In the first part of this article I demonstrated by my own example that the biggest secret of the Soviet school of chess was the utmost motivation of the Soviet players. We simply had no right to do wrong since the consequence could be ...
Alone together. Foolish wisdom. Cruel kindness. Arrogant humility. All of these phrases are oxymorons, "combination of words that have opposite or very different meanings." The title of this article seems to fit this definition to the lett...
The famed Soviet school of chess has produced hundreds of grandmasters and dozens of world champions. Thousands of chess coaches teach their students using "the Soviet training method." But who can really describe what exactly was/is the So...
"Thank you, GM Serper for this profound statement. I would have never guessed it on my own!" Admit this was your first thought when you read the title of this article. Yes, chess is obviously not checkers and yet, when I was a kid, I heard this ...
One of the tips that you will hear from top-level players over and over again is that you MUST study your own games. Chess.com is here to do some of the hard work for you as the best coaches on Chess.com go over member games. They will highlight t...
When my journey to the chess world was still in its nascent stages, I picked up a dusty old copy of My System, settled down in a comfortable chair, adopted a grave, contemplative expression, and started to read. Everything went smooth...
While going over a game with my student, B.B., I noticed that his position wasn’t particularly desirable. I also noticed that he didn’t think there was much to learn from the wreckage before us, and he wanted to move on to another game...
I am not going to reveal a big secret if I say that the vast majority of chess players love tactical play and hate slow maneuvering. Indeed, tactics are beautiful and exciting and positional chess is weird and boring. That is, if you don't under...
I’ve written several articles that discuss the dynamics of chess teacher and student, and the kinds of things a student should expect from lessons. Though the teacher will give his charge a study program, there is nothing more useful and ins...
These days you can find anything on the Internet. For example, if you like hard rock and chess, then this video is for you! You can notice that they set up the board correctly (the a1 square is black!) and the position from their ga...
There’s cheating in chess? What a silly question. Of course there is, and the transgressions are many and varied. But when I came to the game as a callow youth, I didn't pay much attention to it. Naturally, I knew certain practices were i...
As beginners, we learn myriad principles that guide our chess development and steer us away from common positional vices: Develop knights before bishops. Do not move a piece twice in the opening unless strictly necessary. Knights on the rim ...
I will not hide the fact that I love to hear the spectators react after a sacrifice of a piece or pawn. I dont think that there is anything bad in such a feeling; no artist or musician is indifferent to the reactions of the public. -- Mikh...
In his excellent work The Seven Deadly Chess Sins (Gambit 2000), Scottish GM Jonathan Rowson introduces a fascinating concept that GM Jonathan Speelman terms plus-equals mode: If properly understood, the idea of playing only...
"A master cogitates carefully, perhaps a half-hour on a move. Finally, he chooses the correct square for the correct piece and places it there. A grand master is much more skillful. He hardly thinks at all; he throws the piece into the air and it ...
In studying chess, which of the two phases should students focus on most? Or should they concentrate on another aspect of chess altogether? It reminds us of other eternal questions, like what is the meaning of life, why is there something rather...
This series is about chess lessons and how a chess teacher tries to push key points home. If you are looking for a chess teacher, don’t grab anyone that comes along! Take your time, take a lesson or two from various teachers so y...
Is chess art? I bet that’s not the first time you’ve been asked that, or something like it. To the basic question, all kinds of answers have been offered, sometimes logical, sometimes passionate, sometimes contrived. Many might wonde...
In my last article, I gave you five tips to improve your tactics. If you did your homework and practiced your tactics (either Tactics Trainer, or my Chess Genie app) you will see the benefits right away! However, learning strategy is compl...
In The Complete Book of Chess Strategy, IM Jeremy Silman defines prophylaxis as "a move or strategy that stops the opponent from undertaking some type of action or plan." Coined by Aron Nimzowitsch in his seminal work My System (1...
I’ve long insisted that the best way to improve (aside from playing stronger players) is to look at reams of master games. Most games between titled players have some important lesson hiding behind the moves, and I decided to make it easy fo...
Topic for June: the endgame (Please start submitting questions concerning the above topic for the next column.) The Bad Things About Speed Chess? (For answers to all other speed chess questions received, please read my replies in the for...
I’ve long insisted that the best way to improve (aside from playing stronger players) is to look at reams of master games. Most games between titled players have some important lesson hiding behind the moves, and I decided to make it easy for you ...
I’ve long insisted that the best way to improve (aside from playing stronger players) is to look at reams of master games. Most games between titled players have some important lesson hiding behind the moves, and I decided to make it easy fo...
