The problems in the last two chapters (6 & 7) of NM Laura Smith & my Chessable course on calculating capturing sequences ('Counting') chessable.com/can-i-take-it-… are:

M11 A bishop is bad if 1) It is blocked by it's own, immobile pawns (not pieces/pawns easily moved) or 2) A chain of invulnerable opponent's pawns which make access to the squares to which a bishop could move unsafe, or 3) the combination of the two #ChessTip #chesspunks

I see this understandable misunderstanding often: Unlike in English, in chess 'bishop pair' doesn't mean a pair of bishops but instead is short for 'the advantage of the bishop pair' meaning one side has both bishops & the other doesn't. Worth on avg ~0.5 pawns #Chess #chesspunks

I have updated my Scholastic Chess page with new and updated links and info: danheisman.com/scholastic.html #Chess #ScholasticChess #chesspunks

M10 6 to consider when winning easily: Think defense first (don't play defensively!); Keep it simple, Make fair trades of pieces, not necessarily pawns; Use all pieces all the time; Don't worry about little things; Avoid unnecessary time pressure youtube.com/watch?v=kLcfE6… #ChessTip

M9 Teaching chess has many things in common with teaching reading. There are many aspects that can be transferred & there are some that just need to be properly practiced & absorbed. See my semi-humorous article chess.com/article/view/i… #ChessTip #chesspunks

M8 Last night I played a couple speed games & in one I made one careless move & my game fell apart (eventually beat a lower rated opponent). Once again 'it only takes one bad move to lose a game' so - at least in slow games - take your time on each move! #ChessTip #chesspunks

M7 Playing the same opponents multiple times at a chess club has the advantage of helping you learn not only how to play vs their openings (since you know them) but also to improve your openings when they find lines that give you problems. #ChessTip #chesspunks

M6 When I play, I write down how many minutes I have left after each move. I rarely write my opponent's time unless it's critical. Macro time management is how well your time compares vs your expected/nominal time, not your time vs your opponent's time #ChessTip #chesspunks

A student and I were examing endgame (and trapped piece in the corner) ideas & we created a tough 'Black to play & draw' puzzle. I might have guessed the first move, but I could not have solved it without engine help... #Chess #Chess Puzzle #Chess Problem #Chess Endgame

Sign of the times: In 1968 I thought 2001: A Space Odyssey should have won the Academy award; it wasn't even nominated! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/41st_Acad… But in 2008 AFI rated the all-time Top 100 movies & it was 15th afi.com/afis-100-years…. The next highest rated 1968 movie was ...none!

M5 To become a rating, you have to lose your fear of that rating. But at the least, this requires an aspiring player to play regularly vs players slightly better than they currently are. Another key aid is to analyze with players as strong as possible; ask questions! #ChessTip

When you see an area you need to improve, a question would be 'Does this require additional knowledge, an improved skill, added consistency/concentration, or perhaps removing/changing a misconception?' #Chess #chesspunks

Chess Dot Comm's take on the upcoming proposed movie Checkmate about the Niemann scandal: chess.com/news/view/holl… #Chess

M4 A positive attitude is important in playing & teaching. A positive attitude, of course, isn't sufficient to win, but a lack of one can certainly contribute to losing. Students learn better with a positive attitude but sometimes it hurts learning from your mistakes!😎 #ChessTip

One of the fundamental concepts in chess is that the 'forcing moves': checks, captures, and threats youtube.com/watch?v=-e-p-5… , begin almost all combinations, with the possible exception of zugzwangs, which could be considered a type of threat. #Chess #chesspunks

OK, the corrected 'Practical Chess Calculation' video, with the camera insert moved outside the board, is youtube.com/watch?v=IqlRpf… . Otherwise it is identical to the one I uploaded yesterday. I apologize for not fixing this sooner. #Chess #chesspunks

I am going to try to re-upload my latest video, this time with the camera insertion re-positioned outside the board, as I thoughtlessly forgot to do the first time. I will provide the new link if/when it works.

The final round of the Sigeman event today chess.com/events/2024-te… features one rook & 1 pawn vs rook endgame where the defensive king is cut off & it's a win (Wenjun-Korobov) vs another (Grandelius-Erigaisi) where the defensive king is well-placed & it's a 'Philidor' draw #Chess

In case you missed it, a while ago I made a short video youtube.com/watch?v=xJto6t… on how to navigate/search my channel to find almost any chess improvement subject. You name it, I probably address it - maybe in multiple videos. #Chess #Chess Lesson #LearnChess #Chess Improvement