After winning their first encounter, Frank Marshall had to wait another 40 years to defeat Emanuel Lasker! This game was played 6 months before Lasker’s death at an exhibition match played next to the 1940 US Championship. It was a very interesting game with a fraught tactical episode on the 23rd move. I think that …

Recently, there has been a lot of attention for the games of the great World Champion Emanuel Lasker (World Champion from 1894 to 1921). A couple of years ago, John Nunn wrote an excellent book “John Nunn’s Chess Course” which – although you might not realise it from the title – was a complete chess …

Once again, the last chess event of the year for me was the London Classic dinner at Simpsons-in-the-Strand. It’s the traditional joyful end to the London Chess Classic, by far the most prestigious and fun event in the British Chess calendar. From the start, the London Chess Classic has aspired to be a festival of …

Last weekend was an opportunity for some good practice at the excellent Kings Place rapid tournament (http://chess-results.com/tnr362015.aspx?lan=1&art=1&rd=6&flag=30) After a very busy period at work, I wasn’t in inspired form but did enough to finish =2nd on 5/6 together with GM Luke Mcshane and IM Peter Roberson behind the winner GM David Howell. However, it’s always …

Invigorated by preparing a training on endings for some keen youngsters, I’d like to share some general thoughts about activity in endings, and in particular in rook and pawn endings. Why are endgames important to study? Mastering endgames means understanding how to maximize the mobility and activity of each of your pieces, and understanding how …