Trial by Tactics is our member-only Daily Chess Puzzle. Members enjoy access to all archived content, including thousands of PDFs and hundreds of Ebooks - all free! To join: make a $25 (or more) tax deductible donation to ChessEdu.org and we will send your log in details for one-year access. (It may take up to 72 hours to receive your log in.) In Trial by Tactics you are shown the position just before the tactic occurs and then asked to visualize the winning sequence. Thereby emulating a real game scenario. These puzzles can also be used as test questions in conjunction with the ChessEdu.org curriculum. A new puzzle is posted daily. Your daily chess quiz! [FEN … [Read more...]
Anatomy of a Disaster
Inside Chess, 1992/9 Anatomy of a Disaster By Yasser Seirawan Since winning the US Championship, Gata Kamsky's chess career seems to be heading straight up. I was anxious to cross swords with him at Belgrade. In this, Anatomy of a Disaster Part II, you'll see that when it rains, it pours. Seirawan,Yasser (2615) - Kamsky,Gata (2595) Belgrade Investbank, 1991 Symmetrical English [A34] 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.e4 Nxc3 6.dxc3 Qxd1+ 7.Kxd1 Bg4? A bad mistake. Since Black doesn't want to trade this Bishop, it's better left at home. On g4 it's a target. 8.Kc2 Nc6 9.Be3 e6 10.Bb5 Surprisingly, the position is already a technical win. Since a doubling of … [Read more...]
The Return of Robert James Fischer!?
Inside Chess, 1992/16 The Return of Robert James Fischer!? by Yasser Seirawan Fischer Signs for Match in Yugoslavia Sensational news reports from Belgrade, Yugoslavia confirm that the legendary chess player Robert James Fischer – winner of the 1972 World Championship match has signed a contract to face Boris Spassky in a rematch. Wow! What is one to make of this report? First, a little personal history. I was born March 24,1960. A Child of the Sixties, as it were. It was this generation – born into the "Age of Aquarius" – that was supposed to right the sins of the previous generations. A heady responsibility to be sure. Nonetheless, this generation grew up fully expecting to … [Read more...]
Interview With Yasser Seirawan
Inside Chess, 1989/24 Interview With Yasser Seirawan by Mike Franett Yasser Seirawan was born of an English mother and a Syrian father on March 24, 1960, in Damascus, Syria. In 1964 the Seirawans moved to England. They emigrated to the United States in 1967, and in the spring of 1972 the family moved to the Seattle. In the fall of that year twelve-year-old Yasser began to play chess in the local hang-outs. At-the time, I was the Washington State Champion and soon felt a little like the New Orieans city champion in the 1840s. Something was happening, and I definitely knew what it was. I found it fascinating to watch this talent grow. In a few years, Yasser was a Master and our new … [Read more...]
Annotations by GM Yasser Seirawan
Inside Chess, 1995/25-26 Annotations by GM Yasser Seirawan GM Vladimir Kramnik had a nice start at the Investbank tournament at the expense of GM Jan Timman. I've noted that Kramnik's style of play has a wonderful simplicity. His games often flow smoothly from one advantage to another. In this one, Timman doesn't do anything wrong, but is taken apart nonetheless. Kramnik, Vladimir (2730) – Timman, Jan (2590) Investbank Belgrade (1), 1995 QGD Exchange [D35] 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 d5 4.d4 Nbd7 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 c6 7.e3 Be7 I, too, have dabbled in this freeing move. Black forces the exchange of a minor piece in order to relieve his slightly cramped position. The question that … [Read more...]