Computers continually change the way we play chess. The reports about new cases of computer cheating are a sad reality these days. We already discussed the many way computers affect chess in this series of articles: (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 an...
Knights are tricky little pieces. Often seen dancing around the board like little mischievous imps, knights have the power to bewilder and confuse even the strongest of grandmasters. I want to take a deeper look at one particular knigh...
July was the month of chess weddings. Dutch super-GM Anish Giri got married to Georgian IM Sopiko Guramishvili, and Polish GM Radoslaw Wojtaszek tied the knot with Russian WGM Alina Kashlinskaya. If the title of this art...
The Chinese chess prodigy Wei Yi wins the hearts of fans with every new tournament he plays. It is not just his phenomenal results (with his current rating, he should be the highest-rated 16-year-old ever!), but also his sparkling style of play th...
At its heart, chess is a logical game. Every move — no matter how outwardly mysterious — can be explained and rationalized. To be sure, an idea can (and often should) violate general principles, but it still must satisfy the ...
The last month was rich for chess tournaments, so I cannot blame you if you missed the U.S. Junior Girls Championship. Meanwhile, I suspect that you'll hear a lot in the future about some of the girls who played there. If you ask me why I ...
Today we are going to continue our analysis of "chess-boxing" combos. According to Wikipedia, in boxing, the one-two combo is a nickname of a jab and cross combo. In chess, the one-two combo starts with a queen jab, which we discussed here. Then...
More than a decade ago, I took part in a small open tournament at a local chess club. After winning the first game in rather one-sided fashion, I became convinced that the next five games would follow an identical trajectory. In round two, I reach...
In my previous articles, I discussed two "chess boxing" combos, "The Chess Uppercut" and "The Chess Sucker Punch." Today, I'll show you "Fischer's Jab." The definition of a jab is "a quick, sharp blow, especially with the fist...
Some time ago, we analyzed a typical combination where the key move resembles an uppercut in boxing. (You can find the article here.) Today we are going to discuss a similar tactical pattern where the main piece is again a rook. In the "chess up...
Half the variations which are calculated in a tournament game turn out to be completely superfluous. Unfortunately, no one knows in advance which half. -- GM Jan Timman, The Art of Chess Analysis (1997) As we saw in part one, chess does not...
In this video series, IM Daniel Rensch is here to educate us all on some chess fundamentals. You will want to go through these courses more than once. This video series will cover everything from basic tactical patterns to complex mating nets. T...
There is a positional sacrifice that is quite popular in the games of top players, particularly world champions. It works like this: you have your rook on an open file and you have an outpost there. (I hope most of our readers remember that an o...
One of the most intellectual sports, chess, surprisingly has many similarities with one of the most barbaric sports, boxing. In both activities you are basically trying to "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” Today we are going to ...
The concept of underpromotion epitomizes the beauty of chess. Mathematically speaking, the queen is far and away the most potent force on the board. Yet there are certain situations in which the lady's subordinates are more deserving of reincarnat...
We all have terrible ideas now and then. Typically, they stem from the crazy urge to sacrifice a piece. Even the best of the best can’t always resist. In fact, this series will pay tribute to those special moments when the game's most powerf...
This series is all about attacking chess and combinations and fun. And all of them are in puzzle form (some easy, some difficult) so you can see how your tactical IQ stands up to the old, sometimes forgotten greats. And, if you learn a tiny b...
This series is all about attacking chess and combinations and fun. And all of them are in puzzle form (some easy, some difficult) so you can see how your tactical IQ stands up to the old, sometimes forgotten greats. And, if you learn a tiny b...
Cross-pins or double pins are names for a rare and particularly interesting tactic. Under certain conditions it can also be called the St. Andrew's Cross, counter-pins and combination pins. A cross-pin can be absolute, relative, ...
In 2007, at the Far West Open in Reno, I played the first two grandmasters of my life: Melik Khachiyan and fellow Chess.com columnist Gregory Serper. Khachiyan soundly outplayed me in a King's Indian, but my battle with Gregory was a different ket...
This series is all about attacking chess and combinations and fun. And all of them are in puzzle form (some easy, some difficult) so you can see how your tactical IQ stands up to the old, sometimes forgotten greats. And, if you learn a tiny bit ab...
The Benko Gambit is one of the most popular openings among club players. It is indeed very appealing to grab the initiative early in the game playing Black against your opponent who likes to play positional chess. Why do I assume that your oppon...
Do you find yourself getting a good position only to spoil it by missing a simple tactic? How about getting a promising attack but failing to find a forced mate or win of material? I hope these five simple tips will help to sharpen y...
The 1930 San Remo International was a rather one-sided affair. World Champion Alexander Alekhine stormed through the field, winning 13 games and conceding only two draws. Yet this tournament is remembered not for Alekhine's magisterial performance...
