Easy Chess Tips – Page 6 – One-Point Tips To Help You Improve Your Game

Trompowsky Attack In Game 1 Of The World Chess Championship 2016

November 27, 2016

Magnus Carlsen (white) played the Trompowsky Attack in the opening game of the World Chess Championship 2016.

Although World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen has used the Trompowsky Attack before, it came as quite a surprise as it is not the most common way to continue after the moves 1. d4 Nf6.

The Trompowsky opening has less theory attached to it compared to other Queen’s Pawn openings, which may be one reason why Magnus Carlsen chose it for the first game of the championship.

Another reason, as he partially admitted in the post-match press conference, may have been that the name sounds like “Trump-owsky” and was a cheeky way to refer to Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election earlier in the week. Magnus Carlsen’s family certainly thought so. When asked if that had anything to do with his choice of opening he replied, with a grin,

Why It Can Be Better To Promote a Pawn to a Knight

September 29, 2016

dh-drm-sept2016-1 — Black’s e-pawn is about to promote…

I had achieved a decisive advantage against my regular opponent in a recent “over the board” game of chess, but he was hanging in there and not resigning, even though I was about to promote my pawn (see diagram, left).

There were just a few minutes left on the clock, so perhaps he was hoping to survive until the flag dropped, but at best it was a forlorn hope.

The game could be easily finished off in a couple of moves by Black promoting the e2 pawn to a queen and then moving the rook to f2, so this game is not really a perfect illustration of the title of this blog post, but what happened in this game did make me think about those occasions when it can actually be better to promote the pawn to a knight instead of a queen.

Chess Castling: Look Before You Leap (2)

March 2, 2016

blackshouldntcastle — White has disrupted Black’s kingside pawn-structure and his Queen threatens the g6 pawn. It would not be advisable to castle on the kingside, but that is just what Black did!

Here is another look at how in chess castling can sometimes get you into trouble.

Click the link for my previous castling in chess blog post.

In this game, which I played on Gameknot against a player rated at the time in the lower 1600s (and with an all-time-high ranking of 1691), my opponent, playing Black, castled into danger on the kingside.

In the illustration, the critical moment has arrived. Black’s kingside pawn structure has been disrupted by an exchange of minor pieces, leaving an undefended Black pawn on g6. Now would not be a good time for Black to castle on the kingside, but that is exactly what Black did!

Castling In Chess: Look Before You Leap (1)

March 1, 2016

When it comes to castling in chess, we are usually taught to castle early, after developing some of the minor pieces.

The idea is that it can be dangerous to leave your king stuck in the middle of the back row where he may be exposed to an early attack. Generally speaking, it is more secure to get your king off to one side of the board, behind a barrier of pawns, and perhaps a knight, a rook and/or a bishop.

In the diagram both White and Black have castled early. White’s king is defended by three pawns, a knight and a rook. Black’s king is even more securely defended by three pawns, a rook, knight and bishop.

Quite often, however, other concerns cause one or both players to delay castling, or not to castle at all. In a situation where you have castled and your opponent has not, Jeremy Silman offers a “basic thesis” for you to follow, which is,

No Stress Chess: A Fast Way To Learn How To Play Chess For Kids & Adults

January 5, 2016

There are more ways than one to play No Stress Chess! — Photo: There’s more than one way to play No Stress Chess.

No Stress Chess is a chess game that beginners of any age can immediately start playing. It is a fast way to learn how to play chess for kids. Adults with no experience of the game can also quickly learn to play chess with this game.

No Stress Chess really does take all the stress out of learning the game and teaching it to children.

The game comes with a folding board, plastic playing pieces, a set of 56 action cards. A plastic a storage tray holds the cards both inside the box and during play.

The folding two-sided chess board has a training chess board on one side. It shows you exactly where to put your pieces at the beginning of the game.

Once you have played a few times and are familiar with the set-up, you can flip the board over and play on a regular chess board.