French Poisoned Pawn (part three)
The final installment, taken from my forthcoming book for Ishi Press.
French Poisoned Pawn (part two)
This article is drawn from my forthcoming book French Winawer Poisoned Pawn (Ishi Press).
French Poisoned pawn (part one)
This cartice is drawn from my forthcoming book French Winawer Poisoned Pawn (Ishi Press).
French Poisoned Pawn (Part 1)
This material is taken from my new edition of French Winawer Poisoned Pawn, forthcoming from Ishi Press. Comments and criticism are welcome.
Karklins vs. the Russian Game
John Watson and I are finishing our new book Taming Wild Chess Openings, and I will be posting some of our analysis, starting with this offbeat way of handling the Russian Game with 4.Nd3!? This is not a scary line but it can catch Black by surpri...
Book review: ZUKA
Fight the King's Indian, Gruenfeld, and Dutch defenses with ZUKA by David Rude.Thinker's press, Inc. 2012, Davenport, IA. 44e0 pages, ISBN: space 101888710-63-2 $29.95 at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Gr%C3%BCnfeld-Defenses-stand-alone-cohesive-...
A challenge to lovers of unusual openings
As you probably know, I have written quite a bit about unusual openings. A while ago John Watson and I collaborated on a very popular book, the Big Book of Busts.b, which dealt with unusual opening strategies. Well, we are at it again. So we invit...
Premature resignation misses miracle escape
There is nothing more frustrating than resigning in a winning position, but in today's game the player can be forgiven because the winning line is truly manaical. However, it serves to remind us that you must consider all captures in every complic...
Mission: Checkmate! the Blackmar-Diemer Gambit
For the last few months I've been working on a new book on the Blackmar Diemer Gambit. This gambit is sort of a Rodney Dangerfield of chess openings, it just doesn't get any respect. Statistically, it performs quite well especially if you consult ...
A New Time Control
By IA Eric Schiller I propose a new time control to speed up games while preserving quality. Most games these days don’t require time in the prepared portions of openings or in technical positions in endgames. One minute per move is enough. Howeve...
Book review: Zuke 'Em
Zuke 'Em The Colle-Zukertort RFevolutionized by David Rudel foreword by Aaron Summerscale Thinker's Press August 2011 (Second Edition) ISBN 1-88871039X $25.99 at Amazon.com It is rare that one finds a book recommended by a grandmaster w...
Book review: Huebsch Gambit
Gambit Hΰbsch Antidote or Leurre? Eric Jego Collection savoir faire May 2012 ISBN 978-2-9536013-2-9 $17.12 Euros from http://thebookedition.com/gambit-hubsch-antidote-ou-leurre--eric-jego-p-79387.html As far as I know, this is the first boo...
New Chess Openings
In the course of updating the Caxton Named Opening list I have been reading both the New in Chess Yearbooks and SOS series. Opening novelties are not dead. New ideas have been aided by computer tools, which have also rescued many obscure old ideas...
The Boys are back in town (and girls!)
The Tradewise Gibaltar Chess Congress, the strongest Open ever, is underway and the excitement is building. The top seeds are truly inpressive: 1 4102142 Svidler, Peter g RUS 2749 bio 2 13401319 Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar g AZE 2747 bio 3...
Why Fischer-Random is not the future of chess
from time to time we hear complaints that chess is doomed because opening theory has been exhausted. These complaints have come from amateur players and professionals alike. In response, many people have proposed changing the rules of chess in som...
Updating the From Gambit: Lines with 5.d4 and 3. Nf3
We contintue our exploration of the From Gambit.
Updating the From Gambi: Main lines with 5.g3
The From Gambit (1.f4 e5) is an exciting reply to Bird's Opening. I wrote a book about it in the early 1990s but a lot has hapened since then so here is an update. This article covers the main lines with 5.ge.
![Megatheory 16: Spanish Closed: Zaitsev [Event "Analysis"] [Site "Mountain View"]](https://images.chesscomfiles.com/uploads/v1/user/8814.fdf64cd4.300x169o.915a4d0aae9d.jpeg)
Megatheory 16: Spanish Closed: Zaitsev [Event "Analysis"] [Site "Mountain View"]
The aitsev Variation of the Closed Ruy has been played over 8000 times and the theory runs very deep. Here is a look at the main lines.
Nimzo-Indian 4.Bd2: Tartakower-Duchamp Variation
Some people wonder why White doesn't respond to the Nimzo-Indian pin 3...Bb4 with 4.Bd2, breaking the pin. The plan was tried long ago by several strong players, but was abandoned and has no followers in the professional ranks. Basically, it allow...
So you think you know the rules
Many chessplayers think they know all the rules, but being a chess arbiter involves more knowledge than people think. Now you have a chance to see if you know enough to referee chess contests in an online test. It doesn't cover everything, for exa...
Opening Survey: The Mrphy Gambit
This is a survey of the literature on the Morphy Gambit, an excellent weapon for White that begins 1.e4 e5 2.Bc4 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nxe4 4.Nc3. It is also a nice sharp reply to the boring Petroff. I present the views from the following sources with many k...
The 21st century Dragon with ....Rb8!?
Against the Yugoslav Attack, Black has usually used the c-file as the main route of the attack, but recently a b-file attack has surged in popularity. It has been scoring quite well.
Kasparov plays the Caro-Kann!
Garry Kasparov was famous for his handling of the Sicilian as Black, but he was also brilliant in his use of the Caro-Kann.
Pterodactyl vs. Grandmasters
I have used the Pterodactyl against many strong players. I don't always win, of course. Better players usually win , especially as White. But I have scored some upsets and have proven that the Pterodactyl can be a scary beast! Here are a few of my...
The war of words: ChessBase vs. NIC
Chess has plenty of huge egos and there are many infamaous feuds. The latest conflagration is between software giant Chessbase and chess publishing giant New in Chess. Chessbase has always hated it when peope disagree with them, as I often have (a...