billwall's Blog

Off the Wall Chess - Torre tore me up

Submitted by billwall on Thu Dec 6, 2007 10:47pm.

Eugenio Torre, born in 1951 in the Philippines, was one of the top Grandmasters in the world in the 1980s, ranked #40 in the world.  He was Asia's first grandmaster, being awarded the title by FIDE in 1974.   He played in the Ca... Read more »

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Off the Wall Chess - Didn't see the mate

Submitted by billwall on Fri Oct 12, 2007 9:41pm.

It was round 1 of the first World Open, held in New York at the McAlapin Hotel in 1973.  I was playing Black and was playing the Nimzo-Indian defense.  I missed winning a pawn earlier and was too focused in being greedy to see the threat... Read more »

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Off the Wall Chess - The Hyperaccelerated Dragon

Submitted by billwall on Tue Sep 11, 2007 6:52pm.

The Hyperacclerated Dragon in the Sicilian Defense (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 g6) is a hypermodern way of playing the Sicilian.  The Dragon is characterized by the fianchetto of Black's g-pawn.  The Dragon name may have been derived from the res... Read more »

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Photo Albums

Submitted by billwall on Tue Sep 11, 2007 8:37am.

Perhaps one of the best, and least known, features of www.chess.com are the photo albums.  I've created at least 8 photo albums of chess art and pictures, and added a few chess art pictures that my brother did (he's the artist, b... Read more »

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Off the Wall Chess - Classical Sicilian

Submitted by billwall on Sun Sep 9, 2007 12:30pm.

The Classical Sicilian (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 Nc6, or 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6) is a very common opening in the Sicilian Defense.  Usually White follows up with 6.Bg5 or 6.Bc4.  I decided to b... Read more »

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Off the Wall Chess - The Philidor

Submitted by billwall on Sat Sep 8, 2007 2:20pm.

The Philidor's Defense is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6, although there is no proof or any games to show that Philidor ever played this opening.  The opening was actually noted by Lucena around 1497 and recommended by Ruy Lopez around 1561.  Phil... Read more »

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Off The Wall Chess - The Fate of Smothered Mate

Submitted by billwall on Thu Sep 6, 2007 7:31pm.

Pulling off a smothered mate by sacrificing your Queen, then mating with a lone Knight is a great acccomplishment if you can do it.  But if it happens to you, then you feel pretty stupid.  Well, over the years I have pulled off a smother... Read more »

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Off the Wall Chess - Marshall Attack

Submitted by billwall on Tue Sep 4, 2007 9:21am.

The Marshall Attack (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.O-O Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 O-O 8.c3 d5), or Marshall Counterattack as it is sometimes called, is an interesting gambit in the Ruy Lopez.  The pawn sacrifice was introduced in master pr... Read more »

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Off the Wall Chess - Queen's Pawn Counter Gambit

Submitted by billwall on Sun Sep 2, 2007 7:11pm.

The opening 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d5 is known as the Queen's Pawn Counter Gambit, sometimes called the Elephant Gambit.  It's rare at the master and grandmaster level, but seems playable.  I've experimented with it in a few Internet ... Read more »

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Off the Wall Chess - Goering Gambit

Submitted by billwall on Sat Sep 1, 2007 8:19pm.

The Goering Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.c3) is a variation of the Scotch Gambit.  It is named after Carl Goering (1841-1879) of Germany, who analyzed and played it in the 1870s.  However, Howard Staunton was playing it in the 1... Read more »

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