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Chess is Fun Chess BLOG
A daily chess blog featuring chess lessons, chess instruction, instructive games, great players, lessons on openings, middlegame strategy, endgames, and great games.

• Shirov's One Hundred Wins
  Today, I offer all of the games in Sergei Soloviov's Shirov's One Hundred Wins, exciting, complex games all, as well as one of the two games in the book that involve the Perenyi Variation.
• Uncompromising Chess
  Many of you may never have heard the name Victor Kupreichik, perhaps the fiercest fighter amoung all Russian GMs. That says a lot when you consider names like Keres and Tal, but Kupreichik's games stand apart. A relentless desire to win, in every game, and enormous creative talent, finding original ideas in positions that others have dismissed.
• The Chess of Richard Reti
  Chess master, chess journalist, and chess composer Richard Reti participated in most of the great tournaments of the 1920s until his early death from Scarlett fever in 1929. He leaves us with a lifetime worth of wonderful games and, more important perhaps, a range of fabulous compositions and an opening (The Reti) that continues to attract interest at the highest levels.
• The Closed Sicilian
  Boris Spassky had great success on both sides of the Closed Sicilian, always seeming to win the game with white or black by a single tempo. The name of the opening suggests a passive approach, but the games in this line tend to be very sharp and double edged, with white attacking on the kingside and black on the queenside. Black's attack sometimes seems to succeed more quickly, but the presence of the white king on the kingside gives black more to do than just break through the pawn structure.
• The Spanish Exchange
  In 1998, English IM Andrew Kinsman produced a highly readable book on an important opening, the Spanish Exchange. After the standard opening moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6, Fischer, Timman, Shirov and others have helped to champion a line that rewards understanding, not just rote memorization.
• Blockade
  Aron Nimzovich's first published book? Most might say My System but in fact, earlier in 1925, Nimzovich published Blockade. It was a short work and was quite scarce until my uncle, Dr. Joseph Platz, translated it from the original German into English.
• Isolated Pawns
  Yesterday, I gave some tips on fighting against isolated pawns. If only it were that simple. It's complicated enough that GM A. Mikhalchishin and two other authors have provided an impressive tour of the issues related to isolated pawns.
• Five Steps to Victory
  On the main Chess is Fun instruction site, I take visitors through the five steps to victory. (1) Identify the weakness; (2) Fix the weakness; (3) Attack the weakness with your pieces; (4) that will force your opponent to defend the weakness with his pieces; (5) then AND ONLY THEN attack the weakness with a pawn.
• Chess Blog: Exploiting Small Advantages
  In 1985, GM Eduard Gufeld produced a fascinating manual, Exploiting Small Advantages that offers 80 examples of the kind of careful technique required to achieve consistent results. If you are lucky enough to find this book, you will find gems that do not often appear in databases.
• Chess Blog: Solitaire Chess
  Horowitz's column in Chess Review, Solitaire Chess, was a fixture for decades. In each column, he presented one game, usually a classic encounter, with instructions inviting the reader to play through the game, one move at a time, with a specified number of points for each move. Readers could then compare their scores with others and judge their progress from month to month.
• Chess Blog: 1001 Brilliant Ways to Ckeckmate
  The best way to improve your chess tactics? Practice, practice, practice. For years, before every tournament, I used to review the positions in Reinfeld's books just to sharpen my tactical focus.
• Chess Blog: Take my Rooks!
  Here at Queensac, we adore queen sacrifices. Almost as exciting is the double-rook sac! Yassar Seirawan and Nikolay Minev have produced a compelling book, Take my Rooks!, devoted to this theme. They have found more than 130 games that involve the theme and help us to understand when it works, when it doesn't, and what some players missed along the way.
• Chess Blog: The Art of the Attack
  In 1965, Vladimir Vukovic authored perhaps the premier manual on tactics, The Art of Attack in Chess. More than just a presentation on how to attack a castled king, he classifies attacks and focuses upon grandmaster games to illustrate his points. He provides a special section on the games of Capablanca and Alekhine, a real treat for those who have not yet seen these games.
• Chess Blog: Super Nezh, Chess Assassin
  Five time Russian champion Rashid Nezhmetdinov sustained his standing atop the world of chess by attacking... always attacking. As the story goes, he defeated Mikhail Tal so many times that Tal hired him as his trainer.
• Chess Blog: Russian Chess League
  Today's game was no exception, but I call your attention to the diagram. That position dwelled on our screen for about 30 minutes. I wish that I could tell you that my students and I figured out all the complications. The fact is, I wound up devoting a few afternoon hours to the task and, indeed, there were a more than a few surprises that we had missed.
• Chess Blog: Winning with the Najdorf
  There are many books on the Najdorf. Today, I focus on one, a 1993 effort by Danny King Winning with the Najdorf. He reviews all of the main lines in 61 well annotated games played between the early 1940s and the mid 1990s.
• Chess Blog: Huebner's devotion
  In 1996, Huebner authored a memorable book, 25 Annotated Games. That may sound like a thin book, but those 25 games occupy 413 dense pages (with more diagrams within the analysis than within the game scores)! The analysis is detailed and comprehensive, a real joy to those who demand proof or just enjoy chess as science.
• Chess Blog: Caro Kann in Black and White
  Most books on chess openings have a bias towards one side or another. The bias is natural because players tend to play the opening as white or black but rarely both. An exception is The Caro Kann in Black and White by Anatoly Karpov and Alexander Beliavsky.
• Chess Blog: How bad a bishop?
  Just how bad are bad bishops? And are all bad bishops equally bad? These are some of the questions explored in a 1989 Thinkers' Press book Strategical Themes by Senior Master Tom Unger.
• Chess Blog: On the Endgame
  You don't become world champion without mastering the endgame. That's probably fair to say, and Botvinnik's On the End Game gives a pretty fair view of what it takes. Certainly experience, but also a fair imagination and a strong dose of creativity.
• Chess Blog: Exploring the Endgame
  When I write stories, I like to have to have a good sense of how the story will finish. If I know the ending, I can more easily get there. So too in chess, expertise in the endgame is a great aid throughout the middlegame. If I trade off my pieces, is the endgame favorable? It's a key question that underlies much good chess.
• Chess Blog: Epic Battles of the Chessboard
  In 1952, R.N.Coles wrote Epic Battles of the Chessboard, an unusual collection because most of the games feature astounding recoveries. To be sure, there are exciting contests and often astounding combintations, but these games were selected because they are tenacious, resourceful, and more closely resemble the type of chess that one might aspire to play at the club.
• Chess Blog: 15 games and their stories
  When Mikhail Botvinnik defeated Capablanca in a 1925 simultaneous match, the Cuban world champion predicted great things for the young 14-year-old. And so it was to be for the great Botvinnik, a cool pragmatist who precisely dismanted the competition for four decades.
• Chess Blog: The most important discovery of the 1490s
  What's the most important discovery of the 1490s? Columbus's discovery of American in 1492? Nah! It was Lucena's discovery of how to win Rook and pawn endgames! After all, the Vikings had already discovered the Americas, and without Lucena, there'd have been no hope for chess.
• Chess Blog: The Sicilian Labyrinth vol 2
  Volume two of Polugaevsky's Sicilian Labyrinth looks at pawn structures, key central squares, open files, piece placement, and strategic sacrifices. He also covers typical endgame features in the Sicilian, notable the importance of the open c-file for black and using the two bishops when you are fortunate enough to have them.
• Chess Blog: The Sicilian Labyrinth
  In 1991, Lev Polugaevsky introduced a wonderful two volume set, The Sicilian Labyrinth, that draws upon his many years of experience and insight. Volume 1 focuses upon avoiding opening disasters, preparing theoretical surprises for your opponents, and a variety of counter-attacking measures for black.
• Chess Blog: New for this year
  Some thoughts about new directions for the web site. Please feel free to comment on these possibilities and to offer your own suggestions on the Message Board here. During the coming year, I'm going to try to add a tactics page that will randomly offer a different position every time you load it... It will take some time to load in 3000-4000 positions, so I ask for some patience!
• Chess Blog: Startling Correspondence Chess Miniatures
  Tim Harding, the editor of Chess Mail, the wonderful publication and web site, took on this task with Startling Correspondence Chess Miniatures. Here is a collection of 100 entertaining, often theoretically important short games all played via e-mail or through the post. The games are enjoyable and also contain traps into which your next opponents just might fall.
• Chess Blog: Dynamic Chess Strategy
  In 1991, Mihai Suba authored Dynamic Chess Strategy, an exciting collection of 36 of his games. Notable is his willingness to break free of conventional chess wisdom and seek new, flexible structures. I first took note of the book because Suba had embraced the Hedgehog and had even used it to achieve his GM title.
• Chess Blog: Draw!
  Chess draws have the reputation for being dull and boring, the end-product of over-preparation or simply agreements between GMs in order to get early to the tennis court. Wolfgang Heidenfeld knew better. He had just completed a manuscript featuring the most exciting draws ever played when he died in 1981. We are fortunate that the manuscript was published the next year.
• Chess Blog: Profile of a Prodigy
  a true classic about Bobby Fischer, the 1965 account by Frank Brady: Profile of a Prodigy: The Life and Games of Bobby Fischer. Brady's book predated Fischer's classic My 60 Memorable Games by four years. The first 100 pages are an excellent, highly readable narrative about Fischer's life and accomplishments. The second half focuses briefly on 75 Fischer games, including many that subsequently appeared with more extensive notes in Fischer's book.
• Chess Blog: Decisive Games
  I present today all of the games in Pachman's Decisive Games, a collection of more than 100 encounters between 1870 and 1970 that decided major championships and tournaments. Some are brilliancies, some have blunders, but all were dramatic and entertaining.
• Chess Blog: Black is OK
  For Adorjan, playing black is more than a challenge, it's an opportunity to seek to present well prepared, complex lines that reverse white's normal advantage. My favorite chapter, of course, is "The Quill of the Hedgehog," a great title that summarizes the structure's power. Get too close to Black's pawns and you may live to regret it!
• Chess Blog: Mitrofanovic's Deflection
  In the late 1990s, IM Victor Charushin published a neat 5 volume series on tactical themes. Over time, I hope to introduce each of the books in this series. Today, I look at Volume three, Mitrofanovic's Deflection, an imposing title but a neat idea. In these examples, a piece is sacrificed seemingly for nothing whatever. From the first composition, a study of Mitrofanov's, through real life uses of deflection, the book, and indeed, all the books in the series, provide a quick way to learn.
• Chess Blog: The best short games of chess
  Irving Chernev was the author of many wonderful chess books. One of my favorites, now well out of print, is The 1000 Best Short Games of Chess. As a young fellow, I played through many of these games and my copy of the book is now falling apart. Of course, no one wins so quickly without some help. All of these games involve serious mistakes by the loser, but the fact is that the tactics are rich and flowing and full of fun.
• Chess Blog: The most creative GM of all time
  The most creative grandmaster of all time? That honor undoubtedly goes to David Bronstein, the author of 200 Open Games, a compendium of games, mostly his own, all featuring 1.e4 e5. There are King's Gambit's, Petrof's, Scotch Games, but most important, more than 100 games in the Ruy Lopez. The games are not exhautively annotated, but there are some great stories and usually a lesson or two for each game.
• Chess Blog: Interactive online Chess Lessons
  The next advance for Chess is Fun is an interactive lesson page. It will be a place where many can gather online to observe and talk about a game or an opening, or a lesson. The prototype, working though barely, is right here. Permit me to ask that you try it out and provide your comments at our Message Board.
• Chess Blog: Instructive Modern Chess Masterpieces
  Gambit Publications continues to produce the best chess books that we have seen in decades. One of the best of this lot is Igor Stohl's Instructive Modern Chess Masterpieces. Here is a collection of 80 games from the period 1993-2000, all played by top GMs and all analyzed in a rigorous but instructive style. Each game features enough opening discussion to aid your understanding. And each game includes sufficient analysis to amplify your understanding of the game.
• Chess Blog: Jon Speelman's Best Games
  The early 1980s also witnessed the emergence of a crop of talented British players, Miles, Short, Nunn, and Speelman. Speelman's rating reached the top 5 in the world, no easy feat, the product of hard work, a complex style, and a continuing willinginess to complicate.
• Chess Blog: Kasparov at Bugojno, 1982
  In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Bogojno was home to several world class, super-GM events. 1982 was no exception, save that Garry Kasparov emerged to dominate the field. He won the event by a clear point and a half, but more, he demonstrated a world calss ability to complicate and calculate. I offer all of the games from that event, the crosstable, as well the following game, an illustration of his emergent capabilities.
• Chess Blog: A Bust to the Smith-Morra Gambit?
  One key legacy of the 1972 Church's Fried Chicken International was the instructive way that Larry Evans defeated the Smith Morra Gambit. IM Tim Taylor took that game and turned it into a neat 1993 monograph: "How to Defeat the Smith Morra Gambit with 6...a6"
• Chess Blog: In 1981, Karpov won Moscow
  Perhaps the most interesting event of 1981 was the super-GM Moscow tournament featuring Karpov, Kasparov, Symslov, and Polugaevsky. Karpov finished a clear first 1 1/2 points ahead of the field to confirm his position as the strongest player of the day. Here are the games from the Moscow tournament and here is the crosstable.
• Chess Blog: Alexander Beliavsky: Uncompromising Chess
  Ukrainian Grandmaster Alexander Beliavsky became World Junior champion in 1973 and often won the USSR championship. He may be best known as Kasparov's trainer in the early 1990s. His book, Uncompromising Chess contains 70 wonderful games that live up to the book's title, and many insights into the hard work required to sustain grandmaster strength. Here are all of the games in the book, and here is another example of uncompromising chess:
• Chess Blog: The USSR Championship of 1981
  At the 49th USSR championship, it was Kasparov and Psakhis sharing first place, but Belyavsky had the great attack in the following game. I note in passing that he annotates the game carefully in his wonderful 1998 book, Uncompromising Chess.
• Chess Blog: Tilburg, 1981
  The archive of tournment games currently goes through 1980. Here's are the games from the Tilburg tournament of 1981 in which a young Gary Kasparov only achieved an even score. Here's the crosstable. But the following game from that event makes clear that this young man had World Championship abilities.
• Chess Blog: The King
  It is said that not all great players make good teachers. Undoubtedly true also about journalists. J.H. Donner is the exception. From 1955 onwards, Donner produced a chess column for the saturday edition of De Tijd. A collection of these writings appears in a wonderful 1997 publication, The King. It is expensive, and it's worth it! More wit than chess, but always with care.
• Chess Blog: I Play with Pieces
  Gligoric's new book, I Play Against Pieces, does not disappoint. Here are 130 games against the world's toughest competition, including Botvinnik, Tal, Smyslov, Fischer, Petrosian, Keres, and Korthnoi. The title itself reflects Gligorich's approach, an objective evaluation of every position and strategies based upon meaningful criteria. Of special interest is the fact that he has clustered games by their opening, more easily to identify his style over time and to aid readers who especially want to see games in their favorite lines.
• Chess Blog: Simple Chess
  Fred Wilson of WilsonBooks has helped bring forward a new algebraic edition of Michael Stean's Simple Chess. The book provides an readable introduction to chess strategy and planning. The book reveals many of the secrets of modern master play, the slow accumulation of small advantages, holding back on the attack until the conclusion is all but certain.
• Chess Blog: Nimzovitch's System
  Aron Nimzovitch's My System is widely recognized as a classic of chess literature. Part one covers the "elements" of chess, part two reviews Positional Play, and part three provides 50 illustrative games. If you sincerely want to improve, I wholeheartedly recommend that you study parts two and three. To make your job a bit easier, I provide all of the games in part and one of the illustrative game below.
• Chess Blog: Double-attacks
  Two interesting items for today's blog. They have in common double attacks, although in a subtle way. The first is a composition of Reti's. The key is gaining time to catch the passed pawn. And finally, a nice game of Alekhine's with one of the finest moves ever to grace a chessboard.
• Chess Blog: Winning on the dark-squares
  As an aspiring young player, I heard much about "light-squares" and "dark-squares" but I'm sure that I did not understand. So lets take a BLOG-day and look at an important theme.
• Chess Blog: The Vienna Game
  Gary Lane's book on the Vienna Game is an excellent example of the new genre. More than 70 games illustrate the opening's main principles and demonstrate what to do once you're doing well. And what a comfort to see that the line has been played by leading stars like Nigel Short, Michael Adams, and Boris Spassky.
• Chess Blog: Tony Miles, England's first chess grandmaster
  England's first grandmaster, Tony Miles (1955-2001), was also one of England's most charismatic players. He died all too young, but thanks in part to a book, "It's Only Me," compiled by Geoff Lawton, he will be long remembered.
• Chess Blog: Lessons from a Morphy win
  On our Message Board, One of our newbies offered their first win, a nice five move checkmate made easy by an opponent who insisted only in moving pawns at the start of the game. I offered some annotations there, and it was clear that, even in a short game well outside the scope of chess opening theory, there are some useful lessons. Capture the center. Develop your pieces. And, also, don't castle into an attack.
• Chess Blog: Timman tied for first at Reykjavik
  Jan Timman is likely to be remembered as one of the strongest players, with Keres, Bronstein, and Kortchnoi, never to become World Chess Champion. His fighting style has yielded victories at many top tournaments in the 1970-s and 1980s. His selected games includes 80 of his best games since 1983, including fine wins at Linares, Wijk aan Zee, and Tilburg. Here are all 80 of the games in the book.
• Chess Blog: The Modern Chess Sacrifice
  Published in 1978, Leonid Shamkovich's The Modern Chess Sacrifice was one of the first books to classify sacrifices and combinations. Whether you own the book or not, I recommend that you enjoy this collection of the games used in the book.
• Chess Blog: The Latvian Gambit at the club
  Perhaps the most interesting (and certainly the longest) post on the new Chess is Fun Message Board isfrom Joseph Mineola on the Latvian Gambit. Here's one of the games included in the post with the author's annotations in parenthesis and mine as well. It's a good advertisement of competitive, local chess. The result is a perpetual check despite a win on the board... but ticking clocks and hanging flags have a way of doing that.
• Chess Blog: Dreev with two quick wins
  The highest ranked chess player at Reykjavik, Alexey Dreev, was a student of Dvoretsky's. He obtained the GM title in 1990 and now sports a near 2700 rating. He's clearly in good form as the game of the day clearly shows. We may be in for some wonderful chess in this event if the first two rounds are any indication. Here's the game. Unlike many, you will be able to enjoy this game even if you you zip through it. Focus please on Dreev's thematic use of the d5-square. His technique is very instructive!
• Chess Blog: The 21st Reykjavic Open
  The chess game of the day comes from Reykjavik... a hard fought game in which GM Epishin uses my favorite defense, the Hedgehog, to triumph. There's much to learn here, from the opening with an interesting Bc5-e7 manoeuver that wins an tempo to a nice middlegame counter-attack that nets black significant winning chances in an interesting endgame. Here's the game:
• Chess Blog: Olympiad XIII
  The United States is finishing up its schedule in the preliminary round of the Coorespondence CHess Olympiad XIII and, I'm happy to say, we have a chance to qualify for the final. The following game was the fourth to the last to finish. Needless to say, we needed a win here to have a chance to go on. The game is quite instructive. Check out Black's Bc8. Structurally bad in the line of the French Defense, the bishop never moves.
• Chess Blog: Final Round at Linares
  Kasparov again developed significant winning chances, this time with Black against Vallejo Pons, but again he could not convert to a win to tie Kramnik at the top.
• Chess Blog: Round 13 at Linares
  Kasparov v Topalov, nearly a classic win in the Spanish torture
• Chess Blog: Smyslov, part 2
  Vasily Smyslov v Boleslavsky, 1941 a wonderful win in the French Winawer
• Leko v Kramnik, Linares (Round 12)
  Leko v Kramnik, the decisive game from Linares, round 12
• Vasily Smyslov 125 Selected Games
  All the games from this book, as well as Smyslov v Kottnauer, Groningen, 1946
• Topalov-Shirov, Linares, 2004 (Round 10)
  Topalov-Shirov, Linares, 2004 from round 10, the Ruy Lopez. An excellent example of the "Spanish Torture"
• Mating theme double check
  A nice mating theme with Bh7+ and Ng6 leading to a double check with 50 examples
• Caro Kann trap and sample Dragon game
  Examples of a trap in Caro Kann and a nice sacrifice in the Sicilian Dragon
• Kasparov's first win at Linares
  Kasparov-Vallejo, Linares, 2004 (round 7) Three conclusive results yesterday including this game of the day, Kasparov's first win at Linares, 2004. I was very surprised by Kasparov's 14th move. At first glance, it seems anti-positional, opening up the d5 square. But it sure worked out well! The game ended with quite a time scramble. Garry missed a great shot on move 34, but still an impressive achievement!
• Shirov beat Radjabov yesterday at Linares
  Shirov beat Radjabov yesterday at Linares in grand style to tie Leko for first place. I've briefly annotated the game below, but I am sure that it will be subjected to intense scrutiny in the days and years ahead.
• A little-used move in the c3 Sicilian
  here's one of my games in an interesting Sicilian line. Many players like to avoid the main lines and play openings like the c3 Sicilian. The lines are very different from the open Sicilian and, I suppose, there's less to learn.
• Kasparov v Kramnik at Linares
  Here are my notes to the yesterday's game between Kasparov and Kramnik. Many on ICC thought that Garry had some winning chances but, in the end, he was fortunate to hold the draw.
• Bobby Fischer's chess games
  Here are all of the games in Bobby Fischer's 60 Memorable Games. If you have not played through this magnificant collection, you are in for the chess treat of a lifetime.
• Leko v Kasparov's at Linares
  here's the Leko Kasparov game... and here are about 50 games in this interesting line. You'll notice that Leko has played this line before, so his choice would not have been been a surprise to Garry.
• Kasparov v Radjabov at Linares
  Three draws yesterday, but not for want of effort. As you will see, Kasparov had a nice advantage but could not defeat Radjabov. Garry certainly must have wanted to win in no small part to avenge his loss to Radjabov last year.
• Shirov v Kasparov's at Linares
  Here is the exciting game between Shirov and Kasparov, and here are several games in the line that they used. I quickly annotated 31...Qe3+ as equal, but there's some thought that Garry might have had winning chances with that move.
• The chess of Rudolf Charousek
  Czech master Rudolf Charousek (1873-1900) produced magnificent chess but died at age 27 from Tubercolosis. Lasker had predicted that Charousek would one day obtain the world championship. Instead, we have only a a few hundred games at which to marvel.
• An old chess classic
  Here's an obscure but wonderful old game that's worth a minute or two of your time. The opening begins as a Staunton Gambit, an opening straight from the romantic age of chess. This gambit is usually an effort by white to gain time for an attack by offering a pawn, but it's black who gains the initiative by offering more interesting material.
• Kasparov against the World
  Garry Kasparov's Kasparov against the World, a day to day account of his 1999 internet match against the world. One book, one game. Kasparov suggests that it may be the greatest game ever played.
• Games from the Aamteur Team East
  Our humble team finished up at 4-2 thanks to the first game... an amazingly quick win in the final round that spelled the difference between a team win and a team draw. The second game is a neat upset by a young player over a grandmaster. Well done young man!
• Live from the Amateur Team East
  Reporting "live" from the Amateur Team East thanks to Ned Walthall and his amazing portable computer. The largest Amateur Team event in history, with 276 teams and not one but TWO chess bookstores. Not much sleep thanks to a VERY long endgame...
• Understanding your chess
  Gambit Publications has just published a fantastic book: "Understanding your Chess" by James Rizzitano. More important than just the games is his advice to chess-players. "Never go to sleep after a loss until you understand what went wrong." It's a conviction to subject his own games to deep scrutiny, to learn from his mistakes and as a reminder not to let it happen again!
• Two fun games of chess
  The first is an endgame reached by Yuri Averbakh, whose name may be familiar to you as the author of many fine endgame books. As you will see, Averbakh knows these endgames in theory, and in practice! The second game is a delightful finish from a 1902 game in which a player resigned, assuming that all hope was gone. It does not happen often but, as you will see, he could instead have forced resignation immediately with one beautiful move!
• It just takes one bad move
  With the black pieces, one bad move can lead to defeat. Such is the case in today's featured game.
• A BUst to the King's Gambit
  In their first issue (Summer, 1961), the American Chess Quarterly published perhaps the best known chess article of all time: Bobby Fischer's "A Bust to the King's Gambit."
• The dangers of symmetry
  Symmetry. Why not just copy your opponent's moves? Surely it must lead to a draw? Here's one attempt at symmetry that's easily stopped. After 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Bc5 3.Nc3 Nc6, we reach a position in which white has an interesting try in 4.Qg4. I know. Don't bring your queen out early. But the threat on g7 is real
• Kasparov's My Great Predecessors
  I'm still reading volume 1 of Kasparov's My Great Predecessors. I'd better speed up because My Great Predecessors, volume two is now out! Taking up where the last volume left off, this wonderful new volume's focus is on World champions 5-8, Euwe, Botvinnik, Smyslov, and Tal. Here are all of the games in volume 2
• Smith Morra Gambit
  As the following game demonstrates, the Hedgehog is still possible, if black is very careful early on.
• Benko Gambit, part 3
  One more time on the Benko. One of the most interesting variations becomes quite complex. The b7-b5 pawn push tries to undermine white's strong center, especially the d5-pawn. White usually tries to reinforce the center with e2-e4.
• The Zaitsev system
  Today, another challenging variation of the Benko Gambit. This is the Zaitsev system. White turns down the extra pawn and quickly achieves an unbalanced position with an aggressively posted Nb5 and the possibility of a quick attack with e4-e5.
• Benko Gambit, part 1
  I'm happy to say that some of the modern Benko lines have a genuine appeal once again. I offer 40 games in an interesting line for Black and a recent game in which Black wins almost effortlessly.
• Books by John Nunn
  Grandmasters should be required to write game collections. And none are better than John Nunn's contributions. His Secrets of Grandmaster Play followed his career through round 2 of Wijk aan Zee in 1985. John Nunn's Best Games of Chess took up right where the first book left off, covering Nunn-Lobron from round 11 of that event. The difference: these are just Nunn's games.
• Capablanca chess endgames
  "In order to improve your game," said the great Capablanca, "you must study the endgame before anything else; for whereas the endings can be studied and mastered by themselves, the middlegame and the opening must be studied in relation to the endgame."
• San Remo, 1930
  In 1930, Alexandre Alekhine dominated the strong international tournament in San Remo, Italy. Capablanca declined his invitation (he was completing a book), but here were Nimzovitsch, Rubenstein, Bogolubov, Yates, Tartakower, Colle, and Kmoch.
• A Dragon trap
  Most opening traps catch only the occasional beginner. Here's one that's caught more than its share of experts and masters. In the main line of the Sicilian Dragon, white has an interesting choice on move 9. Most GMs including Kasparov and Anand favor 9.Bc4. Karpov often played 9.g4. I prefer 9.0-0-0. I know... who am I compared with that crowd, but the fact is, 0-0-0 has a nice sting.
• Stone Wall pawn structure
  The Stonewall structure in chess carries many clues for the fight that will ensue. Here's the basic diagram
• Lolli's Mate
  Another tactical theme today. By exploring this small set of briefly annotated games, you'll get a good apprecation for Lolli's mate. Here's the basic pattern
• The Perenyi variation of the Sicilian Defense
  The Perenyi variation of the Sicilian Defense is for the brave of heart. I have played it twice in correspondence chess. The first game helped to propel me into the final round of the 10th US Correspondence Chess final round. The other game helped me to win the title.
• Rxh7 sacrifice, part 2
  In Anand's win against Timman last week at Wijk aan Zee, he used a Rxh7 sacrifice that motivated a look yesterday for similar sacs. In that position, the rook sacrifice was against a Black king on g8 and with a white pawn on g7.
• Rxh7 sacrifice
  In honor of Anand's win at Wijk aan Zee, I searched my database for other examples of the Rxh7 sacrifice that Anand used in his fine win against Timman in round 11. Here are two games that do not quite live up to Anand's style, but they are nonetheless instructive.
• Anand finishes first; Defends his Wijk aan Zee title
  The most interesting game of the final round was Leko's attempt to win. As it turned out, he was lucky in the end to draw as Kramnik almost certainly missed winning chances. Here is the game
• Corus Wijk aan Zee
  Here are the two very exciting games from round 12. Anand sacrificed a pawn and obtained what seemed like adequate compensation, but Topalov pressed on, using a passed b-pawn to achieve enough pressure to win. Having seen the Anand defeat, Adams just never let up. His victory provide a fine illustration of how to use Nimzovitsch's classic style to achive the full point.
• Corus Wijk aan Zee
  Leko and Anand both won in round 11, but Anand's victory over the hometown favorite Jan Timman was so devastating that it is hard to imagine Leko pulling even.
• Corus Wijk aan Zee
  After a day off, the chess resumed at Wijk aan Zee. Here are all of the round 10 games. The fans must have been disappointed by a quick draw between Anand and Adams, but I was pleased to see that Anand chose the hedgehog structure in a critical game and Adams, who had not developed aggressively against it, agreed rather quickly to a draw. The hedgehog figured in another game in the round, Timman-Kramnik, which also resulted in an uneventful draw.
• Jude Acers' new book
  For 25 years, Jude Acers has graced a sidewalk table in the New Orleans French quarter taking on all challengers, giving chess lessons, analyzing classic games, and providing a perpetual boost for chess. If you are as old as me, you will also recall Jude's letters to Larry Evans during the late 1960s and early 1970s, poking holes in existing theory and advocating an aggressive approach to chess.
• Corus Wijk aan Zee
  I have not presented many draws in the BLOG. Draws have a reputation for being lifeless and boring. Not the following game. Kramnik takes on Anand in yet another English Attack. It would seem that all the GMs are well versed in this opening. The result is fireworks. Kramnik develops a nice mating attack, forcing Anand to counter very quickly. The resources he finds here are simply amazing.
• Corus Wijk aan Zee
  Vishy Anand bolstered his first place position at Wijk aan Zee with another fine attack, this time defeating Evgeny Bareev in fine style. Leko also won, defeating Bologan in a complex, tense game. Michael Adams also kept up the pace with a fine victory over Vladimir Kramnik.
• How to Beat your Dad at Chess
  If you are looking for your second chess book, I may have just the thing. Murray Chandler's How to Beat Your Dad at Chess provides a very useful introduction to chess tactics.
• Corus Wijk aan Zee
  Round 7 at Wijk aan Zee produced more exciting chess. Bologan and Shirov demonstrated solid endgame technique in their triumphs over Sololov and Timman. But two other games stole the show! In the first game, Anand completely outplayed Zhang Zhong in a closed Sicilian. I'm especially fond of his early aggressiveness with ...b5 and the powerful ways in which he safely opened the position while safeguarding his king.
• Corus Wijk aan Zee
  This morning, the focus was on the Anand endgame, Adams nice combination, and a careful set of eyes on the Leko-Akopian match. Here are all the games from round 6, and here are some of the highlights:
• Corus Wijk aan Zee
  Two decisive games today. Most important, it would appear that we may have counted out Timman too quickly. What a nice win for him today. Our best wishes to him!
• Corus Wijk aan Zee
  More exciting chess today at Wijk aan Zee. Here are all the games in round 4. Five games were decisive, and some very hard-fought chess. I feel badly for Timman, who is struggling to stay up with the field. I caught up with two of the games. Against Akopian, Topalov demonstrated that white has winning chances in the Classical Caro-Kann by exchanging off the major pieces. Can it really be that easy, or is just a great player making it look easy?
• Corus Wijk aan Zee
  And here's the win, a very quick blowout by Svidler (who now joins Anand and Leko in the lead) after a series of dubious moves by Bareev.
• Two games from Ljubojevic
  During the 1980's, Ljubojevic reached as high as #3 in the chess rankings, but that doesn't tell the story. His chess does. Wonderful attacks, original ideas, awesome energy over the board.
• Corus Wijk aan Zee
  After Akopian's win yesterday, I focused upon his game today against Anand. A similar opening, though today, Akopian played Black. Another theoretical contest, and another exciting finish. A triumph in the end for Anand, who ties for first after two rounds with the win.
• Corus Wijk aan Zee
  One of the most important chess events of the year is now under way at Wijk aan Zee in the Netherlands. Competitors include Kramnik, Shirov, Anand, Adams, Leko, Bareev, Topalov, Sokolov, Svidler, and Timman.
• Caro Kann line
  The question of the day? Help was need in a variation of the advanced Caro Kann. I don't recommend the opening for all my students, but Aviv and Arik have played it for some time and adore it. But what to do if white tries a quick g4 push in the advanced variation. As it turns out, its a significantly bad move.
• From Russia with Love
  I had planned tonight to devote my further BLOG efforts to one of these games (maybe tomorrow), but I turned on a Bond Movie, From Russia with Love. At the beginning of the movie is a scene from an international chess tournament, and a clear position on the board. The player with white, a bad guy from SPECTER, receives a note telling him that he's needed at once. So he pulls of a quick combination to end the game.
• Bent Larse's Games of Chess
  In a great chess career that lasts to this day, Larsen combined positional understanding, tactical genius, and a willingness to try new ideas. Such is the nature of the book, with many experiments and thoughtful strategies. Larsen's 1970 book is now well out-of-print, but Larsen has a new book, My Best Games of Chess just out.
• Endgame Strategy
  If the best way to master chess is to play through games, it can also be said that the best way to master the endgame is to play through them. But it sure is nice to have a guide. M. Shereshevsky's Endgame Strategy provides a wonderful collection of real life examples organized in thematic chapters with titles such as: "Do not hurry!" and "The principle of the two weaknesses."
• Queen's Excursion
  For the newcomers, a quick look at the danger of bringing out your queen too early. I remember when, as a beginner, my father showed me a quick mate with 1.e4, 2.Bc4, 3.Qh5 or Qf3 and 4.Qxf7# If only it were always that easy.
• Sousse INterzonal, 1967
  In October, 1967, Bobby Fischer took part in the Sousse Interzonal that would decide the Tigran Petrosian's 1969 challenger. Fischer got off to a great start, producing marvelous chess, but he began to complain about the playing schedule and the lighting conditions. The organizers tried to accommodate Fischer's demands, at first with more lamps and by offering all of the players additional off-days.
• The Gunderam Defense
  One of the first requests on the message board was for coverage of what I have called the Gunderam Defense: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Qe7. The poster recognized that it's not the best opening, but it certainly would surprise most opponents. I confess that I have never personally faced it.
• Bishop v Knight
  Do you have a strong preference for the bishop or the knight? Modern players know that the bishop excels in the open games while the knight is preferred in closed positions. Chigorin was an advocate for the knights. Steinitz was among the first to reveal the science of the two bishops.
• Mt Great Predecessors, vol 1
  Great chess players write great chess books. The latest addition may become the greatest of all, Garry Kasparov's My Great Predecessors. The first volume features the play of the first four world champions, Wilhelm Steinitz, Emanuel Lasker, Jose Capablanca, and Alexander Alekhine.
• Chess is Fun Message Board
  The Chess is Fun Message Board is up and running! There are still a few issues to resolve and a few bells and whistles to explore. But it's up!