In an earlier post, I examined Alekhine’s predilection for centre-clearing gambits by analysing 2 of his games against Reshevsky and Rabinovich. I also mentioned Alekhine’s game against Winter at Hastings 1936/7 which featured a speculative Gambit against the solid Caro-Kann: 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 de 4.Ne4 Nf6 5.Bd3. I hadn’t realised it at the …

When work gets tough, I always look to chess – now just a hobby for me – for some joy and relief. So it was a nice boost to get a mail from my Dad at the beginning of April, pointing out that I’d just achieved my highest ELO rating ever – 2670 – beating …

In the next couple of months, Natasha and I are on a “Chess for Life” tour, giving lectures at chess clubs and tournaments in England and Holland! During the lectures we’ll be explaining themes and techniques in the book and we’ll be showing how club players can apply them in their own games. We’ll be …

I’ve spent a bit of time recently taking a look at Alekhine’s opening repertoire. 3 things struck me in particular. First of all, Alekhine played gambits until the end of his life, even against the strongest players in the world. Some examples:   1.e4 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.c3     was a regular guest in …

My “Chess for Life” co-author Natasha pointed out to me that one of our role models and one of the greats of British Chess, GM Tony Miles, was born 61 years ago on this day. It seems incredible to think that Tony has already been dead for 15 years: you still see so many references …