This morning I had a familiar position although the opening moves were not anything I recall playing before. The position was familiar because it had the same critical elements (pattern) found in a game Ruy Lopez played in 1560 and that appears in my book, Checkmates and Tactics (2019). The exercises in this book are those I've been using with scholastic chess players since 2006 as part of my award curriculum. I had White in the 10 minute game. 1.e4 e6 2.c4 c5 3.Nf3 d5 4.exd5 exd5 5.d4 dxc4?! 6.Bxc4 Bg4? Bad pins often backfire. White to move 7.Bxf7+ Kxf7 8.Ne5+ creates a discovery a ..read more

In a ten minute game this morning, I struggled most of the game for equality. When my opponent erred in opting for a rook ending, rather than knight vs. bishop when his passed pawn likely would have cost me my bishop, I knew my drawing chances were good. Then, while reviewing the game, I was surprised to see that a move that assured the draw was deemed an error by the website's game analysis feature. Let's look at the critical position with normal diagrams (White on bottom). White to move I played 47...Kxf4, reaching an easily drawn ending that neither side should have difficulty playin ..read more

In a ten minute game online, I struggled to get any advantage whatsoever against the Scandinavian Defense. Pieces were exchanged to lead to a rook ending with most of the pawns still on the board. Then rooks were exchanged. At the start of the pawn ending, there was some calculation needed because all of the pawns could move. I had White. White to move 36.c4 e4+ 37.dxe4+ dxe4+ 38.Ke3 bxc4 39.bxc4 Black to move 39...Ke5?? This move was the first serious error of the game. 39...a4 was necessary. However, some calculation is needed to see that White gets no where after 40.Kd4 h5 (only move ..read more

Questions arose while going over Ending 56 in Jesus de la Villa, 100 Endgames You Must Know: Vital Lessons for Every Chess Player, 4th ed. (2015), 129-132. Although de la Villa indicated that moving the king to the long side is an error while defending against a center pawn, his analysis showed that Black could hold. In one case, Black's king was on the long side while Black's rook harassed White's king from the short side. De la Villa was quick to point out that this plan fails against a c- or f-pawn, although it works against a center pawn. The technique, according to de la Villa is called t ..read more

Yesterday, I reached a clearly winning pawn ending and blew it. My opponent then returned the favor and gave me the victory. Our errors have some instructive value. There is a difference of one tempo between the position reached in the game and the position that it might have reached. White to move After 58...Kxh4 White is winning. White to move Possible position after 57...Kxh4 Black can hold the draw. Let's examine the ending and the errors. White to move After 47...Ke6 48.Ke4?? Correct was 48.Kc4, when after 48...Kxf6 49.Kb5 Ke7 50.Kxa5 Kd7 51.Kb5 Kc7 52.Kc5 ..read more

Young chess players are quick to attack pieces directly. Learning to anticipate the opponent's plans and prevent them does not come naturally. In my experience, young beginning players must be shown this simple mate in two many times before the idea of cutting off sinks in. White to move It is an ancient exercise that I first recall seeing and beginning to use with students while perusing Bruce Pandolfini, Pandolfini's Endgame Course. With a group of students who are finishing the Pawn Award and beginning to work towards the Knight Award, I prefaced this position with two others from this we ..read more

It has been a goal of mine to acquire 64 endgame books before I reach the age of 64. That birthday comes soon and I need one more. What shall I add to my existing collection? Will it gather dust on the shelf, or will it be one that I read? The main shelf The category of "endgame books" is not perfectly clear. Do works on checkmate patterns fall into this group? I keep those books separate, although checkmate exercises were called "end-games" in nineteenth century chess periodicals and books. I do include studies, although some would put these in a separate category. There are some c ..read more

White played 42.Kb2 and offered a draw. White's remaining time is 2:11; Black has 5:57. This is a ten minute Arena game and White is higher rated by nearly 200. Black to move Black is on bottom Would you accept the draw offer? If not, what would you play ..read more

As tournament director for my city’s youth events, I see a lot of examples of basic skills not yet learned. In one game today, I spent quite a bit of time watching a player with several pieces endlessly checking a lone king. The stronger side had a queen, bishop, and knight. Shortly after I began watching, he missed a mate in one. Thirty or forty checks later, his opponent captured the knight. Checks continued. Occasionally, I noticed that he seemed to be reaching for his king, but then grabbed the queen and checked again. After the bishop was captured, I began counting moves, thinking I migh ..read more

Drawing a lower rated player can be frustrating. This morning, I was forced to make my peace with such a fate. My opponent's rating was 400 below mine. Black to move 54....Qg3+ 55.Kg1 Qe1+ 56.Kh2 I considered playing Qf1, but Black has a winning pawn ending. A draw is less damaging than a loss. 56...Qe3 Now, it is my turn to show that I can force a draw. 57.Qe8+ Kf5 58.Qd7+ Kf4?? Black made a poor decision in an effort to escape the draw. 59.Qg4# In the very next game, my opponent was rated 200 higher than me and allowed us to reach a drawn opposite colored bishop ending. We had been ..read more