What in the world is the Siberian Trap you might ask. Is it what Russians use in taiga to hunt the Siberian tiger? One of the World Heritage Sites, the Putorana Plateau, is composed of Siberian Traps | Image Wikipedia Well, if you ever tr...
Some time ago we discussed the chess version of the well known phenomenon called the butterfly effect. We could see how a piece or a pawn sitting at one part of the board could affect the outcome of the whole battle on the opposite part of the boa...
The typical idea of trading the fianchettoed bishop by playing Be3,Qd2 and Bh6 is so common that many chess players execute it almost automatically. Indeed, how can you argue with a game like this: It is the games like this firmly engraved...
Last week we analyzed the games where great world champions (Fischer, Petrosian, Smyslov) happily parted with their fianchettoed bishops to isolate and double their opponent's pawns, turning them into long-term weaknesses. Another famous world cha...
Every chessplayer who likes to fianchetto his king's bishop in the opening quickly learns the value of this bishop. It is the main (and in some cases the only) defender of his king. As my first coach used to say, pointing at my Bg7 in the Dragon v...
Last week we discussed the game where Russian Super Grandmaster Evgeny Tomashevsky missed a checkmate in one. Of course that was a special situation where a draw was enough for him to win the match and qualify for the next round, but in general, h...
"History does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme." - Mark Twain The following game was played just three weeks ago at the FIDE World Cup in Tromso, Norway: I hope you were a...
It is a very common situation in chess when in the last round, one chess player is in a must-win situation and his opponent needs just a draw to achieve his goal. Sometimes it leads to hilarious incidents. The year is 1935 and it is the last gam...
I frequently hear the same question from many club players: "The Smith-Morra Gambit is such an exciting weapon against the Sicilian Defense, why don't grandmasters play it? Is there a refutation?" The question is simple, but the answer is not. F...
Grandmaster Mark Paragua from the Philippines is not a household name. But he is a very strong and solid GM who can be a dangerous opponent for anyone. The next remarkable game played by Mark both fascinates and puzzles me. Let's see what happened...
In the first part of this series, we analyzed Aron Nimzowitsch's influence on the modern openings. While everyone knows that Nimzowitsch was the creator of a number of well-known opening variations like the Nimzo-Indian Defense or the 5...gxf...
It is difficult to find a chess player who could be compared with Aron Nimzowitsch by his contribution to modern opening theory. When we talk about Nimzowitsch's opening heritage many chess players would instantly think about the defense...
During the past several weeks we had a big discussion about stalemate. I hope from now on you won't allow your opponent to miraculously escape when you are winning and also won't miss your last chance to save the game when you are losing. Tod...
Last week we discussed a very important role of a stalemate in many endgames. Believe me or not, but a stalemate can be very useful in openings too. Say, you want a draw and your opponent doesn't mind too, but the pesky Sofia rule doesn't allow yo...
Stalemate is a vital part of many theoretical endgames. For example the whole defensive mechanism in such a basic position as king and pawn vs. king is based on a stalemate: Image: Thoughts from the Line Here is a bunch of imp...
Last week we saw violent outbreaks of stalematis in the games of Kasparov and Reshevsky. One of the most curious cases of this infectious disease happened in the games of another famous world class player, Mikhail Chigorin. Look at the position th...
Imagine a chess position where you have almost your whole army and your opponent has just a lonely king. The game is practically over and yet he just keeps playing. Even if you blunder some of your pieces and pawns, there is still no chance for hi...
In the last two articles we analyzed brilliant attacking games of Rashid Nezhmetdinov. There the Great Master of Attack showed a number of useful attacking techniques that you can use in your own games. But one of the readers expressed the followi...
Today we will analyze one of the most remarkable games of Rashid Nezhmetdinov where the deadly attack against the black king appeared almost from nowhere! Also at the end, as an added bonus, you'll learn a typical tactical pattern. (The game is g...
Last December the chess community celebrated the 100th birthday of Rashid Nezhmetdinov, one of the most creative attacking players in the history of chess. He is one of my most favorite players and the game we'll analyze today shows why he w...
In the last article we analyzed King-and-Pawn endgames, and today we'll talk about Kings and Queens. I don't mean King and Queen endgames. Instead, we'll see how chess Kings play with their Queens. Well, it sounds even more confusing... OK, in thi...
I hope the previous five parts of this article managed to convince you that the King and Pawn endgames are very complicated. Therefore, a decision to go for such an endgame is a major commitment and shouldn't be taken lightly. In the fi...
No discussion about King and Pawn endgames can be complete without mention of a pawn breakthrough. The following endgame is well known and yet extremely delightful no matter how many times you've seen it. I remember it was one of the f...
Last week we analyzed the game Koull - Stanciu where the leader of the Scotland's women Olympic team resigned in an absolutely drawn position. Unfortunately, such a case of the 'ultimate blunder' is more common in pawn endgames then you might thin...
