A Foundation for Beginners Twenty Seven
We’ll wrap up our look at tactics over the next three weeks and move onto a set of middle-game principles that will greatly help you during this game phase. As…
Yerk ’em with the Yugoslav
Before anyone asks, yerk is a real word and its meaning can be found here. As for Yugoslav I already covered the Yugoslav Attack against the Dragon under its other…
Comeback Kid
It’s an interesting question for all sportspeople. When should you retire? Should you quit when you’re at the top, or keep going as long as you’re able to do so….
A Foundation for Beginners Twenty Six
Over the last few weeks, we have examined the fork, specifically how to employ this tactic. This week we will look at the fork from a defensive position. In other…
X-terminate ’em with the X-change Variation
Covering ‘X’ was always going to be a challenge so I cheated with some spellings. Several different Exchange Variations are possible, for example in the French (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5…
Culture Wars (11-07-21)
Nigel posted an interesting thought on social media the other day. “I sense that a chess ‘kulturkampf’ is brewing with digital Bongcloudistas vs cantankerous traditionalists. Battle lines are currently being…
A Foundation for Beginners Twenty Five
Last week, we started looking at the fork, another tactic the beginner should have in his or her chess player’s tool box. A fork occurs when one pawn or piece…
Whack ’em with the Wing Gambit
An opening that I’ve had a long standing affection for is the Wing Gambit against the Sicilian Defence (1.e5 c5 2.b4!?). I recommended it for White in my 2007 book,…
Double Trouble
Here’s another of my pawn ending questions for you. It’s Black’s move. What would you play here? In one of my club’s recent lockdown arena sessions I miscalculated two pawn…
Vanquish ’em with the Vienna
The Vienna Game (1 e4 e5 2 Nc3) is one of the most venerable answers to 1…e5. White develops a piece and at the same time keeps the option of…
