Articles

This page will include articles on various chess topics such as endgame basics, psychology and the role of physical fitness in chess. New material will be arriving fairly regularly. I hope you'll find these essays instructive and thought provoking. Many are based on personal experiences. To suggest a topic of interest, email vdaveskulov@chesstao.com.

• how gms played rook endgames in 2009 (12/21/09) 2010 is coming and we're analyzing the mistakes of the past year. Here are three rook endings played by GMs. The first ending is Aveskulov-Moiseenko from the Turkish Team League. Our game was the last and the outcome determined the match result. It also contains analysis of other two other endings, Gashimov-Stellwagen (European team championship, 2009) and Tregubov-Akobian (World Cup, 2009). I hope my analysis will stimulate our readers to bone up on rook endgames.
• diagram method (12/19/09) You have just seen an instructive and interesting position. You liked the method that was used, and you don't want to forget it. Take paper and pencil in hand and draw up the diagram of the position.
• openings (11/30/09) Basic principles of chess openings for beginners. The open­ing is the first stage of the chess game and in­cludes that part of the game where players de­vel­ope their pieces, generally minor ones first.
• winning a won game (11/26/09) Article examines the merit of the axiom that the most difficult part of a chess game is winning a won position. Some ways of resolving this problem are offered as well.
• analyzing and playing (11/15/09) I'm pret­ty sure that chess does not tol­er­ate an am­a­teur ap­proach. If you play this game, be se­ri­ous all along the line. If you are at the board (or at the screen) - think of the pieces! Only se­ri­ous in­di­vid­u­als get re­sults in chess.
• pawn endings (11/05/09) No one became a strong GM without good ending preparation! That's why I created a little database of the most important ending positions. Here I'll acquaint you with the basics of pawn endings including opposition, remote passed pawn, breakthrough, stalemate.
• rook endings (11/05/09) Rook endings are the most common and the most difficult endings. This part presents basic knowledge about rook endings. Here are the most important theoretical positions and the typical motifs you should know.