my latest books
"Re-Engineering the Chess Classics"
Nominated for the 2023 Chess.com Book of the Year
"The Silicon Road to Chess Improvement"
"Game Changer" won the ECF Book of the Year 2019 and the FIDE Book of the Year 2019
A typical Colle-Zukertort position – Part 2
In the previous blog post, we looked through the game Conquest-Royal from the 8th round of the 2025 British Championships in Liverpool at a high level. Now it’s time to dive into the critical positions in more detail, starting as always from the end of the game and working our way backwards! Game: 20.f5 read more…
A typical Colle-Zukertort position – Part 1
English grandmaster Stuart Conquest had a wonderful finish to the 2025 British Championships in Liverpool, winning his last 2 games against grandmasters Shreyas Royal and Nikita Vitiugiov to tie for first with Michael Adams and Peter Roberson, subsequently finishing second to the evergreen Mickey after a rapid playoff. I was particularly interested in the quick read more…
Explaining complex tactics – Part 6
So we’ve seen the wildest the engines have to offer us! But how could / would / should a human player approach such a position? Well I’ve mentioned a couple of times that in after these now well-known opening moves 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 read more…
Explaining complex tactics – Part 5
In this blog post we dive a little deeper into the main lines after 17…Be3+ 18.Kb1 Nxe5, focusing on lines that a human player (like me!) might think of while playing through the game! 1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. f4 c5 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. Be3 a6 read more…
"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
