Mikhail Tal, the eighth World Chess Champion, is well known for his aggressive and imaginative style of play. His ability to take the game into his territory, his unpredictable style, and the impressive tactical ideas he found in his games brought him the nickname “The magician of Riga”. Most of his games are full of tactics and crazy attacks, but what made him so famous and even feared among fellow chess players are his intuitive sacrifices.
Solving tactic exercises is easier than working on positional understanding and that might be the reason why so many people don’t pay enough attention to the latter one. But it is positional chess that often makes the difference between a strong player and an amateur. Chess masters can easily spot weaknesses in a position and target them. They see how to improve their pieces and also stop their opponents’ plans.
Grandmaster is not just the highest title in chess; it is also the dream of most chess players. But only the tiniest percentage of them eventually achieves it. How do they do that? Do they know any secrets? Are there any secrets at all? In this article, we will investigate what it takes to become a chess grandmaster. Let’s start by discussing the official requirements. Then, we will discuss the required skills.
The calculation is probably the most “sought after” skill that all strong players possess. At the club level calculation becomes even more important, as most games are decided by tactics. And it is no secret that calculation and tactics go hand in hand. Tiny improvement in the calculation allows you to easily leap into the next rating bracket, leaving your usual rivals far behind. It is a universal weapon that is present no matter what opening you are playing or whether you are up or down the material. Here are the 7 reasons you should start working on your calculation.
Famous chess master Richard Teichmann once said that “chess is 99% tactics”. Some players may disagree about the percentage, but no one would argue that chess tactics are essential. Better tactical vision allows players to see more possibilities, reduce the number of their own blunders, play beautifully, and overall score better.
Attacking chess is a delight to watch and probably every player who watched such a masterpiece wished they could do the same in their games. But everybody is different and each player has their own style. There are players for whom the sense for wild positions comes naturally and they feel like a fish in the water in them and then there are players who feel more comfortable in quiet positions, where strategy and planning are the keywords.
Stalemate is probably the most dramatic way of making a draw in a chess game. It is a common situation when a beginner tries to checkmate with lots of pieces against a lonely king, and then suddenly… stalemate and tears. But actually, this topic is much deeper than that. In this article, we will start with more basic stuff, and next, go to more advanced positions to see how wonderful a stalemate can be.
One of the concepts you’ve certainly heard or come across in your studying is planning. It is something every coach teaches their pupils right from the start, albeit with different words. Each move has to have an idea is something each of us has heard before. And while the level of difficulty of this idea will change with our chess understanding, this is still the essence of the word “plan”.
Chess Gambit is an opening where one side sacrifices material, hoping to achieve an advantageous resulting position. In most cases, in exchange for the material that side gets better development, weakens the opponent’s king, or opens some lines for an attack. If we compare chess gambits with life, it is like trying to prove mind over matter, trying to reject the philosophy of materialism. This is why there are so many fans of chess gambits all over the world. Besides being a truly romantic approach, it brings more fun into the game.
He has been number one in chess for over 10 years. He holds the record for the longest unbeaten streak in classical games. He is the current world champion in classical, blitz, and rapid chess at the same time. Many people consider him the best chess player ever. His name is Magnus Carlsen.
Even those who don’t know how to play chess are wondering what makes him so special, what qualities allow him to show such incredible results. Some assume that the secret is his phenomenal memory; others believe that he has an extremely high IQ level.
