Chess is Fun Chess BLOGA daily chess blog featuring chess lessons, chess instruction, instructive games, great players, lessons on openings, middlegame strategy, endgames, and great games.Chess Blog: Kasparov at Bugojno, 1982- (Found July 2, 2008 ) In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Bogojno was home to several world class, super-GM events. 1982 was no exception, save that Garry Kasparov emerged to dominate the field. He won the event by a clear point and a half, but more, he demonstrated a world calss ability to complicate and calculate. I offer all of the games from that event, the crosstable, as well the following game, an illustration of his emergent capabilities.http://www.queensac.com/chessblog.html#chessblog03292004 Chess Blog: Jon Speelman's Best Games- (Found July 2, 2008 ) The early 1980s also witnessed the emergence of a crop of talented British players, Miles, Short, Nunn, and Speelman. Speelman's rating reached the top 5 in the world, no easy feat, the product of hard work, a complex style, and a continuing willinginess to complicate.http://www.queensac.com/chessblog.html#chessblog03302004 Chess Blog: Instructive Modern Chess Masterpieces- (Found July 2, 2008 ) Gambit Publications continues to produce the best chess books that we have seen in decades. One of the best of this lot is Igor Stohl's Instructive Modern Chess Masterpieces. Here is a collection of 80 games from the period 1993-2000, all played by top GMs and all analyzed in a rigorous but instructive style. Each game features enough opening discussion to aid your understanding. And each game includes sufficient analysis to amplify your understanding of the game.http://www.queensac.com/chessblog.html#chessblog03312004 Chess Blog: Interactive online Chess Lessons- (Found July 2, 2008 ) The next advance for Chess is Fun is an interactive lesson page. It will be a place where many can gather online to observe and talk about a game or an opening, or a lesson. The prototype, working though barely, is right here. Permit me to ask that you try it out and provide your comments at our Message Board.http://www.queensac.com/chessblog.html#chessblog04012004 Chess Blog: The most creative GM of all time- (Found July 2, 2008 ) The most creative grandmaster of all time That honor undoubtedly goes to David Bronstein, the author of 200 Open Games, a compendium of games, mostly his own, all featuring 1.e4 e5. There are King's Gambit's, Petrof's, Scotch Games, but most important, more than 100 games in the Ruy Lopez. The games are not exhautively annotated, but there are some great stories and usually a lesson or two for each game.http://www.queensac.com/chessblog.html#chessblog04022004 Chess Blog: The best short games of chess- (Found July 2, 2008 ) Irving Chernev was the author of many wonderful chess books. One of my favorites, now well out of print, is The 1000 Best Short Games of Chess. As a young fellow, I played through many of these games and my copy of the book is now falling apart. Of course, no one wins so quickly without some help. All of these games involve serious mistakes by the loser, but the fact is that the tactics are rich and flowing and full of fun.http://www.queensac.com/chessblog.html#chessblog04032004 Chess Blog: Mitrofanovic's Deflection- (Found July 2, 2008 ) In the late 1990s, IM Victor Charushin published a neat 5 volume series on tactical themes. Over time, I hope to introduce each of the books in this series. Today, I look at Volume three, Mitrofanovic's Deflection, an imposing title but a neat idea. In these examples, a piece is sacrificed seemingly for nothing whatever. From the first composition, a study of Mitrofanov's, through real life uses of deflection, the book, and indeed, all the books in the series, provide a quick way to learn.http://www.queensac.com/chessblog.html#chessblog04042004 Chess Blog: I Play with Pieces- (Found July 2, 2008 ) Gligoric's new book, I Play Against Pieces, does not disappoint. Here are 130 games against the world's toughest competition, including Botvinnik, Tal, Smyslov, Fischer, Petrosian, Keres, and Korthnoi. The title itself reflects Gligorich's approach, an objective evaluation of every position and strategies based upon meaningful criteria. Of special interest is the fact that he has clustered games by their opening, more easily to identify his style over time and to aid readers who especially want.http://www.queensac.com/chessblog.html#chessblog03202004 Chess Blog: Simple Chess- (Found July 2, 2008 ) Fred Wilson of WilsonBooks has helped bring forward a new algebraic edition of Michael Stean's Simple Chess. The book provides an readable introduction to chess strategy and planning. The book reveals many of the secrets of modern master play, the slow accumulation of small advantages, holding back on the attack until the conclusion is all but certain.http://www.queensac.com/chessblog.html#chessblog03192004 Chess Blog: Round 13 at Linares- (Found July 2, 2008 ) Kasparov v Topalov, nearly a classic win in the Spanish torturehttp://www.queensac.com/chessblog.html#chessblog03052004 |