Chess Blogs

Chess Blogs

Blogs 0X

The Budapest Defence and Bishops


no title

Opposite coloured Bishops! (more about Bishops later)

Now a couple of cartoons that were dotted about in a 1974 Punch book of articles
about modern children. Chess cartoons were everywhere in the Fischer boon years.

{imgblock=/imgu/blog/1/b4u437199-1710373144.png}no title{/imgblock...

The Romantic Age of Chess


no title

I tinkered with the original which had checkers as the theme.
no title

and this next one was sent to me by a colleague who knows I like these things..

no title

{imgblock=/imgu/blog/1/b4u437199-1709423783.png}no title{/imgblock...

Helpmate and a Construction Task


no title

I’m glad to see this lad has his priorities right.

green pawns

This puzzle caught my eye whilst flicking through an old British Chess Magazine.

k1K5/p7/p7/8/8/p7/7b/6B1 b - - 0 ...

Knight Sac, Rook Sac and Queen Mates


no title

what

A position from a Birmingham League match....that is Birmingham in the U.K.
I’ve never been to the U.S.A. Birmingham but I have been to the UK Birmingham.
I’ve also been to Boston to see the Boston Barracudas speedway team. I have
no idea if the U.S.A. Boston has a speedway team. I have never been there.
I’ve been to York many times but never New York. I really must get out more...

Are Chess Players Geeks. (Pins and Things)


no title

From an Archie at Riverdale comic. Note how chess players
are always portrayed in comics as glasses wearing geeky types.
I’ve no idea where they get that idea from. We are not geeks!

no title

My impersonation of Endgame Ernie...

The Goring Gambit


no title

The original I saw in a magazine was this

no title

green pawns

Did you spot my, er, deliberate error last week. I used the wrong diagram for the puzzle. ...

Black Plays 8...Qxf2 Mate in a GM game.


no title

This weeks study is by Sam Loyd. That name always ensures you are in for a treat.

8/2R1N3/3k4/2N1R3/8/8/7K/8 w - - 0 1
White to play and mate in four moves.

{imgblock=/imgu/blog/1/b4u437199-1567529784.png}solution{/imgblock...

The Spencer-Brown Trap


CSM

Me having a New Year pint and few games of Blitz.

And yes I dyed my hair blue for the festivities.
And here is a picture of football player’s arm.

{imgblock=/imgu/blog/1/b4u437199-1704309348.png}arm{/imgblock...

Hints on How to Write a Chess Blog

Me

I’ve been told I look like Eddie Deezen from the 1941 movie.
How to Write a Red Hot Pawn Blog (part 1)
One of the books which I often dip into for an idea is this;

wonders

Printed in 1974 Chernev offers a nice collection of odd and curious chess facts.
When I see something that Chernev may have missed or has happened after 197...

The 2023 Red Hot Pawn Christmas Quiz


Title

Hi. Yes it is that time of year when I treat you all to one of my special
and eagerly looked forward to ‘Christmas Quizzes’ so let us start with’

What Christmas Carol is this?
Carlsen

Noel...Noel.....Noel...No-el.....

An Englishman, an Irishman and The Benko.


Hi This week we look at the Benko

no title

And next week we look at the Alekhine.

no title

Russ I cannot be bothered looking at The Benko. I don’t play it...

The Queen's Gambit and the Isle of Man


I share my medical condition, CBCB (Compulsive Buying of Chess Books)
with many other people but I think I have reached A+1 status and consider
myself a hopeless case beyond care or redemption. See my latest acquisitions.

Books

Two copies of a book I already have, this is copies II and III.
One of the books is in Polish! I cannot understand a word of it....

David, Jovanka (and me) Isle of Man Chess.


We take a brief look at the 2023 Fide Grand Prix currently taking place on the
Isle of Man The top two places will each get a seat in the 2024 candidates.
David Howell and Jovanka Houska are commentating on the event for chess24.

no title

10 minutes later. ...

My Chess Wrist Watch


no title

I’ve invented a chess watch. Numbers one to twelve are the first twelve
world champions. Steinitz (1) to Karpov (12) these are the hours markers.
The sixty squares a1 to e8 are the minute markers. So if your watch displays.

no title

It is 12:15 The 12th world champion and 15th square on the chessboard...

Diddled by Dawson and 2 Million Chess Moves.


Ken Reid (1919–1987) was a brilliant comic artist. In the 1970’s he had the
back page of ‘Shiver & Shake!’ (a good name for chess magazine that) all
to himself and did a full page drawing on various themes. Here he does Chess.

no title

His most famous creations were Roger the Dodger, Jonah and of course Face Ache.
Face Ache’s skill was scrunging his face and body into any shape he wished to...

Chess in a T.V. Advert


Title here

I had a real corny caption ready but I’ll take pity on you lot and leave it out.
green pawns

Recently I saw this position in a TV advert for a financial firm.
8/8/8/8/1NB5/2r5/2KN4/k7 w - - 0 1
After 1.Kxc3 it is stalemate and if 1.Kd1 Rxc4 and the two Knight cannot force
a mate. So I decided to use the position to try and create a two Knight Helpmate...

Birth of a Chess Pitfall.


A truly pathetic chess joke No 53

no title

green pawns

no title

(Picture from Edward Winter’s Chess Notes site.) ...

A Ghost Story and Endgame Ernie


no title

And this is me on lounging on the beach reading a CHESS magazine.

no title

Inside the magazine on the puzzle page was this one.

Le Tuan Minh - D. Paravyan, Internet Blitz 2023 (White to play...

Poor Pawns and Rooks on the Rocks.


poor pawn

Hastings1

I happened to be reading ‘The Delights of Chess’ which is the follow up book
to ‘Adventure in Chess’ both by Assiac the apt pen name of Heinrich Fraenkel
1897-1986 Assiac is ‘Caissa’ in reverse. both books are a mine of rich treasure.

Within the ‘Delights’ book I found this study by Emanuel Lasker...

Rooks and Bishops and Strange Mates


I was very disappointed that CHESS magazine did not do a Chess World
Cup pull out wall chart so we could all follow our favourite players progress.

Undeterred when it got down to the last 16 and much to the annoyance of my neighbours
I painted my own progress chart on a wall that is just across the road from where I live.

{imgblock=/imgu/blog/1/b4u437199-1692769555.png}no title{/imgblock...

Linking Chess with Historical Places (No. 63 in the series.)

Title here

Here I am playing chess on a mobile outside the house where
Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone was born.
He is not to be confused with Alexander the Great or any other
famous Alexander like Alexander Archipelago or Alekhine...

Bits of The British and The World Cup


There it is...

rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1
Stare at that unspoilt wonderland where roam wizards, witches, pixies and goblins,
fabulous unicorns, foul smelling creatures of the night, wise old snakes, oak trees,
golden meadows, sparking rivers, dark dank caves and treasure...lots of treasure. ...

Hey Look, There is a Free Rook.


no title

green pawns

Whilst going though ‘Endgame Studies’ by Hans Bouwmeester

no title

I came across this ‘easy to solve position.’ by N.G. Grigoriev.
‘and easy’ was my first impression. It looks like child’s play...

Philidor at the Opera (not Morphy)


A bust of Francois-Andre ‘just call me Andy’ Philidor (1726-1795)

no title

It’s on the facade at the Opera Garnier in Paris.

A cartoon I knocked up after seeing a similar idea
with Masons shaking hands before a tennis match...

Knights Galore


I was at Linlithgow Palace to watch a mock medieval jousting tournament.
Good day out. Here I am with one of the Knights who let me wear his hat.

no title

(It’s a helmet not a hat...but this is good keep it going...Russ)

Me with a chess at a window seat in Linlithgow Palace...

Queen Sacs, Pawn Promotions and Pennan


I completed Quest No.34 a few days ago.

no title

Me at the remote Scottish village of Pennan. I’m outside
the famous red telephone box used in the film ‘Local Hero.’

{imgblock=/imgu/blog/1/b4u437199-1688115330.png}no title{/imgblock...

I took my pocket chess set to the seaside to study my pawn endings.

no title

I was hoping some beach babes would happen along and find me cool.
Alas all l attracted was a few curious seagulls and a stray dog that pee’d
on one of the Kings. Then the tide came in and washed the whole lot away.
{imgblock=/imgu/blog/1/b4u437199-1490275699.png}green pawns{/imgblock...

Geller v Golombek and the Joint Brilliancy Prize.


This is me studying my King and Pawn endings in bed.
no title

green pawns

Three puzzles for you this week all with a similar theme.
No need for a clue. You will get the idea very s’ooo’n.

R. Mamedov - D. Navara, Romanian Grand Prix Chess.com 202...

The Birth (or berth) of a Variation.


no title

no title

no title

Just one puzzle to solve this week. It tripped me up when I first tried it.

A. Korobov - A. Volokitin, Ukraine 2001
3r1r1k/p3q2p/1pRRQ1p1/4p3/1P2P3/P4Pp1/6P1/4bBBK b - - 0 30...

The Q.G.A. and Chess Wizardy


no title

no title

I took it from the cover of this book.

no title

It is White to play and win. I’ll take you though it. ...

    If you would like to to contribute to a blog here on Red Hot Pawn Chess then please send feedback and outline your ideas.

Cookies help us deliver our Services. By using our Services or clicking I agree, you agree to our use of cookies. Learn More.I Agree