Articles

I Lost My Queen! Help!

I Lost My Queen! Help!

GM Gserper
|

One of the first things we learn in chess is the enormous power of the queen. Then, after we discover the tricky Scholar's Mate, the importance of the queen reaches a truly mythic proportion in our minds. Not surprisingly, for many inexperienced p...

This Decision "Changed My Life And My Chess"

This Decision "Changed My Life And My Chess"

NathanielGreen
|

WFM Lile Koridze was the national youth chess champion of Georgia in several age categories and has since become one of the brightest young new stars of the chess media world. Not many people can rightfully claim to have beaten GM Hikaru Nakamura ...

Stockfish On The Classics: Fischer's Bishop Sac

Stockfish On The Classics: Fischer's Bishop Sac

NM CoachJKane
|

Chess engines have forced us to reevaluate many facets of the game. As each generation of engines grows stronger it's worth looking at some of the great moments in chess history to see which brilliancies hold up and which ones don't quite withstan...

The Killer Trap

The Killer Trap

GM Gserper
|

Pictures taken at chess tournaments can tell fascinating stories. Just look at the faces of the players and spectators, and you'll see the whole gamut of human emotions. The Washington Chess Federation has recently posted a brilliant photo on its&...

How Fast Is A Speed Chess Champion?

How Fast Is A Speed Chess Champion?

NM CoachJKane
|

Since the Speed Chess Championship (SCC) debuted in 2016, it's been completely dominated by two players. GM Magnus Carlsen won the first two editions in 2016 and 2017. After that, GM Hikaru Nakamura won five years in a row before Carlsen took back...

How Chess Spread Around The World

How Chess Spread Around The World

NathanielGreen
|

July 20 is International Chess Day, and few games are played more broadly worldwide than chess. At the last Chess Olympiad in 2022, 186 nations sent more than 1,700 players to compete. Estimates of the number of players globally usually range from...

Bad Trades Amateurs Make In Chess

Bad Trades Amateurs Make In Chess

NM CoachJKane
|

What separates a chess beginner from an experienced player? It's not just the brilliant moves that the star players find, it's also the bad moves that beginners play, which veteran players instinctively know to avoid. Here are five trades that ama...

The Next Youth Movement In Chess Is Here

The Next Youth Movement In Chess Is Here

CHESScom
|

As 17-year-old GM Gukesh Dommaraju prepares for the FIDE World Championship in November, this month 10-year-old IM Faustino Oro and nine-year-old CM Ethan Pang set records while and nine-year-old WCM Bodhana Sivanandan made England's Olympiad team...

Faustino Oro Teaches Chess!

Faustino Oro Teaches Chess!

GM Gserper
|

The news of the Argentinian prodigy Faustino Oro becoming the youngest IM ever at the tender age of 10 made headlines worldwide. Faustino plays an attractive, aggressive kind of chess, and those of you who want to get better can learn a lot from h...

Jospem's Brilliant Blunders

Jospem's Brilliant Blunders

GM Gserper
|

The recently-concluded Clash Of Claims was definitely one of the most anticipated chess events of the year. For most people, this unusual match was interesting mostly due to the well-publicized controversy, but personally for me it was an opportun...

How Fast Are The Best Bullet Players?

How Fast Are The Best Bullet Players?

NM ToddBryant
|

The Bullet Chess Championship 2024 kicked off this week with a stacked lineup of FIDE top 10 players and bullet specialists! I gathered some data to highlight just how fast the fastest players on earth can play! Bullet chess is a wild terrain wh...

There's No Such Thing As A Boring Chess Opening

There's No Such Thing As A Boring Chess Opening

NM CoachJKane
|

"I captured on d5. I was terribly ashamed, and from the time I swore: to play for a draw, at any rate with White, is to some degree a crime against chess." - GM Mikhail Tal on the Exchange Variation of the French Defense. Mikhail Tal on a less...

Banter Blitz, Bullet Battles, And Brilliant Bots

Banter Blitz, Bullet Battles, And Brilliant Bots

CHESScom
|

We've escaped the May-trix but June keeps us in the middle of a bullet-time showdown between some of the world's best players, as the 2024 Bullet Chess Championship continues. Also: a mysterious new bot, free lessons by titled players, and the r...