Sacrifices in chess are the “nuclear weapons” of the game. Think about it: When an atomic bomb is exploded, matter is converted to energy, according to the famous formula in the title above, and the newly-created energy is released on the real-world target.
In chess, the sacrifice converts material (the “matter” of the chessboard) into energy, [...]

Shereshevsky, in his maladroitly-titled book “The Soviet Chess Conveyor”, advises the student to study the classics. This is advice with which I heartily concur.
It’s only when he goes on to make an exception for all but a very few masters before Botvinnik I have the timerity to disagree with the famous chess trainer.

A 1977 game between Duchess and Kaissa at the World Computer Chess Championship proves the value of memorizing checkmate patterns. Late in the game the following position was reached (Duchess was White):

Kaissa, playing Black, ignored the obvious 1. … Kg7, and instead played the seeming blunder, 1. … Re8.
This puzzled most of the audience; how [...]

(linkablez.info likes to steal material from here and claim someone else wrote it, so expect this to be showing up there, soon.)
“Don’t believe it if someone tries to convince you that they know the only correct method of improvement. Such a method does not exist, and such claims are at best self-deception and at [...]

I get asked questions about learning how to play, by parents asking for their kids, and by adults asking for themselves. “Is there a book you’d recommend?” is frequently the “opening gambit” of the conversation.
I don’t like to recommend books without knowing the person I’m recommending them for, because there are several choices and every [...]

A story that’s always impressed me is the one about how Richard Feynmann prepared himself for an Exam. He bought a blank notebook, entitled it “What I don’t know” and over the next few weeks completely organized everything he knew about physics. He reconstructed it, reconnected the parts of it into the whole. When he [...]

How do I get better? That’s the question students ask more often than any other question. And then wait with bated breath, expecting me to reveal the secret move or idea that will guarantee good results. They know there’s a simple secret that will win game after game for them.
And my answer always disappoints.

We’ve all heard the saying, “No combination exists without a positional advantage.” I’ve struggled with implementing that for years, and I’ve given up. While the statement is quite probably true (at least I’m not going to dispute it) I’ve come to the conclusion it’s also quite useless as advice.
It’s a lot like the adage “there’s [...]

The tactics portion of my coaching notebook is coming along.
I’ve been working with a lot of younger kids this year, and they’ve been highlighting the need for some sort of methodical instruction in those areas, and all of my usual teaching aids are too advanced for them. The first thing I need to work with [...]