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Poll: How are you being affected in this recession?

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:51:00 -0700

It's been awhile since I've updated this blog. Sorry-things have been hectic lately. Anyway, I'm going to step away from the topic of chess for this post and focus on the current recession. How is it affecting you and your family? Have you or any...

Live Chess... BAD!

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 22:38:42 -0800

My opinion of live chess has changed for the worse! I got into a position where it wouldn't allow me to move my rook... even if it was a legal move! The chess.com guys have a lot of work to do.

Live Chess... Not Bad

Mon, 23 Feb 2009 21:20:45 -0800

I just tried chess.com's live chess. Overall I'm impressed with the browser gymnastics that chess.com is doing. I played a couple of games and, for the most part, it was performing pretty well. At one point, my firefox 3 usage shot up to half a Gi...

Chess Homework for July 13-19

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:07:13 -0700

To see all three chess homeworks and answers for this week, click here. I. As we've discussed in our previous lessons, the principles of chess is a good guide and will very likely lead you to making many good moves.For this week's homewor...

Simple Dangerous Openings: Closed Sicilian

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:36:17 -0800

In my previous article, I made the recommendation that the Bishop's Opening is a good opening against 1...e5. Now we will dive in for a simple (and yet dangerous) response to the ever-so-famous Sicilian Defense."But", you say, "...

Simple Dangerous Openings: The Bishop's Opening

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:57:16 -0800

The Bishop's OpeningIntended for Ratings 1600-2200 Style Scale: Very Aggressive Synopsis: The Bishop's Opening is like the King's Gambit without allthe complications. Supplementary games here. Back in the romantic days of c...

New Series: Simple Dangerous Openings

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 20:33:22 -0800

I believe a lot of chess players (and even masters) go about studying the opening in the wrong way. Too often, it's all about memorization and not enough about understanding. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I've seen too...

Why Are Openings Emphasized So Much?

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 22:19:32 -0800

Ok I get it. Openings are important. You obviously don't want to be blown out of the water before move fifteen. But I just have to shake my head when I see ten year olds trying to memorize* 25 moves in the Sicilian. That's ludicruous...

The Feeling of Losing

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 09:25:21 -0800

Is it just me or is losing a game much more ego-crushing and depressing than the feeling of winning? When I win a game against a tough opponent, I feel happy for like 10 minutes then it wears off. But if I lose a game, that feeling can stay with m...

Going to Vegas for Vaca

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 19:23:05 -0800

Whoohoo! Going to Vegas tomorrow. Back on Monday. Too bad they don't have a chess table there.

What is the Best Plan? Reloaded

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 21:55:22 -0800

At some point in a game, you may find yourself in a position where your opponent has no clear or definable weaknesses. Such as the position in my previous post: The position is not so cut-and-dried where Black can say "since I have more piec...

What is the Best Plan?

Sat, 24 Nov 2007 13:04:45 -0800

I was playing with my student, we shall call him J, today and we played a very interesting game. I thought it would be very instructive for everyone here at chess.com. The diagram below is the critical part in the game. It is black's move. Wha...

Some Chess Problems... Can You Figure Them Out?

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 15:38:21 -0800

My Offer To Everyone Here at Chess.com

Sat, 10 Nov 2007 13:19:52 -0800

I live in Vienna, VA. One free chess coaching lesson and advice to anyone who wishes to meet me down here. If you're interested, message me so we can meet up. FM Paolo del Mundo

Here's a Question: What Makes a Good Chess Coach

Sat, 27 Oct 2007 07:59:08 -0700

I love chess, and I love teaching chess. I am always trying to find the best way to teach chess to my students. So here's a question for you: from your experience of chess coaches of past, what made them effective in teaching a lesson t...

Attacking is Not Always the Best Option

Sun, 14 Oct 2007 16:46:45 -0700

When I was younger, I only knew of one kind of style: attack! Now older and wiser, I've come to realize that attacking is not always the best solution to every position. Here's an example of how an attack goes awry. My opponent decided to ...