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Get Inspired to Play Better Chess!

Napoleon Hill famously stated “To be inspired is great, to inspire is incredible!” This is especially true in terms of chess. Most days I spend quality time searching through chess databases for sources of inspiration. Some days produce less than stellar results while on rare occasions I discover real hidden gems in the form ofContinue reading “Get Inspired to Play Better Chess!”

Francisco Friday for 7/1/2022

German chess master Alexander Fritz (1857–1932) suggested 5…Nd4 in the Italian: Two Knights Defense (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Ng5 d5 5.exd5 Nd4) to Carl Schlechter who publicized the line in a 1904 issue of Deutsche Schachzeitung. Sixty years later, the Fritz Variation famously re-emerged during Bobby Fischer’s crushing loss to Robert Eugene BurgerContinue reading “Francisco Friday for 7/1/2022”

Francisco Friday for 3/18/22

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”

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. [Event “Casual Blitz game”] [Site “?”] [Date “2022.01.24”] [Round “?”] [White “Francisco Anchondo”] [WhiteElo “?”] [Black “n.n.”] [BlackEloContinue reading “Francisco Friday for 3/11/22”