Submitted by
billwall on Mon Aug 18, 2008 8:49pm.
The Black Krazy Kat is a defensive system for Black where the black pawns are on f6 and g6, the knight is on f7 and the bishop is on g7. A typical opening setup is 1.e4 Nh6 2.d4 g6 3.Nc3 f6 4. Bc4 Nf7 5.Nf3 (or other moves) 5...Bg7. Yo... Read more »
Submitted by
billwall on Sat Aug 16, 2008 8:47pm.
The moves 1.e4 b6 is known as Owen's Defense, Queen Fianchetto, or the Greek Defense. It was popularized by John Owen (1827-1901), an English vicar who played under the pseudonym 'Alter.' In 1858, he used this opening to beat Paul Morp... Read more »
Submitted by
billwall on Fri Aug 15, 2008 10:00pm.
1.d4 e5 is known as the Charlick or Englund Gambit. Henry Charlick (1845-1916) introduced ...e5 in the 1890s. His variation continued 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 d6. In 1930, Karl Behting (1867-1943) of Riga, Latvia published analysis of this... Read more »
Submitted by
billwall on Thu Aug 14, 2008 9:52pm.
Perhaps the rarest opening defense is the Hippopotamus Defense (1.e4 Nh6), also known as the Adams Defense. Still, it's a playable defense in reply to any move that White may make on his first move. Over the years, I've collected about... Read more »
Submitted by
billwall on Sat Aug 9, 2008 10:21pm.
I like to experiment and play unorthodox openings, especially when it comes to blitz chess. One of the more stranger openings is the White Krazy Kat, which is 1.Nh3 e5 2.f3 d5 3.Nf2. 1.Nh3 (the Amar or paris Opening) usuall... Read more »
Submitted by
billwall on Fri Jun 13, 2008 10:43pm.
The move 1.a4, called Ware's Opening, is probably the rarest first opening move. It doesn't do too much except to be different. So where did the Ware come from? It was first analyzed and played by Boston player Preston Wa... Read more »
Submitted by
billwall on Fri May 16, 2008 6:49pm.
The Grob Opening (1.g4) was extensively analyzed and played by International Master and Swiss champion Henry Grob (1904-1974). A few years ago, I wrote a booklet on the Grob, which can be a playable opening if you know what you a... Read more »
Submitted by
billwall on Sun Apr 6, 2008 2:07pm.
Perhaps my favorite chess book is Irving Chernev's The 1000 Best Short Games of Chess. It was my second chess book. My first, which I found in a used book store in June, 1969, was Reuben Fine's Practical Chess Openings, written... Read more »
Submitted by
billwall on Sun Mar 30, 2008 7:54pm.
John Owen (1827-1901) was an English player (not that he played 1.c4) and a vicar or reverend. He played under the pseudonym 'Alter.' He lost a match with Paul Morphy, drawing two games and losing 5 games, despite Morphy conced... Read more »
Submitted by
billwall on Fri Mar 28, 2008 9:19pm.
It's always a good feeling when you can sac a major piece, such as a rook or queen, and it leads to mate. In this game, my opponent castled into trouble and I had all the open files on the kingside when my opponent gobbled up three pawns... Read more »