Team Viking - Chess Knowledge Bank

Write your own chess engine?

2012-03-03T13:32:00.001+01:00

Do you want to write your own chess engine? Or to explore how chess engines work under the hood? Then this chess programming wiki can be a great place to start!

Ruy Lopez Berlin Defence Trap (Fishing Pole)

2012-03-02T12:34:00.000+01:00

GM Emanuel Berg

2012-03-02T12:18:00.001+01:00

Luck in chess?

2012-03-01T14:59:00.000+01:00

Luck in chess, is it possible?

Have you ever been lucky in chess?

Have you ever won, drawn or lost a game of chess because of luck?

Can you define what is luck in chess?

This is a great moment for you to share!

Please comment below!

Sicilian Magnus Smith Trap

2012-03-01T11:24:00.001+01:00

Ruy Lopez Mortimer Trap (video)

2012-02-29T09:06:00.002+01:00

Bishop

2012-02-28T23:30:00.004+01:00

The bishop strikes diagonally and can only move on squares of its own color. It is a long range piece and prefers open positions and acting on as many squares as possible. The bishop is excellent at pinning pieces to each other and at supporting passed pawns on their way to promotion. The B+Q team is excellent at mating attacks because they can form two types of batteries to shatter a king's shelter (bishop in front and queen in front) and also because they complete each other when delivering checkmate, for example the classical 1.Bd3-h7+ Kg8-h8 2.Bh7-g6+ Kh8-g8 3.Qh6-h7+ Kg8-f8 4.Qh7-f7#.

The B+R team are strong in endgames because both pieces are long range and therefore highly mobile and can quickly shift their attack from one part of the board to another. Together they are also great at supporting a passed pawn, especially a flanking passed pawn, imagine Ra1+a5-pawn+Bg2.

The bishop increases in strength when the center is free of pawns and thereby open for bishop action. The bishop can get trapped behind its own pawns, for example Ba2+b3-pawn+c2-pawn. Sometimes it is enough with one poorly placed pawn to make the bishop bad. The bishop can also be limited in strength by the opponent's pawns. Usually the black light squared bishop experiences tons of problems with becoming bad at some point of the game. Perhaps because white's kingside knight is so important in many opening systems and gradually Bc8 and Ng1 became archenemies.

There are two kinds of bishops. The normal bishop, for example white's Bc4, and the fiancetto bishop, for example g2-g3 followed by Bf1-g2. The fiancetto bishop arises in several opening systems and holds strategic importance. The fiancetto bishop is strong because it has control over the center and it is placed on its longest diagonal (recall that the bishop likes to control as many squares as possible). The fiancetto bishop is also an investment with risk, because after g2-g3 the light squares of the kingside are weakened and in case the bishop is exchanged then these weaknesses can cause problems. The normal bishop can be converted into a fiancetto bishop at any stage of the game. Sometimes black plays Be7-f8 followed by g7-g6 and Bf8-g7 to create a delayed fiancetto bishop.

Knight

2012-02-28T02:01:00.003+01:00

The knight is a fascinating chess piece with the unique property of being able to jump over other pieces. The knight makes L shaped jumps and lands on an opposite colored square to the one it starts from. The knight has 8 possible jumps when standing in the center of the board and 4 jumps when standing on the edge of the board.

The knight, as any other piece, has its strengths and weaknesses. It can be powerful when attacking the king, where Q+N and R+N are excellent attacking partners. It is good at protecting the king because it covers many squares of one color and after a jump it suddenly covers many squares of the opposite color. It holds the kingside together so to say.

When a knight is pushed deeply into the opponent's position it becomes strong and annoying. If white gets a knight to c6, d6, e6 or f6 and has it protected by a pawn, then it can be enough for victory. Several opening systems involve getting a white knight to d5 or e5 or f5, where such knights limit the opponent's space and also create opportunity for attacks.

In closed pawn structures the knight can be a strong pawn grabber. The knight can serve as a good blocker to an opponent's isolated passed pawn. The knight can become trapped at the edge of the board and become very weak because of this. For example the knight can be pushed back by pawns and end up on the first rank like a white knight trapped on h1 or a1. Also, a knight can be trapped on any edge of the board by an opponent bishop, for example on Na5 by Bd5.

In the endgame, the knight is bad at stopping passed pawns, probably because it has to jump and those jumps can be worthless when stopping passed pawns and also because they are short ranged and cannot stop passed pawns as fast as a bishop or a rook could. Typical case would be white playing 1.Rxe8+ Nxe8 2.d7 and the knight cannot stop the pawn and also the pawn creates the threat of grabbing the knight and at the same time promoting to a queen. If it were a bishop then it would reply Bxd7 and a rook would reply Rd8 but a knight has no good reply.

Chess has two kinds of time

2012-02-26T22:43:00.000+01:00

There are two kinds of time in chess. The first and obvious is the ticking chess clock. Each player gets a limited amount of time for the entire game. The golden standard is 90 minutes for 40 moves followed by 30 minutes for the remaining moves including a 30 second increment per move starting from the first move. The second and perhaps less obvious is the tempi or the moves themselves. It is the number of moves that it takes to perform a planned action. For example, if you plan to bring your king to the center using Kg1-f1-e2-e3-e4, this takes 4 moves so the tempo time is equal to four. Pretty often you hear the phrase "that is a great plan but it is too slow". In this context, slow refers to the tempo time, it just takes too many moves to perform the planned action.

Taking tempo time into account is important, because for every extra move that you need to perform an action, the opponent gets one extra move for reaction. For example, if you plan to do Qd1-g4 and then put a bishop on h6, then it would be strange to start this with Bc1-e3. A plan is generally directed to reach a certain goal, for example to increase the pressure on a weak pawn. This goal can be reached using different pieces going to different squares in a different order. In such a situation, tempo time goes both ways. If you force the opponent to react in a passive way, for example when you threaten a weak pawn with a piece then the opponent uses a piece to protect it, then you are using your tempo time better than the opponent and thus increasing your advantage. Therefore, the best way to perform an action is to choose such moves and order of moves so that the opponent's tempo time is used in a less improving way than yours.

Understanding the different pieces and how they cooperate is important to calculate tempo time in a good way. Different positions have different levels of sensitivity to tempo time. Tempo sensitivity depends on how well the kings are protected, on the pawn structure, on the number of open files, on the pieces that are still on the board, on the number of passed pawns, etc. Figuring out the level of tempo sensitivity of the position on the board is an important part of figuring out the key components of the position. Try to plan in a tempo efficient way.

Pawn

2012-02-25T18:21:00.001+01:00

A few words about pawns. The pawns can move one or two steps forward from their starting position and from then on they can only move one step forward at a time. They capture sideways and all pawns except the a-pawn and h-pawn can capture on two squares. There is a special move called en passant.

A pawn is generally worth more the further forward it has moved, because it restricts the movements of the opponent's pieces in the middlegame and also gets closer to its promotion square at the 8-th or 1-st rank.

Different pawns have different functions. The pawns in front of the king are protecting the king from enemy attack. So if you castle kingside, you generally don't want to move the f-pawn, g-pawn and h-pawn at all. Unless you open air against a back rank check mate at some point later in the game.

The pawns in the center usually fight for the center from the very beginning of the game. The c-pawn and f-pawn can be used to support the center. They can also be used to open files by typical motifs c2-c4-c5xd6 and f2-f4-f5xe6. Pawns are great at supporting light pieces in the center and even further in the enemy ranks. For example the d4-pawn supporting a Nc5 or Ne5. Or the famous e5-pawn supporting a Nd6 or Nf6.

When pawns in the center have mobility, then they are very useful in creating attacks. They have a strong potential force and can hang like a black cloud over the opponent's position. For example the pawn structure d4 and e4 against d6 and Nf6. Then there is always e4-e5 hanging in the air. It is generally advantegous to let this threat hang in the air while building up a strong piece collaboration and only later start the attack. This is because such central pawns give an advantage in space and allow for extra maneuvering.

The a-pawn and h-pawn can be very dangerous as passed pawns because they are the furthest away from the center. A bishop on Bg2 with an open diagonal to the a8-square together with a passed a2-pawn can win many games.

The big problem with pawns is that they cannot move back. Moving a pawn without having a clear idea behind the move can have a big minus in a later part of the game. When a pawn moves forward it loses control over 1 or 2 squares. For example after c7-c5 black can no longer chase away white's Nd5 with c7-c6. Goal-less pawn moves cause many losses.

Choose a plan for black

2012-02-25T17:52:00.001+01:00

In-between moves win tons of games

2012-02-24T23:14:00.000+01:00

A typical in-between move happens as follows. The opponent captures something, for example takes a knight with a bishop to exchange pieces. Then instead of taking it back, you check the opponent's king with your rook. Then the king has to move and forfeit its right to castle. Then you re-capture the bishop with your queen. Another example. Your knight has just been threatened by a pawn. Instead of moving it away, you threaten the opponent's knight with a pawn.

In-between moves can improve your position, win material and lead to successful mating attacks. Searching for in-between moves when looking at positions and calculating variations will broaden your chess vision. It is a powerful resource and is used on everyday basis by strong players.

Find white's best continuation

2012-02-24T16:30:00.000+01:00

Interactive chess problems

2012-02-24T11:26:00.001+01:00

All our chess problems respond with a move once you found the correct first move! You have to make several correct moves to solve a problem. The best solution would be to write down the entire variation on a piece of paper before trying anything on the board. Every time you solve it on a paper, mark the move you chose before making it on the board. Then you will be sure if you solved it or not.

GM Pia Cramling

2012-02-23T20:16:00.001+01:00

IM Daniel Semcesen

2012-02-23T18:51:00.001+01:00

Find white's best continuation

2012-02-22T23:49:00.000+01:00

Hypnotized by a beautiful idea

2012-02-22T14:40:00.001+01:00

We think that this is a more or less common phenomenon. You are in the middle of a game and you suddenly see a wonderful idea. You think - "would be so great if this idea worked!". Perhaps you also think - "this can become my most beautiful win ever!". But at the same time, you sense that the move or combination that you have pictured has some problems. Maybe it simply does not work if your opponent finds the best response.

At this point, you reach a cross road. The first option is to calm down and focus and be objective. The move or combination has problems, let's include other candidate moves and calculate them too. Then you find a move that is acceptable. Then you play it on the board.

The second option is to start turning and twisting the variations around this fantastic idea that you have discovered. You think that - "yeah, if my opponent finds that response, my move might lead to a worse position. But it is a difficult move to find and perhaps the shock will make my opponent slip." In all the other variations, it looks like it is leading to a better position. You keep thinking back and forth, burning time on imagining what can happen after this move. Then you finally make it on the board.

Both choices are valid. For the best results in terms of competition and rating points, the first option should be the best because the stronger opponents you have the higher chance that they find the best responses. Winning a game with a beautiful combination is certainly great. Simply winning a game is also great. They are both great!

Blumenfeld's rule

2012-02-21T21:04:00.002+01:00

This is a rule that should help avoid terrible blunders in complicated positions or any positions that require calculating relatively complicated variations. The rule is formulated roughly as follows. After finishing a complicated calculation, take a fresh look at the position on the board. Try to picture the position directly after the move you plan to make. Check whether you are missing something trivial. Are you perhaps losing a piece after this move? Are you missing a simple check that makes you lose material? Perhaps you will even be check mated in a few moves? Only after completing this check for terrible blunders can you now go on and make your move. We recommend our readers to include this rule in their overall method of calculation.

Computer screen or real chess board?

2012-02-21T14:28:00.003+01:00

Have you ever wondered what is the difference between playing chess on a computer screen and playing on a real chess board? Then you are welcome to read this post and if you wish to also comment it with your own thoughts! Here we will try to compare internet blitz games to real games.

1. Holding or hovering a pawn or piece. When a new blitz game starts you make your first move directly. Then your mouse cursor probably moves over to the piece you expect to move next. If you click on that piece before your opponent makes a move, then it would be the same as you would be holding the piece in your hand in a real game. Which would violate the rules. If you are hovering your piece over the square where it will go as soon as your opponent makes a move, the difference from a real board game increases.

2. Thinking posture. When sitting at a chess board, you have certain postures while you think. Perhaps you close your ears with both hands. Perhaps you frequently lean on your elbows and support your head with one of your hands and keep shifting positions. While playing on a computer screen, you have to use other postures because the usual ones probably do not work.

3. Distractions. There are tons of distractions while playing internet blitz, because you have internet access just one click away.

4. Sneaky tactics. There are some sneaky tactics in internet blitz during mutual time trouble. For example, you are playing with queens still on the board. Then you can check the king and also threaten the opponent's queen and you do it in such a way that your own queen is hanging too! The opponent was expecting a check and therefore pre-moves the king. You win the queen in the next move. Such tricks probably do not work in a real game.

5. Time lag. Lag is when the opponent's internet connection introduces a delay, so that it takes you for example 5 seconds to make your opponent use 2 seconds. This usually does not happen in real games.

6. Easy. It is easy to start a new game. You do not need to invite someone to your home or to meet up at the local chess club. There is no need to cook food for someone or to make a cup of tea or to socialize. You just seek a new game and start it up. Also, you can do it at any time of the day or night, which makes it very practical if you want to play many games.

7. Tons of opponents. You do not need to play the same player twice. There are lots of players to choose between, at virtually any level. This can be great and it can also be bad.

8. No analysis. People do not usually want to analyze a blitz game. A blitz game is like a chewing gum that just gets tossed into the nearest trash bin. Which can be too bad, especially if it had some interesting motifs and ideas. Analyzing this for a few minutes could make it stick to your head better.

9. Strange openings. Some people play strange openings during internet blitz games. This can be bad, because then you get less practice in the usual opening systems that you use in classical games. If you want to use internet blitz to train chess, then you should probably just resign games that don't create your usual opening system positions. They are probably a waste of time.

10. Bitter loss and quick comeback. After losing an internet blitz game you just want to lash out and crush the opponent. This can be a bad idea. Better would be to step back and analyze the game and find out exactly why you lost. Then, you can start a new game, it does not matter if it is the same opponent or a new one. Using a lost game as motif for a crushing style attack rarely improves your chess. But this kind of strategy could work to win a game, as long as it does not cloud your focus and objective thinking.

CBM Training with Karsten Müller

2012-02-21T11:04:00.001+01:00

Click here to improve your endgame skills!

Try to save white

2012-02-20T22:20:00.001+01:00

Learn how to decline a draw

2012-02-19T03:38:00.000+01:00

It seems like higher rated players offer draw when they stand worse and lower rated players offer draw when they stand better. But apart from this general trend, a draw offer could be a gesture of winning ambitions. Offering a draw is like asking a question - "Are you sure you are winning?". It is also a provocation - "Prove that you are winning!". Although the position on the board does not change after a draw offer has been made, the psychological mood does change. If you refused the draw offer, you have to prove that your position is better. Perhaps you even want to crush the opponent to prove your point. But this is a risky way of thinking, because the position is still as it was before the draw offer was made. The ideal way to continue playing for a win would be to calm down a bit and bring back the focus. To let the emotional reaction pass and return to the position on the board. This can be surprisingly difficult for players at all levels. Do you have any experiences of this that you would like to share? You are welcome to post a comment!

White to move and win

2012-02-18T15:18:00.002+01:00

FM Rauan Sagit

2012-02-17T19:33:00.000+01:00

20 minutes

2012-02-17T18:30:00.000+01:00

Probably the maximum time you can stay focused while calculating a complicated position. If you keep calculating after 20 minutes have passed then you risk losing focus and choosing a bad move.

Improve by understanding why you lost

2012-02-15T17:40:00.002+01:00

You just lost a game with a classical time control. After spending several hours on it, you came out with a zero. Bummer. We hate losing and we think that you hate it too. It hurts. Now you have a choice to make. You can go through your usual habits of what you do after losing. Maybe you scramble your protocol and toss it into the nearest trash bin. Maybe you just have a bad mood for the rest of the day. Or, you can try the following method.

In general, it is important to notice the things that you say to yourself, no matter the result. So actually step number one is to try to think about what just happened. You lost the game. This is a fact. You can win, draw or lose your next game. This is a fact too.

So why did you lose this game? Do you care? If you do care, we advise you to find it out. In fact, find out exactly where and how you lost. Maybe you mixed up the moves in the opening? Maybe you mis-evaluated a position while calculating and simply ended up in a worse position? Maybe you lost at some other point of the game than you think?

Finding out exactly where you lost and why you lost will help you to let it go. There is no exact way of telling how much you will learn from analyzing your lost game. But knowing exactly what happened is very good and it does not leave any room for doubts and speculations. Try this method and we hope that your mood will go sky high!

Improve by defending worse positions

2012-02-15T14:13:00.001+01:00

Do you resign after loosing a pawn? Fight back instead! Defending worse positions as best you can increases your self confidence and improves your results! Why? Because chess offers endless defensive possibilities. One of them is called stalemate. The other one is the endgame with opposite colored bishops. The third one is the rook endgame with lots of drawing chances. More importantly, during the middlegame, you can create lots of problems for your opponent and you can find counterplay. The opponents who just won material will probably start celebrating too early and those emotions will make them less focused. You should use this fact to your advantage and push back! Players who defend worse positions often save half points and sometimes even manage to win! You can do it too!

CBM Training with Karsten Müller

2012-02-15T14:03:00.004+01:00

CBM training: Endgames from Aeroflot Moscow

Improve by solving chess problems

2012-02-14T11:57:00.003+01:00

Solving chess problems can be a great and fun way to spend a Sunday afternoon. It can also be a great way to improve your chess skills during serious games. To use chess problems as a training tool, you could use the following method. Take a problem that seems difficult for you. Then give yourself fifteen minutes. Put up the position in front of you, preferably on a chess board. You are not allowed to move the pieces while solving the problem. Now, start the timer and start thinking. Write down your answers as best you can. Write down all the moves and variations that you find, they are all part of your answer. Choose which first move you would make on the board and mark it as your solution. Then compare it with the answer. That is the method. Have you tried it? Is it hard? Can you improve it? Good luck with your training!

Improve by finding more candidate moves

2012-02-14T11:48:00.001+01:00

Let's say you are playing a game and you have reached what seems to be a critical position. You sense that the decision made at this move will have a great impact on the result of the game. We will not go into the entire process of calculating a variation at this moment. Let us limit ourselves to stating that before you jump into calculating variations, you should first identify the candidate moves. A candidate move is a move that you think looks interesting to check, and the full list of candidate moves are the moves you think you should have a look at before you decide what move to make on the board. Next, you should take one candidate move at a time and start calculating it. The moves that you think the opponent can answer with are your opponent's candidate moves and they have to be considered too during your calculations. To sum up, a candidate move is a move that you think can be good, and it does not have to be your own move, your opponent's moves will also be candidate moves that you need to check out. If you are interested in how to calculate variations in a position, then we will get back to it many more times! Good luck!

White to move and win

2012-02-12T18:48:00.000+01:00

Black to move and win

2012-02-11T21:48:00.001+01:00

Find White's best continuation

2012-02-10T18:12:00.003+01:00

Attacking when castled on opposite sides

2012-02-09T17:42:00.001+01:00

Castling on opposite sides, e.g. White castled queenside and Black castled kingside, usually leads to a very sharp game. Both players try to mate each others kings as quickly as possible. This is usually fun, but at the same time, it is risky. Here is what we recommend in this type of position:

Be ready to take risks! If you have a choice between taking a risk and loosing the initiative, take the risk. These positions are sharp and having the initiative is vital.
Wasting time is lethal! Related to advice 1, in such sharp situations a single tempo can cost you the whole game. Try to choose the most aggressive moves and keep the initiative at all costs.
Push your pawns! The goal is to open files against the enemy king. Open one or more files with the pawns.
Invade with your heavy pieces! Use the open files to invade the enemy king with your queen and rooks. Keep thinking about advices 1 and 2 while attacking.
Do not push the pawns in front of your own king! This will create anchoring points that the opponent may use to open files against your king. For example if you castled queenside and your b2-pawn is on b3, then black may play a7-a5-a4xb3 and open the a-file, which means disaster for your king.
Have control over the center! When starting your attack, check whether or not you have enough control over the center. It is generally a good idea to have good control over the center before starting a flank attack.

GM Emanuel Berg (video)

2012-02-08T13:14:00.001+01:00

White to move and win

2012-02-05T14:57:00.001+01:00

White to move and win

2012-01-29T23:30:00.001+01:00

White to move and win

2012-01-28T23:26:00.002+01:00

White to move and win

2012-01-24T23:05:00.003+01:00

White to move and win

2012-01-24T22:58:00.002+01:00

Black to move and win

2012-01-24T22:44:00.002+01:00

To be in shape is important

2012-01-24T10:36:00.001+01:00

To be in good physical shape is important during a chess game. Although a lot of people claim that chess cannot belong to the class of activities known as "sports", it is clear that a chess game with a classical time control requires a big physical effort from both players. Your body will be under a big mental pressure and you have to be fully focused, sometimes twenty or thirty minutes in a row. You will sweat and your pulse will rise. To stay focused, you need to have a constant energy supply and to keep pumping fresh oxygen to your brain. Therefore, being in good physical shape helps to stay focused and to endure the pressure during a match.

Food advice before and during a game

2012-01-23T19:31:00.001+01:00

A game with classical time control is on your schedule. How should you plan your food intake? Well, recently we had a chess training session where we discussed a successful diet. First of all, it is important to eat before the game. This will be your energy for the first one or two hours of the game. The food should be eaten about two hours before the game, to leave enough time to digest it and start getting its energy. Second of all, it is important to have one or more snacks during the game. This will give you energy for the entire game. You need something that gives energy and it should be small. A banana or a chocolate will do the job. Third of all, liquid will be important during the game. Keep a glass of water next to you and have a small sip every ten minutes or so. Dehydration can come sneaking in and it can affect your play negatively. So keep drinking water during the game to prevent dehydration. As for the food before the game, try to eat something that digests easily. Go for meat, green vegetables and rice. Stay away from hamburgers, french fries and pizza. Lots of bread can make your stomach feel heavy and will disturb your thinking process. Eat well and play well!

White to move and win

2012-01-23T15:28:00.002+01:00

Black to move and win

2012-01-23T12:05:00.001+01:00

What a chess engine can do!

2012-01-21T17:39:00.000+01:00

Chess engines are great when it comes to exploring a position. The engine will help you to explore different candidate moves and to find out key moves and ideas in a position. It will thereby show you the character of the position and also help you with the evaluation. You have to ask the right questions, the engine will give you the answers. But it does not teach you how to evaluate a position by yourself. So remember to also spend time at the chess board with the engine turned off.

White to move and win

2012-01-21T15:59:00.002+01:00

Find black's best continuation

2012-01-21T15:49:00.003+01:00

Chessbase: rilton cup

2012-01-18T14:49:00.002+01:00

Click here to see the chess problems!

How to prepare for a game?

2012-01-18T14:36:00.003+01:00

So you know your opponent in the next round. Now what?

Check out your opponent's previous games. You could first note how they loose and how they win. Is it usually tactical shots and blows? Or is it slow grinding pawn up victories?

Then, you could think about your own style of winning and loosing and see how the two fit together. Then, you could start looking at the openings your opponent plays and match them up with yours.

A decent preparation is when you know what to play in the first 5 moves. Also that you know what type of position you are aiming for. This could be dynamic, calm, closed, open, tension in the center, no tension anywhere, castling on opposite sides, and so on. Preparing 10-15 moves ahead rarely works. Get some sleep instead.

We won all 6 matches so far

2012-01-15T23:01:00.003+01:00

Looking at the results shows that we won all six matches so far. Three more matches will be played in March 2012. This season we have a strong team composition and a strong team spirit.

Sacrifice back!

2012-01-12T16:55:00.000+01:00

Imagine you are playing a chess game and your opponent makes a sacrifice and let's say during an attack on your king. You start looking for ways to keep this material and to consolidate your position. But remember also to look for ways to give back the material. Especially if you prefer to be the one who has the initiative, giving back material can be a key resource for getting that wanted result.

Rilton Cup 2011-2012 (Games)

2012-01-06T13:46:00.000+01:00

GM Alexandr Shimanov has won the Rilton Cup 2011-2012 with 7.5 points out of 9 points. The tournament was very strong and many of the games are published here. The tournament's final results are shown here. Rilton Cup is the only large international chess tournament in Sweden. So it is great that it has so strong players!

Protecting the King

2012-01-05T21:37:00.000+01:00

The King is certainly your most important chess piece. The goal of chess is not to win the queen or to queen a pawn, the goal is to check mate the opponent's King. So you have to protect your King. Usually it is protected by pawns, the white king is protected by pawns h2, g2 and f2 if castled kingside and a2, b2, c2 when castled queenside. Then, there is usually a knight involved, and this is great. The knight is excellent at protecting your king. Two knights are even better protection. The bishop can protect your king from a larger distance. Same goes for the rook. So protect your king's position with the right pieces and chase away your opponent's king's protectors and you will have great chances to succeed in your games.

Black to move and win

2011-12-24T00:40:00.001+01:00

A positional sacrifice

2011-12-21T22:51:00.002+01:00

A positional sacrifice is defined as a sacrifice of material that will give positional advantages in return, which can include initiative, better piece harmony, better pawn structure, creation of weaknesses in the opponent's camp, and so on. A positional sacrifice thus does not lead to an attack that will later lead to either mate or re-gained material. Instead, a positional sacrifice converts material into positional advantages.

Black to move and win

2011-12-20T15:28:00.003+01:00

Rook+passed pawn can be stronger than Bishop+Knight

2011-12-19T22:57:00.000+01:00

The closer to the endgame you get, the stronger the rook gets. Think about rook endgames. Their tendency to end in draw is due to the incredible strength of an active rook in the endgame. Therefore, a rook and a passed pawn can win against a bishop and a knight in certain cases. For example, if you have a rook and an a-pawn or an h-pawn, while your opponent's king is far away from your passed pawn, then a bishop and a knight will find it difficult to stop this passed pawn. Try to keep in mind that the rook grows stronger the fewer pieces are left on the board, and take this into consideration when you want to sacrifice two light pieces for a rook, or the other way around. Good luck in your games and keep us posted!

A position has its own preferences

2011-12-19T22:49:00.001+01:00

To understand a chess position is to understand its own unique preferences. This is why the pair of bishops can be worse than the pair of knights, in certain positions. Likewise, sometimes a queen is not enough to win against a knight and a pawn, and so on. Therefore, every position contains open files that should be occupied by heavy pieces, special squares that should be occupied by knights, key diagonals for the bishops, a key path that will be used later on by the king. Knowing the key files, diagonals and squares is great because this serves as a guideline when making the concrete decision at the board - which move to make next?

A pawn cannot move backwards

2011-12-19T22:34:00.002+01:00

Let us say that you reached a certain position and you don't know what to do. Or perhaps you are getting short of time on your chess clock. Then, we recommend our readers to keep their hands away from their pawns. Move a piece instead. Pawns cannot move back, and a pawn move can lead to different kinds of problems later on in the game. Try to follow this advice and as always feedback is welcome!

Rilton Cup 2011-2012

2011-12-19T22:13:00.001+01:00

Sweden's largest international tournament, Rilton Cup, starts on the 27th of December and ends on the 5th of January. This year's edition will be played at Clarion Hotel Stockholm and promises to be an exciting and sharp tournament.

White to move and win

2011-12-19T17:58:00.002+01:00

Find black's best continuation

2011-12-19T17:17:00.003+01:00

Do chess engines improve your game?

2011-12-16T11:17:00.001+01:00

Nowadays chess engines pack a strong punch, calculate at an incredible speed and contain a lot of knowledge based on previously played Grandmaster games. They can find good moves in virtually any position. But do they improve your chess level?

In fact, one of the most important abilities during a competitive game is the ability to evaluate a position. A human player needs more than a pawn based score. Much more. A human player needs a collection of criteria, a collection of methods, which build a know-how about where to look and what to look for in a position.

How to correctly evaluate things like center control, Queen position, King position, Rook activity, and much much more, each of these components require training and practice. For a chess player who wants to improve the ability to evaluate positions, there are many books that will come in handy. Perhaps some of our readers can even recommend them here as comments?

Sacrificing the exchange

2011-12-12T11:27:00.001+01:00

Luke McShane sacrificed the exchange against Vladimir Kramnik. Was it a correct decision?