tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20194378913083865072012-02-17T02:13:38.036+01:00Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.comBlogger241100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-21757479056829224692011-06-11T13:06:00.000+02:002011-06-11T13:06:12.339+02:00

A long time since last update and will probably take a similar amount of time until the next... I've got some ideas for a novel or three but don't seem able to get started. I recently got side-tracked into a chesspub discussion on the Hanstein gambit with 8.Qa4, and at the moment Shirov is in town at the Sigeman tournament... Anyway, the other day Bob Dylan celebrated his 70th birthday so here's

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-79813492812762721572011-01-31T17:44:00.000+01:002011-01-31T17:44:22.035+01:00

At the moment I've more or less taken a sabbatical from chess. But the other day I found a recent movie I really liked, so it will have to do as topic for a blog entry... The film in question is Crazy Heart starring Jeff Bridges as an ageing country singer driving around Texas and New Mexico for small gigs at pubs and bowling alleys. It sounds like something we've seen before, but this one does

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-25536733522616051702010-12-31T18:37:00.000+01:002010-12-31T18:37:34.256+01:00

Let's hope 2011 will be a good year in every way! :) Here's something to listen to around 12 pm tonight! One of the best guitar solos I've heard, and it even gets better for every time you hear it. Here's the same solo, but with a different video. It's a bit funny when a blue faced Mel Gibson comes charging, but otherwise it's a nice collage.

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-10953664649961386832010-12-31T18:20:00.001+01:002010-12-31T18:29:25.162+01:00

The week end before Christmas (i.e. usually around the 17th-19th of December) is Malmö Open time. This is the only bigger tournament around here that is still being held - unless you count the Sigeman Tournament and the usual invited GMs battling it out. But chess is a bit like sex, it doesn't really matter how bad you are at it, it's still more enjoyable partaking than merely observing... Malmö

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-54191365340664112912010-12-24T14:16:00.002+01:002011-12-18T11:16:46.193+01:00

In a few days, I'll be back with some chess positions from my games in Malmö Open 17-19/12, including a KG against Hector. Until then, here's some "traditional" Swedish Christmas Songs! :)

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-71719082167286200222010-12-23T22:37:00.004+01:002011-03-02T20:59:39.909+01:00

It seems that Everyman Chess has the lead among chess publishers at the moment. They certainly publish a lot of new books these days. Some rubbish, some acceptable and some really good. Here's a few links to books I've bought for myself, and hence I can be brutally honest. :) Mastering Chess Strategy by Johan Hellsten This is a strategy book I really like, after just a day of reading! The

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-45520201053618744572010-11-23T13:52:00.000+01:002010-11-23T13:52:35.043+01:00

I've commented one of my corr games for Mike Donnelly's site - one of four games he offers in this month's update. I originally commented the game in Swedish for SSKK-bulletinen, but the web turned out to be the quicker media. So, a spoiler alert for any Swedish readers who are also corrplayers - if this blog has any...?! http://chesspagesofmikedonnelly.co.uk/

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-8421571920762013632010-11-22T18:22:00.001+01:002010-11-22T18:50:09.567+01:00

Today's "deep thought", in chess as in many other things, it's important to pause to understand. A pause can even be the difference of life and death as in the old example "Execute, not pardoned." vs "Execute not, pardoned.". In chess, especially nowadays, it's easy to end up in front of the computer clicking thru games at a rushed tempo in preparation for a game later in the evening or next day

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-62486806000047154122010-11-17T19:45:00.001+01:002010-11-22T23:27:03.790+01:00

On youtube, the user bumblebee1607 has posted some filmed games from the current Blitz World Championship - and it's hard to stop watching once the games start! So, maybe this is the future of Chess? Surely even Joe Average can appreciate the suspense and tension of watching a good blitz game? And with a 2 seconds bonus per move, it never reaches the complete Chaos that ensues in club

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-47150247291609343342010-11-12T12:39:00.002+01:002010-12-30T21:21:54.139+01:00

A while back I saw this book mentioned by John Cox in one of his works, probably in Starting Out the Alekhine  and it sounded interesting with a small strategic guide book, especially if it was mentioning stuff like: "some pawn structures in the opening can only harbour a certain amount of pieces, so in this structure Black needs to play Bc8-g4 and exchange it for Nf3 or Be2." (a rough quote from

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-46578456950343162522010-11-10T12:37:00.001+01:002010-11-10T12:38:10.196+01:00

Last night I went down to my chess club to watch how the Club Championship was going. It's too weak for me to bother participating, as there are only two players over 2200 and most of the others are between 1600-1900. It so happened that the two 2200s were already playing each other despite three rounds remaining. Anyhow, they reached an interesting position towards the endless time trouble (90

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-27417158801670395102010-11-01T16:29:00.003+01:002010-12-30T21:22:38.522+01:00

 Just in case I'm not the only one to have missed this: Michael A. Jensen has published a two part article on the Quaade (3.Nf3 g5 4.Nc3) though I've heard the articles use another move order 3.Nf3 d6 4.Nc3 g5, in New in Chess Yearbooks 93 & 95. Here's a double link to the BookDepository, which is probably the best place to get them. YB 93 and 95 - I haven't decided yet if I'll buy them myself,

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-67153194098055043852010-10-31T12:11:00.001+01:002010-11-01T16:48:46.256+01:00

Got myself yet another book on the Dutch Defence a few days ago, the recently published: Play the Dutch - Neil McDonald and alas I was immediately disappointed. :( Follow the link to a chesspub thread on the book, where I tell you why. Here's another link, for those who like chess problems, especially if they look like they might actually happen in a game. Chess problems by Vitold Yakimchik

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-82034266514011324952010-10-11T14:37:00.001+02:002010-10-11T19:43:30.366+02:00

Yesterday, I happened to come across some analysis on a new idea in the KG. It was extra unexpected as it was posted at the Chesspub forum in a thread about a new book on the Petroff, due next year. Here's a direct link to the analysis in the thread (For easy viewing, you can copy the analysis, paste it into Notes and save it as PGN). A closer inspection revealed that the new idea had already

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-15985424166585506632010-10-09T15:28:00.000+02:002010-10-09T15:28:27.979+02:00

I've been waiting for my last opponent to resign for a couple of months now, after which I thought I'd get around to comment the rest of the games. But by now I've kind of lost interest in the project. Too many of the opponents seem to fail the "Turing Test" by dragging out hopeless positions way too long. Still, most of the games were actually quite interesting so I guess I shouldn't complain.

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-86236251790789823622010-10-06T15:39:00.000+02:002010-10-06T15:39:29.396+02:00

Here's a small way to contribute something to saving our world. Just change your default search engine to Ecosia, and every search you do will save two square metres of rainforest. Ecosia.org It may not sound like much, but the power of habit always has a big impact, over time. Just imagine how many times you search for something on the net every day, week, month, year - and if you spread the

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-65446083793158620372010-09-14T12:45:00.000+02:002010-09-14T12:45:18.428+02:00

Simon Williams commenting on a recent KG-game of his. http://www.gingergm.com/2010/09/13/a-typical-kings-gambit/

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-85431793096170067262010-08-25T14:56:00.000+02:002010-08-25T14:56:18.624+02:00

1.e4 c6 2.b3 d5 3.Bb2 dxe4 4.Ne2!? Bf5 5.Ng3 e6 This is Schandorff's recommendation in The Caro-Kann. 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Qe2 A) Schandorff also mentions a slight deviation on Black's part: 7...Nbd7 which does look sensible.   8.Ngxe4 Be7 Diagram  Reprintsev-Dreev, Internet blitz 2003. And now, instead of "castling into it" with 0-0-0 as in the game, I think white should develop with g3, Bg2 and

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-692836021218929652010-08-18T15:22:00.002+02:002010-08-22T13:24:06.056+02:00

1.e4 c6 2.b3 d5 3.Bb2 dxe4 4.Ne2 Nd7 5.Ng3 Ngf6 6.Nc3 Nc5 7.Qe2 Bg4 8.Qe3 e6!? Diagram This is a suggestion from a reader of my first post on 2.b3 vs CK. 9.h3 Bf5 A) 10.Nxf5 exf5 11.g4!? f4! (11...Qd7 12.0-0-0 0-0-0 =; 11...fxg4?! 12.hxg4 Nxg4 13.Qe2 Nf6 14.0-0-0 Be7 15.Bh3 Qd6 16.Rde1 +=) 12.Qxf4 Ne6 13.Qg3 (13.Qe3 Bc5 14.Qg3 Bd6) 13...Bd6 14.Qg2 Nf4 15.Qg1 Diagram This is = (0.00)

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-83451136041579419322010-08-16T13:40:00.002+02:002010-08-22T13:24:35.322+02:00

Over the years since I wrote The Fascinating Reti Gambit in 2006, people have occasionally asked me if the same set-up can be used against other openings than the French Defence. Especially the Scandinavian and Caro-Kann have been suggested. I don't know if this is because they've fallen in love with having a bishop on b2 or if they're not interested in booking up against openings they seldom

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-18406708715807975012010-08-10T17:18:00.004+02:002010-10-05T11:07:46.826+02:00

From the database I'd gathered that my opponent was a careful and solid "d4-specials" guy - especially Colle and London. So, with him suddenly opening with 1.c4 for the first time, I could presume one of two things: either he's recently become interested in the English Opening or more likely, he had something prepared for my usual 1...f5. Before the tournament I had decided to try the Nimzo

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-32338619043059426822010-08-04T22:02:00.007+02:002011-01-01T16:28:42.984+01:00

Just thought I should mention a really good site for buying books, www.bookdepository.com - it actually offers free shipment to most countries, and it works! And still the prices are usually lower than what you'd pay in a bookstore - if the store has the book you're looking for, which is far from certain nowadays, as most stores only stock up on celebrity cookbooks and biographies of people under

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-27898301299384032912010-08-04T01:49:00.003+02:002010-08-22T13:25:51.656+02:00

Well, obviously I'm a Star Trek fan, and corrplayers are in some ways quite similar to the Borg. Come to think of it, many of the species encountered in Star Trek could actually be descriptions of different groups of chess players or chess styles. Lets see: Borg - relies on databases, technology and collected experience assimilated from others. Motto: "Will adapt" Hirogen - see others as 'prey

Thomas Johanssonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09493908627792362872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2019437891308386507.post-91961615158744219182010-08-04T00:53:00.003+02:002010-08-22T13:26:14.832+02:00

Howdy, for those stumbling by accidentally this is the blog of Thomas Johansson. A common name in Sweden,  I'm the one who's written three chess books over the years: The King's Gambit for the Creative Aggressor (Kania 1998), The Fascinating King's Gambit (Trafford 2005) and The Fascinating Reti Gambit (Lulu 2006). In January 2010, I tried correspondence chess for the first time, and

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