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Loomis's Blog

Lately I've just been blogging when I analyze one of my own games with interesting results, so posts are fairly sporadic.

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Drawing a master

Submitted by Loomis on Tue Aug 18, 2009 8:27am.

As a class player, the master title has always seemed like a distant level of chess ability. I have had a few decent games against masters in my life, but of course I've lost nearly all my games to them. I do have a few draws and the game I'll sho... Read more »

» posted in Loomis's Blog
1664 reads | 16 comments

A surprising miniature

Submitted by Loomis on Thu Jul 30, 2009 1:55pm.

In a recent game I played an opponent well known for his intense opening study. We had played a semi-slav about a month prior and I felt I shouldn't repeat that line having put no effort into learning about the opening we played. So I chose to avo... Read more »

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900 reads | 12 comments

Find the Winning Move

Submitted by Loomis on Mon Jul 6, 2009 12:08pm.

Today I want to share a position where you are challenged to find the winning move. This is from a casual (I take these very seriously!) game I played recently and my failure in this position highlights two of my weaknesses. Also, I later went on ... Read more »

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2131 reads | 45 comments

The value of threats

Submitted by Loomis on Mon Apr 13, 2009 3:07pm.

There are lots of familiar and easily assessable positional features -- bad pawns (isolated, doubled, backward), the bishop pair, central occupation, knight outposts, rooks on open files and the 7th rank, king safety -- and there are some that are... Read more »

» posted in Loomis's Blog
1358 reads | 14 comments

Overcoming positional problems through tactics

Submitted by Loomis on Sun Apr 5, 2009 8:30pm.

It's been famously said that chess is 99% tactics. It's also been said that tactics flow naturally from superior positions. In my experience in play below the expert level, quite often a superior position crumbles due to an overlooked tactical blo... Read more »

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1133 reads | 10 comments

This has to be winning, right?

Submitted by Loomis on Sun Mar 29, 2009 7:27am.

In a couple of games recently I've had positions that by any positional measure had to be winning for me. Here are two positions where material is even, but everything else seems to be in my favor.     White's advantages include a protecte... Read more »

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1055 reads | 6 comments

Patience in attacking

Submitted by Loomis on Sun Mar 22, 2009 7:10am.

Often when an attack is being mounted there is a tendency to look for decisive moves. And for good reason, forcing moves -- checks, captures, threats of checkmate -- are often the most effective. But sometimes there is no overpowering blow and the... Read more »

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1051 reads | 12 comments

Return of the off-side queen

Submitted by Loomis on Sat Mar 14, 2009 5:19pm.

One of the fundamental reasons a successful mating attack occurs is that the defense does not have adequate pieces near the king. One of the chess teachers near where I live told me he first noticed in his students games that mating attacks occur ... Read more »

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1065 reads | 5 comments

Ultimate Blunders

Submitted by Loomis on Sat Jan 31, 2009 9:39am.

It happens to everybody. You have played a brilliant game and you throw away hours of hard work on one monumentally stupid move. It even famously happened to World Champion Vladimir Kramnik when he allowed a mate in 1 in his match against the comp... Read more »

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715 reads | 8 comments

Perpetual Check

Submitted by Loomis on Sat Jan 24, 2009 11:51am.

Every so often we'll see a forum topic here at chess.com along the lines of "hey, my opponent won't stop checking me so that I can finish beating him." The poster seems to think this is unfair, that he's being denied his right to win by a player w... Read more »

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658 reads | 3 comments
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