Category: Chess school
About Coaches
How can you tell a good coach from an average, below-average or even downright poor one? You might think it's no big deal. A coach simply ‚explains‘, demonstrates, analyses. However, if you care about improving your performance (whether your own or your child's) and are therefore looking for a quality coach, without having experience and not wanting to throw money away, it's certainly good to know how such a quality coach works... Continue reading
Jan, Would You Care for a King Cobra?
This is just the sort of question one of the world’s top theoreticians and super-grandmaster Daniil Dubov could have asked his opponent, Jan Nepomniachtchi, in the final round of the World Blitz Championship at the end of last year! „But what does the King Cobra have to do with the World Championship and our beautiful game?“ the reader may ask. Well, few people know that there really is an opening line called the Cobra… Continue reading
Love Is Love, Fashion Is Fashion: In the Opening, the Old Faithful Dragon Came to Black's Aid, but with Sharpened Teeth, While Online Blitz Is Now Ruled by the Old Stafford Gambit.
In today’s article, we’ll focus on the changing fashion of two variations that have recently become all the rage. We’ll touch on the Dragon Variation, in which Black calmly allows the ever-dangerous Rauzer Attack. But our main focus will be on the white killer; well, mainly in blitz games. Have you ever heard of the Stafford or Staunton Gambit? We’ll also advise you how to deal with it as White… Continue reading
The Spirit of the 'h' Pawn Demolished Not Only the Pirc-Ufimcev Defence but Also Humbled the World Champion
In my previous article, I looked at new perspectives on the role of the h-pawn. I asked who would be the first to pick up the gauntlet and write what would undoubtedly be a hefty tome about how, especially at the turn of the millennium, computers elevated this often modest pawn to the ranks of modern-day heroes... However, I chose the game for analysis for another reason as well: in my previous piece, ‚2033: 1.h2-h4!…‘, I ‚forgot‘ something fundamental. The h-pawn does not have to be ‚alive‘, it does not have to be present on the board. Its spirit can – perhaps together with Caïssa – hover above the board... Continue reading
2033: The Secret of the Best First Move Unveiled! Neural Network, Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computer All Agree: 1.h2-h4!
This is more or less how we can imagine the chess world in 10 to 15 years’ time – nothing else really seems to fit, and… it’s not entirely a joke or even an attempt at one.
Why did the author choose the year 2033 for the title? I’m certainly not playing at being, nor do I have the abilities of, Nostradamus or Baba Vanga. After all, even George Orwell missed the mark in his (dystopian?) work 1984, written in 1949! Continue reading
Carlsenian Intuition or Mathematics
Of course, in this article we won’t be solving any mathematical equations. The discussion will be about playing style, thinking at the chessboard. In other words, the algorithm for finding the right move in a game. Why does Magnus Carlsen win such a high percentage of tournaments? Where does his quite remarkable dominance over his contemporaries come from? I’ve asked similar questions and tried to find answers, for example in the article ‚The Carlsen Phenomenon‘. Elsewhere, I’ve even compared his style to Capablanca’s and – admittedly with some exaggeration – mentioned the possible reincarnation of perhaps the most talented chess player of all time into Magnus Carlsen… Continue reading
Olympiad in Chennai and another rising star of the East
Before I started writing my previous article about the ongoing Olympiad, I hesitated whether to highlight the Uzbek youngster and World Rapid Champion Nodirbek Abdusattorov or the Indian star Dommaraju Gukesh. At that moment, both had achieved a 100% score after round 5, but as it turned out, it was mainly the Indian youngster who had no intention of ending his sprint and after round 8 had a phenomenal 8 points! The game the young Indian grandmaster played, for example in round 6, simply cannot be overlooked… Continue reading
A somewhat forgotten world champion
Battles at the top of the tournament, the amazing individual results of two young men from the East – that’s what everyone’s talking about at the Olympiad! But is the World Champion playing in Chennai? Of course! Carlsen deserves credit for regularly taking part in Olympiads. Here, he only sat out the first round, and then has been trying, both with a string of wins against much lower-rated opponents and by playing for Team Norway – his homeland – to help as much as he can. He beats his opponents in his typical style… Continue reading
Olympiad in Chennai – A Combination That Stayed Behind the Scenes Yet Will Circle the Globe
Originally, I had already prepared an article for readers about another young world super-talent who, at the time of writing, after round 7, can boast a perfect score. However, while following this round of the Olympiad, my attention was caught by a game and especially a possible combination that I simply have to share. In fact, dear readers, you’ll no doubt soon encounter it in all sorts of media… Continue reading
The Youngest World Champion Shines at the Olympiad in India
When the Uzbek chess prodigy, now 17-year-old Nodirbek Abdusattorov, won the World Rapid Championship at the end of last year, many probably thought it was just a fluke. If you don’t follow the career of this serious young man, I bet you haven’t heard about him for over half a year. This year’s Olympiad may be missing a whole host of strong players (the teams of China and the Russian Federation are absent, France is missing two super-grandmasters, etc.), but even so, ‚there’s plenty to watch‘. After round 5, Nodirbek has… 5 wins to his name and has crossed the magical 2,700+ barrier! And what’s more, even a star of Fabiano Caruana’s calibre has fallen to him… Continue reading
Chess quote
Chess is the touchstone of intellect.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Chess quote
Chess, like music and love, has the power to make a person happy.
Siegbert Tarrasch
Siegbert Tarrasch