Life In The Middle

Continuing our topic on the middlegame, I think it's worth mentioning here two aids that can help in improving one's game.

Chess tactics resources - this can come in the form of instructional materials that describe and illustrate moves and positions aimed at weakening your opponent, either by loosening his defense or capturing a major piece. Or it can be interactive materials, like simulated chess games where you are asked to make a move on a given position, and get rated. One such site is Chess Tactics Server, which you can find here (also listed in the sidebar).

Chess Engines - simply put, they are chess programs that you can play against. There are a number of such programs out in the market. Some comes with a price like ChessMaster, which my Google Adsense seems to be fond of featuring. Or it can be a free collaborative version like Crafty. The strength of the chess engine is dependent on the depth of the algorithm that goes with it, and analyzes the best possible response to your move. One of the main use I have of chess engines is in post-game analysis. However, the use of chess engine to consult for the best move is generally forbidden in most correspondence chess sites. In my opinion, it is also counterproductive to one's development. But it should be noted that the International Correspondence Chess Federation allows such use of chess engines during a game. I wonder what do you make of such divergent practices.

A quick search on the net would yield a number of sites on these two resources. I will be featuring some of them in the future. If you have been using a site or a resource (or you actually created it) and would like to guest-blog, just let me know so we can arrange something.

Keep the fight going!