U14: Benny | Aarv | Niranjana | Suhayl | Charlie | Nathan | Caleb | Toby | Alfie | Tom | Josh | Roman | U18: Nicky | Isaac | James | Bradley | Evan | Oliver | Click […] for the other rounds Benny Aarv Niranjana Suhayl Charlie Nathan Caleb Toby Alfie Tom Josh…
A bind is a limit on what a player can do, because the opponent controls some important bit of the position. White’s control of the d-file in Short-Timman left Black powerless. The most famous bind in chess is that of Maroczy in the Sicilian Defence. Black’s counterplay in the Sicilian often depends on White’s backward…
OPENING RULES 1. Open with a centre pawn.2. Develop with threats.3. Play knights before bishops.4. Castle as soon as possible.5. Avoid developing the queen too early.6. Do not move the same piece twice without a good reason.7. Use your minor pieces to fight for the centre.8. Maintain at least one pawn in the centre.9. Make…
An old Greek Gift sacrifice on h7 from El Greco A checklist: Bxh7 is possible Nf3 can get to g5 Q can get to h5 No knight on f6 and …Bf5 not possible Is there another piece if you need it? Let’s try a harder one: Greek gift sacrifice on h7 A Greek gift that…
DuCK or grouse… Opening tasks (first level) 1. Develop your pieces towards the centre 2. Get at least a pawn stake in the centre 3. Castle King’s-side DCK = Develop, Centre, King If you don’t duck, you will get punched! 1. Fell behind in development Also: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opera_Game https://lichess.org/study/T5MuJ9Eo 2. Lost the centre 3. Got King…
A Bad Bishop is a Bishop hampered by its own pawns. If it’s your only piece, or one of a few pieces remaining, it can lose you the game (Bernstein-Mieses) If your position overall is good, you can tolerate a poor Bishop in the mix. Several defences ask Black to put up with a bad…
There are good traps and bad traps. A good trap is a trap you set with a good move A bad trap is a trap you set with a bad move If your opponent plays a good move against your bad move, you will have a worse position! So don’t play a bad trap, but…
Some to learn, some to test yourself and some just to enjoy Do you know this one? Or can you work it out? White to play and win See the position in the final list for the solution. Here’s the same idea in a real game. Black to move (click E7 to flip). again, answer…
[p]I was intrigued to see this on Twitter: #chesspunks #chess Hey everyone I'm trying to find 10 classic games to remember by heart. Ideally below 30 moves. The first one that comes to mind is the Opera Game played by Morphy. Which would you recommend? — The Chess Parlor (@ChessParlor) November 3, 2022 [p]Now, I…
