Nowadays, chess training comes in all shapes and sizes. Of course you can opt for a personal approach. But it logically comes with a hefty price tag. You should count on amounts of approximately €50 per hour. This can of course be extremely useful and with such an approach there is a lot of room for questions and specific problems that the trainee is experiencing. For many, such a price tag is a bit too hefty. A classroom approach can offer a solution for these players. I have been a member of “Killer Chess Training” for over a year and a half. The driving force behind this online chess academ ..read more

Can white take on d6? This is the position after Black’s 22nd move in a game between Stanislaw Praczukowski (2160) and Minas Mikinas (1951) Graz (2024). The question is: can White capture the pawn on d6? You may be asking yourself: “Michel, how did you come up with this game?” Because both chess players are not well known. This game was part of a lesson by GM Julen Arizmendi at Killer Chess Training. Julen teaches the weekly lesson “Analyse Your Tournament”. Members of Killer Chess can submit their own games, which Julen will then analyze together with the trainees. Julen is an excellent chess ..read more

White just played 16. Rxg4 Another classic! This time by the first World Champion: Wilhelm Steinitz with black against Reiner. It was played as part off a match in Vienna (1860). Steinitz won this match with 3-0. ChessGames.com says they were ‘casual games’. Question: how did Steinitz win this game? I guess this one is not too difficult. Steinitz played: 16. … Qh4!!  But it was not over yet. White answered with: 17. Rg2  How did Steinitz put a definite end to the game? Black to play and finish the game in style! Again: not very difficult, but I like it very much!  17. …  Qx ..read more

White played 42. a4. Find the best move for black… This game is from a long gone era. Chess was sort of in its infancy. The combatants were Adolf Schwarz (white) and Louis Paulsen (DSB Kongress / Meiserturnier Leipzig, 1879). Shall we have a look? Who is better in this position? I guess white thought ‘that’s me!’ and went for it with 42. a4. Is this the right approach? In itself 42. a4 looks fine. White is doing what he is supposed to do: push the passer as quick as he can. But he forgot a tiny detail. His king is not in a save place. It doesn’t have any escape square. His train of thought mig ..read more

Chessable Research Awards 2024 The online chess learning platform Chessable (part of Chess.com) is seeking undergraduate and graduate students, along with their faculty research sponsors, to apply for the Chessable Research Awards 2024 cycle. Each winning faculty research sponsor gets $500. Each undergraduate student winner gets $500, and each winning graduate student gets $1,000. The deadline for applications is May 15, 2024. The Chessable Research Awards are an initiative to promote chess research and develop our understanding of how chess can benefit our lives, how we can improve our knowle ..read more

Position after 25. Qg4 How would you judge this position, which arose after the 25th move by white in the game between Ponomariov and Bareev (FIDE Wch k.o. Moscow 2001). Question: who is better and can black take the pawn on e5? According to Stockfish black is slightly better. That is mainly due to the fact that the pawn on e5 is weak. Basically, white can’t defend this pawn. Black didn’t hesitate and played: 25. … Bxe5? This is a mistake. Do you see why? The point is that black shouldn’t be in a hurry to capture the pawn. This pawn isn’t going anywhere. He can first improve is bishop with: 25 ..read more

What is the best move for black? Before you answer the first question, I have another question. Was white’s last move: 19. Qd1 right or wrong? What was the alternative? 19. Qd1 was wrong because there was a much better move. 19. Bf4+. Black is forced to go into the corner with his king. 19. … Ka8 and then follows 20. Bxg4 with a mate threat (Qg8#). There is nothing better than to play 20. … Qd5 and black is lost. Now back to the diagram position. It is black to move. He captures the bishop on e3: 19. … Nxe3 20. fxe3 Bxf3 21. gxf3 Qxh2+ 22. Kd3 and black puts the final nail in white’s coffin: 2 ..read more

The black queen is attacked by the rook on e1. What should black play? Black can ignore the attack on his queen because white has a back rank problem. See the complete solution… Source: 1001 Chess Exercises for Club Players door Frank Erwich (New In Chess) (New In Chess ..read more

This position resulted from a Sicilian Dragon. Something went a bit wrong for white. But he didn’t notice it and played 12. Be3? Why is this a mistake? Your intuition probably told you: sack the exchange! That is exactly what Simagin did. Mind you this was in 1947. In that time this kind of exchange sacrifices were not common knowledge. Nowadays, every Sicilian player has a nose for this kind of moves. View the complete game… Source: ‘Mastering Positional Sacrifices’ by Merijn van Delft (New In Chess ..read more

Have you ever heard that pawn endgames are not as easy as they often seem? Probably. See for instance this study by Joseph Moravec (1925). What is your first thought when you see this position? You probably think: it looks great for black. You are right: white has to fight for a draw. The question is can white make a draw? It is almost immediately clear that white has to walk towards the f-pawns. He should not wait for one moment to close in on the f-pawns. If he hesitates then black first eats the h-pawn and after this he consumes the f-pawn and white is lost. But what route does white follo ..read more