In chess, setting traps is part of the game. Many players love the thrill of setting a sly trap and watching their opponent fall right into it. But what if your trap doesn't work? What if, instead of catching your opponent off guard, you find your...
“I’m great at finding the best move when I know there’s a good move to find.” Sound familiar? If you’ve ever thought this while tackling chess puzzles, you’re not alone. In a puzzle, there’s only one...
Can You Play For Fun, If You're Playing to Win? You may have already seen several blogs about the book that is sweeping across the chess world, May the Best Player Win by Kyla Zhao. Rather than repeating the praise it's been receiving, I want to...
With this blog, we revisit a concept I dreamt up a long time ago: Krav Maga Chess. I'm including a puzzle from one of my blogs from 9.5 years ago! As a chess teacher, I get to see firsthand how chess players improve, adapt, and evolve their ...
In today's world, it often feels like we are encouraged to just accept the status quo. This is ironic, considering we have an incredible amount of information at our fingertips. While it's crucial to learn from experts and build upon their knowled...
When you think of online chess, you might imagine a casual game with a stranger from across the globe, perhaps punctuated by a quick move here and there. But sometimes, those games surprise you with puzzles that are as instructive as they are ...
Following the advice of masters can be hard work! A lot of their advice is different, because each master is a different person with different personalities and life experiences. Also, sometimes their advice entails not just studying but really pu...
It's a tale as old as time...You're up against a strong opponent, maybe your opponent has a higher number attached to his/her name. The temptation to simplify through even trades can be overwhelming. For beginners, this urge is especially strong. ...
In order to evaluate a position correctly, one must calculate all the nuances, considering every possible move, counter-move, and sequence. This sounds ideal, but let's be honest—if you attempted this every move, you'd quickly run out of tim...
Today, we're diving into one of my all-time favorite defenses to 1. e4: the French Defense, marked by 1...e6. Often viewed as a solid yet passive defense, the French Defense can, in the hands of the uninitiated, lead to cramped positions where Bla...
"I Don’t Need to Study the Endgame. My Games Never Reach One." It's a common refrain among many chess students. Why spend precious study hours on "boring" theoretical endgame theory; when most games are decided in the middlegame through ta...
In 3 minute blitz (with no increment) games often become a blur of rapid decisions and intuitive sacrifices. However, every once in a while, we encounter a game so complex that it seems almost impossible to fully grasp within the time constraints....
Today, we delve into a fascinating chess tactic that might not be on everyone's radar but can be a game-changer when executed correctly. It's especially fitting, that on the 4th of July (USA Independence Day) we explore a game that took place in H...
The 2024 Southern California Chess Championship concluded in exciting fashion. Here are the final standings: You can find even more information about this tournament and the SCCF by visiting this site: www.scchess.com/tournaments_n_results/state...
Could've Would've Should've A big part of chess improvement is going over your games. My preferred way of going over my games is to first talk it over with my opponent (if he/she is willing). After talking it over with my opponent I'll try to p...
Many people ask the question, how long will it take to become a master if I started studying right now? Unfortunately, I don't know the answer to this question; there are way too many variables to consider. Fortunately, I do have the answer that w...
The (Oft Butchered) Art of Exchanging One reason why chess is such a hard game to master is that aspiring student constantly needs to learn things and then unlearn them over and over. What I mean is that the beginner should be concentrating on n...
Many people have been seduced by the play of the winner. Sometimes to the point of recommending that the victor played perfectly and to emulate this person's play. This is all well and good, until you find out that many an annotator has been misle...
I got flagged (for only the 2nd time ever in 1200+ games!) in my round 2 game of the Leigh Hunt Memorial. I could easily blame it on the fact that were using an analog clock and I thought I still had 3 minutes left, while thinking my opponent only...
Many people want to make their way out to Southern California for the beaches, the celebrities, the weather, or even (as popularized by the Beach Boys) the California girls. But what people don't know is that the chess scene is also quite strong...
Fake It, 'Til You Make It “I'd rather be an optimist and a fool than a pessimist and right.” ― Albert Einstein Last Friday, 9/2/16 I played round 1 of a 7 round tournament held at a local chess club. I'm excited that I now live close to a club,...
A lot of chess players are playing in the many labor day tournaments around the US (and maybe the world?). This post is for those that are a little less serious about their chess or maybe just want to have a 3 day weekend to recharge (like me)! Se...
Why does a person with the rating of 800 (a beginner) lose, what about a 1600 (intermediate player) what about a Master (2200 rating/advanced player) and above? We know they all lose, some less than others, but they do all lose. Do they lose the s...
I've had many a student suggest that they want to change their opening repetoire. They usually state some reason such as: "it's just not my style". When I was a new teacher I'd go along with their request and teach them about this new opening they...
While I was eating a fish burrito for lunch (so So Cal), I got a text from a friend who is an 1800 USCF rated player himself. I had told him to check out the Sinquefield Cup coverage; that I had thought that it had a lot of very interesting games....
