Chess and religion haven’t always made for the happiest of bedfellows in fact they have a (excuse the pun) chequered history. Chess has been banned (and unbanned) by members of the Islamic faith, Catholics, Anglicans, Puritans and Jews. Back in 642 A.D. the Prophet Mohammed’s (PBUH) son-in-law decided that chess would be haram (forbidden) because […]
When you’re playing a game of chess there are certain strategies available to you as a player that enable you to force your opponent to do something other than they wish to do. This is what’s known as tactical play and there are 3 key components to a tactical game that enable the best players […]
We don’t encourage gambling, but we do think that it’s interesting that you can take a flutter on your favorite players. In fact as with almost everything in the British Isles there’s always a bookmaker willing to take your bet. Despite the fact that the “cold war” excitement has vanished from the game and thus […]
We’re going through our series of world chess champions from first to last, but as the current world championship begins this month it’s perhaps a good idea to have a quick peek at what’s going on. The current holder is an Indian national, Vichy Anand who is being challenged by Boris Gelfand. Vichy is one […]
The knight is a great piece for attacking particularly early in the game. The knight fork (where a knight pins a greater value piece in place such as a rook or a queen whilst delivering check and forcing the king to move) is one of the great strategic wins in a game. Here are some […]