Learning Chess Endings

Knowing what to do in the endgame stage is an essential skill of the chess player. As few pieces are left on the table, you must use each one effectively to maximize the results. The king becomes active and pawns become crucial.

Chess Endgames: Pawn Principles

Chess endgames with passed pawns have many principles. A previous article explained the opposition. In this article, a game between two top grandmasters demonstrates two other principles: passed pawns must be pushed and the square of the pawn. More 🡢

Turning Chess Wins into Draws

On behalf of the Alliance Chess Club, Louis A. Reed Jr. organized and directed the Fourth Annual Queen City of the Prairie Open & Fort Worth Championship on July 17–18, 2021. Although I scored just 3 points out of 5 rounds, I split the first expert prize with my last-round opponent. My fourth-round opponent missed turning his losing position into a draw. In round 5, I turned my winning position into a draw. More 🡢

In Online Chess, Don’t Turn Draws into Losses

Turning a draw into a loss and only drawing when one’s team needed a win both happened in the two most recent U.S. Amateur Team Championships. Two heart-breaking chess positions are discussed in this article, though undoubtedly more than two sad games were played. More 🡢

The Russian Endgame: Don’t Turn Chess Wins into Draws

In the endgame, it is easy to turn a win into a draw. If you don’t know the winning pattern, you may not stumble into it. When you play inaccurate moves, your win turns into a draw. If you do know the winning pattern, you will get the full point. This article has two examples from recent games, both of which were broadcast on Twitch. More 🡢

Exclusive: Free eBook from Forward Chess

We have an exclusive offer for our SparkChess players: a free interactive eBook from Forward Chess! There is a catch, though: the offer expires on March 20. More 🡢

In-person Chess Teaching in the Time of Pandemic

One casualty of the pandemic has been in-person chess classes. With schools closed, on-site chess programs are closed too and many instructors lost their jobs. More 🡢

Stop those pawns!

In an endgame, stop your opponent’s pawn or pawns from promoting. A queen ahead in an endgame will likely win. In today’s article, the winning side stops two pawns before promoting its own pawn. More 🡢

How to teach chess (part three)

In this article and in the next one, I will outline exactly what I will teach these more advanced students. You can use these articles as a self-study guide (for improving your own chess). Or, if you are a chess teacher, you might try my outlined plans with your advanced students. More 🡢