Sunday 30 March 2014

He misplaces pieces and I win!

My second English of the season and I managed a decisive win as Black ... I think that I managed to encourage my opponent to misplace his pieces which led to the victory.
As usual, any comments welcome ...


English ...




PGN Viewer courtesy of http://chesstempo.com/

Thursday 27 March 2014

Trap in the Scandinavian ...

Here is a Knight Fork Queen Trap.

Center Counter: 3.Nc3

Here is a Nc3 line for the Scandinavian ...

Center Counter: Line (1) - from a GM

Here is a solid way to treat the center counter ...

As usual, any comments welcome ...


3.d4 avoiding 3.Nc3 ...




PGN Viewer courtesy of http://chesstempo.com/

Tuesday 25 March 2014

Weak Pawn Structures Proves Fatal!!

Yes - another Center Counter ... and a win for Black, but this time I was punished for my 4.b4 pawn sac. My opponent declined the pawn :( and left me with an inferior pawn structure including a boxed-in Bishop imitating a big, fat clumsy pawn !!! My opponent got great Bishop activity and I got absolutely none ... My next post will outline a different approach to the Center Counter. Some recommendations from a Grand Master that I ought to follow if I want to avoid this latest catastrophe ...

As usual, any comments welcome ...


Center Counter with Bishop Pairs ...




PGN Viewer courtesy of http://chesstempo.com/

Tuesday 4 March 2014

Amateur Chess Goes Up-Market ...

If you want a taste of the high life and would like to take your chess to a new level, then you may be interested in entering the ACO World Amateur Chess Championship this year in Rhodes.  From what I can gather from looking at the website, the championship will be held in a very plush 4-star Hotel with a pool overlooking the beach!


http://www.amateurchess.com/world-amateur-chess-championship-rhodes-2014/