Category: Chess school

For Coaches – Yet Another Way to Diagnose Pupils' Talent

Published 27. 01. 2018
Dear colleagues, do you ever wonder how else you might check whether your pupil will ‚amount to something‘? We offer an original and fresh way to try to get to the truth. Let's find out whether our pupil ‚knows how‘ to think deeply about problems and tackle tough nuts. The logical puzzle presented here is waiting for anyone who fancies thinking differently and more deeply than they have to every single day... Continue reading

Chess d'Artagnan

Published 11. 11. 2017
In May this year, the first Belarusian grandmaster Viktor Davidovich Kuprejchik passed away. He meant a great deal to me! I devoured his games, attacks, combinations; I eagerly awaited his new discoveries in variations that immediately appealed to me, and of course, I tried to copy them in my own games. The author’s account of this valiant fighter, nicknamed the chess d’Artagnan for his fearlessness, tenacity, and record numbers of consecutive tournament wins, is supplemented not only with examples of his play, but also with an analysis of three now somewhat forgotten Sicilian Defence systems. Viktor Davidovich’s name has the honour of being borne by a currently undeservedly neglected variation: 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 e5!?, which we can also see as a gauntlet thrown down to the Najdorf System, which has been enjoying its heyday for perhaps a little too long: ‘Why play 5...a6 at all?„ Let’s try Kuprejchik’s patent! Continue reading

Let's Analyse (12) – Take Your Hats Off to the Princess, Super Grandmasters

Published 12. 08. 2017
..., bow deeply and tremble, the author adds. Many readers will surely know the name of the current 23-year-old world’s top female chess player, the princess of chess, who enjoys a huge performance lead over her female rivals, as well as at least two of the Polgár sisters. She too quickly came to the logical conclusion that ‚wasting one’s time‘ at women’s tournaments (including the World Championship) is a completely pointless endeavour. Continue reading

Not all coaches are the same

Published 01. 07. 2017
How can you tell a good coach from an average, below-average, or even downright poor one? You might think it’s no great art. A coach simply ‚explains something‘, demonstrates, analyses. However, if you care about improving 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

Two Moments from the Eighth Game through a Coach's Eyes

Published 19. 11. 2016
On the 8th game of the match in New York from the coach’s database: At last, we have it! The 8th game of the World Championship match between Carlsen and Karjakin broke the deadlock. Regardless of the final result of the match, that is, the development of its last third, much has already been (and surely will be) written (and seen) about this decisive game. Below, I would like to introduce readers to two moments from this nail-biting encounter, which I have gladly and enthusiastically added to my coaching databases. The first situation concerns what appears to be a voluntary surrender of the open file (a mysterious rook move?), the second moment then the phenomenon of blockade (the section of the article ‚Nimzowitsch in Seventh Heaven‘). And, at the very end of the article, the reader can even (unusually) take part in a competition... Continue reading

For Coaches (3) – Mate in 6 Moves

Published 30. 10. 2016
Black has a decisive advantage in the position and can certainly win in relatively many ways. However, we are interested in something else here: With the help of a brilliant combination, let’s checkmate the white king in no more than 6 moves! Continue reading

Let's Analyse No. 11 – The Carlsen Phenomenon

Published 02. 08. 2016
The secret of the crushing performance lead of the world champion; what lies behind it? Botvinnik’s analysis: „Capablanca the greatest natural talent of all time!“ Reincarnation of Capablanca into MC...? We analyse the game Carlsen vs. Karjakin from Basque Bilbao, which reveals a veil of the secret... What are multifunctional games and how to learn from them?... Let’s evaluate positions using analogies... A closer encounter of the third kind: can the system opened by Carlsen 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.c3!? be accepted as the 3rd member of the Delayed Alapin family? […] Continue reading

Overview of pupils' achievements as of 1.7.2016

Published 02. 07. 2016
Overview of achievements and current performance ranking of Chess School students available here: Overview of pupils' achievements as of 1.7.2016   Continue reading
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