It Has Been A While Longer!

Leave a Comment / Blitz, Welcome /

Hello everyone!

It has been eight years since I last posted on my blog The Chess Page.

Life keeps moving and I have been doing really well. It has been a long time since I dived into the world of chess and I am ready to get back into it! I’ve been enjoying looking back over old games, following tournaments across the globe and just learning more about chess.

So… I am going to start posting again!

This blog basically documents my chess journey. It’s a place for me to post anything chess related and hopefully in the process of doing so, it will provide insights that may help you improve your chess skills too.

To get us back into the swing of things. Here is a blitz game I recently played that highlights the importance of getting your king to safety.

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It Has Been a While!

Leave a Comment / Boris Gelfand, Fabiano Caruana, Najdorf Variation, Sicilian Defense /
Hello all!
I haven’t posted something chess related in quite some time.
I have had some chess down time and only started playing games again a few months back.
 
I thought I would post one of my correspondence games that I have played on Gameknot recently as I really enjoyed it!
I was inspired by a game between Caruana and Gelfand, played at the 8th Tal Memorial this year. You can view that game below.
 

 

The game above was an exciting example of the Sicilian Najdorf variation and I wanted to give it a go! My game just happened to follow the same variation, the moves are not quite identical but reach the same position all the way to move 17. After that I made some mistakes as did my opponent, but I ended up with a nice mating attack to win the game.

 

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Chess and PC Strategy Games

Leave a Comment / Strategy /
Hello all
Sorry for the lack of posts over the last couple of weeks.
I have been enjoying a relaxing holiday and have started back at work this past week and I am ready to share a few posts with you!
Over my holidays I had some time to play a few strategy games that I enjoy and have loved playing since high school, such as StarCraft and Age of Empires 2. My thoughts drifted to the idea that these strategy games may be helpful in improving ones chess, due to the strategic nature of the games, as well as the coordination of armies.
After an epic Age of Empires game with a friend of mine, I logged onto Chesscube and had a great session, playing well and playing one of the strongest sessions I have played on the site.
Most likely this is just a coincidence, but I still feel that there may be benefits from other strategy games.
The main idea that I see in both types of games is the successful manoeuvring of armies in creative ways. In PC games you use a mouse and build army compositions that will work well against your opponent. In chess your armies are the same but the position of the pieces and the ideas behind attack and defence are vital in securing victory.
My Favourite Strategy Games (Including Chess)
            1. Chess
            2. Starcraft 2
            3. Age of Empires 2
            4. StarCraft – Brood War
            5. Warcraft 3

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Tal Memorial 2012 Finish

Leave a Comment / Luke McShane, Magnus Carlsen, Ruy Lopez, Tal Memorial /
The Tal Memorial has come to an end for another year. The tournament finished a few days ago with Magnus Carlsen taking out first place after beating McShane in the final round. Caruana, who was looking good for the top spot, lost to Aronian in the final round. Nakamura and Radjabov drew their game quickly and that left Magnus out in front by half a point on 5.5 out of 9. It was a great finish for a great tournament!
The following game is the final round game between Carlsen and McShane.
The opening is the Ruy Lopez – delayed exchange variation.

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