I conclude the year by concluding my tribute to Jonathan Penrose, one of England’s finest ever players. Penrose scored quite a lot of miniature victories in his career. Let’s have a look at a few of them. This game was one which first brought Penrose to public attention. The Catalan is usually considered a safe … Continue reading "Jonathan Penrose (3)" The post Jonathan Penrose...

I decided to take a one time break from my series of articles because I realized that this piece would be published right around Christmas. Let’s face it, it has been a difficult time for the majority of us over the last two years. The Covid-19 Pandemic has thrown our routine lives into a state … Continue reading "Stay Calm and Carry On Playing Chess" The post Stay Calm and Carry On...

Κάθε Σάββατο γίνονται μαθήματα σκάκι στην Πετρούπολη και πιο συγκεκριμένα στο City Language School. Επισκεφθείτε την σελίδα www.city-school.gr και ζητήστε πληροφορίες στο +30 2105027802, 2105062262 για να μπείτε στο Chess Club.

“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 (52)" The post “What Say You?”...

Continuing my tribute to the 10 times British Champion Jonathan Penrose, who died recently at the age of 88, perhaps his finest hour was at the 1960 Olympiad in Leipzig, where he beat the reigning world champion (Tal) and a former world champion (Euwe) and drew with a future world champion (Fischer): a game he … Continue reading "Jonathan Penrose (2)" The post Jonathan Penrose (2) appeared...

Last week, we started our exploration of tactics. We worked through the basics of a specific tactic called the pin. The pin involves three pieces: the piece doing the pinning, the pinned piece, and the more valuable piece behind the pinned piece. There are two types of pins, the relative pin, in which a player … Continue reading "A Foundation for Beginners Forty Six" The post A Foundation...

“A dream becomes a goal when action is taken toward its achievement” Bo Bennett (businessman) The Scotch Game has resisted the test of times at all levels of chess competition. From Ercole del Rio (Italian chess author), the first one to mention it in his chess treatise from 1750, to GM Garry Kasparov who played … Continue reading "Need sure points? Scotch Opening Edition" The...

I was saddened to hear of the recent death, at the age of 88, of Jonathan Penrose, one of England’s finest ever players, ten times British Champion and, later, one of the world’s strongest correspondence players. Jonathan was a member of an extraordinary family which excelled in both arts and scientists. His Irish grandfather, James … Continue reading "Jonathan Penrose (1)" The...

We spent a few weeks talking about the place tactics has in your tool box of chess skills. I stated that tactics was an important part of your skill set, but not the only tool to rely upon to win games. Today we are going to enter the world of tactics in detail, and look … Continue reading "A Foundation for Beginners Forty Five" The post A Foundation for Beginners Forty Five appeared first...

“They ignore you now, but they’ll need you later” Unknown The first part of this game was presented HERE. So far Black has played the opening poorly and the Grandmaster (as White) has slowly but surely built up a nice position. White does not have just the space advantage but also has no weakness, as … Continue reading "Ignore at Your Peril (3)" The post Ignore at Your...

A very quick question for you. You’re White in this position. Imagine it’s a blitz game so you don’t have time to think very deeply: your first thoughts are important. What would you play here? When doing some historical research I chanced upon a game between two London club stalwarts of the inter-war years. Ernest … Continue reading "Jellie Wobbles" The post Jellie...

So last week, I suggested that tactics wasn’t the be all, end all to good chess playing. It takes a balanced combination of chess skills to be a successful player. However, I don’t want you to think that tactics is secondary to mastering the game. You have to be both a tactical player and a … Continue reading "A Foundation for Beginners Forty Four" The post A Foundation for...

“They ignore you now, but they’ll need you later” Unknown Having the chance to play a Grandmaster is a highlight for many of us. It is true the Swiss format have increased those chances, but you still need to perform well to have the minimum FIDE rating to register. The second condition, as important as … Continue reading "Ignore at Your Peril (2)" The post Ignore at Your...