Tag Archives: tactics
Just like there were sooooo many players in the World Open, there were soooo many ties for various prizes in every section. Not one person swept their section (although one player in one section came very close), and there were often 2, 3 and even 8 way ties for each place in each section. This […]
I know I said I was going to post a blog right after the lecture by GM Sam Palatnik. I was unable to find the time, however, to even turn my laptop on (partly because of how long some of my chess matches lasted, and partly because my laptop is an ancient piece of machinery […]
Last time, we learned about an older form of notation called Descriptive Notation. It used to be the only thing players and books would use to notate moves made in a chess game. After the 1970’s, however, a new form of notation came around called Algebraic notation, which uses less characters and less writing in […]
Before we get started talking about a few special moves you can do in chess, let’s give you the answers to the quiz from the last blog on if each position was a Check, Checkmate, or Stalemate. QUIZ ANSWERS 1) Checkmate! This sort of Checkmate is also referred to as a “smother-mate”. Notice how the […]
Now that you know how the pieces move (at least, you do if you read the last 2 blogs… if you haven’t read them, please go back and do so now), you need to learn how to win! There are two ways to win: 1) get your opponent in checkmate, 2) your opponent realizes it’s […]
As a beginner it’s important to learn which material imbalances lead to a clear win. In this post I’m going to show two very basic checkmates that every beginning chess player should know. The first is checkmating a lone enemy king with your own king and queen. The first concept to understand is that you […]
It’s been said that chess is 99% tactics. Whether that is true is a matter of debate. Nevertheless, if you fail to see the tactical possibilities on the chess board you will most likely lose the game. The great thing is that studying tactics and combinations is fun! Combinations are a big part of what […]
