“When your mind tries to verify a preconceived notion you can miss the obvious” James Cook The internet continues to be a great source for chess entertainment. Take the following position with Black to move courtesy of GM Daniel King. He presented it with the following comment: “Sometimes you can’t see the wood for the trees…” How deadly could the discovered check 25… c5-c4+ be? I argue it is the most obvious move available to Black in this position: [Event "FIDE Workd Cup Women"][Site "Baku, AZE"][Date "2023.08.01"][White "Serikbay, Assel"][Black "Guichard, Pauline"][Result "0-1"][FEN "3r3k/p ..read more

I’ve recently been researching the Leicester player Alfred Lenton, who shared 3rd place and 2nd place in the 1935 and 1936 British Championships. At the time he was an avid student of hypermodern chess, particularly the games of Richard Réti, and favoured opening with 1. Nf3 followed by a double fianchetto. In two county matches, played two weeks apart in 1937, he won with the same move: Bxg7, sacrificing his powerful queen’s bishop to expose the black king to a decisive attack. In a match between Leicestershire and Birmingham he reached this position. [FEN "3r1rk1/pb1p2p1/2nPp2p/1q1n4/1p5N/1P ..read more

This week, we’re going to do something a little different, talk about beginners’ treatment of the pawn and why it’s so poor. This topic came up in my chess classes last week and thought I’d share it with you. I teach beginning players who range in age from six to sixteen. Most of my students have little if any chess knowledge. The first member of their respective armies I teach them how to move is the pawn. I start with the pawn because, unlike the other pieces (except for the Knight) who move in straight lines, along the rank, files, and/or diagonals, and capture the way they move, pawns move ..read more

You’ll recognise this position, I’m sure. If not, then you should certainly read on. At least one book describes this much anthologised position as the most important pawn ending ever. [FEN "8/pp2kppp/4p3/8/1P6/P3PP2/5P1P/2K5 b - - 0 25"] your web browser and/or your host do not support iframes as required to display the chessboard; alternatively your wordpress theme might suppress the html iframe tag from articles or excerpts If you have any knowledge at all of chess history you’ll know this is Cohn – Rubinstein (St Petersburg 1909) with Black about to play his 25th move. The game concluded a ..read more

“All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.” Sun Tzu These days we are enjoying some great games at the 2023 Rugby World Cup from France. One such game was Fiji – Australia 22-15, the first win by the Flying Fijians over their neighbors in 69 years. It is inspiring for sure. Also, it gave me the idea to look into the chess reality in Fiji. Their chess players are not as powerful as their rugby counterparts. However, one can learn a thing or two from their games. Kieran Lyons has been Fiji’s top female player for a lon ..read more

The other day one of my clubmates asked me about the Busch-Gass Gambit, which, I must admit, was a new one on me. There are a few videos around so it might be something you run into. It starts like this: 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Bc5?! Most books will tell you, if they mention this at all, that it loses a pawn for next to no reason. They’d be right, as well, but you always have to be careful. 3. Nxe5 And why not? Now the most popular moves on lichess are Qh4 and Qf6, going for a Scholar’s Mate, but it’s easy for White to meet the threat. What I was shown was: 3.. Nc6!? Now it would be entirely sensible ..read more

The last time we met, we looked at a simple King and Pawn against lone King endgame position. While this combination of material is common, it’s more likely that both players will have at least one pawn each. This changes things up a bit because both of you must promote a pawn and stop an enemy pawn from promoting. I went through a few endgame studies, based on real positions, and found an example that you’ll most likely find in your own endgames. No matter which phase of the game you’re in – opening, middle, or endgame – chess is a combination of offense and defense, attacking and defending ..read more

Here’s a question for you. Yes, it’s another pawn ending. White to move: what would you play here? Make your choice before you read on. [FEN "8/p4p1p/8/2p2k2/2P1pP2/4K2P/PP6/8 w - - 0 34"] your web browser and/or your host do not support iframes as required to display the chessboard; alternatively your wordpress theme might suppress the html iframe tag from articles or excerpts This position arose in a game between Julian Llewellyn (1790) and Eldar Alizada (2001) in the championship section of the recent Berks & Bucks Congress in Maidenhead, with White to select his 34th move. I wrote some ..read more

“A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer” Bruce Lee A quick reminder how it works: Have a look at the position for 1 minute (watch the clock) Think about the choices in front of you and pick the one you feel it is right Verify it in your mind the best you can Compare it with the solution Preparing the article for this week gave me the opportunity to learn about a chess lover that you probably have never heard of. His name is Friedrich Amelung. A while ago I stumbled over one of his endgame studies, and somehow never got around to solve ..read more

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Ralph Waldo Emerson The beginning of a new correspondence chess tournament is of great importance. You need to prepare for all games because they all start in the same time. It is a good idea to assume the opponents are going to research your published games, picking the openings and lines most uncomfortable for you. In the same time playing well known lines could reduce the strength difference between players. A potential weaker player could employ solid lines that could lead to minimal advantages. This ..read more