ChessForSharks Blog
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How To Get Better At Chess: A 12-Step Guide
Chess is a game that requires a lot of focus, practice, and hard work. When a player starts learning the…
How To Be A Chess Grandmaster In 11 Detailed Steps – ChessForSharks.com
The grandmaster title is the ultimate achievement in chess, second only to the world championship. 600+ players have earned the…
The Best Chess Books of all Time: From Beginner to Advanced
Reading chess books is one of the primary ways a chess player acquires knowledge. However, the most instructive and suitable…
How To Play Chess For Beginners: Learn Rules, Moves, Setup, Efficient Tactics & Strategy
Did you recently encounter a fancy-looking game, and you'd like to know more about this mysterious game? Would you like…
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DownloadChess News
“It Was More Logical For Him [Dubov] To Remain Neutral” – Ian Nepomniachtchi speaks in
Ian Nepomniachtchi, former world championship contender has come out to clear the air regarding the recent Dubov vs Russians controversy.…
Alireza Firouzja Breaks 2800, Becomes World No 2
Grandmaster(GM) Alireza Firouzja just became the new world #2 after crossing the legendary 2800 rating barrier. The 18-year old Grandmaster…
Nodirbek Abdusattorov Wins World Rapid Chess Championship 2021
Pleasant surprises make everything sweeter. Seeing underdogs triumph in a field of favorites makes the crowd go wild. Chess has…
Ian Nepomniachtchi Slugs It Out With Russian Billionaire Businessman
December 24th brought about an exciting atmosphere of Chess in Russia. The Central Chess Club located in Moscow organised a…
Openings
10 Weird Chess Openings with Animal Names
We have always been fascinated with the creative and amusing names of some chess openings. Openings like these are usually…
How to Play The Popular Sicilian Defense: A Comprehensive Guide for Chess Players
The Sicilian Defense is one of the oldest and most popular openings in chess. Dating as far back as the…
3 Popular Traps in the Caro-Kann
The Caro-Kann Defence begins with 1.e4 c6 and is known for its solid structure and counterattacking potential. But even this…
What Is The Best Response To 1. e4 For Black?
Some of the most common replies to e4 are the Sicilian Defense, the French Defense, the Caro-Kann Defense, the Pirc…
General
African Chess Grandmasters: Who They Are And Why They Are So Few
According to the Oxford dictionary, the word "MASTERY" means comprehensive knowledge or skill in a particular subject or activity. However,…
The Dark Side Of Chess (And What Can Be Done)
Chess in all its broadness, is a game that unites people from the ends of the earth. People find solace…
16 Hilarious Chess Memes From The 2021 World Chess Championship
This article presents a compilation of funny chess memes with inspiration gotten from the 2021 world chess championship match between…
Why does Chess draw Comparisons with Checkers?
"Playing chess, not checkers." You've probably heard this quote before, or at least a variation of it. For years, chess…
Chess Players and History
A Biography of Josh Waitzkin (and Why He Stopped Playing Chess)
After watching the award-winning movie 'Searching For Bobby Fischer', a lot of people ask this familiar question: "Does Josh Waitzkin…
Bobby Fischer vs Garry Kasparov: Comparing Two Legends
As a chess fan, you must've wondered what a match or even a game between some World Champions across different…
Top 5 Underrated Chess Players in History
Chess, as we know, is a game that has been in existence for centuries. Some chess players have played the…
Top 10 chess players likely to dethrone Magnus Carlsen
The chess world is currently blessed with a host of players that would’ve probably borne the World Champion title if…
Chess Basics
What is Stalemate In Chess?
A stalemate is a type of draw that occurs when your opponent is unable to make any legal moves to…
How To Castle Queenside In Chess
The game of chess is a game of strategy; It involves both the art of attack and defence. Every chess…
What Is the Exchange Sacrifice in Chess?
An exchange sacrifice is a chess move where a player trades their rook for the opponent’s bishop or knight. This…
What Is Material Advantage In Chess?
Material refers to the number of pieces and pawns on the board. An advantage in chess refers to a situation…
Chess Advice
How To Get Better At Chess: A 12-Step Guide
Chess is a game that requires a lot of focus, practice, and hard work. When a player starts learning the…
How To Start A Chess Club in 5 Easy Steps
The entire essence of chess depends on having someone to play with. There can be no chess game without an…
Impact of Gambling on Chess Integrity
For years, chess was seen as a pure battle of intellect, free from the corruption often associated with money-driven sports.…
Chess.com or Lichess? A Strong Comparison
For every online chess player, picking where to play between two of the best chess websites in the world—Lichess and…
Openings For White
How To Play the Danish Gambit For White And Black
The Danish Gambit is an aggressive opening for White that stems from the King's pawn opening (1. e4). This opening…
How To Play the Scotch Game For White And Black
The Scotch Game is an opening move for White that looks to attack the center and create an opening attacking…
How To Play the Benko Opening For White And Black
The Benko Opening (also known as the Hungarian Opening) is a unique opening that begins with 1. g3. It is…
The Complete English Opening Repertoire for White and Black
The English opening is a unique type of opening where White seeks to control the center without using the e…
Question And Answers
Why Is Chess So Popular? Here Are 5 Reasons
It's no longer news that chess's popularity has boomed in recent years. You turn here, you turn there, you see…
How Many Moves Ahead Does A Grandmaster Think?
Ever wondered what it’s like inside the mind of a chess grandmaster? How many moves ahead are they thinking as…
Is Chess a Sport, Art or Science?
What exactly is chess? Is it a sport, like tennis or soccer? An art form, like music or painting? Or…
What is the 20-40-40 Rule in Chess?
The 20-40-40 rule is a simple chess strategy that can help you win more games. The idea is to spend:…
Openings For Black
How To Play The Philidor Defense For White and Black
The Philidor Defense is a calm way for Black to approach the King's pawn opening by White. The main idea…
How To Play The Nimzo-Indian Defense For White And Black
The Nimzo-Indian Defense is one of the best defenses to the queen’s pawn opening (1. d4). The opening is a…
How To Play The Queen’s Indian Defense For White And Black
The Queen's Indian Defense is an opening choice for Black players who want a solid and stable opening against the…
How To Play The Caro-Kann Defense For White And Black
The Caro-Kann Defense is a solid and careful opening Black can use to combat the king's pawn opening (1. e4).…
Chess Pieces Movement
Why Are Rooks More Important Than Bishops?
Before jumping to a conclusion, let's have a look at how each piece moves. The bishop in chess moves in…
Can The King Jump In Chess?
No, the king cannot jump in chess. It's probably easy to mistake the king for the knight which is the…
Can A King Kill A King In Chess?
In chess, the king is the most important piece on the board. It can move one square in any direction,…
How Does The Queen Move in Chess?
The queen is the most powerful piece on the chessboard. She can move any number of squares vertically, horizontally or…
Chess Career
Top 10 Exciting Careers In Chess To Earn A Living
You're a chess player—a chess freak even, but you don't earn from it. It's difficult to earn from it, right?…
Top 10 Most Brilliant Chess Prodigies in 2025
There is an interesting appeal that follows when kids are talented in any sport. That they can show such immense…
Who is Divya Deshmukh? The New Female Star From India
If you follow chess, you’ve probably heard her name already. If not, get ready, because Divya Deshmukh is not just…
Magnus Carlsen vs Hikaru Nakamura: The Greatest Rivalry in Modern Chess
For every chess fan, two names reign supreme: Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura. These two players have etched their names…
Tactics
12 Important Chess Tactics You Should Know
Chess Tactics is a move or a combination of moves that pose one or more instant dangers to an opponent.…
What is a Clearance Chess Tactic?
Like the popular saying goes, chess is 99% tactics. However, some tactical concepts are uncommon and might not be well-known…
What is an Interference Chess Tactic?
Chess is full of clever tricks. One such trick is Interference. It's not as famous as other chess tactics like…
Key Indicators to Help Find Chess Tactics in Chess Positions
Tactics win games. That's a truth every chess player learns quickly. You can play a perfect strategy for 30 moves.…
Fide Titles
How to Become a FIDE Certified Chess Coach?
Being a certified chess instructor is a fantastic method for chess players to earn more money with their chess talents,…
Duties and Roles of a Chess Arbiter
Arbiters are highly trained referees with official certification from the World Chess Federation (FIDE), who ensure games adhere to the…
What is the Lowest Title in Chess?
The Candidate Master (CM) title is the lowest title in chess, which is awarded to players who surpass an official FIDE rating…
Women Chess Players Speak Against Women Chess Titles
Given the various portrayals in pop culture, the chess boom that resulted from Netflix's release of Queen Gambit, which featured…
Boards And Pieces
How Wooden Chess Pieces Are Made
Chess pieces come in different forms: plastic, ceramic, aluminium or wood. Some of the luxury ones are even made with…
The Game Of Thrones Chess Set (And Characters Represented)
It is not news that chess is a way of life. An excellent chess player can see life through the…
10 Best Chess Sets Under $100
Every true lover of the royalty game of chess must have that trusted set that serves as a getaway from…
How To Set Up A Chessboard Easily
The chessboard has 64 squares, 32 are dark and 32 are white. There are 32 chess pieces, 16 of which…
Checkmate Patterns
Learn The Bishop And Knight Checkmate: Understanding The Chess Pieces
This pattern works by limiting the opponent's king to a corner of the board, where the bishop and king take…
How To Carry Out The Queen And King Checkmate in Chess
The queen and king checkmate happen frequently in chess games. Many games conclude in King + Queen vs. King, with…
Can You Checkmate With Two Knights?
The short answer to this puzzling question is YES and NO. Confused? Let's break it down. Technically, you can checkmate…
How To Play The Two Bishop Checkmate
The king and two bishop checkmate is another basic checkmate that occurs in chess games. While this type of mate…
Flank Openings
An Introduction To Flank Openings
Flank openings are openings where the earliest moves do not emerge from either of the centre files (c and d…
The Complete English Opening Repertoire for White and Black
The English opening is a unique type of opening where White seeks to control the center without using the e…
How To Play The Reti Opening For White And Black
The Reti opening is a hypermodern opening that was created by one of the pioneers of hypermodern chess, Richard Reti.…
How To Play The Larsen’s Opening For White And Black
The Larsen's opening is an unorthodox or flank opening that starts with 1. b3. b3 is an unconventional opening that…
Chess Variants
Popular Chess Variants You Probably Didn’t Know Existed
What makes a game or sport more fun than its original form is its variants. Variants of a game or…
How To Play Three Player Chess: A Simple Beginners Guide
Chess is a popular strategy board game that is played worldwide. There are over 600 million people that play the…
Four Player Chess Rules You Should Know
For over two hundred years, people have invented and reinvented several variants for four player chess, formed by adding a…
Chess960: The Ultimate Guide to Freestyle/Fischer Random Chess
What if we could make chess even more unpredictable by adding a chaos factor? Something that could reignite creativity from…
Chess Hypotheticals
Ranking Movie Characters That Would Make Great Chess Players
We all have our favorite movie characters. The larger-than-life figures always seem to come out on top of obstacles and…
Why Does Elon Musk Hate Chess?
Many famous people have expressed their admiration for chess, but one of the biggest celebrities in recent times and the…
Top 10 Chess Players with the Most Aura
Chess is a game of calculation. But some players bring something more to the board, something that can’t be measured…
Can Online Chess Cheating Be Stopped?
Cheating has always haunted chess, but the digital age has made it more complicated. Online chess brought excitement, convenience, and…
Unconventional Openings
10 Weird Chess Openings with Animal Names
We have always been fascinated with the creative and amusing names of some chess openings. Openings like these are usually…
10 Openings Named After Famous Chess Players
There are thousands of openings (along with variations) in chess theory. Many chess players discovered chess openings and stamped their…
Top 10 Popular Chess Gambits To Try Out
As chess players, our styles of play sometimes depend on our mood and, of course, the importance of the game.…
Top 5 Most Effective Chess Traps for Beginners and Intermediates
There's something very satisfying about springing a well-laid chess trap. That moment when your opponent's confident smile fades as they…
Books
10 Of The Best Chess Books For Intermediate Players
A huge portion of chess players gets stuck on the intermediate level. This is why attaining mastery in chess is…
The Best Chess Books of all Time: From Beginner to Advanced
Reading chess books is one of the primary ways a chess player acquires knowledge. However, the most instructive and suitable…
Famous Chess Players Who Wrote Great Books
Some players dominate on the board. Others leave their mark on paper. A few do both, and those are the…
ChessForSharks News
5 Surprising Facts Behind Why We Celebrate International Chess Day
Each year, on July 20th, the global chess community gathers, on and off the board, to celebrate International Chess Day.…
ChessForSharks Summer Showdown 2025: Blitz, Brilliance, and Global Rivalry
When 380 chess players from across the world gathered on Lichess this October, no one expected such an electrifying contest.…
Endgame
5 Endgame Concepts You Must Know to Play Better Chess
At a point in the game, you say to yourself "Stockfish ought to take a few lessons from me". You…
Chess Endgames: The Great Element Of Chess Mastery
Introduction Chess is categorized into three phases; the opening, the middlegame, and the endgame. The phases are identified to enable…
Chess Tournaments
ChessForSharks Summer Showdown 2025: Blitz, Brilliance, and Global Rivalry
When 380 chess players from across the world gathered on Lichess this October, no one expected such an electrifying contest.…
2025 U.S. Chess Championship: Caruana and Yip Triumph Amid Tragedy
The 2025 U.S. Chess Championships concluded in St. Louis with Fabiano Caruana and Carissa Yip lifting the national crowns. It…
Chess Traps
3 Popular Traps in the English Opening
The English Opening is renowned as one of the most strategically rich openings. It is a positional and calm opening.…
3 Popular Traps in the Caro-Kann
The Caro-Kann Defence begins with 1.e4 c6 and is known for its solid structure and counterattacking potential. But even this…
Strategy
3 Popular Traps in the Scotch
While the Scotch is sound enough to appear at the top level, it hides some nasty traps that can punish…
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