Chess/Questions Answered by Expert Tony D'Aloisio
| Subject | Date Asked |
| About castling | 1/11/2012 |
| Q: I want to know what is castling and in which situation castling is made? A: Castling is the only move which involves two of your own pieces at the same time. You can either ... | |
| sicilian defense | 11/21/2011 |
| Q: I am USCF 1300 (my practical level is probably about 1500) and vs 1e4 I normally play the French ... A: I would say the Scheveningen. Be prepared though for quite a bit different sort of a game than you ... | |
| queen's gambit accepted bishop defends pawn | 9/10/2011 |
| Q: I am trying to understand the variations in Queens Gambit. In the accepted line, I try to reclaim ... A: You can try the usual number-crunchers, like Fritz, Shredder, etc. Honestly though, I wouldn't ... | |
| queen's gambit accepted bishop defends pawn | 9/10/2011 |
| Q: I am trying to understand the variations in Queens Gambit. In the accepted line, I try to reclaim ... A: It looks to me like 5 Na3 does the trick. Then if 5... Qd5 6 Qa4+. The line you give (5 Qa4+ Qd7) ... | |
| Fischer v. karpov | 8/27/2011 |
| Q: I'm just finishing "Endgame," the recent biography of Bobby Fischer, whom I idolized as a kid ... A: As far as I know, they never played a game. Certainly they never met officially, i.e, in a ... | |
| caluculation | 8/24/2011 |
| Q: and my second question is my freind told that white will attack on kingside and black will attack on ... A: I'm afraid I'm probably not going to be able to offer too much help for your questions. In chess ... | |
| Question about a position that arose tonight | 8/16/2011 |
| Q: Hey, Me and my friend were playing chess tonight and we encountered this situation, a unique one ... A: Sorry it has taken me so long to reply, but I have been away from my computer for a few days. It's ... | |
| horse defeat queen and/or king | 5/30/2011 |
| Q: thanks A: King + knight vs. king is a draw. But King + queen vs. king + knight is a win. The best way to ... | |
| Study Program | 4/24/2011 |
| Q: Tony, I wanted to thank you for answering one of my questions on Yahoo Answers. I'm glad to see you ... A: I'm not really sure what you're asking (or indeed if you are asking anything). In order to ... | |
| Study Program | 4/24/2011 |
| Q: Tony, I wanted to thank you for answering one of my questions on Yahoo Answers. I'm glad to see you ... A: It looks to me like you're doing fine as it is. I wouldn't worry too much about structure; imposing ... | |
| en passant | 4/15/2011 |
| Q: If my opponent moves a pawn from rank 7 to rank 5 and I have a pawn on rank 6, normally I can take ... A: Actually, your pawn has to be on the fifth rank to capture en passant. You remove your opponent's ... | |
| Openings | 3/3/2011 |
| Q: I hope you can help me. I have played chess a long time, but not very good at it. I have not ... A: As White I might recommend opening with 1 Nf3 2 g3 3 Bg2 4 O-O...as a system having the least amount ... | |
| distractions | 2/10/2011 |
| Q: While I was playing tournament, my opponents family kept bringing drinks and food thru out the game ... A: I doubt that bringing drinks and food to someone would likely be construed as "communication." ... | |
| Chess history question | 9/21/2010 |
| Q: I once read some vague reference to a chess game held in the ancient past(in Persia, perhaps?) where ... A: I'm not sure about the veracity of the homicidal version...but "living chess" has been a staple of ... | |
| Can't understand why Black won't take a piece | 9/6/2010 |
| Q: I'm being guided through a game offered by a certain chess teaching program. Currently, the board ... A: After 1... Rxd7 2 Rxd7 Black would be down a rook in material. The win for White would then only be ... | |
| Can't understand why Black won't take a piece | 9/5/2010 |
| Q: I'm being guided through a game offered by a certain chess teaching program. Currently, the board ... A: I'm afraid I'm having a bit of trouble setting up this position. I'm not overly familiar with FEN ... | |
| openings,middlegame,endgame | 8/1/2010 |
| Q: Greetings, I am wondering on how to improve on chess. I dislike memorizing chess opeinings, since ... A: The best website I know of is chess.com. You can play anything from blitz chess to 14 days per ... | |
| openings,middlegame,endgame | 8/1/2010 |
| Q: Greetings, I am wondering on how to improve on chess. I dislike memorizing chess opeinings, since ... A: The main thing I think is that you should play...lots and lots of games. Nowadays of course (as ... | |
| kings | 4/19/2010 |
| Q: i would like to know if a king can take a king in check, if one king has put the other king in check A: A king can never put another king in check by itself. There must always be at least one square in ... | |
| King's Gambit | 1/27/2010 |
| Q: Tony, Hi! I just came in third place on Chess.com's King's Gambit tournament, and as I had success ... A: I think this is a question you're better off answering for yourself. My guess would be--since it's ... | |
| Is it a draw | 12/17/2009 |
| Q: are either of these positions a draw or a win with white to move? White: Pg3, Kg4 Black Kg6 White: ... A: They are both drawn with White to move (and wins for White if Black has the move). It is a ... | |
| Chess | 11/27/2009 |
| Q: Can you switch the King with the castle? A: You're probably thinking of castling. Here's how it works: To castle on the king's side (ie, to ... | |
| CHESS | 6/20/2009 |
| Q: IM A HUGE FAN OF YOUR WORK IN THE CHESS WORLD. I WAS WONDERING IF U CAN BE SO KIND AND EXPLAIN IN AN ... A: There are at least two Chigorin Defenses that I know of. One is a long-lived main line against the ... | |
| swapping pawn for chess. | 6/10/2009 |
| Q: i played a tournament game with a clock. opponed got his pawn down to last rank with the intention ... A: What he did was not technically correct, but not necessarily illegal. The following is from the ... | |
| chess | 6/6/2009 |
| Q: can you switch out a pawn for a queen once youve reached the other side of the chess board even if ... A: Yes. In fact, if you are able to promote all of your pawns, you can have as many as nine queens at ... | |
| check | 5/26/2009 |
| Q: my opponent failed to call check, i moved, it is now his move, what can he do, or does my move have ... A: It is difficult to answer such a question comprehensively, because the situation where the game is ... | |
| quick win | 5/18/2009 |
| Q: How can I get a win in less than 10 moves? A: There are many ways for a game to end in 10 moves or less. All of them though are very much ... | |
| Playing Chess Online | 3/23/2009 |
| Q: My friend and I used to play Chess with Yahoo Messenger. We have had nothing but trouble for quite a ... A: Well, I am admittedly far from an expert on computers. But I think, regardless of whether your ... | |
| pawn vs. king | 2/19/2009 |
| Q: I am a chess rookie and mainly play just for fun. Recently a question came up during a game: In ... A: Well, technically no piece can really ever capture a king (once the king is put in checkmate, the ... | |
| illegal moves | 2/4/2009 |
| Q: If a player makes an illegal move, such as moving a black squared bishop to a white square, has ... A: In general, they are allowed to take the move back. According to the rules of the International ... | |
| Who is better | 1/15/2009 |
| Q: Who is better in this position with white to move? White pawns: a2,b2,c2,f2,g2,h2 Rooks on a1&h1, ... A: White has a bit of an advantage here. He should probably play 1 Qe2+ to trade off more pieces. ... | |
| castling | 9/6/2008 |
| Q: i was once asked about castling in the queen side where the king does not cross the open line of ... A: No, it is in fact perfectly legal for the rook to pass over an attacked square in the act of ... | |
| chess | 8/16/2008 |
| Q: When your opponent has only his king left how many moves do you have to checkmate him before it ... A: I believe you're referring to the 50-moves rule. A game can be declared a draw after 50 moves (by ... | |
| enpassant | 7/4/2008 |
| Q: when passing your opponents pawn if im white and move two squares up coming from a2 to a4 and my ... A: I believe you're asking if the White a4 pawn can be captured en passant by a Black pawn on b3. The ... | |
| chess question | 5/4/2008 |
| Q: Player 1 has only the king on the board. Player 2 has multiple pieces on the board. How many ... A: You're probably refering to the 50-moves rule, which states that a player can claim a draw if 50 ... | |
| chess | 4/23/2008 |
| Q: is chess a sport A: Played informally, as a leisure-time activity, no, it isn't. But many have regarded serious ... | |
| Chess | 2/22/2008 |
| Q: Some of the people i play with say that when you take your king down and back that you get any piece ... A: No, there isn't a rule like that (at least, not in chess). The closest thing to that would be the ... | |
| chess | 1/26/2008 |
| Q: How much dollars are the king,queen,pawn,rook,bishop,and knight are? A: Well, I'm not really sure what their monetary values are...but their relative values are usually ... | |
| Chess | 1/26/2008 |
| Q: Can a King place a another King in Chech? A: No, not directly (since a King can never legally move onto a square next to the opposing King). It ... | |
| pawn promotion | 12/13/2007 |
| Q: if you get a pawn to the other side can it turn into a queen when you already have your queen giving ... A: Yes. You can in fact (if you are fortunate enough to get all your pawns to the other side) promote ... | |
| King in check to immobile piece? | 11/29/2007 |
| Q: Can a king (player A) take an opponent's piece (player B)if the result places the (A)king in check ... A: No, the piece cannot be captured if it is protected by another--even if the protecting piece is ... | |
Chess
Answers by Expert:
Tony D'Aloisio
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I've read a good deal on the subject and I can answer a lot of chess history questions (or at least I'll know where to look them up). Also questions regarding analyzing specific positions (although with the advent of powerful chess software, this isn't likely to have the importance it once did).
Experience
I was a national master in the US for a number of years. My peak USCF rating was 2290, and I was ranked in the top 150 in the state of California. My current published rating is 2177.
Education/Credentials
B.A. Sonoma State University 1984 (English major with Communications emphasis)
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