Chessable White Rose: Round Five of the 2021 4NCL
Round five of the Four Nations Chess League (‘4NCL’) brought wins for all three of our Chessable White Rose teams, with a 3-1 result in each case. Chessable White Rose Team 1 Team 1 beat Warwick University 3-1, but it was a tougher match than the score would suggest. Gawain Jones and James Adair were […]
Lifetime Repertoires: The Symmetrical English
Yesterday we looked at the basics of 1.c4 c5 and today it is time to delve into the new Chessable course on the subject – Lifetime Repertoires: Symmetrical English. International Master David Vigorito is a noted chess author who specialises in works on the opening phase of the game. Lifetime Repertoires: Symmetrical English is his first course for Chessable […]
Chess Opening Basics: The Symmetrical English
What is the Symmetrical English? The Symmetrical English occurs when Black replies to 1.c4 (the English Opening) with 1…c5. The English Opening The Symmetrical English It should be noted that different move-orders are also available. Black could, for example, start with 1.c4 Nf6 and then play 2…c5 on next move. There is good logic at […]
Spring Clean Your Chess
‘The sun is shining where clouds have been Maybe it’s something to do with Spring!’ Noël Coward, 1932 Time for the Big Spring Clean It is time for the big Spring clean! I am sure there are plenty of people out there who would prefer to study chess rather than tend to the housework. Believe me, […]
Battling the Slav Defense and Benko Gambit
We looked at The Catalan on Tuesday and today we are delving into the new Chessable course on the opening to see what Grandmaster Srinath Narayanan recommends against two popular Black defenses. Lifetime Repertoires: The Catalan covers everything a player with the white pieces needs to be able to out together a very strong repertoire based on 1.d4 and […]
Chessable White Rose: Round Four of the 2021 4NCL
It was back into action for the three Chessable White Rose teams last night, in round four of the Four Nations Chess League (‘4NCL’). All three of our teams won their matches to maintain our excellent start to the season. Chessable White Rose Team 1 Team One had a tough battle with CSC 1 before […]
Chess Opening Basics: The Catalan
What is the The Catalan? The Catalan is an alternative way for White to play Queen’s Gambit positions. The king’s bishop is developed to g2 (a fianchetto) instead of to the standard Queen’s Gambit squares of c4 or d3. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Bg2 d5 The Catalan The Heroes of The Catalan The opening derives […]
Bishop or Knight: Which is the Stronger Piece?
Which is the stronger of the two pieces: the bishop or the knight? This is one of the questions one is asked most often by novices of all ages. Traditionally, of course, we record the value of each piece as three points – even though they could hardly be more different. The bishop has to […]
Chess Opening Basics: The Queen’s Gambit Declined
What is the Queen’s Gambit Declined? The Queen’s Gambit Declined is an extremely solid way of meeting the popular Queen’s Gambit. The Queen’s Gambit After 1.d4 d5 2.c4, White temporarily offers a pawn to try and tempt Black to give up the centre with 2…dxc4. There is nothing wrong with the Queen’s Gambit Accepted, but […]
Chessable White Rose: Round Three of the 2021 4NCL
Chessable White Rose returned to action last night in round three of the Four Nations Chess League (‘4NCL’). The evening brought excellent victories for all three of our teams. Chessable White Rose Team 1 Grandmaster Gawain Jones was back in action to take his place on board one. Together with James Adair, Kamil Plichta and Oskar […]
Using Spaced Repetition Intelligently
Followers of our science-based blog posts are in for a treat today as we turn our attention to the subject of using spaced repetition intelligently. We have brought some thoughts from earlier posts by William Hoggarth, our Engineering Manager, in from the cold. William’s collaboration with our Science Consultant, Professor Barry Hymer, and Laurens Goormachtigh, of our […]
Chess Opening Basics: The Sicilian Wing Gambit
What is the Sicilian Wing Gambit? The Sicilian Wing Gambit is a very early attempt to disrupt Black’s standard play in the Sicilian Defense, by playing 1.e4 c5 2.b4. The Sicilian Wing Gambit Black is certainly not going to be able to rattle out 20 or moves of theory in the Dragon or Najdorf variations […]