Taimanov - Sicilian

Here is one of my first attempts at the Taimanov Sicilian.  

As you can see. my opponent blundered their Bishop and I was provided with a chance in the end to mate them with the extra Knight!   

Catalan Opening ... Game (2)

I should have lost the exchange in this game - can anybody spot where?

Here is Game 2 anyway ...

Catalan Opening ...Game (1)

I have played against the Catalan before and it can sometimes be a very tricky opening to deal with ... !!
Fortunately I had the White pieces in this game and was able to play the Catalan myself :) 

My opponent had clearly not faced this type of opening very often before ... hence it was over quickly ... 

I am uploading these games to keep a record for myself ... 

Caro-Kan - finding a novel trap!

 I was dabbling this evening, and discovered a nice trap in the Caro-Kan.  Admittedly I wasn't looking for it, but if you don't try interesting ideas then you won't make your opponent trip up! Part of the fun of chess is actually the voyage of discovery.  The placement of each piece had a profound impact on the games verdict.  I thought I might be able to win my opponents Queen, but instead I went for a win of the oppoent's light squared Bishop, then realised that their dark squared bishop was also en-prise.   

Grand Prix Attack - fun chess!

This was one of my latest Grand Prix Attack games ...

When you learn all the ideas in this opening, it can be a great deal of fun!!

I think that it is possible that if you haven't faced this opponent as Black too often, it can come as rather a shock!!  Here I was able to deploy a classic King hunt, and lure the enemy King to one side of the board - once the king started marching, he really had little or no choice but to continue to his doom ... Pleasingly, he engine reported 8 GREAT moves ... !  

Funny bullet game !! :)

Scotch Blumenfeld Attack ...

Latest Grand Prix Attack win against 1804

Here is the winning game ...



Astonishingly, ending the game with 7 consecutive checks!   

Games played with Coddy Sept 2026

My youngest son is definitely improving ... We both made blunder this evening.  In the first game, I blundered first apparently with Bxf6??

King's Indian Defense: Sämisch, Normal Defense

In the second game, Coddy blundered first with Be6 - I think he was getting tired !!

Italian Game: Hungarian Defense

I will continue coaching him ... and we'll see what happens :) !!!  

Look for an intermezzo check!

I was trawling through 1.b3 games the other day and I stumbled on a game recently played on chess.com where the game reached a critical juncture.  

Note:  This looks like a simple enough position:   Surely 13. Bxa6 bxa6  14. Qxd5 wins a pawn, right?  Well, not quite ... because after 13. Bxa6 Nxe3 Black can also win a pawn and threaten White's Queen! Therefore Black would have seemed to have equalised?  Not quite ... 


The intermezzo check ... 

Once you start looking at the intermezzo checks, then you become a better chess player.  Beginners tend to look just one or two moves ahead in all positions ... However, to the trained eye there is an intermezzo check available as in:   

13. Bxa6 Nxe3  14. Bb5+ c6 15. Bxc6+ (winning a second pawn) bxc6 16. fxe3 

and White is a pawn up ... !

Note:  In the game above 13. h4 was played leading to a complicated position.  

So my advice would be to look at all possible checks in any given position,  just to see what can actually be gained.  This technique comes with practice and dedication, but will transform how you play chess.

Learn the Nimzo-Larsen Attack

Due to work pressure, I’ve had very little time to play many serious games of chess this year.  Having said that, I find that 1.b3 has provided me with a solid opening, that’s effective, occasionally unpredictable and easy to learn!  

Why? 

I think it’s ideal if you don’t want to trawl through reams upon reams of opening theory concerning classical openings like the Sicilian or the Ruy Lopez!  The Nimzo-Larsen Attack can be used as a surprise weapon, given that it’s simply not a very popular opening … and Black needs to be very well prepared to know how to counter the ideas behind it!  

Why is it called the Nimzo-Larsen? 

It is generally said that there were two leading proponents of 1.b3 … Latvian Grandmaster, Aron Nimzowitsch in the 1920’s and 30’s and Danish Grandmaster, Bent Larsen in the 1960’s.  It is a hyper-modern opening, making use of the long range bishop on b2.  

Typical ideas for White

Pawn breaks with c4 and f4 to undermine Black’s central pawns.  Bishop on b2, and sometimes a double fianchetto, with a Bishop on g2.   

Nimzowitsch vs Rubinstein, 1926 

Here is the opening played one hundred years ago by the great Aron Nimzowitsch…

Game here ...

Dedicated to Istvan Toth (1935 - 2025), much loved.

I dedicate this, my latest club-game to my late Father in Law - "Istvan Toth", who sadly passed away 5 days ago at the time of writing.  It was always a great pleasure to play Istvan or Nagy-Papa as he was fondly known by my wife and kids, at chess.  Istvan was actually a great card player and had spent a lot of time playing during his National Military Service in Hungary.  Although he knew how the pieces moved he knew very little chess and had no coaching, so he was essentially self-taught. 

When we started playing chess, I was also quite inexperienced and most of our games were payed in the spirit of coffee-house chess - mainly consisting of rampant, gung-ho, "edge of your seat", King's Gambits, with all out attacks ... !!  I would often practice King-hunting Istvan's King, and if I managed to checkmate him - he always sportingly conceded and never refused to play another game ...   On other occasions, I, myself would sometimes get the raw end of the deal and end up losing to Istvan, who managed to swindle me on more than one occasion ... (the wily old fox) !!  But again, despite his wins, he always agreed to allow me to take revenge - this was typical of the 'kind-hearted' man he was. Always willing to help out around the house ... and always up for a game in the late winter evenings ... 

But what was great about this was the fact that I could hardly speak any Hungarian at the time and he certainly couldn't speak a word of English, apart from his favourite catchphrase:  "This is funking good !!!"  (I think he may of meant something more obscene, but I preferred his version ... ) .  So last Wednesday on 5th November, a day after his passing, I was determined to get a win for the old boy!  I felt that it would be a fitting tribute to someone who was a great influence on me and played a huge part in my life ... I think that he realised that we all loved him ... On the evening of the game, I somehow felt more confident than usual and certainly more excited and honored to be playing this particular game in his memory... Perhaps Istvan was looking down on me and egging me on?  


Here is the game, and the win I got as White.  

Nimzowitsch-Larsen Attack: Classical Variation

My opponent resigned on move 41.

See you in the next world Istvan ... !
Much Love. 

Draw for Black or mate in 2?

Here is a position from a game I recently played as Black.  The board is actually facing the way that White would have seen it ... In a time scramble, I could not find a way to win, so had to settle for the draw and the loss of a few rating points ... 

Is there a mate in two for Black instead of a draw?

You will become a great chess tactician if you can see two moves ahead here. 

CLUE:  Black is close to mate here, but what is the next move??. Without looking at the solution, try and devise a series of moves in your head that you can play to attack the opponent's king for a favourable outcome ...

Show Solution

Solution: 1. .. Ne6+ 2.Ke4 Qd4#

Bowdler Attack - The Bishop was up for grabs ... !

In this, my latest game on the FIDE online Arena, I had decide whether it was safe enough to capture the Bishop on offer.  In the game, I calculated that I could not take the Bishop, when in actual fact after looking at the chess.com analysis - I could take it!! 

Personally I would like to improve my approach to facing the Bowdler Attack as Black as I have had to face it many times before and I've never really done that well against it?  Eventually, my opponent got his Bishop trapped (although I think this was avoidable).  They also allowed their Rook to be exchanged for my Bishop ... the mating net was obviously coming ...  

Bowdler Attack

As usual, any comments welcome ... 

 

The endgame bamboozled me !!

I had a few rapid-play games online today.  The shocking result in my last game was that I could only manage a draw - when in fact I had a won endgame.  I think that to really improve my chess, I need to start getting to work on practicing winning endgames.  I feel that its OK to do a few endgame lessons, but when it comes to playing real games over the board, the pressure is far more intense, especially when you are up against the clock.  I've included the analysis from Move 59 of where I went wrong in this game - with a 4 vs 3 pawn majority :) 

Won endgame only drawn!  

Breaking down the walls ...

I have attempted to solve many tactical puzzles over the years, where you are encouraged to look for ways to 'break through' the castled King's defenses through the city walls ... When you have at least two pieces aimed at the pawns around the castled enemy King, it is always worth trying to imagine what you could do once those pawns have been eliminated.  Ask yourself - what possible tactics can I try, after I've effectively broken in ... Here is the critical position that was reached during my game this evening. 

As you can see, there is a possibility of winning the g and f pawns for the Bishop, but how do you follow this up?  The key is to have a look at the remaining Black pieces to see what can potentially be exploited.  In this case, I could see that the Queen and the Bishop are lined up along the 7th rank, so effectively I get to skewer the Queen and the Bishop, meaning I win the Bishop back once the Queen moves .. !!  So the net result is two pawns profit ...   

Here is the beginning of this little combination ... it was considered a brilliancy by chess.com's analysis.  

Unfortunately after

22. Bxg6 fxg6

23. Rxg6+ Kh8

24. Rg7 

my opponent tried to counter with 24. ..Nd5? threatening my Queen, but this made the eval bar max out in my favour, because I can then counter again with Queen 25. Qe5!!  My opponent then resigned ... Here is the full game ... 

Caro-Kan

Grand Prix Attack - f7 pin

I find that, when playing the Grand Prix Attack as White, having the Bishop aiming at f7 is a very useful lever and establishes a pin.  In my recent online game, my opponent eventually dealt with the Bishop, but by then I had a slight initiative and managed to get a Queen and Rook battery. 

FIDE online chess arena   

Game against Sophia-BOT on chess.com leads to confinement!!

So, my latest mission is to beat Sophia-BOT on chess.com. This is so far proving to be a real challenge and I haven't managed it yet!! (Although I've managed to get two draws). In the latest 'drawn' game, I spent time at the end Reviewing the game using the analysis on chess.com, and it appears that if I'd played the ending correctly, I'd actually of won ... but instead my King was subjected to 'confinement' ..! If you are relatively new to chess, then the chances are that you won't have experienced this yet ...

Confinement

Confinement is a technique used by an enemy King to 'confine' your King to either the 'a' file or the 'h' file, normally when you are trying to promote a Rook's pawn. The problem is that, if you make an attempt to leave the 'a' file for the 'b' file, or the 'h' file for the 'g' file, leaving way for the pawn to promote, then the enemy King will make a beeline for the the "corner, promotion square" where they are guaranteed a draw. So, in summary, with accurate play there is no win for the side with a Rook's pawn if the enemy King is well placed enough to dive into the corner square where the pawn wants to be.

Game against Sophia-BOT (2300)

Mistake in the Endgame ...

Here is the mistake I made in the endgame. Instead of taking on h5, I should have actually played h4! This would have guaranteed a win.

Here is the continuation when playing for a win ...

c3 Sicilian - won endgame

So, just one small mistake in my last game on FIDE online, but the endgame was eventually won by Black here ... 

Here is a "c3 Sicilian" 

As usual, any comments welcome 

Budapest Gambit: Fajarowicz Variation - (Blitz Trap)

Although this particular version of the Fajarowicz can be easily refuted ... it's still a nice one to play when playing bullet or blitz 😀

Fajarowicz Variation - Trap 3

It also works if the White Knight was developed on c3 ... 😀

Budapest Gambit: Fajarowicz Variation - (Trap 2)

Here is situation where White is wary of Bishop b4+ and so they prevent that check with a3.  However they are still not aware that Black takes a massive lead in development by exchanging White's e-pawn for their d-pawn ... The result is decisive after White unwittingly develops their Knight to f3!!  

Fajarowicz Variation - (Trap 2)

Shockingly - White loses their Queen to two minor pieces ... !