“A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer” Bruce Lee A quick reminder how it works: Have a look at the position for 1 minute (watch the clock) Think about the choices in front of you and pick the one you feel it is … Continue reading "“What Say You?” The 1 Minute Challenge (54)" The post “What Say You?”...

Yuri Averbakh celebrated his 100th birthday the other day. Another Soviet player from the same vintage just missed celebrating his 99th birthday. Abram Khasin had a long and remarkable life. He was born in Ukraine on 15 February 1923, and died in Essen, Germany, where he had spent the last 20 years of his life, … Continue reading "Abram Khasin (1923-2022)" The post Abram Khasin (1923-2022)...

Last week, we started looking at creating combinations of moves that would set up either a pin or skewer. We’ll keep this going next week. This week, I want to share something I learned when I recently went back to school for physical computing, laying out road maps to solve problems. I literally mean a … Continue reading "A Foundation for Beginners Fifty Two" The post A Foundation...

Last week I started a new Twitch stream with my old friend, IM Andrew Martin. Echoing our Master Chess Roadshow seminars of the 1990s, we decided to call it the Master Chess Web Show. The Twitch stream can be found here and I’ve also been uploading the shows to Youtube. Please follow us on Twitch … Continue reading "The Master Chess Web Show" The post The Master Chess Web Show...

“A dream becomes a goal when action is taken toward its achievement” Bo Bennett (businessman) This variation can be unleashed against unsuspected players who like to use the Fried Liver attack. This is the most likely to happen at club level. It is at that level when many see it being played often. Players learn … Continue reading "Need sure points? Two Knights Defence, Traxler...

Yuri Averbakh, the world’s oldest grandmaster, was born 100 years ago, on 8 February 1922, making him the first grandmaster to reach three figures. Averbakh was awarded the grandmaster title in 1952, and was a world championship candidate in 1953. He scored many tournament successes in the 1950s and 1960s, his solid style making him … Continue reading "Yuri Averbakh" The post Yuri...

This week we are going to look at some examples to get you used to creating basic combinations. We’ll start with a simple skewer that can be executed in a single move and then add additional pieces to this initial position to force you into creating a sequence of moves that will end up with … Continue reading "A Foundation for Beginners Fifty One" The post A Foundation for Beginners...

“The beauty of a move lies not in its appearance but in the thought behind it” A. Nimzovich Playing a blunder is devastating. It is also expected in games played by regular players. In the rare occasion it happens to the best, they are received with mixed feelings. On one hand they provide a high … Continue reading "Blunder in 1" The post Blunder in 1 appeared first on The Chess...

 Πρώτος ο Χαλιορής στους Πανικάριους Με συμμετοχή 6 σκακιστών (3 από πρόκριση και 3 με βάση τον διεθνή βαθμό αξιολόγησης), ολοκληρώθηκε το τελικό τουρνουά των Πανικάριων Διαδικτυακών Αγώνων. Νικητής με 3 βαθμούς...

Thanks to my Richmond clubmate Andrew Hebron for sending me a game he played last summer in the British Senior Online Championship, where he was up against GM Keith Arkell, rated more than 400 points above him. Andrew played excellent, solid and sensible chess to reach a double rook ending, but Keith, of course, is … Continue reading "Endgame Maestro" The post Endgame Maestro appeared first...

“The human mind isn’t a computer; it cannot progress in an orderly fashion down a list of candidate moves and rank them by a score down to the hundredth of a pawn the way a chess machine does. Even the most disciplined human mind wanders in the heat of competition…” GM Garry Kasparov This week … Continue reading "Carbon versus Silicon" The post Carbon versus Silicon...