In the last four articles in this series, we’ve examined the importance of pawns, their weaknesses, their structure and activating the King early, as it applies to endgame preparation. New we’ll look at a short game to see these ideas in action. I was going to find a game to use that exemplifies the concepts … Continue reading "Preparing for the Endgame Five" The post Preparing...

The 14th Annual SPICE Cup Open is currently ongoing at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Chesterfield, Missouri, USA. The event is a single-section 9-round Swiss with the possibility of obtaining FIDE title norms and concludes on 25th October. After four rounds of play Grandmasters Illia Nyznyck (2665 UKR) and Aram Hakobian (2588 ARM) are [...]

17ος ΔΙΑΓΩΝΙΣΜΟΣ ΛΥΣΗΣ ΣΚΑΚΙΣΤΙΚΩΝ ΠΡΟΒΛΗΜΑΤΩΝ ΑΤΤΙΚΗΣ  (ΕΙΣ ΜΝΗΜΗ ΙΩΑΝΝΗ ΚΟΥΤΑΛΙΔΗ και ΝΙΚΟΥ ΠΕΡΓΙΑΛΗ)  Κυριακή 1 Νοεμβρίου 2020  ΠΡΟΚΗΡΥΞΗ     Ο 17ος Ανοιχτός Διαγωνισμός Λύσης Σκακιστικών...

Move order tricks can be a thorny issue, especially for amateurs who rely on material that often doesn’t mention them. They are especially problematic for those who meet 1.d4 with defences such as the Benoni (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5), Grünfeld (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5) or even the Budapest (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5). None … Continue reading "Move Order Tricks" The post Move Order Tricks appeared...

The Higher League of the 73rd Russian Championship and 70th Russian Women’s Championship took place from 7-18 October 2020 in Grand Hotel Zhemchuzhina in Sochi, Russia. The events were played in 9 rounds, Swiss system, with participation of top Russian players, fighting for a total prize fund of around 50.000 euros and 5 qualifying spots [...]

Seinfeld “Who is This?” This past week we got another confirmation the top players are mortals. Of course we need to consider all circumstances on a case by case basis. Still this should be a good lesson we do not need to play perfect chess to be like them. What we need is to show … Continue reading "Who is This?" The post Who is This? appeared first on The Chess Improver.

The other day Magnus Carlsen opened a Chess24 Banter Blitz game against Wesley So with 1. f3 and 2. Kf2. He eventually won after a long and fluctuating struggle. So’s last move was a blunder, turning a draw into a loss. What do you think of Magnus’s opening? Disrespectful to his opponent? Disrespectful to chess? … Continue reading "Chess is not Skittles" The post Chess is not...

The U.S. Chess Championships for 2020 are being organised online for the first time ever featuring five national events: Junior, Senior and Elite National Championship. US Junior Chess Championships concluded on 15th October and the winners are GM John Burke in the Open section and IM Carissa Yip in the Girls Section. Senior National US [...]

Altibox Norway Chess concluded yesterday in Stavanger and although the Winner was known before the last round, the games were contested for the second and third place. Firouzja Alireza won Duda-Jan Krzysztof and took the second place, lagging behind the Winner of the event for only one point. The things got more dramatic for Firouzja [...]

Would FIDE announce the reschedule, postponement or venue movement anytime soon altogether with explanations or we need to wait for player’s private social media announcements? Not much time left to be seen, the clock is ticking out and the event is supposed to be continued on 1st of November. Chessdom asked this on Wednesday. FIDE [...]

Before we go through an actual game and examine the ideas I’ve discussed in previous endgame articles, I want to do a quick review of everything we’ve gone over, plus a few more ideas. This will make it much easier when, next week, I present a game in which endgame preparation was critical. I’m spreading … Continue reading "Preparing for the Endgame Four" The post...

After a direct encounter between Magnus Carlsen and Firouzja Alireza in the penultimate 9th round of Altibox Norway Chess, Carlsen claimed the top and became the Winner with a round to spare! The dramatic game ended as Carlsen’s victory after Firouzja’s huge blunder in basic drawn pawn endgame 69.Kc3?? After 69… Kc5 Firouzja shook hands [...]

Play Magnus Group has entered into an agreement with NRK and TV 2 for the Norwegian broadcasting rights for the new digital chess tour The Champions Chess Tour in 2021. “Our vision is to develop chess into an international TV sport,” Arne Horvei, Tour Director in Play Magnus Group, said. “The agreement with NRK and [...]