Chess/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| Dutch Opening | 8/1/2011 | Len Molden |
| Q: I am a d4 player. for dutch I play staunton gambit or Bg5.( I dont like g3 system against dutch) ... A: This is a good way for Black to enter the Dutch Defense if they also play the French Defense as ... | ||
| Question About Playing Style | 7/29/2011 | Len Molden |
| Q: now first let's start with how do I know my style or of the others to see what to play for ,what ... A: To answer them: 1) What makes me aggressive or defensive? === This largely depends on whether you ... | ||
| Device to practice chess | 7/14/2011 | Wuyanbu Zutali |
| Q: What is the best electronic device that I can use to practice chess. I have the CD "Chessmaster 10th ... A: This is a great question but I am ill-suited to answer it. I study with my computer, chess ... | ||
| Check mate or draw | 7/7/2011 | Chuck Kinzie |
| Q: I'm learning chess and using the chess game that comes with windows 7. I'm white and the game ends ... A: The position you gave me is a draw. A player automatically draws a game if BOTH of the following ... | ||
| Chess - finishing question | 6/29/2011 | Chuck Kinzie |
| Q: I was hunting down check mate with positions covered by my queen, bishop and rook. My question is ... A: Wayne. Thanks for your question. It is against the rules for a king to directly attack another ... | ||
| horse defeat queen and/or king | 5/30/2011 | Tony D'Aloisio |
| Q: thanks A: King + knight vs. king is a draw. But King + queen vs. king + knight is a win. The best way to ... | ||
| defense against Nf3 and c4 | 5/7/2011 | Len Molden |
| Q: Hey Len, I've built up a nice repetoir against e4 (french) and d4 (Benko Gambit). However, I can't ... A: I too faced this issue for a long time and tried a variety of setups. What finally brought me good ... | ||
| Study Program | 4/24/2011 | Tony D'Aloisio |
| 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 | Tony D'Aloisio |
| 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 | Tony D'Aloisio |
| 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 ... | ||
| Certain Opening issue | 4/13/2011 | Wuyanbu Zutali |
| Q: when moving your bishops to take the opponents rooks in the corners of their second rank I always ... A: Sounds to me you are very new to chess. I suggest you read Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess. It is a ... | ||
| Philidor's Defence: | 3/29/2011 | Len Molden |
| Q: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Qxd4 c5 5.? How do I punish this because I looked in the M.C.O. and it ... A: White can get a slight advantage from: 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 exd4 4.Qxd4 c5 ...with play something ... | ||
| Chess Business | 3/27/2011 | Wuyanbu Zutali |
| Q: I have a small K-12 chess teaching business,wanting to ask you have any idea's on how to increase ... A: Ted, I am delighted to see that you have a chess business, however I am a semi professional coach. ... | ||
| Gruenfeld Nadanian Variation | 3/21/2011 | Len Molden |
| Q: After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.cxd5 Nxd5 5.Na4 Ashot Nadanian recommends 5...Bg7. What is wrong ... A: The problem with both of these moves is the weaknesses it creates on the white squares: 5...Bf5 ... | ||
| Sicilian Defense | 3/16/2011 | Len Molden |
| Q: 1.e4 c5 2.e5 ? What is wrong with e5 for white and give me the line up to move 10. A: The problem with 2.e5 is that Black can play this: 2...Nc6 3.f4 (if Nf3, then it will be difficult ... | ||
| Sicilian Defense | 3/16/2011 | Len Molden |
| Q: 1.e4 c5 2.g3 d5 3.exd5 Qxd5 4.Qf3 ? What I want to know is the line up to say move 10. Also why does ... A: 4.Qf3 is the best move in this position and is an old idea of Emmanuel Lasker. Even though most GM ... | ||
| When to Castle in a Game | 3/12/2011 | Wuyanbu Zutali |
| Q: I'm a beginner in Chess, and I've heard that you're supposed to castle as early as possible in a ... A: Josh, In some ways your comments reflect the beginner's mindset of being fearful of "going into a ... | ||
| Openings | 3/3/2011 | Tony D'Aloisio |
| 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 ... | ||
| K+Q vs K+R+4P | 3/1/2011 | Wuyanbu Zutali |
| Q: Who is better in an endgame with a king and queen vs a king, rook, and four pawns? A: An interesting question! As in any endgame position, it depends on where are the pawns? Are they ... | ||
| Chess | 2/22/2011 | Chuck Kinzie |
| Q: How do I checkmate a lone King with a King and a rook? A: Here is a link that will give you a clear explanation on how to mate with a King and a rook: ... | ||
| Style of Play: Passive vs. Aggressive | 2/18/2011 | Len Molden |
| Q: basically i am a passive player.i love and feel comfortable with endgames and early queen ... A: If you find yourself uncomfortable with complex, tactical attacking games, then you should broaden ... | ||
| Chess Training | 2/16/2011 | Chuck Kinzie |
| Q: I love playing chess, but am not very good at it. I am in my late 50's and have played off and on ... A: In my opinion, the best way to become adept at tactics is to solve tactical puzzles until you're ... | ||
| distractions | 2/10/2011 | Tony D'Aloisio |
| 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." ... | ||
| Endgame Books | 1/29/2011 | Len Molden |
| Q: I am wondering what books you recommend for endgames? I prefer the books to more beginner oriented ... A: Here are two chess endgame books which I recommend for you: ... | ||
| Castling rules | 1/28/2011 | Chuck Kinzie |
| Q: I'm looking for a more thorough explanation of the castling procedure and also a book that explains ... A: The only restriction on the rook in castling is that it can't have already moved. Even if the rook ... | ||
| An Incorrect Draw | 12/19/2010 | Len Molden |
| Q: I was playing the chess game on my computer.I was one move from check mate and I had not previously ... A: Probably what happened was that the position was repeated on the board three times, which is also a ... | ||
| chess coach | 12/9/2010 | Len Molden |
| Q: I was wonedering if you can tell me where i can find chess coaches? I live in Toronto,Ontario. If ... A: I don't know of any offhand, but I know there are some good ones there. Email or phone this person, ... | ||
| chess move repetition | 12/9/2010 | Len Molden |
| Q: is there such a rule that states its illegal to move a chess piece back in forth several times over ... A: It is not illegal to do this. However - you need to be aware of the "Threefold Repetition of the ... | ||
| Online tournament - interface malfunction | 11/24/2010 | Wuyanbu Zutali |
| Q: I'm running a small tournament on a forum that has a chess mod to enable online games. The ... A: Good question! I had to seek the advice of Joe Yun one of Ohio's best tournament directors. Joe ... | ||
| Sicilian Defense Kan Variation | 11/21/2010 | Len Molden |
| Q: Mr Molden: Thank you in advance for your time and expertise. I am USCF 1300 to 1400 and I play chess ... A: As the Sicilian Kan is probably the most positional variation in the entire Sicilian complex, it ... | ||
| Sicilian Defense | 11/16/2010 | Len Molden |
| Q: Mr Molden: Thank you in advance for your time and expertise. I am USCF 1300 to 1400 and I play chess ... A: The variation I'd recommend is the Sicilian Kan: http://www.chessmastery.com/sicilian-kan.html ... | ||
| Chess history question | 9/21/2010 | Tony D'Aloisio |
| 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 | Tony D'Aloisio |
| 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 | Tony D'Aloisio |
| 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 ... | ||
| Chess | 8/21/2010 | Len Molden |
| Q: How to win chess in the least amount of moves? I played my Grandfather groing up, and he could ... A: The four move checkmate goes like this: 1. e4 e5 2. Bc4 Nc6 3. Qh5 Nf6 4. Q:f7 mate It can be ... | ||
| last moves | 8/14/2010 | Chuck Kinzie |
| Q: Can we kill all pieces except a pawn and a king? A: I assume you're asking about capturing pieces and pawns. (I think that is what you meant by ... | ||
| chess openings | 8/7/2010 | Len Molden |
| Q: I am a beginner but know the fundamentals of chess. I prefer defense with some counterplay measures. ... A: I'd recommend that you study the games of GM Yasser Seirawan of the United Sates (who now lives in ... | ||
| chess openings | 8/1/2010 | Len Molden |
| Q: I am a beginner but know the fundamentals of chess. I prefer defense with some counterplay measures. ... A: Here's some good opening plans for you. As White ======== One proven principle which helps, is to ... | ||
| openings,middlegame,endgame | 8/1/2010 | Tony D'Aloisio |
| 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 | Tony D'Aloisio |
| 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 ... | ||
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Chess
Answers by Expert:
Len Molden
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
Questions about specific chess openings and advice about which opening repertoire is suited to a particular style. For example, the Sicilian Defense is suited to aggressive players, while the Caro Kann Defense appeals to defensive players.
Experience
I've been studying chess since I was 12. Apart from a vast library of specialized chess opening books, I also have a huge database collection of games.
Education/Credentials
University, College
Past/Present Clients
I've been playing in chess tournaments in the United States and Canada since 1972. I've won many tournaments in both countries and I'm ranked as a Canadian Expert. I've also written articles for chess magazines and one of my best victories ever is featured here:
Chess Team Competition
My chessmastery.com site helps chess players from around the world with free advice.
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