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Mad Scientist Blogs Chess


    • Everything I need to know about chess I learned by watching Bleach.

      Lesson 1 - Look for opportunities to play devastating moves, on every move. Ichigo (talking about Hollow Ichigo):  He's spinning Zangetsu around by the wrapping on the hilt!  I didn't even know you could do that! An excellent recent example of... | Read More

    • I was waiting for revenge, but it never came.

      Here is my game against Batraski from last night.  I'm now 3-0 against him in regular slow games (G/2hrs with 5sec delay).  Hence the title.  I was waiting for him to get his deserved revenge, but...  Maybe next time, Guy. This game has an... | Read More

    • My suggestion to FIDE.

      I submitted the following suggestion to FIDE at their official site: http://ratings.fide.com/suggest.phtml Reposted here word-for-word:   My suggestion is to select the first move by White at random from an a pre-approved list.  An example l... | Read More

    • Tactical Blind Spots? (Learning from a Bxh7+ sac that should have gone wrong.)

      I recently accepted a random challenge here on Chess.com from someone 400 points lower rated.  Analysis shows that I should have lost this game against good defense, but instead I mated my valiant opponent in 15 moves.  The point of showing this... | Read More

    • Rainbow Puzzle Post 2

      Last time we got up to orange.  I would have kept going with the colors but this next puzzle is so cool that I had to use it in a new post. Remember to click on "Move List" to go through variations! Coordinates are on the board.  I get confu... | Read More

    • Rainbow Puzzle Post 1

      I'm going to use this post to list favorite puzzles.  I plan on updating it periodically with more puzzles until it just gets too long and I need to create "Puzzle Post 2".  Please post your own favorite puzzles in the comments!  Remember to cl... | Read More

    • Neat endgame puzzle from ChessTempo.com

      Good luck.  Remember to click on to explore variations and comments after solving the puzzle. From ChessTempo.  IMO it's a better tactics trainer than on Chess.com.  They also have an endgame trainer.  Free. | Read More

    • Game 2 by Master X

      Before we begin, a disclaimer - I'm basing this blog series on material from another chess learning site.  Some of the analysis in the games is not my own, and I will give credit to sources at the conclusion of this series. Game 2 in this series... | Read More

    • Chess Shame

      the_seventh_seal wrote: In places like the United States ... and most of Western Europe ..., chess is culturally seen as a fringe activity for socially incapable males. I like this quote because I think it's true.  I'm definitely a closet c... | Read More

    • Game 1 by Master X

      In addition to solving tactical exercises, I started studying the games of a strong master whose aggressive style I admire.  I'll keep the identity secret because it might be fun if you want to play guess who.  Leave your guess in a comment, a... | Read More