tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-169356602024-02-19T16:14:40.440+08:00All About Chessclueless in the Opening, struggling in the Middle, and hardly realized it's the Endtoguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-91761864335771831322011-11-09T16:19:00.000+08:002011-11-09T16:19:46.867+08:00Chess in FoxtrotFound this nice strip about chess from Foxtrot, one of my favorite comic strips. They feature chess from time to time, but I had a chuckle with this one. Click on the pic to get to the site and enjoy it yourself.toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-38681501565905023172011-11-05T18:21:00.000+08:002011-11-05T18:21:36.304+08:00Beginner Chess Mistakes to Avoid
I never thought I'd see the day when I will be linking to a Yahoo! article, but here's a decently written article on how to avoid beginner chess mistakes. Click the pic for the link.toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-54721016738354178512011-07-04T00:51:00.000+08:002011-07-04T00:51:55.883+08:00Chess is Child's PlayWell, not really. But my 5-year-old son has started playing chess. He's been interested in the game since last year, but it was only this year that I could get him to sit still and listen to me so I can teach him the basic stuff. My wife was telling me "good luck" when I unfurled my vinyl chess board and started setting up the pieces while my son is looking, ready to start. &toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-2764824521011013452010-11-18T16:19:00.003+08:002010-11-21T18:29:50.499+08:00Chess in Movies: GI Joe: The Rise of the Cobra There was this part in the movie inside the gym/recreation center of the Joes where Breaker was hunched over a chessboard, but it wasn't clear if there was an opponent on the other side. The board seems to be crowded, although a number of pieces have already been move, indicating that it's some time into the opening or maybe it's already in the middle game. It's it a bit predictable that toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-88178228453535889652010-10-24T23:49:00.002+08:002010-10-25T01:36:08.662+08:00Shell National Youth Active Chess ChampionshipChanced upon this on my way for lunch at Megamall after church. It was being held at the event center of Megamall. I guess it was the finals already, as some of the participants I saw have the word Finalist at the back of their event shirts. Looking at the schedule from the event's website (click pic at left), it was indeed the finals and it had been going on since June. Either I've been too toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-53702422287861716592010-07-20T23:04:00.001+08:002010-07-20T23:20:40.988+08:00ChessJam - Online Chess with an AttitudeThis is one chess site that I found through an ad in Facebook. It features itself as online chess with an attitude. How's that I don't know. Why? Because they require you to download a program through which you can play the game, and I haven't done so, so far. If there is one factor that would significantly limit the popularity of this site, it would be the need to download something. Not toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-35428614852368334652010-07-17T15:04:00.000+08:002010-07-17T15:05:28.951+08:00Chess on Facebook and Chess.comBeen away for some time from playing chess in Facebook that I didn't found out until recently that Chess on Facebook is now fully integrated with Chess.com. Which is good since I now have access to the community of Chess.com without having to create a separate account. It also means there is the potential to play with others that may not have a Facebook account. I've yet to try the new Chess toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-86416769135277485752010-07-11T23:28:00.004+08:002010-07-11T23:37:12.759+08:00Hooking up with Empire AvenueJust need to get this verification code up so I can hook this blog to my Empire Avenue account. If you want to know more about Empire Avenue, click the pic at the left.Verification code EAVB_EFFYFKWBXNtoguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-73721805667902047432010-05-08T21:05:00.004+08:002010-05-10T10:09:25.983+08:00First Move by National BookstoreNational Bookstore, one of the leading bookstores in the Philippines, is sponsoring a series of chess tournaments for kids and teens ages 15 and below, with three categories to qualify in. There will be five independent events scheduled up to September 2010. Hopefully more will be forthcoming and this will become a regular thing. The events are hosted at Bestsellers of Robinsons Galleria. toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-2023559534285696862010-04-24T22:05:00.005+08:002010-04-25T01:41:04.446+08:00Chess in Movies: 99 is set in an Earth that has been destroyed by a war between man and machines. The character named after the title is a ragdoll creation of a scientist who transferred his soul to a number of other ragdolls, named 1 to 8, with 9 as the last one before he died (presumably by "exhausting" his soul). 9 and the rest of the ragdolls attempted and succeeded to destroy a machine called The Beast toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-81786654406880618812010-01-01T05:00:00.001+08:002010-01-01T05:00:05.095+08:00Chess at FacebookHappy New Year Everyone! Begin this year by honing your chess skills (or picking up your game again) right in the heart of your favorite social networking site, Facebook. What, you don't know there is chess in Facebook? Well, I wouldn't have known myself if I didn't get curious enough one day to check what will come out if I type "chess" in Facebook's Search. Unlike most games that at least toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-35123081022983883182009-09-29T21:22:00.005+08:002009-09-29T22:25:16.832+08:00Kasparov vs. Karpov 25th Anniversary MatchThis match is significant, even symbolic, for several reasons. For one, it shows how chess has gone down in popularity after these so many years. Yahoo! didn't even consider it worthy of an article, featuring it only as several pictures in its Yahoo! In Photos section. Next, Googling the event will land you in several regional internet news agency like this one, not really big at all toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-18176586746564443672009-05-07T11:16:00.011+08:002009-05-07T12:44:22.688+08:00StarCraft II going beta! Now, what has this got to do with chess? Well, if your regular OTB meetings experience a decline in attendance especially in the teens bracket, you may have a suspect here. Or this is simply just one of those things that one can get excited with side by side with chess. Blizzard is set to give beta test accounts a few weeks from now. You can find the full mechanics on how to get one on their toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-55681983905264434452009-05-06T10:54:00.002+08:002009-05-06T10:56:20.475+08:00War of the Machines No, it's not another movie review. This is about games that computers play. You read that right. The International Computer Games Association (click pic to get to the site) started out as the International Computer Chess Association, which holds regular championship events for computer vs. computer matches. It has been renamed in 2002 as ICGA, and now caters to other computer games and game toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-24362378567921680312009-03-08T18:45:00.002+08:002009-03-08T20:35:25.888+08:00Chess, Music, and Martial ArtsGood things comes in threes. And what chess federations stand for is no exception. The Hip-Hop Chess Federation goes by the same trilogy of ideals. One look at their website (click pic for the link) will quickly give you the impression they are reputable enough that they gather considerable attention in major news outfits. And I really like the logo. It says a great deal about fusing chess toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-34439015659907335302008-10-22T23:14:00.000+08:002008-10-22T10:28:10.354+08:00Harry Potter: The (In)Complete Position I find it really professional and classy for a film company to actually consult for the services of an International Master of chess in preparing for a chess position or scene in a movie. Especially one where the moves can become the subject of much scrutiny long after the movie has been replaced in the theatres and the DVD copies have been neatly filed in the cabinets at home. But then again, toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-6200235148876918882008-10-12T01:01:00.001+08:002008-10-12T01:01:00.864+08:00Chess Tactics ServerLike Chess Tempo which I featured earlier, Chess Tactics Server is also an interactive site to hone your chess skills especially in the middlegame. For each position that you are presented with, you are subsequently rated and the next problem shown will be within the range of your perceived strength. The problems have time limits in which to make the correct move. Interactive chess sites like toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-7616623938175769982008-10-05T01:08:00.001+08:002008-10-05T01:08:00.386+08:00Chess TempoA friend of mine recently told me that he has been using Chess Tempo to improve his skills in chess tactics. He happened upon this site from one of the Google ads in my blog. As I have discussed recently, your performance in the middlegame can be considerably improved if you can recognize patterns intended to take advantage of your pieces or position. One of the ways to improve recognition of toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-24692482463921491382008-10-01T00:01:00.001+08:002008-10-11T13:18:09.441+08:00Chess Variants: ShatranjBeing considered one of the predecessor of modern chess, I am a bit reluctant in calling Shatranj a variant. Because it sounds like saying you were born before your mother! Then again, for the casual observer, that's the way this game would look like at first glance. But a few minutes into the game and you would get the feeling that indeed this game isn't a variant after all. Rather, it could toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-45507931042352136182008-09-28T05:04:00.000+08:002008-09-28T05:04:00.846+08:00I, (Assistant) League ManagerAfter my stint as a Team Captain of Team Philippines in Schemingmind, I agreed to take on the role of an assistant League Manager for league games in the site. It seems that there would be a need for somebody to fill in the shoes of the current League Manager soon. There wil be two of us assisting him for the rest of the season, and then one of us would assume the post eventually. It is an honor toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-50999620217575146472008-09-24T01:59:00.001+08:002008-09-24T01:59:00.474+08:00Crazy ChessHere's one way to get the young ones to try the royal game. Crazychess is a simple arcade-style game that features the Knight and Pawn as the main pieces. The game has a simple objective: not allowing enough Pawns which spawn from the other side of the board to reach your side by using the Knight to attack and take them out. Also, when there is no pawn on the board, gold coins appear which the toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-2027410558320001572008-09-21T07:01:00.002+08:002008-10-11T13:27:47.920+08:00Suicide ChessHere's the latest Suicide Chess game I played...and lost! I mean, won, so I lost! I mean...well, just watch it...Learn more about Variants! Click HERE!toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-1145720149365399462008-09-17T06:01:00.002+08:002008-09-17T06:01:00.634+08:00Life In The MiddleContinuing 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 toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-32885750931571917692008-09-14T04:01:00.004+08:002008-09-14T04:01:00.439+08:00Trivia: The Queen in ChessFor as long as I can remember, I felt it awkward to have a Queen piece in chess. Not only is she the only piece with the connotation of being female, it just doesn't feel "right" that she is the most powerful. Add to that the connotation that she is "the queen" leads to the question: then what is the King?I don't know how much others are preoccupied with this, but I found a site that actually toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16935660.post-74715634360619552832008-09-10T07:01:00.003+08:002008-09-10T07:01:00.890+08:00The End of an Opening LineThe opening part of the game, if played "by the book", will eventually lead to the middlegame. Personally, I still feel kind of lost when I reach this part of the game. Usually, this is the part where the board is still pretty much filled up and cramped. Since opening theory was followed, each piece and position is usually poised to exploit any weakness in the other side. And for a beginner, the toguintshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00666815185497779148noreply@blogger.com0