Chess Teacher on November 15th, 2009

This position occurred in the game Bird -Steinitz (1866) and Steinitz played the winning move 66…b5+.
Bird reacted with 67.Kc3 and now we get an even more interesting position.
Should you also have played 66…b5+ or would you have tried something like 66…a3?
Are you able to win this won game? What is Black’s next move?
Be careful. There [...]

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Chess Teacher on October 4th, 2009

A lesson about the Mortimer trap, also known as the Mortimer Variation of the Berlin Defense.
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 Nf6 4.d3 Ne7?! This sets a trap, the capture of the black pawn on e5 may be very tempting for White.

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Chess Teacher on December 12th, 2008

Noah’s Ark Trap is not just an opening trap. The name is used for a lot of openings in which the white bishop is trapped on b3 by black pawns. Most of the games that contain this trap can be found in the Ruy Lopez.

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Chess Teacher on November 16th, 2008

As a kind of followup on the lesson about the minor promotion I have added this lesson on the Lasker Trap in the Albin Countergambit. The underpromotion plays an important role in this trap and probably contributes to the success of it.
The Albin Countergambit starts with the moves 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 after [...]

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Chess Teacher on November 1st, 2008

In most chess databases you can also find some very strange games. As an example I have searched for some early stalemates in the the ICOfY database and I have found some stalemates at the 12th move in which all pieces are still on the board.
I think that all these games are prearranged draws, but [...]

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