Chess Articles

Main Chess Page - Lessons - Tournaments - Definitions - Principles
Novice Nooks and Chess Cafe Articles (separate page)
Playing Better:

 IM Larry Kaufman's The Evaluation of Material Imbalances in Chess This award-winning article first appeared in March 1999 Chess Life

 IM Larry Kaufman's All About Doubled Pawns This article first appeared in May 2005 Chess Life

 Chess Exercises to Increase Board Vision, etc. (see also Novice Nook on Exercises) - includes Stoyko exercise examples!

Guidelines/Principles - You can learn a lot here! "Rules of Thumb"
 Definitions: Common Chess Terms and Phrases
Tips for Everyone - but the best tips are in my Novice Nook columns
Top Tips #2 - Even better than Tips for Everyone!
Avoid the Seeds of Tactical Destruction! - More in a Novice Nook
 The Three Parts of Tactical Vision
What to do when you are Winning Easily! - More in a Novice Nook (and other Novice Nooks)
Chess Lessons and Fun - More in a Novice Nook
Using the Computer to Improve Your Chess - More in a Novice Nook
 Dealing with an Opponent's Draw Offer
 Dan Lists His Favorite Chess Moves from his Games

 Dan Lists His Best Chess Games

 Personalized Study Book ("Hall of Shame") example

Miscellaneous:

Humorous and True Chess Anecdotes

Dan's Variants: Rules for Two Man Team, Five Board, Five Minute Chess: Fun and a good workout! Also: Removal Chess

    My favorite among known variants: Refusal chess and Alice-in-Wonderland chess (apparently also known as "Alice" chess)

Chess (and mental sports) are good for your brain

Books:

My Reviews:

Survival Guide for Parents - Tanya Jones - 2004 winner, "Best Web Review" (at Chess Cafe)

Rethinking the Chess Pieces - Soltis - An advanced book about the changing value of the pieces, how to play imbalances, when to trade, etc. (At Chessville) - 2005 CJA winner, "Best Web Review"

Decision-Making at the Chessboard - Eingorn (At Chessville)

Other Book Pages:

Description of my 9 chess books with ordering info, links to my publishers/distributors

Dan's Book Recommendations

Tournaments and Scholastic Chess

 Note: much of the information below is in Dan's Book "A Parent's Guide to Chess" (Info) Check out my BIG quantity discount!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) - Many common questions asked by parents
Enhancing Your Over-the-Board Tournament Experience! - Very helpful - More in a Novice Nook
 Encouraging Tournament Play - how to keep the rating system but de-emphasize it to remove the downside
Guide to Team Chess Tournaments
Guide to Philadelphia area tournaments
Where to Play Scholastic Chess - in the Phila area
Keeping Score With Algebraic Notation
 Common Misconceptions About Scholastic Chess - Very helpful
 Don't Fall into The Improving Scholastic Player Rating Trap!
Guide to Tournament "Byes"
Holding a Chess Tournament at Your Home
Progressing Through Chess
Levels of Interest in Chess
USCF's List of Recommended Articles on the Benefits of Chess

Big push for chess clubs at Philadelphia schools. Also read about it here!

Other Scholastic Articles about Lessons

The Thinking Cap - my 10-Part Series on Thought Process on Jeremy Silman's website. These are now updated as a section in my book "The Improving Chess Thinker"

Part 1 - Introduction to Thought Process, Definitions

Part 2 - The King of the Hill

Part 3 - Is It Safe?

Part 4 - The Three Levels of Thinking

Part 5 - Checks, Captures, and Threats

Part 6 - Space: A Means to an End

Part 7 - What Makes One Move Better Than Another?

Part 8 - Only Part of the Analysis Tree Changes Each Move!

Part 9 - Don't Waste Time on Lines that Don't Happen

Part 10 - Thinking on Your Opponent's Time

Opening Tabiyas/Interactive Lectures

  The Closed Ruy Lopez (Tabiya)

  Sicilian Dragon, Yugoslav Attack (Tabiya) (by Mike Glick)

  Latvian Gambit (by Josh Bowman)
  Break Moves - More in a Novice Nook
  King and 1 Pawn vs. King- More in a Novice Nook

  Example King and Pawn Endgame up 1 pawn - by Ken Whaley


Dan's Fictional chess stories:

Dan's Non-Chess Articles

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