Chess Strategies Blog

Trap your opponent in the corner using your rook and knight!

The checkmate with rook and knight against a king comes up fairly often, but most beginners don’t know it, and even some fairly strong players either don’t know it well or miss it easily. So it’s a good pattern to know. You can rescue games (as I have) knowing this pattern.

…Continue reading: Rook and knight checkmate – basic checkmate pattern

White rescues himself from the threatened mate and wins the game by playing 1.Qxh7+!

Position after 1.Qxh7+

Black responds by capturing the queen, playing 1…Rxh7. But now White delivers the killing blow by 2.Rxg8 checkmate

Here’s the diagram of the final position.

Final checkmate position

Return to rook and knight checkmate pattern.

This is part three of my first annual Christmas chess player’s wish list. In this article, I’m reviewing chess equipment and related products (chess boards, chess sets, chess clocks, and so on). If you want to see suggestions for chess books, check out part 1 (recently published books) and part 2 (older chess literature).

…Continue reading: Christmas 2012 wish list – Part 3 – Chess boards, sets, and clocks

This post is a continuation of my recommendations for Christmas 2012. If you happened to miss part 1, click here to view my recommendations for chess books published this year.

I hope that these lists will help give you ideas of gifts you could give or would like to receive. You might want to print this out and give it to your non-chess-playing friend as a hint.

…Continue reading: Chess Gifts for Christmas 2012 – Part Two

A Christmas wish list for chess geeks!

This is my first annual Christmas chess player’s wish list. Here I’ll review some new chess products, some oldies but goodies, and make recommendations for Christmas gifts for chess newbies and veterans alike.

This is part 1 of a 3-part wish list. This part is devoted to recently published chess literature. In future posts, I’ll present recommendations for older chess books (the classics), and chess equipment and other chess gift ideas. Click here to see part two. Part three is coming soon.

…Continue reading: 2012 Chess Books for Christmas

Spassky v. Fischer – Game 21 of 1972 Championship Match

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the Fischer-Spassky match for the chess world championship, I am publishing the games of the match on the anniversary date of each of the games.

The final game of the Fischer-Spassky match was played on August 31, 1972. Fischer had the Black pieces, and Spassky, still seeking to play aggressive chess, began with 1.e4.

…Continue reading: Fischer Spassky Game 21 – 1972 World Championship Match