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USA's Top Daily Chess News Blog, Informative, Fun, and Positive

hosted by Chess Queen™ & 12th Women's World Chess Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk

 

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

3 Chess Tips: How Never to Fear a GM!

Hello chess blog friends, chess has amazing levelling power. You're as good as you are in a particular game on a particular day. There are at least three things which you can do to never be afraid of a Grandmaster again! Remember how you hate those first rounds at open tournaments where you have to meet highly rated players just because you're low down on the list? No more chess jitters now. Trust us and try these three tips.

Photo: Incredible Hulk library

1- Train at chess hard: Okay, let's look at it this way. There are just those 64 squares and just those 32 pieces that you've got to keep track of and that your GM opponent has got to keep track of. So, if you are human, he's human enough as well. The only difference is that he has come ready for battle after training hard. So, what stops you from training equally hard? Pick up a cool chess software, fire it up on your computer, find the books for the openings you play or, invest in opening DVDs... just 3 - 5 not a truckload to begin with. Get going and you're well on your way to facing a GM fearlessly.  Keep a focused chess training programme in mind. Stay slow, but stay steady. It works.

2- Improve your physical fitness: This is one of the best-kept secrets in chess training. Your brain gets tired just that wee bit late as compared to your opponent if you have built your stamina and strength. One flash of an indiscretion is enough to lose a game, lose an almost-won game or, turn around a lost game. Take up any form of physical exercise whether it's yoga or dancing. Get moving and you will be surprised how your chess improves. That will help you face any GM with courage.

3- Never be worried about losing: This is the first thing you should tell your kids if you're a chess parent. Then, repeat it for yourself. Never, ever ever ever fear losing. There will always be another game to play and you will learn faster, retain chess knowledge quickly and longer if you stay fearless in the face of defeat. As altruistic as it sounds, remember every loss is as much a way forward as a victory. Analyse your lost games even if you skip a won game. Let the lost games be a feather in your cap in equal measure. It helps! Try it! Approach each game with a GM as a free classroom chess training session. :)

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
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Friday, January 10, 2014

Cool Chess Photo: Name the Three Superstars

Chess Blog for Daily Chess News and Trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2013

Hello everyone,

Here's a cool photo with three chess superstars loved the world over by fans, professionals and even non-chess players. Can you name them? This photo was taken in Mexico.



From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal chess blog
at www.chessqueen.com
Don't miss Chess Queen™
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Thursday, May 3, 2012

Cool Chess Interview with India's Latest Grandmaster - Vaibhav Suri

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012


Hi everyone,


We just found this nice chess interview by Shivani Naik with India's 27th Grandmaster - Vaibahav Suri. It appeared in the online edition of the Indian Express.
Grandmaster at 15, 
Vaibhav makes rapid moves

It’s difficult to guess the voice on the other end is of a 15-year-old. Or, 15 years, 2 months, and 22 days-old to be precise — the figure that makes Delhi boy Vaibhav Suri the 27th youngest Grandmaster in the world. The boy gushes about Tigran Petrosian’s playing style when quizzed on his inspirations. He speaks solemnly about the Armenian chess wizard from the 1960s, whose masterly positional exchange sacrifice system of lulling opponents and then pouncing he has extensively read about.

Soon, it’s evident that he reads as much for fun as learning. Vaibhav explains how softwares are the preferred mode of chess-education these days, but he likes lingering on old classical games of those marvellous Russians in book pages, because that helps him understand the chess-as-life metaphor better. Finally, his father Nitin Suri wonders how his teenage kid has deftly side-stepped the temptation of getting himself a Facebook account, abhors socialising, and generally prefers his books and laptop — all of it building up a picture of a wiser-than-his-years Vaibhav.

Until, of course, he starts discussing Harry Potter. Not Ronald Wealsey, Potter’s buddy who is facile at chess, but the hero Potter — who cracks fantastical mysteries and is all brave and courageous. Vaibhav then proceeds to correct a stereotypical assumption with disarming honesty: “I train only for 3-4 hours max. 7-8 hours would be too much to sit in one place. Maybe Vishy Anand and all those big Grandmasters put in that sort of preparation playing important meets. I’m not that level.” Not yet.


Read the full interview with India's latest chess grandmaster here.

From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com

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Thursday, October 27, 2011

Thursday chess trivia question: Who is the grandmaster?

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011


Hi everyone,


Time for a trivia question! Who is this 'dangerously focused' grandmaster? And, what tournament did he win recently?










From Alexandra Kosteniuk's
www.chessblog.com
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueencom

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