoy!
I am snowed under with books at the momen...
The Steps Method distinguishes three Attacking Targets:
Material
King (check)
(mating) Square
The targets Material and King speak for themselves but let's look at the target Square.
White is to move. Rb7 is undefended and Qh...
In round 7 I played with Zsombor Pogány from Hungary. He played the Grunfeld defense. We got an equal position. I missed his Nd7-e5-d3 plan, which gave him slight edge. In the time trouble I bulndered a pawn under the pressure, but he allow...
In Winner's POV, we take a look at tournaments from the 19th century and see the games that allowed the top player to prevail. Some tournaments will be known and famous, others will be more obscure - in a time period where competition is scarce, I...
Would you love to have strong openings, memorize your variations, understand the plans, and be ready for the middlegame transition?
Sounds like a dream? Actually, it's absolutely achievable.
I’ll tell you how to do it.
But before...
Finally I won a nice game! In round 6 I played with Sedrani Ammar from the United Arab Emirates.
He played the exchange variation against the Slav defense and started a kingside expansion.
I counter-attacked on the queenside and won 2 pawns an...
Everyone aspires to play the best move in chess. But playing for positions you excel in can be just as game-winning...
Which is the theme of our February roundup.
Kicking things off is our latest Variation Preview update. Now, ...
Io̧kwe aolep!*
Two weeks ago, I told you all that Episode 3 would be the last one in the Duel Of Nations series. However, due to the good acceptance it received, I changed my mind and decided to release a new one! Welcome to the fourth and most ...
In round 5 I played with FIDE-Master Zalán Németh from Hungary. He played the Chabanenko variation of the Slav defense. I used a lot of time in the opening to build an attack. I gained a lot of space on the queenside, but he defended...
In round 4 I played with Evgeny Gumanny from Israel. I equalized with the Cambridge Springs Defense, but in a critical moment I took on d4 instead of c4. The position opened up and he had a better development. He found 2 nice intermediate moves an...
Match between Korchnoi and Spassky that took place in Belgrade, The Capital Of Serbia, *Yugoslavia* at a time in 1977, even today is attracting attention because of it`s *Human Side*. One against another clashed two players, two rivals fr...