Dear Chess Friends! I'm happy to share the highlights from my recent workshop "The Bishop Pair: Advantage or Myth?", where we explained why the two bishops are considered one of the most important long-term advantages in chess – and when th...
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act but a habit.” Hey Impressive Chessers! If you've heard that quote before, congratulations, you apparently have some Ancient Greek philosophy floating around in your brain...
Hi there! How was your summer? Mine was pretty fun and active, a bit of sun, some beach time, and, why not, a chess tournament or two. In the first one I gained 9 points, but in the second I lost 13. What should I have done? Just gone to the Car...
A pawn placed on its initial rank has four potential moves – two forward steps and two captures, the maximum possible for the unit. When such a pawn makes all four of these moves in a problem’s solution, the resulting theme is traditio...
First of all, I would like to begin by congratulating my friends @theeldest1 and @DocSimooo, for they have been awarded the badge of Top Blogger after months of writing, effort, and producing fantastic posts. Can't wait to see you both on the All ...
Welcome, everybody to another classic edition of Blitz 'n' Memes... If you're a fan of chess tactics taken from over-the-board tournaments, then you have come to the right place, because that is what I do. Normally, my puzzles are drawn fr...
Kingston. April 22, 2019. Easter Monday. I had just survived a 5h 30min game with a draw. Thirty minutes to grab a snack and prepare for my next opponent, half the time I’d normally get, since it was the last day and rounds were packed tight...
Good afternoon everyone. The chain of thought in my last blog sprung a couple of side branches when I came to the Alekhine - Keres game given there. I remembered that at one time I had intended to do a blog of all their games. Some match ups just...
Hello, friends! Welcome to the party! What are we celebrating? Well, you might think it is absurd, but my blog has completed three years on 26 August! Time really flies. It feels like only yesterday that I wrote my first article. Click on the i...
Regular readers of this blog know I usually write from the player's side of the board: suffering in the catalan League, suffering in National Championships, suffering in Menorca, suffering in Cyprus (noticing a pattern?). Today, for once, I write ...
I received this chess set from Royal Chess Mall for review purposes. All opinions are entirely my own, based on my personal experience with the set. Royal Chess Mall had no editorial input into this article. Kevin Bottom Line Up Front--TL...
A very small tournament — only 12 games — that was nonetheless, in a real sense, the high point of Max Euwe’s championship tenure. With the Alekhine-Euwe rematch imminent Euwe helped to show that his match victory wasn’t a ...
As evening fell before the board he sat, And moved the pieces with his wonted skill; And none, who looked upon his thoughtful brow, Divined the destiny he must fulfil. The morning dawned: upon his narrow bed Dying he lay, unconscious to the ...
Hi everyone! We're here with an update for the month of July. Fair Play Stats for July 2026 1,147,767 reports created 126,041 Fair Play closures (including 13 titled players: 5 FM, 3 CM, 3 NM, 1 IM, 1 GM) 516 accounts muted 570 mute actions ...
We’ve been busy during July and the first part of August with a lot of updates over at Chessalyz.ai. Here’s what we’ve been working hard on: Train the Skill, Not Just the Puzzle. 📈 Chessalyz has always told you what went wrong i...
I came to the 5th Annual Vankleek Hill Open partly to play, partly to support my students, Noah and Liam, and partly to support Jeremy's tournament. Last time I'd played it, in 2019, it was still in Smiths Falls… Jeremy's moved it since. I...
Last year, for our vacation, my wife and I checked out some Brisbane suburbs (Wynnum, South Bank, West End, Ascot and Hamilton) and we also visited the chess meetups in West End and Albert Street. This time round, we visited the suburbs of Canon ...
Earlier this month I played in the 98th French chess championship that took place in Vichy. It is a huge tournament that is divided into many categories. The main events are, of course, the Open and the Women championships, which are contested by ...
On July 26, 2026, the MVP Chess K-12 Quads were held at The Link in Old Town. During the month America celebrated its 250th birthday, 20 players from Washington, DC, Maryland, and Virginia competed over the 64 squares. The event used a three-round...
As usual, I'm back with overly deep analysis of a sideline of a sideline. This time, I want to introduce one of my favorite opening traps. I've caught many grandmasters with it in blitz and bullet, and it has the advantage that White only makes na...
The internet with all its information available can be a blessing, but without structure it will just be a mass of advice. Most of these tips are correct, just not necessarily for your level! The tricky thing is that despite some of them being tru...
Sometimes Fine gets facts right: ‘Paul Morphy (1837-1884)’, page 3. Sometimes he gets them wrong: ‘Paul Morphy (1836-1883)’, page 89. His judgements are equally schizophrenic. Reuben Fine, Chess and Psychology by Edward Wi...
Last year I was a guest on an episode of Ben Johnson‘s Perpetual Chess Podcast, and he asked me this question: ‘What are common mistakes amateur players make?’ I gave him three. Here I’ll flesh out the first one because i...
After the success of the previous Puller Cup, it was time once again for Hertfordshire's chess clubs to battle it out for one of the county's most historic trophies: The tournament Hall with many focused faces! For those unfamiliar with the co...
Winning material is not the happy ending. It’s the start of a harder job. I know that sounds backwards. You spend the whole game trying to win a pawn or an exchange, and the moment you finally get it, the position somehow doesn’t feel...
