Keep a strong pawn structure
The Chess Tactic of the week is “Keep a strong pawn structure.” What is a pawn structure? A pawn structure defines the placement of all pawn pieces on the board, ignoring all other pieces....
Author: avgchessjoe
Where was chess invented?
The History of Chess – Part 3: The historical roots of chess Previously I instructed you about the fabled origins of chess. But these origin stories are more legend than reality. So what do...
Chess is more popular then ever!
Who/What/When/Where & Why? On February 2nd, Chess.com claimed the #1 spot in the apple app store. The app has leapfrogged classic games (sudoko) and clickbait games (parking jam 3D) alike on it’s quest for...
Giri Steals Steel Tournament Crown
Who/What/When/Where & Why? The Tata Steel masters tournament, a premier international chess tournament, finished yesterday with a new champion, Anish Giri. Giri bested top chess players such as #1 Magnus Carlsen, and fellow GM’s...
Top 50 Chess Players: Paul Morphy
Placing inside the top 10 with the 8th spot on our list of the Top 50 Chess Players of all time is Paul Morphy! The Basics of Paul Morphy Full Name: Paul Charles Morphy...
The Fabled Origins of Chess
The History of Chess – Part 2: Who invented Chess? Last time, I told you that Chess is over 1500 years old! That’s right, not even Montgomery Burns can boast of being around when...
Attack the pinned piece
The Chess Tactic of the week is “Attack the pinned piece.” What is a chess pin? Before we dive into our weekly chess tactic, we first need to understand the basics. Most importantly, what...
Chess bot Mittens’ snark is worse than its bite
Who/What/When/Where & Why? On the 1st of January, the gargantuan chess website chess.com unleashed the new “Fab-Five” of chess bots. The bots are knowledgeable, quirky, and have “cat-like” reflexes. You guessed right…all the chess...
Discovered attack
The Chess Tactic of the week is “Discovered Attack.” What is a discovered attack? A discovered attack occurs when a player moves a piece to generate an attack on their opponent by a previously...
The Most Beautiful Game
The History of Chess – Part 1: Why Chess? I often must remind myself that my favorite pastime, a two-dimensional, 64-square board game, isn’t just a passion of mine, but an obsession of the...
