My Chess Life

I have too much free time and I love chess

I review Daniel King's Chessbase DVD "PowerPlay 3: Pawn Storm"

Submitted by ericmittens on Sat Jun 20, 2009 9:55pm.

Yup, just finished the third powerplay DVD. This one was all about pushing the f and h pawns, when its a good idea and when it's not. As is the norm in these powerplay DVDs we get a series of lectures on the different themes (11 lectures on the f... Read more »

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I review Daniel King's Chessbase DVD "Powerplay 2: Attacking the King"

Submitted by ericmittens on Tue Jun 16, 2009 12:31pm.

I just finished the second powerplay DVD. This one was much longer than the first, with many more examples each with the theme of kingside attack. He goes over things like getting the heavy pieces into the attack, opening files and using them, an... Read more »

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Eric's List of Good Chess Books.

Submitted by ericmittens on Sat Jun 13, 2009 4:29pm.

This post is for anyone interested in getting a new book. I really enjoy reading chess books and I've read quite a few. Most of the books I've read have been pretty good since I tend to do a lot of research on a book before I buy it. However, most... Read more »

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I review Daniel King's Chessbase DVD "Power Play 1:Mating Patterns"

Submitted by ericmittens on Fri Jun 12, 2009 4:52pm.

To help me get ready for the 2009 Canadian Open Championship I've decided to go through Daniel King's "Powerplay" DVDs by chessbase. These DVDs are supposed to be quite basic, but a solid review of the fundamentals before a tournament can never be... Read more »

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I am the champ

Submitted by ericmittens on Thu Jun 11, 2009 7:39pm.

I needed only a half point to take sole first place in my section tonight. My opponent seemed more than happy to oblige and we made a short draw to seal the deal. I won some cash and a nice big trophy which I will post pictures of later. Now onto ... Read more »

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Canadian Open Chess Championship 2009

Submitted by ericmittens on Tue Jun 9, 2009 7:17pm.

I've decided to fly out west this July to play in the Canadian Open Chess Championship. A whole week of games, simuls, lectures, and chess culture....heaven! Read more »

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My White Openings Need Some Work

Submitted by ericmittens on Sun Jun 7, 2009 9:15am.

I downloaded chessbase 10 a couple of weeks ago. It's such a neat little program, tons of useful database tools and also a great way to store your OTB games for later analysis. Recently I had the program examine my games and give me some statistic... Read more »

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London City Championship U1800 Round 12

Submitted by ericmittens on Fri Jun 5, 2009 6:42am.

Last night I played an unrated friend of mine. We played a rather leisurely game as he blundered tactically pretty early on and I more or less coasted to the win for most of the night. With 1 round to go I'm a full point ahead of the 2nd place fel... Read more »

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London May Open

Submitted by ericmittens on Sat May 30, 2009 5:26pm.

I played in the single section G/60 London May Open today. I finished with 2.5 out of 5 with 2 wins, 1 draw, and 1 loss. Behold! The games with comments!                                           Read more »

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London City Championship U1800 Round 11

Submitted by ericmittens on Thu May 28, 2009 8:55pm.

Tonight I was back in good health and played a guy much lower rated than I. I committed my most serious blunder yet in the tournament I think, blundering back an exchange once I had already won it. Oh well, it may not have turned out to be such a ... Read more »

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