What separates a grandmaster from an international master in chess?
It’s his level of positional understanding and ability to formulate an accurate strategy on ANY move, in ANY position, and at ANY time. The process is subtle and subliminal—not much on the outside, rather on the inside.
If you watch a GM commentate on a chess game, it looks as if he is spouting some “common sense” ideas.
BUT… it is not so.
Robert James Fischer, an icon of our sport, is perhaps one of the most studied chess players. He is famous for his universal playing style, excellent endgame technique, and his great contributions to chess in the form of chess writings, new ideas in a number of openings, and a new variant of chess, which is becoming more and more popular today, Fischer Random or 960 chess.
Many chess history experts keep arguing whom to consider the best chess player of all time, but we will try to stay away from it. The aim of this article is different. The idea is to familiarize the readers with the greatest chess players and their best games. That’s why I ranked the best chess players in chronological order, starting from the past. Also, I was considering not only their strength and achievements but also the influence they made on chess overall.
On being asked why most GMs and super-GMs play 1…c5 and 1…e5 to 1.e4 instead of the French Defense, Peter Svidler recently commented: “I think the answer is twofold. Firstly, both the Spanish and the Sicilian offer you a much broader scope to choose from. If you play 1…e5 you’re not …”
What did he really mean? Is the French Defense not good enough to play at the elite level?
Sometimes, even a single move can change the course of a game—even so much as to turn a good opening into a GREAT one!
That’s what the move 2.Nc3 does to the regular London System. Not that the London system is a bad opening or such, it has got a few drawbacks where it does not offer sufficient attacking opportunities to Black, that it is not tactical enough or that the bishop on f4 can get too exposed for White’s own good.
The chess super-tournaments held in a small Dutch town Wijk aan Zee are never boring. The reason lies behind a great composition of the participants. It is a place where the elite players (usually led by the World Champion) face less-known but still dangerous players, sometimes even rated below 2700.
The Modern Defense, starting with 1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7, follows any other hypermodern openings and is highly provocative and dynamic—as much as an opening can get. Black fianchetto a bishop early on the g7-square eyeing on the long dark-squared diagonal running from h8 to a1.
When you are playing a rapid or a blitz game, the idea should be to put pressure on your opponent, both in the position and on his clock!
That means while you are expected to play the best move in a classical game, you are better off playing a more complex line that amplifies the likelihood of your opponent making a mistake and committing an error—where the game is highly probable to go in your favor.
As in any other sport, hard training is always the key to improving your level. If you want to become a better player, you need to get your chessboard out, set the pieces, and start training. A complete training plan should cover all stages of the game, especially the ones you struggle with. Some players prefer aggressive play, others positional.
“Castling is safe. Castle early while you still can.”
Isn’t that what everyone says? Guess what – they are WRONG!
Take a look at how Kasparov destroys Mephisto (the computer engine) and his castled king in this game in 1985…
