My Dad has mentioned to me that it’s good to play both 1.e4 and 1.d4 in order to get an understanding of a broad range of positions. I have had both these first moves in my repertoire but not at the same time. Here is a game I won a couple of years ago using … Continue reading "Playing both 1.e4 and 1.d4" The post Playing both 1.e4 and 1.d4 appeared first on The Chess Improver.

I guess many readers of this column will be interested in chess psychology. If so, and you have little prior knowledge of the subject, a new book, The Psychology of Chess, by Fernand Gobet, published by Routledge, will be a good place to start. This is part of a series, The Psychology of Everything, which … Continue reading "The Psychology of Chess" The post The Psychology of Chess appeared...

As a chess teacher, I’m always trying to improve the way in which I teach the game to my younger students. I’ve read a large number of books that teach chess to the reader, looking for better explanations than my own so I can incorporate them into my teaching program. I’ve also read books on … Continue reading "A Child’s View of Chess" The post A Child’s View...

Ο Γκας Μπρακμέλερ από τη Λουισβίλ του Κεντάκι κατασκεύασε ένα τεράστιο σκακιστικό σετ (σκακιέρα και κομμάτια) που τοποθετήθηκε στη βιτρίνα ενός πρακτορείου της εταιρείας Eastern Air Lines – η αγγλική λέξη για τις...

The Lucena position is an example of a winning method with a rook & pawn vs. rook, where the attacker wins by building a bridge. Here is an example: However, I am more interested in the following positions which I believe can take your understanding of rook and pawn vs. rook endgames to the next … Continue reading "Lucena & Supplements" The post Lucena & Supplements appeared...

Alexander Lyashuk: I expect NNs to dominate computer chess

“Without Data You Are Just Another Person With An Opinion, but Without An Opinion, You’re Just Another Person With Data” Edwards Deming, Milo Jones Our beloved game is not the same for a few years now. Magnus and the other top players make visible efforts to play safe chess and not fall into engine analysis … Continue reading "About Chess Engines in Teaching Chess" The post About...

I’ve played in the Frodsham Congress for a number of years and like it because of the airy playing room. I started in the Minor section, played in the Open in 2017 (it was tough!) and this time played in the Major. In the end I was third equal with a half point bye, two … Continue reading "Frodsham 2019" The post Frodsham 2019 appeared first on The Chess Improver.

The dominance of Stockfish in the Top Chess Engine Championship continues full steam ahead. The open source engine by Marco Costalba, Joona Kiiski, Gary Linscott and a huge community of contributors, won the Premier Division of Season 14 convincingly, not losing a single game along the way. With the victory Stockfish qualifies for the Superfinal, [...]

Neural Network chess fans around the world are celebrating as the first major computer chess title for the self-learning engine Lc0 (Leela Chess Zero) is a fact. Lc0 conquered the golden medal of the TCEC Cup in a 32 player knockout against the best engines in the world. The only NN playing in the competition [...]

Concluding my series on what chess clubs in 2019 ought to look like, I now consider competitive chess. Of course most clubs will promote competitive chess, running teams in local leagues and perhaps running internal competitions as well. Ambitious clubs might even run congresses which might help them attract move players. For many clubs, running … Continue reading "Chess Club 2019...

Κρήτη 2010. Ο Σελιβάνοβ είναι κάτω αριστερά.Ο Σελιβάνοβ στην ΦΙΝΤΕ, που είναι υπό νέα ρωσική διοίκηση, πιστεύω ότι δραστηριοποιείται. Κοιτάξτε την παρακάτω Προκήρυξη του 7ου Παγκοσμίου Κυπέλλου FIDE για...

Σκάκι δρόμου στο Καράκας, πρωτεύουσα της Βενεζουέλας, φωτ. Alamy. H αντιπολίτευση που ελέγχεται από τον τον αυτοανακηρυχθέντα πρόεδρο Χουάν Γκουαϊδό οργανώνει μεγάλες συγκεντρώσεις και σήμερα Σάββατο 2 Φεβ. για να...

As a chess coach, instructor and writer, I work with students of all ages, specializing in training beginning and intermediate players. The key to good instruction is communication, regardless of the subject being taught. By communication, I mean the ability to take a complex idea and simplify it into an easy to digest explanation. The … Continue reading "Choose Your Words Wisely" The post...

Written by Guy Haworth and Nelson Hernandez Reading, UK and Maryland, USA This is the second in a new series of analytical articles on past TCEC events. The main text can be read below on this webpage, and at the bottom you will find a link to the full layouted article in pdf format, including [...]