The Guimard variation of the French Defense starts with the move 3…Nc6 against white’s solid 3.Nd2 known as the Tarrasch variation.
Black’s idea is quite simple, but also logical.
First, he develops a piece with tempo, attacking the center. When white defends the d4 pawn, say with 4.Ngf3, then he plays another developing move and renews the attack on the center with 4…Nf6.
Wesley So is a Filipino chess prodigy currently represented US. He is number 2 rated chess player in the world behind only Magnus Carlsen. Wesley So set a record by being the youngest player to cross 2600, previously held by Carlsen. So has a very aggressive and tactical style, who likes to sacrifice his queen or any other pieces for starting a devastating attack. At the same time, his play is very solid and reliable. Today we will see some of Wesley So’s best games.
The Evans Gambit is an aggressive line of Giuoco Piano. The opening is named after William Evans, who is the first player to use it. This opening quickly became a popular choice for many great masters including Anderssen, Morphy, and Chigorin. Eventually, Emanuel Lasker came up with the novelty that allowed getting an upper hand by returning the pawn. The opening was not popular for the majority of the 20th century, up until Garry Kasparov won some decisive games with it. Today we will see some of the best games played with the Evans Gambit.
Isolated queen’s pawn positions are incredibly rich in ideas for both sides. The discussion on how there are several possible ways to play these type of positions for both sides and is never-ending. In this article we will discuss a very important structure that occurs often in such positions; see the following diagram.
The Sicilian is the number one enemy for 1.e4 players. Nowadays it’s almost impossible to play against the Sicilian without having a strong theoretical preparation. This approach requires a long time to memorize not only the main lines, but also the so-called playable secondary lines which are often the most dangerous.
Bird opening is a standard flank opening which is characterized by the move 1.f4! White’s main idea involves controlling the strategic e5 square. This offers great attacking possibilities, but slightly weakens the king’s side. This opening move rank 6th by popularity. Bird opening is not something you will see very often on GM tournament, but nevertheless, it’s a good choice for many club players. Today we will see some of the most classical games on Bird’s Opening.
We are always on the look to learn new opening ideas to surprise our opponents in the future. It doesn’t really matter whether it is an opening that we play or not; we see someone playing something and if it’s enough interesting for us we take a deeper look and use it in the next opportunity we have. That’s how it works at competitive level. In this article we are going to draw your attention to a short and easy to learn recipe against the Hyper-Accelerated Dragon that was played recently by the International Grandmaster Eduardas Rozentalis.
Every chess player, of any level, is constantly trying to improve and show his best chess over the board. In order to successfully accomplish this, it is important to study all three phases of the game – opening, middlegame and endgame.
Vienna Game was developed at the end of 19th century. The main idea of this opening is to defend the e4 pawn and the d5 square, launching an attack with quick f2-f4. Vienna is a rare opening, and cannot be often seen in Grandmasters’ games. Black has strong counter-chances with d7-d5 push. This is a good opening for those who prefers to stay away from popular lines. It is easy to go wrong in this opening with any color, thus you should be familiar with the theory before playing it in a serious game. Here are some of the best games on this opening.
Garry Kasparov is considered to be the greatest chess player of all time. From 1986 to 2005 he was ranked world’s number 1 for 225 out of 228 months! Kasparov holds a record for winning 15 consecutive tournaments. He is also the youngest ever undisputed world champion at age of 22. A great deal of his chess success should be contributed to his opening preparation. Kasparov did such a great job analyzing positions at how that he has won many of his games due to home preparation. Here are the top 10 openings Kasparov plays.
