World's Top 10 Players

World's Top 10 Rated Players (updated August 29, 2010)
Rank Name            Rating
01     Carlsen        2826
02     Topalov        2803
03     Anand        2800
04     Aronian        2783
05     Kramnik        2780
06     Eljanov        2760
07     Grischuk        2760
08     Mamedyarov 2755
09     Ivanchuk        2754
10     Gelfand        2750

Mega Chess Book Database

Here is a link to DB Books (a mega chess book database).  It must contain hundreds of chess books.

Links to Chess Tactics Books

In studying tactics (videos and blog), I recommend 2 books.  Here are links so you don't have to buy them, though I recommend it.

Chess: 5334 Problems, Combinations, and Games (Laszlo Polgar)
1001 Brilliant Chess Sacrifices and Combinations (Reinfeld)

Free Online Chess Books

Chesszone.org offers a collection of English and Russian chess books in PDF or DJVU Viewer which include:


* J. R. Capablanca "Chess fundamentals"
* Edward Lasker "Chess Strategy"
* Pandolfini "Pandolfini's Endgame Course"

Submit your game for analysis on YouTube

I've had several requests to review submitted games.  If you played a game that you think would be interesting or instructive, then please submit it to kensoffice.contact@gmail.com


KingKibitz
Do Tactics. Study Games. Play Chess.

Improving Your Chess Using Chess.com Part 2

Improving Your Chess Using Chess.com Part 2

In Part 1, I recommended playing “online” chess on Chess.com.  “Online” chess is similar to playing chess by email because a player has 1 to 14 days to make a move (where 3 moves is the typical time limit but I see that most of my opponents move at least once per day).  Here are 3 further ways to improve your chess on “online” chess:

1. Use “Notes”

Notes are private, so your opponent can’t see them!  Use “Notes” to record your strategy, plans, etc.  I personally use Notes to log my candidate moves (best to worst).  When I review the game, this allows me to see what moves I was considering.  Ideally, I would record my evaluation of the position, but I have not found a concise way to record this, and I figure that the candidate moves are the next bet thing.

2. Use the Analysis Board

You can find the “Analysis Board” at the bottom of the “Moves” tab.  The Analysis Board allows you to move the pieces around, and I personally use it to explore different lines.  I recommend, however, that you run through the variations in your head to improve your calculation and board vision ability.  Then take it to the analysis board to check what you did in your head.

3.  Use Conditional Moves:The “conditional Moves” button is located on the right side of the screen (see above image).  Conditional moves allow you to play moves in a “if…then” format.  I use this feature for obvious replys when I capture a piece, etc.  Using this feature will also speed your games because you don’t waste time waiting to exchange obvious moves.

King Kibitz
Do Tactics. Study Games. Play Chess

Improving Your Chess Using Chess.com Part 1

Improving Your Chess Using Chess.com Part 1

There are a lot of good chess servers out there. For example:
Yahoo.com
Pogo.com
Playchess.com
Chess.com

However, I would like to discuss improving your chess with Chess.com with “online” chess.  Online chess at Chess.com is NOT playing against an opponent who is currently logged onto the server.  Online chess games are slower paced games (like playing chess by email) except for the fact that the server tracks and displays the chess position.
Each player gets 1 to 14 days to make a move, where 3 days is the typical time to make a move.  I have found, however, that most of my opponents make 1 or 2 moves each day.  The time allows you to analyze the position and to examine variations.
Next, you can choose to play against other chess players who are at about the same chess strength as you.  At Chess.com you develop a chess rating as you win and lose games, and you can select the rating “range” for your online game.
Next, you can play as many simultaneous “online” games as you like.  I personally only play about 5 games at a time so that I can concentrate on each game.  However, I have seen opponents that play 10, 20, and even almost 50 simultaneous games.
King Kibitz
Do tactics. Study Games. Play Chess