A long time ago, before COVID hit the world, I had the chance to talk to GM Alexander Ipatov and ask him how he became the strong player he is today. In this interview we can discover more on the genesis of a top grandmaster. How many hours a day he was studying when he
Often it is said one should learn chess first by learning the endgames. Unfortunately those who repeat such phrase like parrots don’t really understand there is another phase of the game which should be taught first, and which is as well as important: the checkmates! Learning checkmates should be fundamental, because it will introduce the
by Nagesh Havanur I met Vijay Pandit at the end of 1970 or so. At that time I lived and worked in Mumbai. When I learnt about his passion for chess history I wanted to visit him as I was already an avid collector of chess books and magazines. I phoned him and he gave
by Manuel Aaron Recently Vijay Pandit, the Indian chess historian passed away. Covid-19 claimed yet another precious life. Apart from numerous articles on chess history, Pandit authored quite a few books. They include Ahmedabad 1955, Western Chess in British India and the Indian Chess History (co-authored with Manuel Aaron). -Ed. It’s with great sorrow that
One of the best of the west, Timman belongs to that category of players who reached the final match for the world championship, but weren’t able to win it. Yet he won endless top tournaments ahead of the reigning world champions.
To get ready for my first tournament OTB, I thought of playing some rapid training matches. Under USCF rules for playing a match the difference between the two players cannot be over 400 points. A rapid match would have as longest time control: G25 d3 (game in 25 minutes with delay 3 seconds) anything above
Mr. Parnell Watkins contacted me about a month ago, to inform me he was running for the position of Georgia Chess Association president. Since by then I just started my new chess website, I proposed him an interview to better inform the chess players in Georgia of his program and things which could be done
GM Karsten Mueller shouldn’t need a presentation, he is likely the GM who has written more books about the endgame in chess history! He publishes regularly on Chessbase Magazine a column on chess endgames which is simply fantastic, and big like a book, since he presents something like 50 different endgames every 2 months. I
In the last couple of months, racism all over the world has rightfully received an increased attention. We are still far away from a society in which people have equal chances irrespective of their gender, age, physical condition or skin colour. It did not take long – and was to be expected – that the
Attack! The subtle art of winning brilliantly. Neil McDonald
I would like to share something funny which happened to me after finishing the review of this book. After few weeks I was reading this book, I finally finished the review and I generally wait 1-2 days before publishing to be sure I didn’t make big mistakes, or in case I want to add something.
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