The sixth game of the season found me in calmer waters, against a slightly lower graded opponent from Ealing. I had the white pieces on this occasion, and my opponent chose to accept my Queen’s Gambit. 1. d4 d5 2. c4 dxc4 3. Nf3 e6 Black chose not to play the usual Nf6 here. I … Continue reading "2018-19 Season (6)" The post 2018-19 Season (6) appeared first on The Chess Improver.

ΥΠΟΨΗΦΙΟΙ ΣΩΜΑΤΕΙΩΝ ΕΣΣΔΕΙΝ ΓΙΑ Δ.Σ. ΚΑΙ Ε.Ε. ΣΤΙΣ ΑΡΧΑΙΡΕΣΙΕΣ ΤΗΣ 21/25.08.2019 Α/Α ΣΩΜΑΤΕΙΑ ΚΩΔ. Γ.Γ.Α ΥΠΟΨΗΦΙΟΙ ΓΙΑ Δ.Σ. ΥΠΟΨΗΦΙΟΙ ΓΙΑ Ε.Ε. 1 Α.Σ.Ο. ΑΙΓΙΟΥ ΦΙ13 ΜΠΟΥΝΙΑΣ ΚΩΝΣΤΑΝΤΙΝΟΣ ΔΗΜΟΠΟΥΛΟΣ ΗΡΑΚΛΗΣ 2 Ε.Α. ΠΑΤΡΩΝ ΛΕ72...

ΣΩΜΑΤΕΙΑ ΕΣΣΔΕΙΝ ΜΕ ΔΙΚΑΙΩΜΑ ΨΗΦΟΥ ΣΤΗ Γ.Σ. ΣΤΙΣ 21/25-08-2019 – ΕΚΠΡΟΣΩΠΟΙ Α/Α ΣΩΜΑΤΕΙΑ ΚΩΔ. Γ.Γ.Α ΕΠΙΣΗΜΟΙ ΑΓΩΝΕΣ 10 ΑΘΛΟΥΜΕΝΟΙ ΤΑΜΕΙΑΚΩΣ ΕΝΤΑΞΕΙ ΕΚΠΡΟΣΩΠΟΙ 1 Α.Σ.Ο. ΑΙΓΙΟΥ ΦΙ13 ΝΑΙ ΝΑΙ ΝΑΙ Μπούνιας Κωνσταντίνος, Δημόπουλος...

When we first start playing chess, after learning only the game’s rules, we tend to make very disconnected moves. By disconnected, I mean moves that don’t allow the pawns and pieces to be coordinated with one another. Beginners tend to randomly move pieces with no real objective in mind, a pawn here, a piece there … Continue reading "Playing the Principles" The post Playing the...

ΠΡΟΚΗΡΥΞΗ Διοργάνωση: ΣΚΑΚΙΣΤΙΚΗ ΚΙΝΗΣΗ ΤΡΙΚΑΛΩΝ Χώρος Αγώνων: Στον προαύλιο χώρο του Μύλου Ματσόπουλου Διεύθυνση Αγώνων: Πασχάλης Νικόλαος Επικεφαλής Διαιτητής: Τοζάρος Χρήστος FA Πρόγραμμα αγώνων: Κυριακή  8...

Η Σκακιστική Ακαδημία Πύργου για 9η συνεχόμενη χρονιά διοργανώνει το ΕΥ ΑΓΩΝΙΖΕΣΘΑΙ  16-18 Αυγ στον Πύργο σε 9 γύρους 20′+5″ Οι αγώνες θα γίνουν σε 2 ομίλους ένας για παιδιά έως 12 ετών και έως 1100 ELO και ένας Open. Τα έπαθλα...

Position after Black’s 21…Bd7 : Fischer vs Petrosian, 1971 R-7 While carrying out exchanges in a non tactical position, we usually compare the value of the pieces pieces. Here, if we compare White’s knight and Black Bishop on d7, White knight’s is clearly a much better piece. This is because Petrosian had no chance to … Continue reading "Exchanging the Opponent’s Bad...

“You can be taught so much, but the sense of anticipation cannot be taught” Paulie Malignaggi Opening is an interesting part of the game when played live and with no outside help such as engines. The interesting aspect of it I want to talk about this week is anticipation. When playing the opening live, we … Continue reading "Opening Anticipation" The post Opening Anticipation...

ΕΝΩΣΗ ΣΚΑΚΙΣΤΙΚΩΝ ΣΩΜΑΤΕΙΩΝ ΔΥΤΙΚΗΣ ΕΛΛΑΔΑΣ ΚΑΙ ΙΟΝΙΩΝ ΝΗΣΩΝ – Ε.Σ.Σ.Δ.Ε.Ι.Ν Ταχ. Διεύθυνση: Ρωμανιώλη 5 – 25100 Αίγιο Τηλ. 2691026296 κιν. 6974643760 E-mail: esspchess@gmail.com Αριθ. Πρωτ. 6                ...

My fifth game of the season, in the return match against Wimbledon, pitted me against a strong Norwegian opponent. I had the black pieces and, as in my previous game, chose the Dutch Indian Defence (the Dutch with Bb4). Here’s what happened. 1. d4 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 e6 4. c4 Bb4+ 5. … Continue reading "2018-19 Season (5)" The post 2018-19 Season (5) appeared first on The Chess...

Years ago, when I worked in the chess department at Games of Berkeley, a National Master who also worked there introduced me to blindfold chess. We took the same train back over to San Francisco at the end of our shifts and he insisted I play blindfold chess with him to pass the time. Of … Continue reading "The Benefits of Blindfold Chess" The post The Benefits of Blindfold Chess appeared...

The knights is a commonly misplaced piece and it can be really difficult to bring them back into the game. Repositioning them can also cost a lot of time and give them the initiative because of this. Usually this superiority will be made manifest on the other side of the board to which the knight … Continue reading "The Knight: A Commonly Misplaced Piece" The post The Knight: A Commonly...

“A dream becomes a goal when action is taken toward its achievement” Bo Bennett (businessman) The Richter-Rauzer Attack used to be very popular during the 20th Century. It is named after Vsevolod Rauzer, chess master from Ukraine and IM Kurt Richter (Germany). There is an overwhelming amount of theoretical material out there, both printed and … Continue reading "Need Sure...

Ten years ago I was involved in a phone incident in which my switched off Blackberry decided to beep during a game to tell me that its battery was running low. After explaining what happened to the arbiter I was allowed to continue playing, but this did not stop some spiteful people implying that by … Continue reading "Phone Advice" The post Phone Advice appeared first on The Chess Improver.

Here are a couple of tactical positions from Round 1 of the British Championship that caught my eye. This is from Chris Ward v Dave Ledger. A few moves ago Black boldly sacrificed a pawn to keep the grandmasterly white king in the centre. He’s just met White’s Qb2 with Qf7-h5 to defend the threatened … Continue reading "Tactics at the British (1)" The post Tactics at the British...