Category: Game of the Week
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Game of the Week XXV: Predke, Alexandr (2683) – Kezin, Roman (2486)
One of the first things new players learn in chess is the relative value of the pieces. For instance, a queen = 9 points, rook = 5 points, bishop = 3 points, knight = 3 points, pawn = 1 point,, and the king’s value is infinite. Of course, there are different scales too, but this
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Game of the Week XXIV: Shankland, Sam (2691) – Duda, Jan-Krzysztof (2729)
Winning a game “at home” is a dream scenario for all players. Experts usually spend an immense amount of time preparing surprises against their opponents. However, most of the surprises never get used. On the other hand, when home prep occurs on the board, a player understands that their hard work was not in vain!
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Game of the Week XXIII: Caruana, Fabiano (2820) – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar (2770)
Show me your favorite chess ideas, I will tell you who you are. Of course, you must be a famous chess player for me to satisfy this. It is an interesting phenomenon that every player has a unique approach to the game. If you pay close attention to the players’ games, you will recognize some
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Game of the Week XXII: Muzychuk, Anna (2535) – Mammadzada, Gunay (2443)
Nowadays, most players are not enthusiastic about studying endgames, especially when it comes to pawn endgames. The main arguments are: Actually, pawn endgames do not happen often because most people do not know how to navigate this type of endgame and try to avoid it at all costs. If you are not good at pawn
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Game of the Week XXI: Antipov, Mikhail (2609) – Brkic, Ante (2592)
Perhaps you have heard before that “If one piece is in a bad position, the whole position is bad.” The concept of using the other player’s bad piece to their advantage is well-known and quite often we see this strategy utilized by masters. For some reason, that piece is usually the bishop. A bishop could
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Game of the Week XX: Lagarde, Maxime (2638) – Kamsky, Gata (2665)
“Winning a won game is the hardest thing in chess” is a well-known quote by Frank Marshall. This may be why we often hear when someone angrily exits the playing hall after losing and exclaims, “I was completely winning!” I have heard of a funny recruiting technique by a coach who would approach parents and
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Game of the Week XIX: Xu, Yi (2527)- Xu, Yinglun (2554)
The Game of the Week by Guest Contributor Grandmaster Vahap Sanal is again from the Chinese Championship. The tournament is full of high-level players, and every round presents a great opportunity for us to conduct an interesting analysis. Today’s game is about having a plan in mind, and not giving up until you get what
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Game of the Week XVIII: Zhao, Jun (2638) – Yu, Yangyi (2709)
By Guest Contributor Grandmaster Vahap Sanal. Another great event, the Chinese Chess Championship, is happening this week. With a lineup full of unique players capable of producing exceptional games, I am sure this tournament will showcase many more interesting games like the following. Today’s Game of the Week is a prime example of how overlooking
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Game of the Week XVII: Ding, Liren (2791) – Nepomniachtchi, Ian (2789)
Hypermodernism in chess emerged at the end of World War I. The concept, which went against the classical approach that promoted an immediate fight to the center of the board, sparked fierce debates within the chess community at that time. The most well-known advocates of the new approach were Aron Nimzowitsch, Richard Réti, Savielly Tartakower,
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Game of the Week XVI: Caruana, Fabiano (2820) – Giri, Anish (2776)
The Greek philosopher Heraclitus once declared: “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” I think he had a good point with the river part, but I am not sure about the other part, as I don’t think that humans can change
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Game of the Week XV: Maghsoodloo, Parham (2676) vs. Mosadeghpour, Masoud (2498)
“I will make 40 good moves and if you are able to do the same, the game will end in a draw.” Vasily Smyslov There has been a fierce debate in the past about what the result of a chess game would be if both sides played all of the best moves. Now that millions
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Game of the Week XIV: Svane, Frederik (2421) vs. Bluebaum, Matthias (2670)
Have you ever gotten the feeling of being totally outplayed by your opponent and wonder where you made a mistake? This usually happens when two players from different classes encounter each other and the stronger one utilizes more advanced techniques than their opponent is accustomed to. Instead of one side making an obvious blunder, the