Category: Tactic

Forget about the opening, study endgames!

Michel HoetmerLeave a comment


endgame_200Books on chess openings are hugely popular. Of course it is nice to know how to give your game a kick start. But chess games are rarely won in the opening phase. Unless one of the players makes a silly mistake of course.

Personally I think books on the middle- and endgame are much more interesting and valuable. These books give us better insights in the chess game. If you know in which direction you want to go, it becomes also more easy to decide on your opening play.

There is another huge advantage in studying endgames. In the endgame you learn more about the properties of the chess pieces. Which might come in handy for other phases in the game. In that way time spent on endgame study is not wasted. Even if you do not play so many endgames*. It is in fact very valuable.Read More »

I love miniature chess games

Michel HoetmerLeave a comment

Don’t we all love to win once and a while within a couple of moves? Of course our love for this phenomenon fades slightly when we are at the wrong end off the stick.

But in some way or another we have to laugh when we see other players lose games within no time at all.

The Dutch grandmaster Jan Hein Donner was famous for his short games. At some moment in time he became the laughing stock of Dutch chess. He lost quite a lot of games within twenty moves or so. Here are some fine examples from his early career.*Read More »

Beware of silly checks

Michel HoetmerLeave a comment


rare_sprongenThe Dutch have a saying ‘Een kat in het nauw maakt rare sprongen’. Roughly translated into English it might be something like ‘a cat in distress jumps in curious ways’. Maybe sometimes your opponent is like that cat in distress. Or it might be even you? 

For sure you have been in situations where you were totally lost, but couldn’t resist to give one last check before resigning the game? Of course! It happened several times to me. Mostly these checks are completely harmless. But sometimes there is a bit more to it.Read More »

The power of the bishop pair

Michel HoetmerLeave a comment

Chess Strategy for Club PlayersA bishop has its limitations. The poor piece covers only one color. Therefore the possession of the bishop pair can be an advantage. Especially in open positions the bishop pair is a nice plus.

In more closed positions the bishop’s actions are hindered by the pawns. So therefore the player who has the bishop pair should strive for opening up the position.

But there is another point to it, often missed by commentators. When you are in sole possesion of the bishop pair clearly your opponent misses one of his bishops. Therefore he might be weak on the squares that are not covered so well anymore.Read More »