ABBA Song Last week I presented an intriguing endgame played by one of my students with the black pieces. Together with it I added a few pointers I had in mind. They are the basis of this week’s article. Let’s start with the first couple of moves played as shown below: Pointers and comments: At … Continue reading "Slipping Through My Fingers (7)" The post Slipping Through My...

One of the activities my friend Ray Cannon pioneered in the Richmond Junior Chess Club afternoon group was called Choices. Ray would demonstrate a master game and, at every move, the students had to make three guesses as to the move chosen by the eventual winner. If their first selection was played in the game … Continue reading "Chess Puzzles for Heroes Chapter 3: 2nd Draft" The post Chess...

In the last ten articles, we’ve examined some generalized concepts you can apply to your own endgame play. I say generalized because there are many specific ideas I didn’t present to you. My aim was to get you familiar with some of the more common beginner’s problems that arise during this game phase. With that … Continue reading "Preparing for the Endgame Eleven" The post...

When I was 12 I read that White’s goal in open games (1.e4 e5) was to play d2-d4, which made sense because it took space in the centre. I then wondered why the Scotch Game (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4) was not played more often, with a bonus being that after 3…exd4 4.Nxd4 White would … Continue reading "Weak Pawns in the Scotch" The post Weak Pawns in the Scotch appeared first on The...

Following on from last week, here’s a sneak preview of Chapter 2 of Chess Puzzles for Heroes: Trick or Treat. As players get more experienced they learn about standard tactical ideas, and they learn to look for sacrifices and other clever moves. If you read most tactics books you’ll get the idea that these always … Continue reading "Chess Puzzles for Heroes Chapter 2: 2nd...