In tonight’s live chess stream, California chess coach Chris Torres uses the infamous “center fork trick” in a training game against a talented student. The chess game takes on a surprisingly tactical flavor and both players are forced to avoid threats of checkmate while in time trouble. https://youtu.be/VFGc3kOB95E
Chess Position Worth Sharing 149!
Samuel Loyd was one of the greatest creative geniuses of nineteenth century puzzles, both on and off of the chess board. Born on January 30th of 1841, Samuel (Sam) Loyd was a contemporary of Paul Morphy (1837-1884). In fact, Loyd moved from Philadelphia to New York City which means he was occupying the same spaceContinue reading "Chess Position Worth Sharing 149!"
Born on this Day in 1958: International Master Emory Tate
Today is the late IM Emory Tate’s Birthday. If still alive today, Emory Tate would be turning that most special age for chess players: 64. Photo of Emory Tate taken on 10/10/2015 Born on December 27th means that Emory shares his birthday with the second day of Kwanzaa. (Kwanzaa is a yearly celebration of African-AmericanContinue reading "Born on this Day in 1958: International Master Emory Tate"
Chess Photos from the 2022-23 CalChess Grade Level Championship
I had a blast attending the 2022-23 CalChess Grade Level Championship hosted by Bay Area Chess. From the enthusiasm of the young competitors to getting to hear from many fans of my Daily Chess Musings YouTube Channel, I could not have ask for a better way to spend my birthday weekend. I look forward toContinue reading "Chess Photos from the 2022-23 CalChess Grade Level Championship"
Birthday Simul 2022 + Special Emory Tate Chess Lesson
As is my annual tradition, I took an opportunity to play several young chess players in a simultaneous exhibition to celebrate my birthday. This year’s Birthday Simul took place on December 20th (not December 18th) so as not to conflict with The Calchess Grade Level Championships which took place on my actual birthday. The eventContinue reading "Birthday Simul 2022 + Special Emory Tate Chess Lesson"
Chess Memories of Birthdays Past
When I was a younger man, I didn’t need to take a day off to rest on my birthday (December 18th). I much preferred going to work, which for most of my adult life, means playing chess with young people. Kneeling next to Andrew Peng on my birthday in 2012. I turned 35 on DecemberContinue reading "Chess Memories of Birthdays Past"
Viewer Requests: Position of the Week 2
1k3r2/p1n4b/1p3r1p/6p1/8/2P2N2/1P1QN1PP/1K6 w - - 0 1 This week’s submission comes from a student in Fremont California and deals with the age old question of which is better, a queen or two rooks. Generally a queen is stronger against uncoordinated rooks and especially so with pawns on both sides of the board. However, in our featureContinue reading "Viewer Requests: Position of the Week 2"
Betcha Can’t Solve This #Chess Puzzle! 71
The holiday season can be a little daunting, whether it's due to the commotion of shopping, hosting get-togethers or traveling. Rather than adding to this extra stress with the high intensity of online bullet chess, I recommend enjoying the slower pace of chess puzzles. Why not fill a mug with your favorite hot beverage, cozyContinue reading "Betcha Can’t Solve This #Chess Puzzle! 71"
Winning Chess Moves: Vokhidov vs. Wojtaszek, 2022
The FIDE World Team Championship for 2022 consisted of 12 nation teams and included many illustrious players who are recurring stars on the Daily Chess Musings blog including Anish Giri, Vasyl Ivanchuk, Maxime Vachier-Lagrave, Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, Teymur Radjabov, Nihal Sarin, and Alexei Shirov. However, the best finishing move of the event did not occur inContinue reading "Winning Chess Moves: Vokhidov vs. Wojtaszek, 2022"
Viewer Requests: Position of the Week 1
8/8/k7/4PP1p/3pK2P/2b5/8/8 w - - 0 1 Chess Dad & Coach Arun from Fremont California asked me to break this complex endgame down for his students. Watch below to see how this position plays out. https://youtu.be/qkYlNjVWD1o
So I was just playing a game of #chess and then this happened! 48
Position after just five moves. Last night I Played a 5 move miniature with the black pieces that would fit nicely into Irving Chernev’s 1000 Best Short Games of Chess. Enjoy… 1.d4 e5 2.dxe5 Nc6 3.Nf3 Qe7 4.c4 Nxe5 5.g3 Nxf3#
One Year Later… Carlsen-Nepo Game Six
Today marks the first anniversary of Magnus Carlsen’s incredible Game 6 victory over Ian Nepomniachtchi during the 2021 World Chess Championship Match. As you may recall, the first five games of the Carlsen-Nepomniachtchi were drawn. Their sixth game, however, was an epic battle where both players took risks for a decisive result. Magnus Carlsen’s talentContinue reading "One Year Later… Carlsen-Nepo Game Six"
Puzzle Worthy Position 44
Since it’s inception in 2018, the Tata Steel Chess India tournament has invited five of the most talented Indian Grandmasters to compete in their home country against an equal number of top international competitors. The annual event features the strongest rapid and blitz chess on the subcontinent. For 2022, the Tata Steel Chess India eventContinue reading "Puzzle Worthy Position 44"
Winning Chess Moves: Caruana vs. Lenderman, 2018
The 2018 US Championship was an action packed event. The San Francisco Bay Area’s own Grandmaster Sam Shankland stole the spotlight by taking first place over such pre-tournament favorites such as Fabiano Caruana, Wesley So and Hikaru Nakamura. Norcal chess enthusiasts weren’t exactly shocked by GM Shankland’s championship run as we have long since grownContinue reading "Winning Chess Moves: Caruana vs. Lenderman, 2018"
Highlights from the 2022 Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Finals in San Francisco
Chess fans around the globe were excited to watch some of our game’s biggest stars competing in the Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Finals in San Francisco. The prestigious event took place on November 14-20, 2022. The format was a round-robin featuring eight elite chess competitors (GM Magnus Carlsen, GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda, GM Arjun Erigaisi, GMContinue reading "Highlights from the 2022 Meltwater Champions Chess Tour Finals in San Francisco "
CalChess Journal Fall 2022
The Fall 2022 issue of the CalChess Journal is a whopping 33 pages filled with California chess news, Bay Area chess results and annotated games from NorCal chess players.
Puzzle Worthy Position 43
Anatoly Karpov and Jan Timman. Today’s puzzle worthy position comes from one of the many great battles between GM Anatoly Karpov and GM Jan Timman. Both chess geniuses were born in 1951 and their chessboard rivalry stretched for a half century from 1967 until 2016. Karpov had a winning record against his Dutch contemporary withContinue reading "Puzzle Worthy Position 43"
Betcha Can’t Solve This #Chess Puzzle! 70
Today’s puzzle of interest is a mate in 2 with many carefully placed ingredients. I was struck by this chess problem’s modern design and surprised by the fact that it was composed over a century ago in 1920. Not only is this chess puzzle a beautiful reminder of how much is possible on the chessboardContinue reading "Betcha Can’t Solve This #Chess Puzzle! 70"
Puzzle Worthy Position 42
The action at the Chess Bundesliga is always worth checking out! A recent Bundesliga game between GM David Navara and GM Luke McShane reached a most remarkable position before concluding. In the position below, black (McShane) has just moved his pawn to b2 on his 34th move. GM David Navara (white) responds to the promotionContinue reading "Puzzle Worthy Position 42"
Halloween Blitz Chess Extravaganza 2022
October 29, 2022 - The first night of the Extravaganza! https://youtu.be/r1V6BLJEl9Q October 30, 2022 - Night two of the Extravaganza! https://youtu.be/-Xu6WzjOXAA Winners We will message you on Chess.com for your address so you can receive your prize! MahatAr113Tylman119chuppecat125Sophiafeifei0190ThunderingKavin204 Participants Tylman100KrishMathimaran101luckylol3102Sophiafeifei0103Kowarenai104AshwinMathimaran105SmartField106NeevSuperChess107KrishMathimaran108Sophiafeifei0109chuppecat110KrishMathimaran111Sophiafeifei0112MahatAr113luckylol3114MahatAr115chuppecat116luckylol3117KrishMathimaran118Tylman119np2015120chuppecat121luckylol3122np2015123lohithpa124chuppecat125EiffelTower8894126crosserbishop127Sophiafeifei0128AshwinMathimaran129NeevSuperChess130Kowarenai131Kowarenai132Sophiafeifei0133lohithpa134Kowarenai135np2015136Kowarenai137AshwinMathimaran138Kowarenai139SmartField140luckylol3141EiffelTower8894142Kowarenai143Tylman144MahatAr145chuppecat146KrishMathimaran147KrishMathimaran148SmartField149AshwinMathimaran150SmartField151Tylman152crosserbishop153SmartField154Poochi1155jrs_ns156Kunj_1157Poochi1158batelab159SmartField160stesan60161Kunj_1162Sophiafeifei0163RohanFeb164Poochi1165DarkSoul200166luckylol3167luckylol3168B_BABY_YODA_A169batelab170ChessMasterGS171B_BABY_YODA_A172Kowarenai173Sophiafeifei0174ChessMasterGS175SmartField176RohanFeb177justelliott61970178batelab179ChessMasterGS180Kunj_1181EiffelTower8894182ThunderingKavin183SmartField184ThunderingKavin185justelliott61970186B_BABY_YODA_A187Sophiafeifei0188Poochi1189Sophiafeifei0190AFX2012191DarkSoul200192RohanFeb193Kowarenai194Kowarenai195SmartField196ThunderingKavin197stesan60198Kunj_1199Kunj_1200Kowarenai201jrs_ns202B_BABY_YODA_A203ThunderingKavin204EiffelTower8894205B_BABY_YODA_A206ChessMasterGS207DarkSoul200208ChessMasterGS209AFX2012210SmartField211DarkSoul200212RohanFeb213Poochi1214ChessMasterGS215justelliott61970216Kunj_1217DarkSoul200218Kowarenai219luckylol3220