Friday, August 12, 2022

Color Complex Chess: Conquer Your Opponent's Weak Squares

 

"The control of squares is the soul of chess." - Siegbert Tarrasch

Color Complex Chess Resources:
 A Comprehensive Guide

This post dives into the world of color complexes in chess, providing a curated list of resources to help you master this strategic concept.

Color complexes refer to weaknesses on squares of the same color, often exploited by maneuvering your pieces and exploiting your opponent's limitations.

By understanding and exploiting color complexes, you can gain a significant advantage over your opponent and elevate your chess game.

Bishop's Bounty Weak Square Page


Books (Free)

Free Lesson: Light & Dark Magic - Color Complexes in Chess - 6 Lines w/13 Min Video - (FREE Chessable Course by GM Axel Smith): Get a taste of this concept with a free chapter from a renowned chess instructor.


Chess Color Complex Articles

Master the Art of Exploiting Weak Squares:

  • Color Complex in Chess - Chessbase India Article w/ 2 Nice annotated games - Learn the basics with clear explanations and practical examples.

  • Taking Advantage of the Weak Square Complex - Ichess Article w/ Annotated Alexander Alekhine game. (Archived Article)

  • Weak squares - (Large Exeter CC Article with Many Annotated Games):Dive deep into the concept of weak squares with a comprehensive collection of annotated games for practical application.

  • Yaacov Norowitz Lecture on Color Complexes - Kenilworth CC LectureMaster Yaacov Norowitz explores "color complexes" (square strategy) in blitz chess. Learn how controlling light & dark squares guides strategy and action in fast games. Bonus: 2 annotated games!


Bonus:


Game Databases

Analyze Real-World Color Complex Exploits

Chessgames.com: Your Chess Laboratory

Chessgames.com provides a valuable resource for analyzing real-world chess games. Here, we explore collections featuring games that showcase the practical application of color complexes and weak squares:

  • Weak color complex -  3 Games  - Delve into 3 well-chosen games that demonstrate the exploitation of weak color squares in action.

  • Weak Squares -  15 gamesThis extensive collection offers a broader perspective, allowing you to analyze various scenarios where weak squares play a decisive role.



Color Complex LiChess Studies

Sharpen Your Skills with Interactive Learning

Master Light & Dark Squares:

  • Light and Dark Squares | Master color complex - 21 Chapter Interactive Study - In-Depth  (2000 Hearts):This in-depth study provides a comprehensive exploration of color complexes with 9 detailed interactive exercises to test your understanding.

  • Unlock Color Complexes: Light & Dark Squares Explained - 21 Chapter Study -( Detailed Positions and Explanations) This study offers a wealth of knowledge with detailed positions, explanations, and accompanying lessons for each chapter.

  • Weak Squares and Color Complexes - 2 Chapter StudyThis introductory study provides a clear explanation of color complexes along with a game demonstrating practical application.

New to Lichess studies? These interactive tools allow you to explore chess concepts and variations move-by-move, perfect for testing your understanding and deepening your knowledge.



Color Complex Video Lessons


Color Complexes: Strong Pieces and Weak Squares! - 14 Min some tips and tricks he recently learned about how to evaluate positions based on strong or weak color complexes.

Color Complexes Simplified - 40 Mindelves into the strategic imbalance of color complexes, how to understand them and how to apply them in your games.

Lesson 9 - Weak Colour Complex - Higher-Level Chess Course - 21 Mindelves into the concept of a weak color complex and its strategic importance in chess. 

Attacking a Color Complex - GM Sam Shankland - 43 Min  ST. Louis Chess Club presents a game between Alexander Grischuk and Boris Gelfand from 2010 Linares in which he analyzes attacking a color complex.

Chess Strategy - Weak Color Complex in the Endgame - 9 Min


MKS Chess

Lessons highlighting International Master Alexander Bangievs square strategy theory


IM Yaccov Norowitz

Discusses his unique approach to chess strategy, focusing on the concept of harmony between light and dark squares on the chessboard.



How Fighting for Color Complexes and Squares Leads to Winning Positions - 18 Min - FM Peter Giannatos Charlotte CC - Video below talks about how color complexes and certain squares in a position can lead to a dominant game, which ultimately finish off in a tactical blow.


Game Videos

Magnus Carlsen shows us a simple light-square strategy | 44th Chess Olympiad - 20 Min


Chess Improvement Game: Bishops and Color Complexes - 14 Mina chess improvement guide focusing on the use of bishops and color complexes. The presenter shares a personal game to demonstrate strategic concepts learned from chess literature, particularly the exploitation of weak squares and the management of bishops.


Monday, July 18, 2022

Attraction (Magnet Attack) - Advanced Chess Tactics

 

Unleash the Magnet Attack
 Mastering Chess Attraction Tactics

Imagine dangling a tempting piece in front of your opponent's king,
a forbidden fruit they can't resist.


In chess, this maneuver is known as Attraction (or Decoy Sacrifice).

 It's a powerful tactic where you strategically sacrifice material to lure a key enemy piece, often the king, to a vulnerable square where it becomes exposed and ripe for exploitation.


Attraction Chess Articles

ATTRACTION AND DEFLECTION – CHESS TACTICAL PATTERNS - interactive Article with examples.

Mate in Two: Magnet Attack Puzzles - 5 Puzzles on ChessKids



LiChess Studies

Explore interactive training tools to solidify your understanding of the opening's concepts.

LiChess Tactics Practice Area - 10 Attraction Tactics


Attraction - 16 Chapter Study - 12 Attraction Positions
[Motif - Attraction] - 18 Chapter Study - Nice Selection of Positions with detailed Analysis and Lessons.
[
Magnetic Attack - 18 Chapter Study - Examples broken into different Themes.

Chess Tempo Tactic: Attraction - 11 Chapter Interactive Study - Starts at 1000 ELO problem then keeps stepping up to the last being 2000 ELO
J] Attraction Tactics 
- 14 Chapter Interactive Study - Positions, Games and Compositions fully Interactive.


Game Databases

Analyze real-life games featuring the Attraction Tactic and see how it's played in practice.

Chessgames.com

DECOYS: ALIGNMENT: "ATTRACTION" - 18 Games



Attraction Video Lessons



Bishops Bounty Deflection Page
-  Many argue that These Two Tactics overlap or are essentially the same thing. So here is my page on Deflection.

Oil painting of a pawn gazing into a mirror, reflecting a powerful king. Vivid blue hues and geometric shapes create a striking illusion.
"The lure is often stronger than the truth." 

Friday, July 15, 2022

Clearance Chess Tactics Explained: A Guide to Devastating Sacrifices

 

A colorful Painted Image of the Back rank of a chess board in oranges and blacks.
"A sacrifice is a calculation, not a guess." - Emanuel Lasker

Master the Art of Making Way for Victory

Chess is a constant battle for control of the board. Sometimes, your own pieces can get in the way of a powerful attack. Enter the clearance sacrifice, a tactical weapon where you give up material to open lines and unleash your fury! Studying clearance tactics will sharpen your tactical vision and elevate your game. Here's your one-stop shop to master this skill!

Clearance Sacrifice: This tactical maneuver involves giving up a piece (pawn or minor piece) to vacate a square. This newly opened square often creates a critical line (file, diagonal, or rank) for your other pieces to launch a devastating attack on your opponent's king or key position.

Line Sacrifice: A specific type of clearance sacrifice where you give up material to open a specific file or diagonal. This newly opened line allows your rooks, queen, or bishop to dominate that line and potentially deliver checkmate or capture valuable enemy pieces.




BOOKS (Free)

Chess Tactics and Combinations - 84 Page PDF -Exeter Chess ClubThis free 84-page resource by the Exeter Chess Club covers clearance sacrifices on page 33 . (Free)


Clearance Chess Articles

Chess Tactics Guide : Clearance Sacrifice - A clear and concise guide with 4 well-explained clearance sacrifice examples.


Games Databases

Clearance - 60 Games with a clearance Tactic (Chessgames.com)


Clearance Chess Puzzles


LiChess Puzzle Themes

Clearance Tactic - 53,000 Puzzles - Dive into a massive pool of over 53,000 clearance tactic puzzles on LiChess


Clearance LiChess Studies

Interactive Learning for Clearance Mastery

  • Clearance Sacrifice - 15 Chapters  This in-depth study  provides detailed instruction across 12 lessons, guiding you through gaining material and checkmates with clearance sacrifices. 3 tests at the end solidify your learning!

  • Line Clearance - 19 Chapters - Delve into the specific intricacies of line clearance tactics with this 19-chapter study. The first 3 chapters provide foundational theory, followed by a wealth of illustrative examples.

  • 557 - 620 CLEARANCE - 64 Chapters  (26 Clearance Puzzles and Rest Interference Puzzles)

New to Lichess studies? These interactive tools allow you to explore chess concepts and variations move-by-move, perfect for testing your understanding and deepening your knowledge.



Clearance Tactic Video Lessons


Using Clearance Sacrifices to Improve Pieces - 30 Min Hanging Pawns
Giving up material in order to improve your position and make your pieces better.

Clearance In Chess | Chess Tactics - Line Clearance - 15 Min - Les
son on the deliberate sacrifice of material with the goal of "clearing" either a square or a line.

Chess Tactics #9: CLEARANCE ➡️ 5 Amazing Puzzles explained MOVE by MOVE - 7 Min FM Mederos -
 Sharpen your skills with FM Mederos as he guides you through 5 carefully chosen clearance tactic puzzles, explaining each move in detail.

How to find tactics in chess! --Clearance Sacrifice with 7 chess puzzles - 9 Min

Advanced Tactics : Clearance (5 Puzzles) - 10 Min

Line Blocking and Line Clearing in Chess | Chess Tactics - 8 Min IM Kavutskiy- 
delves into the concepts of line blocking and line clearing, illustrating them with tactical examples. This foundational knowledge is crucial for mastering clearance sacrifices.

Clearance In Chess | Chess Tactics - Line Clearance - 15 Min - 

Advance 22 - Clearance Sacrifice - 10 Min- Lesson w/ example and 2 Master games
Advance 23 - Clearance Sacrifice Practice - 6 Min - 3 master games

10 Levels of Tactics: The Clearance Sacrifice -  36 Min - Chess nerd - 
Let's not only learn but MASTER the Clearance Sacrifice with this Challenge for all levels! 
(New - 6/4/24)

Morpheus Academy ( Videos of live stream teaching kids Chess)

Examples from master play of the concepts of Square Clearance and Line as a powerful tactic.


Chess Diagnostic

Covers Clearance! advanced tactics. I cover the method to break down very complicated chess positions. I go really deep in these lessons to lay a foundation for further practice of more complicated chess puzzles and positions.


Game Videos w/ Analysis

Brilliant Clearance Sacrifice: Nepomuk vs Frohlich - Graz 1888 - 3 Min

Tuesday, July 12, 2022

Magazines, Periodicals & Newsletters


Active and Archived Chess Magazines


Mechanics-institute-chess-room - Weekly Chess magazine (Active)

California Chess Journal - Archive with Back issues 45- 50 Pages Each (Started back up again in 2021) 

MACA Chess Horizons - Archives - Massachusetts Chess Assoc. (22 Back Issues most recent 2018)

Northwest Chess Magazine —  Archive of Chess News from Washington, Oregon and Idaho (Monthly from 1965 - 2021)

Swiss Chess Newspaper - 2000 - 2021 (Bimonthly Archive 45-50 page PDFs) All in German

California Chess Periodicals 
- Over 80 Chess Periodicals Listed here from 1960-2009
California Chess Articles from U.S. and World Chess Periodicals - 22 Magazines here from (1857 to Present)

Internet Archive Chess Magazines

Inside Chess 

(25 Dec 1989) - 46 Page PDF 
(22 Jan 1990) - 30 Page PDF  (5 Feb 1990) - 29 page PDF  (19 Feb 1990) - 27 Page PDF 
(5 March 1990) - 25 Page PDF  (19 March 1990)
(5 March 1990) - 25 Page PDF  (19 March 1990) - 25 page PDF 
(8 June 1992) - 25 page PDF  (20 July 1992) - 34 page PDF  (Tal Issue) 
(17 Aug 1992) - 26 Page PDF (Bobbys Back Issue)
   (31 Aug 1992)  - 24 Page PDF
(14 Sept 1992) - 24 Page PDF (Fisher-Spassky II)   (12 Oct 1992) - 25 Page PDF
(8 March 1993) - 22 Page PDF   (19 April 1993) - 22 Page PDF


Modern-Chess-Issue-1 - 67 Page PDF    (2015)
British Chess Magazine - November 2015 issue - 56 Page PDF


Chess Mate January 1983 by Manuel Aaron (Ed) - 36 Page PDF
Chess India - June 1981 - 48 Page PDF

Chess Life 1959 -  204 Page PDF

50 Moves magazine - October 2015 issue - 102 page PDF
50 Moves magazine - December 2015 issue - 72 Page PDF

Chess Review 1934 (12 Issues)  - 279 Page PDF
Chess Review 1935 (12 Issues)  - 325 Page PDF
Chess Review 1936 (12 Issues)  - 321 Page PDF
Chess Review 1937 (12 issues)  - 320 Page PDF
Chess Review 1938 (12 Issues)  - 322 Page PDF
Chess Review 1939 (12 Issues)  -289 Page PDF

Chess Review 1940 (12 Issues)  - 229 Page PDF
Chess Review 1941 (12 Issues) - 261 Page PDF
Chess Review 1942 (12 issues) - 312 Page PDF
Chess Review 1943 12 Issues) - 456 Page PDF

Chess Review 1953 (12 Issues) - 432 page PDF
Chess Review 1954 (12 Issues) - 432 Page PDF
Chess Review 1955 (12 Issues) - 432 Page PDF
Chess Review 1959 (12 Issues) - 432 Page PDF

Larry Evans Teaches Chess - 75+ Chess articles from Chess Life from 1978-2007