David MacEnulty, My First Book of Checkmate (Russell Enterprises, 2014),184 pp., $19.95; My First Book of Checkmate Workbook (Russell Enterprises, 2014), 95 pp,. $9.95. Reviewed by Dennis Monokroussos. David MacEnulty has been a very successful chess teacher at the scholastic level, leading a number of teams to national championships and quite a few more to the edge of the title. (His...

Q: Today we are talking with FIDE VP Beatriz Marinello. Beatriz, before we get to the upcoming FIDE Presidential election and other current topics that you would like to talk about, can you tell us a little about yourself? Beatriz Marinello “BM”: I was born and raised in Chile, in 1990 I immigrated to the [...]

As I’ve watched my younger beginning students play over the years, I’ve noticed that their style of play tends to parallel their personalities. While there are always exceptions to any observation, I’ve found, in general, that outgoing and aggressive children tend to play chess in a more aggressive and outgoing manner. They tend to favor […]

Part 1 regarding the Madrid FIDE Grand Prix scandal

Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov has been granted Croatian citizenship, The Guardian reported today. Chessdom reported about Kasparov’s request at the beginning of February and cited Slobodna Dalmacija claim that the petition will be accepted. Garry Kasparov is often spending his holidays in sea resort Makarska, where he owns a house and where he [...]

The 14th International Chess Festival Mediterranean Flower will take place from 2nd to 8th March at the Chess Club Rijeka in Rijeka, Croatia. The 10-players round robin event is organized by the Chess Club Draga. The last year winner IM Eva Repkova had to cancel the participation for personal reasons, but the organizers have securred the presence of Romanian [...]

Live games with analysis

Live games with analysis

Live games with analysis

Maxime Vachier-Lagrave in top 10 for the first time

There is an old adage among writers. “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” Copying your opponent’s moves in the opening is well-known as a poor strategy. It’s common enough among novices and beginners. Sometimes even intermediate players do it, like my opponent in this turn-based Internet game played this week. I’ll admit I was […]

Λίγο πριν το τέλος του 3ου Τουρνουά της Παρασκευής, ο Σκακιστικός Όμιλος ΣΑΧ Θεσσαλονίκης, προκηρύσσει το 4ο και 5ο Τουρνουά της Παρασκευής.Λόγω του Πάσχα το 4ο Τουρνουά θα είναι 6 γύρων ενώ το 5ο θα ξεκινήσει αμέσως μετά...

On a dark Tuesday evening, in the fourth round of the ongoing Pittsburgh Chess Club Championship, I played and won a four-hour game that I have to confess to being more embarrassed about than many of my losses. Unfortunately, sometimes that happens, to all of us. I could write it off fatalistically as “it happens”, […]

In club level play anything is possible. Most amateurs play for fun and don't study basic endings, and even if they knew them at one point they may have forgotten them. Add to it that they generally work normal jobs and are exhausted when they play in tournaments, and all sorts of mayhem is possible in club games. But it's more startling when masters fail to hold elementary endings, the sorts of...

Played by the newest member of the ex-world champions' club, here. What especially struck me were the fascinating stalemate motifs, which I had never come across in contexts where the weaker side had a pawn. HT: Jaideep Unudurti