“We perceive after a careful consideration of the evolution of the chess mind that such evolution has gone on, in general, in a way quite similar to that in which it goes on with the individual chess player, only with the latter more rapidly.”Richard RETI That is, start off trying to play like Morphy, before…
There’s a lot to do so don’t rush!
Mates Annihilation of Defensive Barrier/Obliteration/Demolition of Structure Clearance/Line Opening Decoy/Attraction/Removal of the Guard Defensive Combinations Deflection Desperado Discovered Attack Double Attack Double Check Drawing Combinations Fortress Greek Gift Sacrifice Interference/Obstruction Knight Fork(s) Overloaded Defender(s) Paralysed Piece(s) Pawn Promotion/Pawn Breakthrough Perpetual Check Pins Queen Sacrifice Simplification Skewer Stalemate Undermining/Removal of the Guard Underpromotion Weak Back…
Have you ever seen someone play lots of other players at once, and moving very quickly? Good chessplayers can do this because they can spot most of the important things quickly. Train yourself to do the same! 1. 8 queens puzzle Put 8 pawns on the board so that no pawn is on the same…
Champion at 18 years old, we may still be finding out what Gukesh has to teach us. He is known for long thinks — take note, Devon under-10s! Best games of Gukesh: https://lichess.org/study/XhmtHdBp/ts3aEajr Gukesh’ top board performance at the 2024 Olympiad https://lichess.org/study/e8jGWNWG
I think a natural question is, who has taken part in the most World Championship matches, but sometimes the World Championship event is a tournament… Good question! So here is a table based on a Wikipedia page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_Chess_Championships: (Player names are given with their national affiliation) Date Location Winner Score Runner-up Format Match/Tournament Predecessor events…
The game below has been well-annotated all over the web, and I won’t presume to add anything. Just enjoy! The computer may point out faster wins, but who cares… A dashing demonstration of the power of multiple minor pieces over a Queen, and the vulnerability of an uncastled King. Endgame Ding’s defensive obstinacy is well…
Not exchanges in general: The Exchange. The Exchange is when a Bishop or Knight is swapped for a Rook. By normal chess accounting, that’s a swap of 3 pawns for 5, so one player has lost the Exchange, we say, and is then an Exchange behind in material. Losing the Exchange is enough to lose…
“Pawns … are the soul of chess.” — Francois Danican PHILIDOR “The most important feature of the chess position is the activity of the pieces. This is absolutely fundamental in all phases of the game (opening, middlegame and especially endgame). The primary constraint on a piece’s activity is the Pawn structure.” — Michael STEAN The…
“Now I have the pawn and the compensation.” –Roman Dzindzichashvili Material refers to the pieces and pawns on the board. Usually, if you have extra material, you have good chances to win We have a rough rule to work out who is ahead in material: a Knight or Bishop is worth about 3 Pawns; a…
