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Access all the Blog articles for Chess lovers. This is me and my thoughts on the game that we like the most - Chess.

Chessbase Complete: Chess in the Digital Age – 5 Useful Tips

Chessbase Complete: Chess in the Digital Age – 5 Useful Tips

Articles, Book Reviews, Reviews, Technology guide, Training

ChessBase Complete: Chess in the Digital Age Chess in the Digital Age is an enchanting 356 pages guide that explains almost all aspects of using ChessBase. Let us start with the basics first. What is ChessBase? ChessBase is an amazing chess database software mainly used by top professionals and by amateurs. It has evolved constantly from a very basic chess data reference tool to a full-blown chess database software. Much like the Swiss knife of Chess What is the book about? For those who have been using the ChessBase Software (and I am pretty sure at least 75% of chess players around the world have used it at one point in time or the other) for straight forward game collections and annotations or for mundane tasks like viewing a game or playing a game online, this book will show what ChessBase software is actually capable of doing. Here a small caveat – though the author has done a very good job explaining the key features with real-time case studies, it can by no means be labeled as ‘complete’. However, that does not take any credit away from the utility value of the book which is a path-breaking one. Why this book? I am sure most of you would have by now figured out a few basic functions in Chessbase, but a lot of the nerdy stuff features are not obvious unless you see them in the true perspective of results. You may argue that there is a user-manual in the program as is the case with all software, and pretty much is explained in there, but it’s written more with... read more
Review: Domination in 2,545 Endgame Studies

Review: Domination in 2,545 Endgame Studies

Tactics, Endgame, Thumb Rules, Training

Domination in 2,545 Endgame Studies by Ghenrikh Kasparyan is a true treasure trove of many of the greatest chess compositions by various authors, including Kasparyan himself. – well organized and presented. No other book even comes close to its level of organization by topics such as ‘two minor pieces trap a Rook’ or ‘two Rooks trapping a Queen’ so that you can look up specific scenarios according to which game play is involved.
I remember as a kid I was forced

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One brick at a time. Building a successful chess career.

One brick at a time. Building a successful chess career.

random thoughts, Training

One brick at a time and the house is built. We all know that going slow and steady is what it takes to reach a milestone. But what are the milestones in chess and more importantly, how to aim or fix these milestones and achieve them? How can we go about building a successful chess career while maintaining the enthusiasm quotient on an upward graph? How often do you wonder, “I wish I were good at chess…” Maybe you want to be better at chess tactics or strategy or endgames. Maybe you’d like to be more confident or less panicky while playing a strong player. Building a successful chess career requires work. It is not often that you can suddenly get better at chess with a tricky opening trap or gimmick. However, I think a lot of chess players don’t improve simply because they don’t know how to build their knowledge and chess skills at the same time. In this article, I want to outline a simple 10 step strategy to get better at chess. It does require work, lots of regular and repetitive work. But it can help simplify the process of crossing milestones in chess. Let us discuss some important milestones in chess from top to bottom in terms of their difficulty level: Grandmaster Title International Master Fide Master Title Candidate master and Decent Fide Rating. Playing a full game of chess. Learning the basics. While striving to reach these milestones is desirable, understanding the way to approach these goals is essential to make the journey smooth and enjoyable. How do we reach (and cross) milestones while... read more
Power of the common Pawn – Chennai (Tiger) Express

Power of the common Pawn – Chennai (Tiger) Express

News, Anand, Articles, Good Games, Pawns, Positional Play, Psychology, Sacrifices, Tactics

This was one brilliant game of technique played by Vishy Anand, that shows how positional understanding is the foundation of all tactics. Its not often you get to see a game that literally keeps you mesmerized. There was some inefficiency by Wesley So but that does not take the credit away from Anand. A champion has to be brave and this is what Anand demonstrated – he showed the Power of the common Pawn today in Shamkir 2015.

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From the Chess Coach’s perspective

From the Chess Coach’s perspective

Articles, random thoughts, Thumb Rules, Training

I would like to share my experience from the Chess Coach’s perspective in coaching juniors, who are improving rapidly. I have been varying my training methods to ensure that the interest levels are sustained for a long time and compared to when I started some 8 years back, made some observations and corrections vis-a-vis my coaching/training regimen.

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Meet Carissa Yip – the Youngest Female Chess Master

Meet Carissa Yip – the Youngest Female Chess Master

Articles, News

Carissa began playing chess at age six and is now ranked 50th best female chess player in the country by United States Chess Federation. Carissa Yip, 11, of Andover, Massachusetts beat a master chess player last month and earned her title while also creating an all time record as the youngest Female Chess Master. In 2013, she became youngest American to reach expert level!

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