Chess has plenty of huge egos and there are many infamaous feuds. The latest conflagration is between software giant Chessbase and chess publishing giant New in Chess. Chessbase has always hated it when peope disagree with them, as I often have (a...
In Ivan Sokolov's brilliant new book "Ruy Lopez Revisited" he brings out his personal experience in sidelines such as the Schliemann Defence 3...f5, an old favorite of mine. Let's see what he says about one discarded variation and try to find some...
Last time we looked at the main lines, now we'll look at the other options, starting with the Lolli Attack, which is an improved form of the Fried Liver.
When starting out in chess most games begin 1.e4 e5 and the Two Knights Defense is most often seen, hoping for the dreaded Fried Liver AttACK. That is actually not the best way to play for White, as we will see in the next article. Let's start, ho...
My result at the National Open was a bit disappointing but my last round game made up for it. I didn't do much preparation but I did watch a Danny King video on the Bayonet Attack to sharpen my repertoire against the King's Indian. It turned out ...
The main lines of the Open Spanish, including the Dilworth Attack, continue to be lively. Let's explore some of the action.
The Marshall Attack has long been popular with top players, but can Frank Marshall's Gambit hold up against the Houdini monster? A team of mere masters proves that it can in a theoretically important game complete with fireworks!
Here is another of my pet openings you've probably never heard of but I have used it consistently against titled players with good results.
There is no wilder variation of the Spanish Gam than the Classical Schliemann. The controversial opening was first analyzed seriously by Jaenisch and has been a favorite of correspondence players, emerging briefly in the 1990 under he patronage of...
The French Winawrer Poisoned Pawn used to be one of the wildest arenas of opening theory. It has calmed down a bit, lacking a champion at highest levels, but ius still a complicated and thrilling ride.
Can you spot the promising sacrifices? Some are easy but the hard part was achieving the positions. ...
David Bronstein was one of the early adopters of the exchang sacrifice at a1 n the Exchange Gruenfeld. White gives up a rook for Black's powerful bishop. Bronstein's choice is not the main focus of attention these days but it rmains a good approac...
Today is my birthday, but there is nothing to celebrate. It was my worst year ever, spent mostly in hospital dealing with leg and arm amputations and other medical problems. I'm stuck in a dump of a nursing facility with nothing to do but try to w...
To wrap up this miniseries, a few more nice wins, including one by Julian Hodgson (pictured).
The Bayonet Attack was born the same year I was. It is a logical response to Black's kingside ambitions. White plans an all-out attack on the queenside.but will also try to disrupt Black's plans by sinking a knight at e6 once Black weakens that sq...
World Champion Anatoly Karpov didn't lose many games but he did fall to the Torre Attack at the hands of Viktor Korchnoi and Artur Yusupov (pictured). Both games are instructive and entertaining.
We have seen how Carlos Torre used his attack, now lets look at how World Champions followed his example.
The Torre Attack is one of the simplest chess openings. Yet it is highly effctive and can lead to spectacular games. Its inventor, the Mexican star Carlos Torre, used it to defeat no less than Emmanuel Lasker at a major international foreign us...
Perhaps the most flexible opening is the Sicilian Scheveningen, a labyrinth of positional paths that occupy a solid niche at the highest levels of competition. Some teachers seem to think the hardest thing about the opening is how to pronounce the...
At the crossroads of iopening theory lie the mainb lines of the Panov Attack that can be reached via many openings. ECO considers the Nimzo-Indians but that is an arbitrary choice. The flexible positions give rise to many strategies and great sco...
The Sveshnikov Variation of the Lasker-Pelikan Sicilian soared in popularity in the 1980s. Despite a gaping hole at d5, a lot of counterplay has been discovered and the theory has mushroomed into a gigantic complex. The main line is now well-esta...
when I was learning the game, a Closed Ruy Lopez was considered the ultimate chess opening and even my classmates knew the first dozen movesor so. Every move is logical, and there areno particularly tricky tactics to stumble on. The opening has ...
The Tarrasch is fairly positional, but computers seem to like the fluid piece play and have contributed to the development of the well-established main line.
Back in the day the ultimate opening was the Najdorf Poisoned Pawn, constantly under debate by the world's best players. It is still seen today, though not oftn in elite tournaments. Our theory includes contributions fro blind tournaments and the ...
