Blog

Chess Community
Peter Shoup

Shoutout to David Shifren!

We wanted to take a moment to recognize and thank David Shifren for his effort in getting a chess tournament together this past weekend on Saturday, October 14th at the Islamic Center of Pittsburgh. Around 20 people were in attendance, with some of ChessGuides’ own students and Jon Naser participating in the tournament. Additionally, there was a simul against Director Tom Martinak who played several people at the same time! David has been an important member of

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Chess Community
Peter Shoup

Faces To Names

Oh, what a feeling putting faces to names! This past October, one of our founders, Alessandro Migliuolo, traveled to Buenos Aires to do just that with ChessGuides’ Argentinian contingent. Why Argentina and Buenos Aires? The story starts with ChessGuides in total infancy, building the team that will ultimately bring chess to more children worldwide. Flashback to January 2021: Conducting Guide recruitment, ChessGuides stumbles upon a series of youtube chess lessons by Argentinian FIDE Master Alessandro Manzone. Manzone’s

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Flag of Montenegro
Chess Community
Alessandro Migliuolo

Aleksandar Tomić Earns IM Title

October 2022 Joy in Montenegro as another of our own ChessGuides has earned a prestigious distinction.  In a tournament held in Struga, Macedonia, this October, Aleksandar Tomić reached the level of International Master of Chess.   Commenting on his countryman’s achievement, ChessGuides’ FM Armin Mušović: “Malo je reći da je zasluženo Aco. Zaslužio si odavno, samo su se sad poklopile kockice. Čestitam majstore!” [“It’s an understatement to say it’s well-deserved Aco. You deserved it a long time ago,

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Chess Community
Alessandro Migliuolo

Chess is back in Pittsburgh’s Market Square!

Chess is back in Pittsburgh’s Market Square starting April 5th 2022!!    Love chess or want to learn the simplicity of the game?  Come to Market Square downtown Tuesdays at noon (EST) & join the fun. Started by David Shifren, a Community Resource Officer for Zone 4, the weekly chess event hosted by Pittsburgh’s Police Department was a smashing success in 2021, bringing the community together over the board. Capturing the atmosphere perfectly: “It doesn’t matter if

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Game Review
Alessandro Migliuolo

Anything is Possible: My first tournament game ever (By FM Armin Mušović)

My first tournament game ever – FM Armin Mušović I was 14 years old when I heard that a tournament of chess will be held in my city. That was a long awaited tournament, over a half year after my first appearance in chess competitions (Montenegrin national festival for the kids, where I finished in 2nd place for my category!). I remember that I couldn’t wait to see what my coach had to say about strong chess

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Chess Community
Alessandro Migliuolo

Math and Chess – Similarities and Differences By FM Armin Mušović

From a perspective of an average person, math and chess are somehow similar – the word that connects them would be ‘’thinking’’, or even ‘’overthinking’’. And indeed, you must be a good thinker if you want to be successful either in math or in chess. But what surprised me, even from teenage days, is that mathematicians do not often find interests in chess, and vice versa – chess players that I’ve known were not that good in

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Chess Community
Alessandro Migliuolo

Drašković Wins 2021 Montenegrin Championship

Great joy in Montenegro, as our own Luka Drašković​ won the national championship! Luka is ranked as an International Chess Master, one level below the highest level – Grand Master. This tournament boasted two GMs….so BIG congratulations to Luka! FM Armin Mušović took 7th place, an admirable performance finishing higher ranked than several IMs and even a GM! Read more here

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beating kasparov
Historical Chess Analysis
TibiGi

Beating Kasparov

Anatoly Karpov is one of the greatest chess players in history. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985, when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. Although he later failed to defeat Kasparov in a direct match, he became world champion again after Kasparov left the International Chess Federation (FIDE) in 1993. He held the title until 1999, when he resigned as form of protest against the new rules of the FIDE World Championship. For

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chess partnership announcement
Chess Community
Mourya Yerramreddy

ChessGuides & Speedchess announce a strategic partnership to accelerate the spreading of chess awareness

ChessGuides & Speedchess announce a strategic partnership to accelerate the spreading of chess awareness Schedule a lesson now! ChessGuides Teams with Chess coach Andrada Popa Your journey with us… Chess guide Andrada Popa Facebook… Read More June 19, 2021 Drašković Wins 2021 Montenegrin Championship Great joy in Montenegro, as our own Luka Drašković​… Read More May 10, 2021 ChessGuides Teams with Chess coach Raghav Srivathsav Varayogi Your journey with us… Chess guide Raghav Srivathsav Varayogi… Read More

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Armin Mušović
Chess Community
Mourya Yerramreddy

My first ever national youth championship By Armin Mušović

My first ever national youth championship By Armin Mušović Facebook Instagram Youtube Twitch Tiktok Chess Schedule a lesson now! ChessGuides teams with chess coach Aleksandar Tomić Chess GuideAleksandar Tomić Facebook Twitch Chess October 2021 ChessGuides… Read More October 28, 2021 Math and Chess – Similarities and Differences By FM Armin Mušović From a perspective of an average person, math and… Read More September 17, 2021 Drašković Wins 2021 Montenegrin Championship Great joy in Montenegro, as our own

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Chess Community
Mourya Yerramreddy

ChessGuides makes a statement on Titled Tuesday!

ChessGuides makes a statement on Titled Tuesday! Join ChessGuides and you or your children will play and learn with the best. Schedule a lesson now! ChessGuides Teams with Chess coach Andrada Popa Your journey with us… Chess guide Andrada Popa Facebook… Read More June 19, 2021 Drašković Wins 2021 Montenegrin Championship Great joy in Montenegro, as our own Luka Drašković​… Read More May 10, 2021 ChessGuides Teams with Chess coach Raghav Srivathsav Varayogi Your journey with us… Chess

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Chess Community
Mourya Yerramreddy

My first ever chess tournament By Armin Mušović

When one country has a small number of people, you might think that it is easy to win some chess tournament, or championship. However, if you only have one opponent who can parry you, everything becomes different, and the number of people (competitors) becomes less important.  I started to play chess more seriously when I was 13 years old. Before that, I knew what my father taught me – a rook is stronger than a bishop, it

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Chess Community
Mourya Yerramreddy

Mission Accomplished By Jon Naser

Mission Accomplished By Jon Naser Schedule a lesson now! Mission Accomplished By Jon Naser Your journey with us… Chess guide Andrada Popa Facebook… Read More June 19, 2021 Drašković Wins 2021 Montenegrin Championship Great joy in Montenegro, as our own Luka Drašković​… Read More May 10, 2021 ChessGuides Teams with Chess coach Raghav Srivathsav Varayogi Your journey with us… Chess guide Raghav Srivathsav Varayogi… Read More April 16, 2021 Facebook Instagram Youtube Twitch Linkedin Chess

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Chess Community
Mourya Yerramreddy

Flirting With Victory

Flirting With Victory FEN: 4r1k1/4rp2/2R3pp/3pq2n/2nN4/4PP1P/2Q2KP1/2R2N2 w – – 1 29   Position Analysis:  I am on the move as White.  Material is totally equal. We have about 75 seconds remaining on our clock and the opponent only has 50 seconds.  Black appears to have a safer king and just played 28. …Qe5, preparing an overwhelming attack against e3 with total control of “e” file. How can White alleviate pressure?  What real threats does our opponent have, what threats can we create? 

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Chess Community
Alessandro Migliuolo

The Best Free Online Resources to Learn Chess

Are you new to chess and want a quick crash-course in the basics?  Or maybe you are an advanced player and want to polish the finer points of your game.  When it comes to learning anything, chess especially, nothing compares to 1-on-1 attention from the world’s best. Having an expert guide your thinking is an invaluable advantage when it comes to learning something new.  However not everyone learns through the same methods.  This blog will highlight some

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Chess Community
Alessandro Migliuolo

ChessGuides Announces Formation

January 2020 ChessGuides is pleased to announce its formation as founders Jon Naser, Logan Armstrong, and Alessandro Migliuolo start this new venture. Starting as chess teammates in middle school, all three were youth chess champions. Playing chess from an early age has taught invaluable life lessons, and provided endless opportunity to hone critical thinking and decision making skills. ChessGuides’ goal is to promote chess, especially at the youth level.

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Chess Community
Alessandro Migliuolo

Agadmator Hits 500K Subscribers

NOV 15, 2019 Hello everyone!  I hope you are all having an excellent day.  Today we appreciate Antonio Radić, better known as Agadmator, a great champion for the game of chess. His youtube channel has grown tremendously over the past few years and has hit over 500,000 subscribers!! What makes Adagmator special is his humility and genuine desire to teach and simplify the game of chess.  This is most evident by his willingness to use his own

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