Online chess community where you can play chess, learn strategies and tactics, read chess news, see book reviews, find rules & tips, get free downloads, and more! http://www.chess.com/ 2007 Chess.com Hello chess friends, ever get tired of those annoying non-mainline d4 openings? They're lame, they suck all the enjoyment out of chess, but damnit they're popular! To all those who don't have the slightest clue what to do against these systems, I...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/i-review-quotfighting-the-anti-kings-indiansquotMon, 06 Oct 2008 14:07:29 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/i-review-quotfighting-the-anti-kings-indiansquotAfter 28200 tries I have cracked the 1600 barrier on the chess tactics server! Woohoo! My accuracy is at 75.1% which is about 10% higher than when I started out. I believe my first rating was around 1200, and I have been doing 200 tactics nearly e...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/1602-on-ctsSat, 23 Aug 2008 14:34:56 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/1602-on-ctsI guess there are two questions to be asked in a review of this book. This first of which is, "Is this the greatest book ever written on the subject of attacking play?" and secondly, "Will it help my chess?" As to the first question the answer i...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/i-review-art-of-attack-in-chessSat, 16 Aug 2008 11:32:12 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/i-review-art-of-attack-in-chesshttp://www.ukgamesshop.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=chnew454&Category_Code=   All the middle aged dudes down at the club who can't be bothered to learn opening theory are going to have a rough time when this...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/my-new-bibleSun, 03 Aug 2008 17:24:42 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/my-new-bibleAhh the joy of giving. Due to a lack of space on my bookshelf I decided to donate a portion of my chess book collection to my local library. The library has a chess club that meets there once a week, and their collection of chess related books i...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/im-a-philanthropistThu, 31 Jul 2008 12:18:08 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/im-a-philanthropist"French Defence Repertoire for Black" by Ari Zeigler   I own both "Play the French" by John Watson and "Chess Explained: The French" and this DVD trumps both of them. This is simply the greatest opening DVD/Book on any opening I have ever...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/more-dvd-reviewsWed, 23 Jul 2008 14:10:00 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/more-dvd-reviewsI'm on a roll with the reviews! Here's my opinion on some chessbase DVDs I've purchased. I think DVDs work better than books for a lot of people because they are much more relaxing and engaging than a board and a book. It's true th...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/some-dvd-reviewsTue, 08 Jul 2008 12:01:19 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/some-dvd-reviewsI've finished a few books recently and I'd like to share my opinion of them.   "Petrosian vs the Elite" by Ray Keene and Julian Simpole This is a collection of 71 annotated games played by Tigran Petrosian during all phases ...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/some-short-book-reviewsTue, 08 Jul 2008 11:33:21 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/some-short-book-reviewsHello everyone!   After studying for many hours everyday for several months, I finally started to get burned out on chess. After the London May Open I decided to take some weeks off of chess and renew my love for the game. I ended up taking t...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/the-big-break-75-and-new-booksFri, 04 Jul 2008 11:23:23 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/the-big-break-75-and-new-booksToday was the London May Open, which like the London March and April Opens, is a single day 4 round G/60 event. Today was a bit different though, there was a larger tournament being held a few towns over which attracted a lot of the regulars away,...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/london-may-openSat, 31 May 2008 18:25:56 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/london-may-openLately I've been able to maintain a 1600+ blitz rating on playchess for the first time ever. One thing I've found very useful is GM Heinrik Danielson's blitz videos on www.videochess.net. I'm amazed at how he can make such simple m...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/blitz-going-wellSat, 17 May 2008 06:44:31 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/blitz-going-wellToday I crossed the 20,000 mark for CTS problems tried. So far my highest rating has been 1573 and my accuracy is now at 73.5%.   Maybe I can hit 1600 and 75% by 30,000....  http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/20000-tries-on-ctsMon, 12 May 2008 08:43:00 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/20000-tries-on-ctsRecently I finished going through 100 selected games by Mikhail Botvinnik. It's a collection of his best games up until he won the world championship for the first time. All the games are annotated by him, and give various verbal explanations and ...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/my-review-of-100-selected-games-by-mikhail-botvinnikSat, 10 May 2008 09:40:48 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/my-review-of-100-selected-games-by-mikhail-botvinnikThe ratings changes are in! With a 3.5/4 result at the london april open, and a performance rating of 1787, my CFC rating has finally crossed the 1600 mark landing at 1635. This makes me want to work even harder to improve my tournament results an...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/1635-otbWed, 07 May 2008 21:19:27 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/1635-otbThe fine folks at the Horizon Cricket Club in Brampton, Ontario hosted a rapid chess tournament yesterday. Many people from various Toronto chess clubs showed up for a day of unrated, trophy-laden fun. The tournament was a 5 round (+1 round for pl...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/ontario-recreational-chess-championshipSun, 04 May 2008 04:57:40 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/ontario-recreational-chess-championshipI thought I would give an overview of my training, results, and rating in this post, as well as ask a question for anyone who might read this little blog of mine.   First of all my training results so far. Currently I have done 17600 problems...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/status-and-updateMon, 28 Apr 2008 07:07:52 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/status-and-updateThe London April Open was a small 4 round G/60 swiss tournament held earlier today. Much like the London March Open I did very well in this field scoring 3.5/4 and sharing first place (with the guy I drew in the 2nd round) in the U1700 section. Lu...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/results-from-london-april-openSat, 26 Apr 2008 18:08:00 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/results-from-london-april-openTomorrow I'm off to the London April Open. It's a small single day 4 round swiss tournament. The games are SD/60min. With a decent performance here my rating should pop up over 1600 for the first time http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/london-april-openFri, 25 Apr 2008 19:58:38 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/london-april-openHere is my worst game from the recent Guelph Spring Pro-Am. It was round 1 and apparently I needed a warmup .   http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/im-a-patzerThu, 24 Apr 2008 14:55:54 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/im-a-patzerI'm back from the Guelph Spring Pro-Am where I scored 3.0/5 to share third place in the U1800 section. All in all it was a decent tournament other than my terrible play in the 1st game which I deservedly lost. I'll post that game later to ...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/back-from-guelphSun, 20 Apr 2008 14:38:30 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/back-from-guelphAfter hanging around the 1520-1540 range for awhile I've finally busted through my ceiling for a personal best. For some reason I always do very well on CTS just before a tournament, and as soon as I get back from the tournament my rating bomb...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/1551-on-ctsWed, 16 Apr 2008 19:13:34 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/1551-on-ctsThis weekend I play in the Guelph Spring Pro-Am, a large 5 round swiss sectional tournament. I will be playing in the U1800 section. The Guelph Winter Pro-Am (run by the same people) was my first tournament experience and I had a less than stellar...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/guelph-spring-pro-amMon, 14 Apr 2008 06:28:30 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/guelph-spring-pro-amThis is my favorite game from the Hamilton Winter Open. I like it because both sides pursue their plans properly. There is opposite-side castling and attack for both sides. Both of us played well and it ended in a draw, as it should be!   http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/my-favorite-game-at-the-hamilton-winter-openMon, 07 Apr 2008 23:12:50 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/my-favorite-game-at-the-hamilton-winter-openI want to post my two favorite games from the Kitchener Winter Open this year. Both of these are wins with black which helped me take clear first place in the U1700 section. Comments welcome!               &nbs...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/my-best-games-from-the-kitchener-winter-openThu, 03 Apr 2008 18:38:30 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/my-best-games-from-the-kitchener-winter-openThanks to an excellent suggestion made by Dalmantinac I'll be posting some of the better games from the tournaments I play in (even the ones I lose...as long as they're good). I won't usually post games where one side played ridiculous...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/my-best-gamesThu, 03 Apr 2008 18:22:33 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/my-best-gamesI just finished "How to play the English Opening" by Anatoly Karpov so I thought I'd write a wee review while the book is still fresh in my mind.   Firstly I'd like to say that along with "The Dynamic English" by T...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/how-to-play-the-english-opening-reviewWed, 02 Apr 2008 17:10:34 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/how-to-play-the-english-opening-reviewThe London March Open was a single-day 4 round 60min per game tournament with 2 sections (U1700 and pro). I finished with 3.5/4 and shared first place in the U1700 section. Good times! Rounds 1 and 2 were played against much weaker players than me...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/return-from-londonSat, 29 Mar 2008 20:10:07 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/return-from-londonTomorrow I play in the London March Open. There's been a bit of a dry spell in tournament chess for the last couple of weeks but now things are going to pick up again and I can look forward to playing every weekend.   Also, I might be mo...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/london-march-openFri, 28 Mar 2008 09:21:48 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/london-march-openFor a long time I've been looking for a strong player who's style I wish to emulate and who plays the same openings as me. At long last I think I have found him.   Rafael Vaganian played the English as white almost exclusively, he was...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/rafael-vaganianWed, 26 Mar 2008 23:12:13 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/rafael-vaganianI've made it up over 10000 tries on CTS...I guess that makes me a veteran. I hear the #1 rated CTS tactician did 50,000 tries his first year, if I keep at it maybe I can get close to that.http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/10400-on-ctsSun, 16 Mar 2008 19:56:03 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/10400-on-ctsI thought I'd record my progress thus far. Ratings! OTB rating: 1545 Redhotpawn:1640 Chess.com:1710 Chess Tactics Server:1515 (73% accuracy) All in all not bad improvement so far, I'd like to get my OTB rating up over 1600 soon. This will ...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/a-little-updateTue, 11 Mar 2008 16:38:12 -0700http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/a-little-updateI've just finished reading "My Chess Career" by Jose Raul Capablanca. It's a collection of Capablanca's games written before he won the world championship. Capa annotates it himself and gives many anecdotes concerning his car...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/my-chess-careerWed, 27 Feb 2008 16:32:31 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/my-chess-careerI used to play 1.e4 as white (when I was first learning)   After I discovered that learning opening theory is hard work I switched to 1.c4 and have been playing it ever since. Now, as I've been playing in tournaments I have discovered the...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/the-great-white-debateTue, 26 Feb 2008 22:50:01 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/the-great-white-debateWell, I am back from the Hamilton Winter Open, which was a strong single section 5 round swiss tournament. I had a less than stellar performance point-wise but I was happy because most of my games were against players with ratings around 400 point...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/back-from-hamiltonMon, 25 Feb 2008 16:53:38 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/back-from-hamiltonI'm writing this from a hotel room in Hamilton where tomorrow I start playing in the Hamilton Winter Open. Unlike the last two tournaments this is a single section (I thought the last tournament was single section but I was mistaken) tournamen...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/hamilton-winter-openFri, 22 Feb 2008 17:52:34 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/hamilton-winter-openI'm finally back home after a long weekend at the Kitchener Winter Open. After a mediocre performance in my first tournament (3/5 U1500) I came back with a bang to take first place in the U1700 section with a 4/5 score (3 wins, 2 draws). I&#39...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/back-from-kitchenerTue, 19 Feb 2008 10:16:47 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/back-from-kitchenerTomorrow I go to the Kitchener Open, a 5 round swiss tournament. I'm entered in the U1700 section so hopefully I'll net some wins and break some hearts hehe.   So far my training has gone well, I've managed to do 300 CTS problems ...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/kitchener-winter-openThu, 14 Feb 2008 19:08:02 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/kitchener-winter-openAhh victory! I finally hit the 1500 mark on Chess Tactics Server after roughly 5080 tries. My percentage is still hanging around the 73% mark so the goal is to steadily increase my accuracy to around 80% overall. I hope all this tactics madness wi...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/1500-on-ctsMon, 11 Feb 2008 09:40:10 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/1500-on-ctsMy blitz has been completely awful the last few days. I've gone from around 1550 on playchess to just shy of 1300. I just feel like I'm in slow motion, everything takes longer to see...that is if I can see it at all! I guess I just need to...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/i-suck-at-blitzFri, 08 Feb 2008 12:20:35 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/i-suck-at-blitzI thought I would share some of my book experience with you by writing some short reviews of chess books I have read so far. I'll post a new review every so often.    To begin!    Attacking Chess: by Josh Waitzkin - This bo...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/erics-book-reviewsThu, 07 Feb 2008 15:56:33 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/erics-book-reviewsI had a 1400 performance at the Guelph Amateur Pro-Am...the CFC ratings are in!   I have a LONG way to go but I know I can do better than the 3/5 I had against U1500s in Guelph. I'll be continuing the mad tactics training in hopes of show...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/1400Thu, 07 Feb 2008 14:29:22 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/1400Hello all!   I'm back from the guelph winter pro-am at last, and I had quite a good time there, and learning quite a lot about my chess. Firstly I would like to say that this was a very well run and enjoyable tournament experience, I had ...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/im-back3Mon, 04 Feb 2008 20:37:32 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/im-back3In a few minutes I'm leaving for the guelph winter pro am...my first OTB tourney experience. Since I'm unrated I'll be playing in the U1500 section, so hopefully I won't get blown off the board in ALL my games! I'll be bringing...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/off-to-my-first-tourneyFri, 01 Feb 2008 11:23:30 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/off-to-my-first-tourneyThis is a review of the book "Learn from Bobby Fischer's Greatest Games" by Eric Schiller. I've heard many many lousy reviews of Eric Schiller's books and after reading and playing through about a third of this book I can com...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/learn-from-bobby-fischerThu, 31 Jan 2008 20:51:46 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/learn-from-bobby-fischerI've finally cracked 1500 playing 3-minute blitz on playchess, and I've been able to keep it there! I guess all the mad tactics training must be paying off. I find knowing the openings you play inside and out really helps, I'm almost n...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/1500-on-playchessTue, 29 Jan 2008 12:33:57 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/1500-on-playchessFinally, after at least 8 months, I have finished Frank Marshall's "My Fifty Years of Chess" games collection.   Frank Marshall was America's best player from the late 1800's to about 1940. He is the founder of the marsh...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/frank-marshalls-best-gamesMon, 28 Jan 2008 21:13:47 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/frank-marshalls-best-gamesOkey dokey...I've managed to stick to my plans so far without too much trouble. The main problem for me right now is lack of sleep, for some reason I've been getting maybe 5 hours a night...and thats just not going to do it. I'm going ...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/updateTue, 22 Jan 2008 12:27:36 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/updateFritz 11 came in the mail today! Now I'll finally have a decent database to use, engine to analyse with, and a year's free subscription to playchess for lots of blitzing fun.   I'm trying to get my gameload down to zero as quickly...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/fritzSat, 19 Jan 2008 13:44:34 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/fritzAs I said in my previous post, my chess training has been relaxed so far. I need to devise an intensive training program to maximize the time I have. I don't have to think about full time school until the summer (I'm a 21 year old city pla...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/my-trainingThu, 17 Jan 2008 08:59:36 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/my-trainingIt has been about 2 years since I learned chess and began playing with regularity. I've been studying chess in a very relaxed manner since then. I do some tactics everyday from the book "Combination Challenge!" by Hays and Hall, and ...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/statusThu, 17 Jan 2008 08:41:57 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/statusThis blog will be my way of organizing and cataloging my chess practice, progress, and plans. I have recently decided to take some months off work, before full-time school starts again, and devote my time to tournament chess. Until the fall I will...http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/my-first-blog-postWed, 16 Jan 2008 23:08:12 -0800http://blog.chess.com/ericmittens/my-first-blog-post