I just played my biggest match in High Technology High School’s chess division against the Christian Brothers Academy. Our team squeaked by with a 3-2 win, but the match was too close. I lost at second board to a player who insisted on being called “Big Chungus.” This is the story of how I got blasted by Big Chungus. Shore Chess Division HTHS-CBA (Away): Board 2 This is my current opening for White: the Réti Opening, specifically the Nimzo-Larsen Variation.

Hello again! I’m finally back and ready with another action-packed game for you! I played the following game online, where I used a pawn break on the kingside to attack my opponent’s king. New York vs New Jersey Friendly, Board #5 Game 1 I played the Scotch Gambit to reach this position, although this position can arise from the Italian Game as well. White has a strong e5 pawn and knight in exchange for the bishop pair and black’s knight on e4.

When you know you’re in a losing position, an important thing to remember is that the game is not over until you think it’s over. You may be down a pawn or even the exchange, but if you try to win (or draw) and play agressively, you are more likely to make a comeback. US League 2019 R1: NJ-NM, Board #15 Game 1 This position is outright winning for black, and not very fun to play as white.

Hello again! Going along with the theme of agressive games, here’s a game I recently finished on chess.com where I made a positional blunder that allowed my opponent to win in a strong, agressive style. CCT Passed Pawn QF R1: Board 15 The opening is a typical Caro-Kann advance variation, which tends to look more like the French defense because the c6-pawn was pushed to c5. The main difference from the French defense, though, is that the light squared bishop is not trapped behind its pawns.

Until a few months ago, I used to have the problem of being materialistic in chess. I’d focus on gaining a pawn advantage and making that my only goal in my chess games, after which I would just try to simplify the position until I won. However, after you reach about a 1200 USCF rating, you will lose terribly if you neglect the other aspects of chess. King safety, protecting yourself.

Hello, my friends! Today, I’d like to share about an interesting chess game from the PennApps hackathon with you. The chess tournament was held at the UPenn, and people from the PennApps hackathon as well as the UPenn chess club competed together in one tournament. It was a blitz tournament, with an 8|0 time control (yes, eight minutes - I’m not sure why), so the moves and ideas from the following game are from memory and not notated.