A popular saying insists that there are no bad questions: there are only bad answers. Well, I have a confession to make. There is a sort of question that is really difficult to answer. It usually goes like this: A student rated around USCF 1200 co...
The Ruy Lopez (also known as the Spanish Opening) is a chess opening enjoyed by chess players from complete beginners to the world champion, Magnus Carlsen! History Notable games Opening explorer History The opening bears the name o...
The Fried Liver Attack holds the award for the coolest opening name in chess. This variation of the Two-Knights Defense involves a bold knight sacrifice which forces the black king to take a walk. This variation is also known as the Fegatello Atta...
About a hundred years ago, the third world chess champion, José Raúl Capablanca, expressed concern about the death of chess due to its drawish tendences. He said that in times when there were no computers claiming "0.00" and when che...
The Accelerated Dragon may be a more positional style than other forms of the Sicilian, but it's equally effective against White. In this series, GM Melik Khachiyan offers a deeper insight into this popular opening for Black. Not what...
Is it true? Is the Catalan an easy way for White to jump out ahead? In this series, GM Georg Meier explores the depths of the Catalan for both White and Black. Will you find interesting ideas for Black up an extra pawn or just a positional co...
There's no such thing as too much Ruy Lopez. This time GM Ivan Sokolov makes his Chess.com debut with a new take on winning with White in the most popular opening. You'll enjoy the in-depth analysis and final verdicts on some of those sidelines yo...
One of our favorite installments from one of our favorite guest. In this series, GM Hikaru Nakamura best games in the KID are broken down, piece by piece, by GM Simon Williams. Try the Lessons! Not what you were looking for? Back...
During the last five years or so, most of the time that I have spent on chess has been devoted to creating things that have helped other players improve: videos, books, articles, courses and whatever else comes along. Undertaking this direc...
Dave asked for my opinion on a line in the Two Knight’s Defense. He wrote: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Na5 6.Bb5+ c6 7.dxc6 bxc6 8.Be2 h6 9.Nf3 e4 10.Ne5 Bc5. Here there are a few moves to play. The move I’m look...
In this series, GMs Roman Dzindzichashvili and Melik Khachiyan explore one of the first chess openings to come into existence, the Giuoco Piano. While there are great advantages for Black in gaining the d5-square, the road to success is bumpy, to ...
One of the oddest, yet intriguing variations in the King's Gambit Accepted is one discovered by Louis Eisenberg. Louis R. Eisenberg ...
Target Skill Range: Master Path (Rated 2000-2199) Acquire the knowledge you need to approach the opening with confidence and achieve success! Tasks: Learn About Advanced Opening Preparation Expand Your Knowledge of Thematic Middlegam...
Target Skill Range: Advanced (Rated 1800-1999) Acquire the knowledge you need to approach the opening with confidence and achieve success! Tasks: Expand your Knowledge of Common Structures and Plans Learn About Creating an Opening Re...
George C. Parker was a famous con man. Here is what Wikipedia says about him: "He made his living conducting illegal sales of property he did not own, often New York's public landmarks, to unwary immigrants. The Brooklyn Bridge was th...
People are obsessed with chess openings. Amazon shows 28,265 books listed when you search for "Chess Book", but I expect the number of books written on the game is well over 100,000. If I were to hedge a bet, then I would also guess that...
Picking the correct opening repertoire is one of the most important decisions that a chess player makes. There is no point starting the game with a series of moves that will lead you into a situation that you find unc...
Blitz chess has a nature all its own. With limited time, you should be taking the most efficient route to a better, or playable, position. This series provides strong openings and systems for the blitz enthusiast. GM Maxim Dlugy&nbs...
For some reason, certain openings give players trouble no matter how well versed they are in theory. Sometimes this is a matter of style. This series is designed to explore a universal system against hypermodern openings, a system known for caus...
"You might not be able to fight like a samurai, but you can at least die like a samurai." -- Kill Bill, Vol. 1. The Berlin Defense in the Ruy Lopez is a very peculiar opening. Spectators hate it, most chess players hate it (coun...
When we analyzed "An Opening Line For Masters" last week, I chose GM Igor Zaitsev as our opening guide for a reason. It is difficult to name another chess player who introduced that many absolutely paradoxical opening novelties. Today ...
Last week we analyzed a line that could be a decent opening weapon for club players. As you remember, unlike the openings played by super-grandmasters, it didn't require any special opening knowledge and could be learned in one minute. The obvio...
The Cunningham Defense in the King's Gambit Accepted begins 1. e4 e5 2. f4 exf4 3. Nf3 Be7. White moves the Bishop to give his King a place to go with 4. Bc4. If Black continues with the threatened 4... Bh4+ ...
There are certain opening variations in chess which can be labeled "for top players only." The most obvious example would be the Berlin Variation of the Ruy Lopez. But club players shouldn't be jealous since there are also opening variations "fo...
