Chess Based Website
A re-entry is what it sounds like: a player withdraws from a tournament and is allowed to enter it again for a second time. FIDE refers to this as the restart option. A player who re-enters a tournament has to pay another entry fee; some tournaments offer re-entered players a discount for their return. (See … Read more
Today I want to show one of my recent blitz games on the Internet Chess Club (ICC). I think it is somewhat instructive, especially in the context of IQP (Isolated Queen Pawn) positions. I have enjoyed playing the white side of IQP positions ever since I read Alexander Baburin‘s phenomenal Winning Pawn Structures around 20 … Read more
Cheating in chess tournaments is not very common. The vast majority of players don’t see value in winning a game through dishonesty and want the satisfaction of earning their successes. Still, we can’t put our heads in the sand — some people lack ethics, and there are issues to discuss. Cheating before the game The … Read more
Kazakhstan renamed its capital city from Nur-Sultan back to Astana. The 2022 FIDE Women’s Grand Prix Series is underway, with the first of four events being held in Astana, Kazakhstan. 16 women will play three of four events, as each tournament is a 12-player round robin. The top two finishers in the series will qualify for … Read more
I don’t remember how I found Olimpbase.org for the first time, but I’m so glad I did. It seems the site has not been updated for a couple of years, but I still want to bring attention to it for those who are unfamiliar with it. I’ve put it under “Product Reviews” even though it … Read more
Choosing the right tournament chess board is a topic I’ve thought about over the years, trivial as it might seem. After last Friday’s post, I decided to share my thoughts and get your opinions as well. Let’s go through different options — what is your ideal tournament surface? I’m also assuming we’re playing in tournaments … Read more
I had to learn Descriptive Notation early on; my dad saw The Soviet School of Chess in Strand Bookstore near his job. Not great for a beginner, but it was $1! There isn’t much use for Descriptive Notation (1. P—K4, 2. N—KB3) these days. Chess books long ago moved to Algebraic Notation (1.e4, 2.Nf3), not … Read more
How to Get Better At Chess contains answers from Grandmasters and International Masters about their thoughts on chess improvement, motivation, study methods, etc. I can’t remember how I discovered this book, but I’m glad I did. It was hard to put this book down, and I read it all in a few sittings. Because the interviews … Read more
Nearly all games today are played with time delay or increment. As a result, “quickplay finishes” (FIDE) or the notorious claims of “insufficient losing chances” (USCF) are mostly a thing of the past. The players decide the result of the game between themselves, as it should be. Draw claims are a lot easier with digital … Read more
In Part 1, we discussed 1.e4. I opined that the King Pawn universe is not for everyone. That begs the question: What About the Closed Openings? This is a much broader topic, because it includes basically everything except 1.e4! Still, there’s an obvious place to start. 1.d4 — Have it Your Way Generally, you’ll prefer … Read more