Chess Based Website
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
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
Dubai’s stunning skyline. Image: LonelyPlanet With Magnus Carlsen‘s dominant 7½—3½ title defense against Ian Nepomniachtchi in the Dubai 2021 FIDE World Championship Match, the 31-year-old Norwegian has already amassed one of the best records in title matches … perhaps the best. I remain heavily critical of Carlsen being declared winner of the 2013 London Candidates … Read more
I’m not necessarily against mathematical tiebreaks for Swiss-System tournaments, especially scholastic events with trophies. For decades and longer, a high-level round robin would be held over multiple weeks, and at the end one or more players would emerge with the highest score. End of event. Only when indivisible prizes were at stake — such as … Read more
A few weeks ago I wrote about my experience attending the 74th Internet-based FIDE Arbiters’ Seminar organized in early May by the European Chess Union. The course and final exam are a real challenge, and FIDE certainly doesn’t give away seminar norms! WIth the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all seminars are being organized online. This has led … Read more
A few weeks ago I received this question from a reader; sorry for the late post and reply! My name is Marc and I love your website! I am trying to find my Sicilian! I like your article. I don’t want to play Sveshnikov or Dragon or Najdorf as it’s too much theory. Though I … Read more
Studying tactics and checkmates is usually the first step for new chess players. Next comes classic. short attacking games: the miniatures. They’re exciting and more straightforward for inexperienced players than technical masterpieces. What is an Attacking Style? Sometimes, the position requires you to attack the enemy king. Even the most conservative players will launch an … Read more
Yesterday, the US Chess Federation announced a huge $3,000,000 donation from John D. Rockefeller V. These funds will be used to perpetually endow many USCF Invitational Events, old and new. One of the best parts to this story? Mr. Rockefeller is a Senior Tournament Director and has directed over 100 tournaments! That tells me more … Read more
The FIDE Grand Swiss (organized in partnership with chess.com) was originally scheduled to be held on the Isle of Man, as the 2019 edition (won by the now-retired Wang Hao) was. This year was also scheduled to be the first edition of the Women’s Grand Swiss. These tournaments are part of the Open and Women’s … Read more
Norway Chess: a supertournament fixture since 2013. Altibox Norway Chess will be held from October 5-16, 2020; the latest edition of the Norwegian supertournament held in Stavanger since 2013. It will also be the first major over-the-board tournament since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Magnus Carlsen has only won two of the seven editions … Read more