In his weekly Gambit Guide series on ICC, Boris investigates gambits old and new and show that, while some may not be actively played on the grandmaster circuit these days, they are all exciting to play and at the same time instructive as they teach us all about natural development of the pieces and tactics in chess. GM Boris Alterman has an official blog where, among other things, he'll be discussing some of his choices for his Gambit Guide.
In the venerable Bishop's Opening, the Lewis Gambit, 1 e4 e5 2 Bc4 Bc5 3 d4!?, named after the 19th-century top English player William Lewis, is witnessing a renaissance of sorts with many new publications, such as Dangerous Weapons 1 e4 e5, and a recent volume of Secrets of Opening Surprises, showing that it is still a force to reckon with even in today's modern game.
One of the reasons for this is because it offers some tricky transpositions, chiefly to the Max Lange Gambit - with 1 e4 e5 2 Bc4 Bc5 3 d4 Bxd4 4 Nf3 Nc6 5 Nxd4 Nxd4 6 O-O - and it's not clear that Black can avoid getting into known lines. And also getting in on the "exhumation" of the Lewis Gambit is GM Boris Alterman, who takes a closer look at all those transposition tricks in a new series of his Gambit Guide for ICC Chess.FM.
. The Alterman Gambit Guide: White Gambits - Boris Alterman
440 pages, paperback
The Alterman Gambit Guide: White Gambits is an instructional manual for improving players. Sharpen your tactics and learn to play dynamic attacking chess while studying the most entertaining gambits Chess has to offer.
GM Larry Christiansen's "Attack with LarryC"
Sep 01, 2010
GM Larry Christiansen is a three-time U.S. Champion and one of the most dangerous and respected attacking players of his generation. He is a feared competitor and attacker who authored two popular books that showcase his aggressive
style: Storming
the Barricades and Rocking
the Ramparts. Each week on the show, Larry
will feature various attacking motifs and themes and showing
you how best to play for mate.
The Orthodox Defense to the Queen's Gambit (1 d4 d5 2 c4 e6 3 Nc3 Nf6 4 Nf3 Be7) is an extremely resilient system for Black, and a solid favorite of not just your average club player but also many of the world's top stars. For many years, the two main lines against it used to be 5 Bg5 or 5 cxd5. But in the early 1970s, Hungary's Lajos Portisch revived an old favorite of English player Joseph Blackburne (1841-1924) of 5 Bf4 with some pioneering new ideas in it.
Players such as Kasparov, Karpov, Kramnik, Fischer, Carlsen, Topalov and Ivanchuk added it to their repertoire. And in a new series of Ronen's Opening Survey for Chess.FM, our resident openings expert, GM Ronen Har-Zvi, takes a closer look at the many attractions to the Queen's Gambit Declined with 5 Bf4 and why you also should be adding it to your repertoire.
National Master Dan Heisman is a name that is synonymous with excellence in chess coaching and teaching. Dan authors the award-winning Novice Nook column (winner of three Chess Journalists of America "Best Instruction" awards), aimed at improving adults, for chesscafe.com that are clearly written and offer very practical advice and tips on how to improve your game. More info about Dan can be found here.
In the new Improve Your Chess IV series, Dan provides instruction by reviewing amateur games played on ICC and showing where the players went wrong and how to improve.
Three-time U.S. Champion GM Joel Benjamin brings you a new show every Friday at 15:00 Server Time. Joel is regarded by many as one of the best commentators and analysts' we have in the game today -- so if you want to get ahead of the game, get ready to tune-in!
This week (Tue., Aug 25), returning to join IM John Watson on Chess Talk will be Russian/Irish Grandmaster Alexander Baburin, who was one of the first guests on the show back in November 2007.
Originally born in Gorky, Russia, in 1967, Alexander Baburin relocated with his family to Dublin, Ireland, in 1993. He is an experienced player, coach and writer on the game, and for a short spell a few years ago he was also manager and second to Alexander Morozevich.
He sells antiquarian chess books and runs his own chess school in Dublin, offering chess classes in schools. But Alexander's biggest contribution to the chess world is unquestionably his popular emailed daily chess newsletter Chess Today, a venture he started in November 2000, and to-date has reached 3576 issues.
Mikhail Tal has a special place in the hearts of most chess players. Tal deeply loved the game of chess and believed "Chess, first of all, is Art."
Fittingly, the 2009 Tal Memorial in honor of the "Magician from Riga" is the strongest tournament of the year, and one of the strongest fields of all time. MORE INFO.
The 2nd Nanjing Pearl Spring Chess Tournament takes place 27th Sept - 9th October 2009 in Nanjing, China. The total prize fund is $365,000 (250,000 Euros) and event is part of the Grand Slam series, with the winner getting an automatic seat into next year’s Grand Slam Masters Final. MORE INFO.
Bilbao starts on Sept. 6 and runs through the 12th. ICC will have live coverage each day, along with the "Game of the Day" video.
For more information, please see the official event page.
IM Alex Lenderman provides a two-part, introductory lecture
about chess endings. Follow along as he annotates moves upon the board
for play-by-play action.
The Scandinavian Defense (or Centre Counter) has risen in a relatively short time from being a theoretical backwater to a fully-blown main line opening. Its change in name to the Scandinavian came in the mid-1980s with its rehabilitation at top level by Denmark's Bent Larsen. And its rise since then has been nothing short of meteoric, even being used with great effect by Vishy Anand in his unsuccessful 1995 world title match against Garry Kasparov.
Against 1 e4, the Scandinavian is hugely popular at club level
because Black gains a minor psychological victory by setting the agenda from
the off with 1..d5! And in his new ICC Chess.FM series on the Scandinavian,
Pete Tamburro explores the 2...Qxd5 lines in five videos (and with a two volume
set to come later on 2 ..Nf6) that will take you through all the key themes
and strategies required for Black to play this popular, and easy-to-play opening
with confidence - and sizzling success!
This service is FREE to members and non-members of the ICC as a sampler
of our full 4 hour daily shows hosted by Mig Greengard, featuring the famed
New In Chess Trivia Quiz, where each day listeners
to the show can win a 1-year subscription to New
In Chess magazine.
Full Dortmund 2009 coverage and results can be found here.
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