my latest books
"The Silicon Road to Chess Improvement"
"Game Changer" won the ECF Book of the Year 2019 and the FIDE Book of the Year 2019
"Chess for Life" won the ECF Book of the Year 2016 prize
Engine Snacks! Mate in 3!
A little test of your tactics this time from a mate that came up in an engine game. It was so beautiful and elegant I burst out laughing when I saw it! Spotting little tactics quickly and reliably is the key to successful practical play – the way to improve is to train solving positions like this!
Engine Snacks! Undeveloped kingside pieces!
We witness a fantastic tactical episode from Stockfish against Leela. Black’s king is caught in the centre and its kingside pieces are undeveloped but it isn’t clear how to transform these dynamic advantages into something concrete. Stockfish shows the way!
Lots of useful tactical motifs to drill into your head here – they will certainly come in handy in your games!
f7 Knight sacrifices in the Queen’s Indian!
A central break on move 14 unleashes the attacking potential in White’s position creating an attack which combines mating threats and queen traps to leave Black bound hand and foot!
It’s a really unusual attack with some instructive themes from a typical Queen’s Indian structure – well worth remembering!
"The secret of my success: with every move I force the opponent to think for themselves!"
- Alexander Alekhine
about
I am a Chess Grandmaster and writer, and one of England's top players. When I am not doing my job as an IT Consultant, I fill my free time with as much chess as possible
my work
Writing and discussing chess has always been one of my passions. I review chess books in a regular column for New in Chess magazine and have written 8 books myself. I also contribute to chess videos regularly.
contact me
I hope that you enjoy the site. I will enrich its content over time and would love to hear what you think. Let me know whether there are any topics you would like me to cover in my blog.
"How many moves do I consider when analysing? Only one, but it's always the best one!"
- Emanuel Lasker