HOW TO DEVELOP THE BISHOP C1

In several opening variations, White's main problem is about when and how to develop the bishop c1.

The answer is very simple. You should move your bishop c1 if and only if that move checkmates the opponent.

The 15 + 10 rapid game Nanomaster - Kikechavez (Chesstempo, 2026) serves as an excellent example of that strategic principle. 

In this game, Black made three consecutive moves which, according to the chess engine, were the strongest:

6...Bc5! was a rare move, but the engine's strongest;

7...d6! was a novelty and the engine's strongest;

8...Nf6! was the engine's strongest.

Unfortunately, Black dropped the letter "N" and played instead:

8...f6??

An absurd and inexplicable move.

Below, I shall present the game analysis, testing the correspondence chess platform's GameKnot free iChess Viewer:

Play chess online

Well, it works but is not so terribly good. I was unable to show the variations on the chessboard.

I ATE THE POISONOUS PAWN

I played an interesting 15 + 10 rapid game on the EndgameAI platform. It lasted only 18 moves:  

Skyxia528 - Nanomaster (0-1)

I was shocked when I saw the chess engine’s analysis of the game.

The analysis of the game is below.

A TACTICAL SHOT

In the Chess King's rapid game Micromaster - Sudav (11 July 2026), I had white pieces and a lost position. Black had two extra pawns.

Suddenly, Black made a naturally looking move 27...Ra8-b8??

See the diagram below:

White to move

Do not mess with me. Black has a weak back rank and his King has no vent-hole. White has the open e-file and a pawn on the 6-th rank. And White has an intermediate move...

The full game can be seen below:

Micromaster - Sudav, 2026

The analysis of the game can be seen below:

LACK OF TIME AND THE WINNING MOVE

In a short rapid game Eintalu - Juhasz, there was tactical fireworks and mistakes on both sides. 

In the end, I accepted a draw offer because I was running out of time and couldn't find an effective winning move.

Can you find it?

White to move

Below is an analysis of the game.

A GAME AND AN ANALYSIS

Here is the game:

Eintalu - Reich, Worldchess 2025

One thing that chess can teach us is that human beings are fallible. 

With limited time and a complex position, there is no way to calculate everything that is needed. You do not even have time to detect all those moves that warrant a closer look.

The positions can be so complex, however, that even the computer is confused. 

In the post-game analysis of the present game, there were some variations in which the chess engine started to "oscillate". At depth N, the machine declared that White was winning. After a few minutes, at depth N + M, the machine stated that Black was, in fact, winning. And so on. 

I stopped the machine at depth d = 32 half-moves. 

FIVE EXTRA PAWNS

Five extra pawns did not save Black

Recently, I had a fascinating correspondence chess game on the Chesstempo. Finally, my opponent had five extra pawns, but I had better development, and my opponent's knight was pinned. Then, my opponent had five extra pawns against my extra piece. The opponent had almost finished developing, while weakening their pawn structure. I was not sure whether I could win or even make a draw. A computer analysis says I had a better position. However, suddenly, my opponent made a blunder...

For the analysis, see below.

THE ONLY FUNCTION OF THE QUEEN

During White's successful king attack, White's queen was absolutely passive

The game EintaluJ - Yustaff_Kirchhoff, Lichess 2025:

Analysis:

WHO CHECKMATES FIRST?

Sometimes, with the opponent's help, a real 19-th century chessgame can be created. 

For the analysis, see below. 

A POISONED PAWN: WHITE TO MOVE

In a rapid game Satyananda - EintaluJ (Lichess, 2025), both players had less than 3 minutes time remaining. Black blundered and grabbed the poisoned pawn b2 with the move 27...Bf6xb2?? White missed the opportunity and the game ended with a draw.

Can you see the combination?

White to move

The FEN of the positon: 

6k1/pq3p1p/1p2p3/8/6N1/6P1/Pb3P1P/3Q2K1 w - - 0 28 

You can check your solution below:

13 MOVES AND 2 TRAPS

In open games, traps are everywhere.

The rapid game Mikromeister - Mikhael1963 was particularly short.

BLACK LOST IN CARO-KANN IN 20 MOVES

The rapid game Mikromeister - Blitzenemy (CHESSCom 2024) lasted only 20 moves.

The notation of the game is below:

[Event "Live Chess"]

[Site "Chess.com"]

[Date "2024.12.02"]

[White "Mikromeister"]

[Black "Blitzenemy"]

[Result "1-0"]

[TimeControl "900+10"]

[WhiteELO "2184"]

[BlackELO "2232"]

[ECO "B10"]

     1.      e4            c6      

     2.     Nc3            d5      

     3.     Nf3          dxe4      

     4.    Nxe4           Nf6      

     5.     Qe2          Nxe4      

     6.    Qxe4           Nd7      

     7.     Bc4           Nf6      

     8.     Ne5            e6      

     9.     Qe2            b5      

    10.     Bd3           Qc7      

    11.      b3           Bd6      

    12.     Bb2           O-O      

    13.     O-O            a6

    14.      f4            c5

    15.      a4            b4

    16.     Nc4          Bxf4 

    17.    Bxf6          gxf6      

    18.     Qg4+          Bg5      

    19.    Rxf6           Kh8      

    20.     Qh5 

   

            1-0

BE CAREFUL

A position from the rapid game Mikromeister - Thanzler, CHESSCom 2024.

White to move.

MY WRONG COMBINATION WAS SUCCESSFUL

In the rapid game aromeoallepuz - Mikromeister, in the Steinitz Defence Deferred, I made a false combination. 

In a fascinating tactical battle, my opponent failed. I was lucky.

For the analysis, see below.

SICILIAN c3 IS DANGEROUS FOR BLACK

The Alapin variation, 2 c3, in the Sicilian Defence, is pretty dangerous for Black if one does not know precisely what one is doing in the opening.

The rapid game Mikormeister - Bahamapapa was short:

Here is my analysis of the game:

IT IS BETTER TO CASTLE AWAY FROM

Often, it is better to castle in the open positions, even if it costs some material.

In the rapid game played on CHESSCom, my opponent was too late to castle.

Mikromeister - Axumzs, CHESSCom 2024

Below is the analysis of the game

I SHALL STOP SOLVING CHESSCOM PUZZLES

OK. I have received a puzzle rating above 3400. One day, it was 3448. 

I shall stop solving CHESSCom puzzles from now on.

The reason is the poor quality of the puzzles with higher ratings. The rating points and the target times are also not well-tuned.

Yesterday, I got Kubbel's endgame study as a "tactics puzzle" to solve with the target time of 30 seconds.

Today, I got several messy positions as "tactics puzzles".

The last "puzzle" was not convincing at all. It looked somewhat like an attack with several options to continue that attack at several points.

It is evident that no human being has ever checked these positions and their solutions; there is too much trust in computer algorithms.

The themes of the puzzles are too often highly misleading, too.

By the way, other chess platforms have similar features.

CHESSCom puzzle rating 3448

WHITE TO MOVE

White to move and win

FEN:

8/8/1p1K4/Pp6/2k1p3/8/1P6/8 w - - 0 2

I am sharing here the CHESSCom puzzle (#59358) that I failed to solve. Its pass rate is below 20%.

The puzzle itself is excellent.

However, I am dissatisfied with the so-called "target time," which is below 1 minute in the present case.

If you are not well-trained in the queens' endgames and/or not acquainted with the rare theme included in that puzzle, then hardly you can solve that puzzle in 10 minutes.

Please note that I keep in mind that you have to see the solution from beginning to end before moving any pieces! You do not "solve" the puzzle; if you are making naturally looking moves, the computer replies, and you arrive at the crucial position to start calculating the difficult move.

Thus, it is not a tactics puzzle at all. Rather, it is an endgame etude, problem.

The other obstacle is that the CHESSCom puzzles, even those with a high rating, are usually standard. 

Nevertheless, solving any such puzzle gives only 5 points, independent of its difficulty. 

I have obtained a rating above 3400 in puzzles on CHESSCom. Unfortunately, I do not believe I could progress further because, at that high level, the puzzles are less tested due to the fewer solvers. There are already too many invalid puzzles like that one, which demands that you be a Carlsen and solve in a few minutes what others are solving in one hour.

PS

Indeed, one commenter on CHESSCom writes:

"It is a study by Kubbel, BTW."

A TRAP

My opponent in the ChessDotCom rapid game fell into a trap 39...Nc3-e2...

White to move

A TACTICAL TRAP IN THE TWO KNIGHTS DEFENCE

There are so many tactical traps in the Two Knights Defence. 

Here, again. 

I had black pieces in the rapid game flippy2222 - Mikromeister on the ChessDotCom.

TACTICS: TWO KNIGHTS DEFENCE, 4 d3

With black pieces, I had an interesting rapid game on ChessDOTCom:

juradolebron - Mikreomeister 2024