This is a very special mate in three as the choices are few since it is a very restricted position. In one sense, though, anything goes!

OK, enough with the in-depth chess lessons! Recreational change of pace—composed chess problems. This one’s a mate in two. Have fun!

This will be our last Isolated Queen Pawn lesson. In fifteen lessons,if you studied the positions and some of the full games offered, you added to your chess knowledge. Today’s game is special in that you get to see an ...Read More

GM Carlos Torre was giving a simultaneous exhibition in 1924 when he reached this position as White. Unable to find a defense to the threatened Rc1, he resigned. He missed a saving line! Can you save the game for White?

This is another classic Botvinnik game. No mating attack. Not even a win of material. He just gets a better position with a key move that, positionally speaking, is decisive. You get the whole game today because it’s a ...Read More

If you have studied each of the prior isolated queen pawn positions, you should have a shot at knowing what to do here. The game is a famous one, fully annotated in my Openings for Amateurs—Next Steps book. It starts out...Read More