Blog
Chess!
Back in December I mentioned that Chess - The Musical was heading back to London. I went to see it last weekend at the impressive London Coliseum. It was all I hoped it would be: great cast, extremely effective set, live orchestra and packed to the rafters with an...
Candidates (Part 3)
The exciting Berlin Candidates tournament is now over and the official challenger for World Champion Magnus Carlsen is Fabiano Caruana. Caruana was the only winner in yesterday's games. Showing great determination, he played a long game against Grischuk and managed to...
Candidates (Part 2)
We said there would be more twists and turns at the Berlin Candidates tournament and the games in yesterday's penultimate round didn't disappoint. It is never easy to bounce back after any defeat but Caruana, with the eyes of the chess world upon him, won a tough...
Candidates
There is a fierce battle going on at the Berlin Candidates tournament, with eight of the world's top players desperately trying to become the official challenger to World Champion Magnus Carlsen. Fabiano Caruana looked to be in control of the tournament but a dramatic...
“C’est la vie”
Yesterday I witnessed a sudden end to a hard-fought game in the last round of one of my Delancey UK Chess Challenge games. White, who had played very well up until now to achieve an easily winning position, had just moved in for the kill with Bf4-d6, attacking the...
Blunders by the Best (3)
Last time we looked at this position. Saemisch – Capablanca Karlsbad, 1929 Capablanca played 9 …Ba6 here, to start pressuring White’s potentially weak pawns. Saemisch replied with the very strong 10 Qa4!, forking Black's bishop and knight. The bishop now retreated to...
Blunders by the Best (2)
Last time we looked at a position from the Steinitz - Chigorin World Championship match of 1892. Chigorin blundered with 32 Bb4?? and Steinitz now forced a checkmate in two moves with 32 ...Rxh2+, which enabled him to win the match 10-8 and retain his title. Our next...
Blunders by the Best (1)
Imagine you are playing against one of the world's greatest players - and you have a chance to win! Would you be able to find the path to victory, despite feeling under pressure? Our next few blogs will feature positions in which players competing at the highest level...
Act Now!
If your school still hasn't entered the UKCC then NOW is the time for action. All you have to do is head here to enter. Please remember this magnificent event is open to ALL UK schools. Every child will win a prize, from chess badges upwards. The top scorers qualify...