Today I am sharing one of Francisco’s famous tabiyas. In chess a tabiya is a special position reached by fairly standard opening chess moves but that results in a complex starting point requiring a serious investigation. Francisco proudly showed me his homegrown theory on this particular tabiya a decade or so ago and it onceContinue reading "Francisco Friday for 3/18/22"
CalChess Journal Winter 2022
How to Help Young Chess Players Bounce Back from a Tough Loss
Losing is part of the game of chess and an important part of a young chess player’s growth. As a chess coach or chess parent, one of our most important roles is helping a child deal with a difficult loss at a chess tournament. Step 1 After every round, examine the chess game together inContinue reading "How to Help Young Chess Players Bounce Back from a Tough Loss"
Chess Position Worth Sharing 139
Mentally visualizing possible chess positions while calculating accurately is an essential skill for chess players to possess. Since, the ultimate goal in chess is to checkmate, it therefore makes sense to incorporate checkmating puzzles into chess visualization training. A good training puzzle for this purpose should challenge the solver’s ability to properly visualize the squaresContinue reading "Chess Position Worth Sharing 139"
Winning Chess Moves: Repka vs Ali Marandi, 2022 Spring Chess Classic
Tonight’s chess position comes from Round 1 of the 2022 Spring Chess Classic organized by the Saint Louis Chess Club. Black (GM Cemil Can Ali Marandi) has just played 28… Qxf5. Grandmaster Christopher Repka (white) plays a powerful move that causes black to resign immediately. What move did GM Repka play? White to move andContinue reading "Winning Chess Moves: Repka vs Ali Marandi, 2022 Spring Chess Classic"
Preparing Youth Chess Players for the State Scholastic Championships
March and April are traditionally the months that State Chess Organizations hold their Scholastic State Championships sometimes referred to as “Super States.” So it is, every year around this time, I receive lots of questions about the best way to prepare a young chess player for the Scholastic State Championships. Most of my students whoContinue reading "Preparing Youth Chess Players for the State Scholastic Championships"
Francisco Friday for 3/11/22
The “back rank mate” is one of the first checkmating patterns we learn as chess players. In today’s game, Francisco Anchondo plays an exquisite variation on this simple theme that is enjoyable for master and novice alike. Francisco Anchondo vs. N.N., 1/24/22 [Event "Casual Blitz game"] [Site "?"] [Date "2022.01.24"] [Round "?"] [White "Francisco Anchondo"]Continue reading "Francisco Friday for 3/11/22"
Puzzle Worthy Position 37
We truly are living in the Golden Age of Chess as it seems everywhere one looks, incredible chess is being played. Just today, GM Harsha Bharathakoti played a truly breathtaking move in his victory over GM Arjun Erigaisi in the Bangladesh Premier League. Can you spot white’s best move in the position below? What isContinue reading "Puzzle Worthy Position 37"
Betcha Can’t Solve This #Chess Puzzle! 62
Whether you prefer racking your brain, wracking your brain or even wrecking your brain, this chess puzzle is for you. White to move and mate in two by Herbert Siegfried Oskar Ahues (Troll, 1/2001). Whit to move and mate in 2 (Herbert Siegfried Oskar Ahues, Troll 2001).
Calchess Super State Championship 2022
Great news! The Calchess Scholastic State Championship has returned to its over-the-board format for 2022. To create a safe playing environment, The "Super States" will be scheduled over 3 weekends (March 19-20, April 9-10, and April 23-24), instead of one just weekend. However, this Calchess tradition will once again be run at The Santa ClaraContinue reading "Calchess Super State Championship 2022"
Francisco Friday for 3/4/2022
Francisco (right) with Anatoly Karpov. Those who live in Northern California or are regular readers of this blog know that Francisco Anchondo is an expert of the attack on the chessboard. His tactical expertise regularly creates short masterpieces that are equally as educational as they are fun. So today, I am pleased to begin aContinue reading "Francisco Friday for 3/4/2022"
Raffle Deadline Extended
A Daily Chess Musings club member pointed out to me that I had mistakenly listed the end of March instead of February in an email sent out about our twitch raffle. To be fair to everyone, I have decided to extend the deadline for the raffle until the end of March. This means that isContinue reading "Raffle Deadline Extended"
Blitz Tournament Tonight
I will be playing and streaming in the Daily Chess Musings’ Pop Up Blitz Tournament tonight (2/20/2022) at 7:00 PM Pacific Time. Join me for five rounds of five minute fun either by playing in the event by clicking this link: https://www.chess.com/play/tournament/2970503?action=undefined Or by following my Twitch Stream here: https://www.twitch.tv/dailychessmusings
Puzzle Worthy Position 36
Today’s puzzle worthy position comes from the exciting Round 3 chess game between IM Roberto Carlos Sanchez Alvarez and GM Jorge Cori played in Mexico City at the Iberoamericano chess tournament on 2/13/2022. In the position below Grandmaster Cori (black) has just played 22… Qa5. What brilliant move did IM Roberto Carlos Sanchez Alvarez (white)Continue reading "Puzzle Worthy Position 36"
Daily Chess Musings’ Fun Fridays
Celebrate the start of the weekend with Fun Friday chess events. The Daily Chess Musings Club has two blitz tournaments scheduled where Coach Chris will jump around and comment on players’ games in progress. In between the two tournaments, he will be open for challenges for 10 min games. 5:00 PM Pacific Time Friday FrenzyContinue reading "Daily Chess Musings’ Fun Fridays"
Win Prizes in our Free Chess Raffle
Register now for your chance to win valuable gift cards from American Chess Equipment! To register for the free raffle follow the instructions here: https://dailychessmusings.com/2022/02/10/upcoming-chess-events-2/
Elite California Chess Events are Looking for Volunteers
Do you want to be up close with a chess grandmaster? Do you want to be part of the most elite chess tournaments - GM NORM tournaments? Do you have a passion to help others in need? We are looking for a volunteer with USCF rating >1000 to help with taking notation and pushing clocksContinue reading "Elite California Chess Events are Looking for Volunteers"
So I was just playing a game of #chess and then this happened! 44
There are few things in chess more satisfying than snatching a draw from the jaws of defeat. Tonight I couldn’t help but smile when my opponent played right into a game saving tactic. Black to move and smile!
Winning Chess Moves: Shahaliyev vs Hasanzade, 2022 Azerbaijan Championship
Tonight’s chess position comes from Round 6 of the 2022 Azerbaijan Championship played on February 10 in Nakhichevan. Black (IM Toghrul Hasanzade) has just played 26…Qd6. International Master Ismayil Shahaliyev (white) finds a pretty tactic that causes black to resign immediately. What move did IM Shahaliyev play? White to move and win (Ismayil Shahaliyev vsContinue reading "Winning Chess Moves: Shahaliyev vs Hasanzade, 2022 Azerbaijan Championship"
Upcoming Chess Events
Dear Chess Friends, I want to let you know about our new online chess event format. Beginning this week, you may notice some extra online chess tournaments “Pop-Up” in the Daily Chess Musings chess club on chess.com. https://www.chess.com/club/daily-chess-musings/join When you see one, join up and participate to earn a raffle ticket in our monthly prizeContinue reading "Upcoming Chess Events"