A blog about Chess: 2011

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Learn – Study – Play Chess

Research and Benefits of Chess

The Game Chess (Wikipedia)
Value of Chess Pieces (Wikipedia)
Glossary of Chess (Wikipedia)
Ten steps to learn Chess Tactics and Combinations (pdf)
Strengthen your position
Key question
Ten Tips To Winning Chess
Winning Tips
Chess-Game-Strategies.com
Articles by Nigel Davies
Index of Chess Articles (Wikipedia)

Chess Records

Opening-Middlegame-Endgame
Opening
Middlegame
Endgame
From Opening to Endgame

Chess Quotes
A Collection of Chess Advices, Useful Chess Quotes (Part 1)
A Collection of Chess Advices, Useful Chess Quotes (Part 2)
A Collection of Chess Advices, Useful Chess Quotes (Part 3)
ChessQuotes.com

How Good is Your Chess?
Chess Test 1
Chess Test 2
Chess Test 3
Chess Test 4
Chess Test 5
Chess Test 6
Chess Test 7
Chess Test 8
Chess Test 9
Chess Test 10
Collection Chess Puzzles
Collection Annotated Chess Games

Play Chess Online
Play online against chess engine Rybka
Play online against chess engine Shredder
Free Internet Chess Server (FICS)
Internet Chess Club (ICC)
Playchess
Queen Alice
Chess.com
SchemingMind

World Chess Federation (FIDE)
Website
Wikipedia

Chess Around The World
Wikipedia

Correspondence Chess
Wikipedia
ICCF Website
The Check Is in the Mail (Alex Dunne)

Lessons for Correspondence Chess Players
(By Grigory Sanakoev, 12th World Correspondence Chess Champion)

New facets of famous chess positions, games and books
TrueChess.com

Chess Books (Paper)
Some good chess books

Chess eBooks
Chess Publishing
Everyman Chess
Search Chess eBooks

Chess Gifts - Chess Shops
Links

Chess Videos
Maurice Ashley
Action: Chess
Chess-Mates
Euro Chess Tournament
Chess Tournament
Chess in Schools
How to Win at Chess
Caribbean Chess Carnival
Gibraltar Chess Festival
Canadian Open
Norwegian Chess Championship
Chess Me Out - talk on board
Mark Dvoretsky
Gregory Kaidanov
Magnus Carlsen
Kasparov, My Story
Garry Kasparov
Akiba Rubinstein and Polish Chess
Steinitz: Chess Champion
Paul Morphy: Mozart of Chess
Queen's Gambit Accepted
Colle Attacks
The Réti Opening
Queen to Play
A Game for Two
First Day of Chess
The Chess Duel
Geri's Game
Very surprising chess moves :)
Fun with Grandmaster Simon Williams
Funny? You decide...
Chess Fever, Part 1
Chess Fever, Part 2
Chess music videos: Tal vs Botvinnik

Saturday, April 30, 2011

Balogh - Sasikiran, Dubai Open 2011

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Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Video with Irina Krush and Grandmaster Ron Henley

Sunday, April 24, 2011

GM Ian Rogers shows a nice endgame

Solomon - Steadman, Doeberl Cup 2011





More about this endgame and another one in Karsten Müller's CBM Blog

Sacrifices for best practical chances

When is the earliest best moment to play a Pawn sacrifice, Knight sacrifice, Bishop sacrifice, Rook sacrifice or a Queen sacrifice?

Pawn sacrifice

1.e4 c5 2.d4 cxd4 3.c3 is not the the earliest best moment. Black has no problems to equalize the position and Black maybe even stands a little better.

The earliest best moment goes neither to for instance:
1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3 or 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.c3.

A stronger candidate for White looks to be the Evans Gambit: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Bc5 4.b4. But Black should with best play equalize the position after 4…Bxb4.

Black has an interesting candidate in 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5. Well, if you like a draw with Black it might be a winner…It should be good enough to a draw with best play.

It is not easy after 1.e4 c5 and 1.e4 c6 to say when the the earliest best moment appears to sacrifice. And for who appears the earliest best moment to sacrifice? For White or Black? Sicilian Najdorf games has seen many sacrifices for both White and Black. Sicilian Dragon too. Also Sicilian Scheveningen. And so on…

Black can in the French sacrifice the g7-pawn after for example the continuation: 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 c5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 Ne7 7.Qg4 Qc7. It might with best play from Black be good enough to hold a draw after 8.Qxg7 Rg8 9.Qxh7 cxd4 10.Ne2. But Black can instead play the safer 7…O-O.

Should we instead first sacrifice in the middlegame?

Comes the earliest best moment to sacrifice first in the middlegame?
If not in a later stage of the opening it should be somewhere in the middlegame.

Should the opponent first be totally strategically outplayed before we sacrifice?

Is it first when the opponent is totally strategically outplayed as the earliest best moment to sacrifice appears? The position could then already be so superior that there is no need for a sacrifice to win the game. But it is necessary many times to end a strategical played game with one or more sacrifices. At least some form of tactics has to be ready to be used.

Wikipedia about sacrificing:

Sacrificing some material is often necessary to throw the opponent's position out of balance. The sacrificed material is sometimes able to be regained with interest a couple of moves later. Pawn sacrifices in the opening are known as gambits; they are usually not intended for a short-term gain, but instead to achieve a more active position.

Direct attacks against the enemy King are often started by sacrifices. A common example is sacrificing a Bishop on h2 or h7, checking the King, who usually must take the Bishop. This allows the Queen and Knight to develop a fulminate attack.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Activity of the pieces and Pawn structure

Activity of the pieces

The most important single feature of a chess position is the activity of the pieces.
– Michael Stean, Simple Chess

The primary constraint on piece's activity is the Pawn structure.
– Michael Stean, Simple Chess

The job of the chessplayer must therefore be to use his skill to create a Pawn set-up which will allow his own pieces the optimum freedom and stability, while denying his opponent's similar scope.
– Michael Stean, Simple Chess

Look after your Pawns

Look after your Pawns and your pieces will look after themselves.
– Michael Stean, Simple Chess

Naroditsky - Kamsky, 2011 US Championship, Saint Louis

Video from the 2011 US Championship, where Gata Kamsky speaks about
the game in round 6 against Daniel Naroditsky:

The game at Chessgames.com
More similar games in Caro-Kann

Monday, April 18, 2011

Kamsky - Akobian, 2011 US Championship, Saint Louis

The game annotated at ChessBase News
More similar games

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Grandmaster and Chess Artist Nicolas Rossolimo

Nicolas Rossolimo at Wikipedia

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Hikaru Nakamura visits Washington University 2/26/11

Wikipedia about Hikaru Nakamura.

Endgame lesson with Grandmaster Nick Pert

Endgame DVDs Nick Pert

Friday, April 15, 2011

Master Moves #10

Chess puzzles at ChessBase News from the 2011 Individual Chinese Chess Championship and the 1st Mangini Memorial.

Master Moves #10

Chess Puzzles YouTube

Amateur Chess Organization (ACO)

www.amateurchess.com

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Brilliant Chess in China

"One of the most beautiful chess games that I have seen on last 100 years !!!", is one comment
about the game between Zhao Jun and Xiu Deshun, played in the 2011 Individual Chinese Chess
Championship.

The game annotated at ChessBase News.

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Saturday, April 2, 2011

Bring It On

Improve your position

Always play to improve your position.
Jeremy Silman, The Amateur's Mind

Tal - Bronstein, Tbilisi 1959

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Bronstein - Tal, Yerevan 1975

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Fischer - Taimanov, Palma de Mallorca 1970

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Petrosian - Portisch, Palma de Mallorca 1974

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Portisch - Petrosian, Palma de Mallorca 1974

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Nepomniachtchi - A. Korobov, Aix-les-Bains 2011

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Moiseenko - McShane, Aix-les-Bains 2011

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Friday, April 1, 2011

Jobava - Potkin, Aix-les-Bains 2011

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Wojtaszek - I. Khairullin, Aix-les-Bains 2011

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Thursday, March 31, 2011

Nisipeanu - Diermair, Aix-les-Bains 2011

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G. Jones - A. Korobov, Aix-les-Bains 2011

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Svidler - Hráček, Aix-les-Bains 2011

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Inarkiev - Hammer, Aix-les-Bains 2011

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Chatalbashev - P. H. Nielsen, Aix-les-Bains 2011

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S. Zhigalko - Gabrielian, Aix-les-Bains 2011

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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

P. H. Nielsen - Papin, Aix-les-Bains 2011

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Khismatullin - Vitiugov, Aix-les-Bains 2011

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Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Studying chess made easy

The reason studying chess is so hard for so many is simple: We make it hard.
Andrew Soltis, Studying Chess Made Easy

Chess eBooks is the future - and update them often

Chess eBooks is the future, for many reasons.

It's economically easier to update them.
It's easier to update them when errors has been found in a previous edition.
It's easier to update a opening eBook than a opening paper book.
It's easier to travel with hundreds eBooks than hundreds paper books.
You don't need to have so many bookshelves.

And a opening eBook should be updated once a year (at least in popular opening variations), and not every 5-10 years as normal with paper books. Tournament players don't like to wait 5-10 years on a updated opening book about the Sicilian Najdorf, Sicilian Dragon, French, Ruy Lopez, Slav, Grünfeld, Queen's Indian, English etc.

Since eBooks are cheaper to produce, do not require paper and ink, and have no shipping charges, eBooks should be cheaper for readers to buy. Right now, some publishers make eBooks just as expensive as paper books, but this will change in time.

Jeremy Myers