News & Updates
Are you ready for these two awesomeThursday Chess Deals? They’re only on sale today, April 29, 2010:
Save $5 on Chess Tactics for Scholastic Players Chess Book
Dean Ippolitos 206 page masterpiece madeespecially for scholastic players – on sale today!
Save $60 on 5 Black PVC Chess Boards
Five tournament-size folding boards made of PVC plastic on sale today only at a rock-bottom price!
All About Thursday Chess Deals
Every Thursday you’ll find two great chess deals at www.WholesaleChess.com available only for orders placed online on that Thursday from 12:00 am to 11:59 pm PST. The Thursday Chess Deals change from week to week but the savings are always significant! Thursday Chess Deals are limited to stock on hand and no rain checks or back orders will be allowed. Customers may choose to purchase one or both of the Thursday Chess Deals but will be limited to a maximum of one of each item per Thursday. Orders containing a Thursday Chess Deal are not eligible for any other promotions requiring a promo code or PriceMatches. Thursday Chess Deals are only available for the item listed. No substitutions of product, color, size, etc., will be allowed.
Are you ready for these two awesomeThursday Chess Deals? They’re only on sale today, April 22, 2010:
Save $26 on a Coach Chess Bag
At 11 x 13 x 7, this sturdy bag is made to last. The handle and carrying strap make travel easy.
Save $15 on 5 Blue Quality Chess Scorebooks
These 5 spiral-bound scorebooks with cardstock covers will hold 50 games of 100 moves per book.
All About Thursday Chess Deals
Every Thursday you’ll find two great chess deals at www.WholesaleChess.com available only for orders placed online on that Thursday from 12:00 am to 11:59 pm PST. The Thursday Chess Deals change from week to week but the savings are always significant! Thursday Chess Deals are limited to stock on hand and no rain checks or back orders will be allowed. Customers may choose to purchase one or both of the Thursday Chess Deals but will be limited to a maximum of one of each item per Thursday. Orders containing a Thursday Chess Deal are not eligible for any other promotions requiring a promo code or PriceMatches. Thursday Chess Deals are only available for the item listed. No substitutions of product, color, size, etc., will be allowed.
National Master Kayden Troff wrote the following review of Chess Tactics for Beginners:
Chess Tactics for Beginners
Don’t be fooled by the name!! This chess software isn’t just for beginners, but it is great for beginners all the way up to about a 1200 level! It was made by Russian chess coaches, and it is very easy to use. My brothers and I all teach private chess lessons each week and one of the things that we require each one of our students to get is this software. We have them do a certain number of problems from it every day and it really helps!
When my family first bought this software we had to buy it from England because it wasn’t available in the United States and we had to pay a lot more for it than what Wholesale Chess.com sells it for. We have bought a lot of chess software but the thing I really like about this software is that you don’t have to flip to the back of a chess book to see the answer, but you can see it right there.
The Chess Tactics is Great for Beginners
The other thing I like is that if you get one wrong move, it gives you the chance to correct that move instead of getting the whole problem wrong. With a book, you have already seen the answer so you have no way to fix your mistake on your own. The software will let you try two or three times before you get a “frowny face” for a wrong answer and you will still get points towards the finishing the problem if you guess it right on your second or third try. This is really great for beginner and intermediate students who may make lots of mistakes and get frustrated with the problem. They don’t need to feel like they have no success. If you get lots of chances then it suddenly makes things seem not so hard.
Chess Tactics Progresses with You
Another great thing about this software is that it starts out with easy “mate in one” problems and then progresses to “win a Knight in one move” problems and “win a Bishop in one move” and then a Rook and a Queen until you get to “mate in two” problems and “win a Knight in two moves” etc. By the time that you actually get into it you don’t even realize that the problems are getting a little harder each time because it starts easy and builds, and before you know it you’re to the end of the 1200 or 1300 problems and you have learned a ton! Some people say that all you learn is pattern recognition when you solve puzzles and this may be true in a way, but to look for it more in your games and you see it more because you are used to seeing it.
Chess Tactics Measures Your Performance
One of the other things I like about this software is that it gives you an ELO rating on the strength of your performance. This helps to see how you are improving and getting better. Also, you can have lots of different usernames so everyone in your family can have their own username with their own rating and you can even have more than one username of your own so that you can compare how you did vs. how you are doing now on the same problems.
Chess Tactics has Varying Playing Modes
When you are really ready to take it up a notch then you can switch from practice mode to test mode. In test mode you can specify a range of problems that you want to “test on”. So if you are feeling particularly smart then you can set the range for the “mate in three” problems or the three move problems to win material. And then the test mode will throw these problems at you at random and you’ll have to figure out whether it is a mate problem or a win material problem. You can also say how many problems that you want to test on. So if you only want to do ten problems then you set your test at ten. If you want to do 50 or 100 then you get to choose. Another cool feature is that you can specify the test for the chess puzzles that you missed and it will put these together and throw them at you again.
Chess Tactics Saves Current Games
When you just do tons of problems in practice mode the software will track which problems you have completed and you can shut it off and it will resume where you left off the next day. It also tracks your percentage of correct answers and this is important so that you can see if you are getting the correct answer 80% of the time or 90% of the time or 50% of the time.
How I Use Chess Tactics for Training
So let me tell you a couple of ways that we use it as a trainer to give you some ideas of how it will strengthen your chess. One of my first chess teachers had my brothers and I just work through all 1300 problems and track how long it took us to do it. So for example: we might do fifty problems a day and it might take 60 days for us to complete the entire thing. Then he would have us go through it again and expect us to be able to do the entire thing in half of the time (or 30 days). We would then go through it again and try to cut it down to 15 days and by this time we would be tracking our progress in hours for those 15 days. My older brother Jeremy and I would race each other on two computers as we would try to cut our time and we were able to cut our time to 8 hours for the entire thing with a 90% accuracy rate.
My dad would also track my progress in another way. I would create a new user id each morning and then test out on a certain section of 50 problems. I would always try to get 85-90% on my test and my dad would check up on this when he got home from work. This allowed me to focus on specific tactics and to really work hard to get a good percentage each day.
All in all, I highly recommend this software!!
NM Kayden Troff
You can buy Chess Tactics for Beginners at Wholesale Chess!
Are you ready for these two awesomeThursday Chess Deals? They’re only on sale today, April 15, 2010:
Save $42 on 10 Sets of Basic Chess Pieces
Prepare for the upcoming chess tournaments by adding to your clubs collection of basic chess pieces. Add a nice chess board to these pieces and you’ll have a wonderful chess set.
Save $28 on a Mini Royal Travel Chess Set
You’ll have a blast with this beautiful 12 wood folding board with a 2 1/2 King – on sale today only! This chess comes with a nice board a beautiful wood chess pieces.
All About Thursday Chess Deals
Every Thursday you’ll find two great chess deals at www.WholeasaleChess.com available only for orders placed online on that Thursday from 12:00 am to 11:59 pm PST. The Thursday Chess Deals change from week to week but the savings are always significant! Thursday Chess Deals are limited to stock on hand and no rain checks or back orders will be allowed. Customers may choose to purchase one or both of the Thursday Chess Deals but will be limited to a maximum of one of each item per Thursday. Orders containing a Thursday Chess Deal are not eligible for any other promotions requiring a promo code or PriceMatches. Thursday Chess Deals are only available for the item listed. No substitutions of product, color, size, etc., will be allowed.
This article was written by National Master Kayden Troff (sponsored by Wholesale Chess). Kayden Troff is under 14 years old and can be found where this article originated at chess.com.
Now first thing that might cross your mind is… where could you have a chess tournament in a Target store? That is a very good question and I will tell you, but I think I will start at the beginning. I need to go back a little ways and explain a couple of things first. Being a strong chess player in Utah has some challenges. We have some great chess players here, but it is hard to find tournaments with really high rated players. The higher my rating got, the harder it became to play in Utah. Because of this I started traveling a lot.
Both my standard and my blitz ratings are high. I have the highest blitz rating for Under 13 in the country and I am number 2 on the Under 16 list. I started protecting my blitz rating because I didn’t want it to go down. I stopped really playing in Utah all together. There was too much to lose and not very much to gain. I think this is a mistake. I travel to tournaments about once a month. I play in the Open Section. There is a lot of pressure!! By not playing in Utah, that is about the only pressure situation I have. My parents and I decided that I would start playing Blitz tournaments in Utah so I can be in pressure situations, but not risk my standard rating.
So that gets me back to my story. It is Saturday and I am going to a tournament (in Utah). The tournament I am going to is just a local one that they do every Saturday. It is G/29 with a 5 second delay and there are only 3 rounds. This tournament is usually at the Salt Lake Community College in their library. So my dad and I get there and there is a sign on the door that says the library is closed because of the holidays. We don’t know what to do now, so we try to go find a phone. It took us about a half an hour to finally find a phone (my dad doesn’t believe in cell phones). By this time, it was time for the tournament to start. We call my mom and she tells us that, the Treimans (our great friends) saw a sign on the door that said it was at this Target in Fort Union. My dad and I were confused, but the only thing we could think of is that the sign was on the main entrance and we tried to go through the back. On the way there, we are thinking, “Where in the world could we play at Target?” So we got there and started to drive around and look inside the windows to see if we can see where the tournament is.
Just as we passed this window we saw our friends, the Treimans. I got out and went in to what was probably the only spot we could play in Target. It was this place that is open to the public behind the Starbucks in Target. So now that we actually found where the tournament was, we paid the entry fee and it was time to begin. In the first round I got Lauren Treiman, if you have been paying attention then you must know that I have mentioned the Treimans a couple of times (our game is included at the end). During all the games, people would come in and out to eat. One little boy kept talking very loudly asking his mom what we were doing and why everyone was so quiet (except him of course). In the last most intense game for the championship, a dad came in with his two little girls. The youngest was probably two or three. She kept running through the room screaming right next to our game. Pressure situation….guess I got what I was looking for!! Luckily I won the game and took home $32.00 for the day. Not bad!
Which Type of Wood Should I Select for My Chess Pieces?
There are many different varieties of wood available for wood chess pieces at Wholesale Chess. They range from the popular rosewood, to economic sheesham and luxurious ebony. Here’s a brief explanation of each of the main wood types available at Wholesale Chess:
Red Sandalwood
Deeply grained and even more reddish than rosewood, red sandalwood is hard, dense, and ideal for premier wood chess sets. You won’t find this wood often – but it’s worth every penny you’ll pay for it.
Rosewood
The deep, rich brown with reddish grains of the Rosewood makes it among the most elegant of wood types for chess pieces. Gradually becoming increasingly rare, the value and price of rosewood continues to rise each year.
Ebony
One of the most-desired, luxuries types available for standard wood chess pieces. Ebony is a very dense and heavy wood, and when polished can take on a deep black appearance. The value and cost for ebony continues to rise each year. One downside to ebony is their tendency toward cracking and warping due to the extreme density of the pieces.
Ebonized
Be sure to recognize the difference between ebony and ebonized wood chess pieces. Ebony is the real deal – an actual black, valuable, dense wood. Ebonized pieces are a different wood (often boxwood) that has been lacquered or darkened so as to look and feel similar to ebony pieces. Still beautiful and functional, these pieces are more cost effective for the chess player on a limited budget.
Boxwood
Originating from the boxwood tree, this type is the most common among wood chess pieces. The color and grain tends to be limited in variation. The density of the wood lends itself well to the intricate detail demanded by beautiful Knights.
Sheesham
Extremely abundant in India, sheesham wood comes as one of the most economic wood options for your chess pieces. The attractive grain and high density of the wood make it very popular and widely used. One major plus to sheesham pieces is they are less likely to crack as the more expensive ebony and sandalwood pieces.
How do I Care for My Wood Chess Pieces?
Simply put, treat your nice wood chess pieces as you would fine furniture. First, and above all, avoid leaving them in direct sunlight and keep them away from extreme levels of humidity. A nice chess box or bag will help keep the humidity away.
Second, many fine wood chess pieces are finished with a nature wax polish that requires careful attention. Do not use harsh detergents to clean them – the wax doesn’t play well with solvent based cleaners. For a longer, polished look – keep your pieces away from dusty environments and use a clean dry cloth to wipe them clean after use.
Ready for these two great Thursday Chess Deals? They’re only available on April 8, 2010:
Save $17 on the Saitek Pro Game Clock III
You don’t see a deal like this every day! Grab the ever-popular Competition Pro Game Clock III today! Now orders over $25 can also add a free gift to their order at checkout. Add some nice chess pieces and a chess board and you’ll have a wonderful chess set combo.
Save $3 on the Chess 101 Chess Book
A great book for young start-up clubs and players. This Chess Book includes 82 pages of basic chess training for only $4.99!
All About Thursday Chess Deals
Every Thursday you’ll find two great chess deals at www.WholeasaleChess.com available only for orders placed online on that Thursday from 12:00 am to 11:59 pm PST. The Thursday Chess Deals change from week to week but the savings are always significant! Thursday Chess Deals are limited to stock on hand and no rain checks or back orders will be allowed. Customers may choose to purchase one or both of the Thursday Chess Deals but will be limited to a maximum of one of each item per Thursday. Orders containing a Thursday Chess Deal are not eligible for any other promotions requiring a promo code or PriceMatches. Thursday Chess Deals are only available for the item listed. No substitutions of product, color, size, etc., will be allowed.
This article was written by National Master Kayden Troff (sponsored by Wholesale Chess). Kayden Troff is under 14 years old and can be found where this article originated at chess.com.
I played in a tournament this past weekend in California (11 hour drive each way). From the title you can probably tell that it wasn’t a perfect tournament for me. But it was good in the sense that I learned something really important. I learned about… I think you guessed it… FEAR. Great lesson to learn for me, tough, but good.
This tournament was only five rounds. The tournament started out with me playing (IM) Enrico Sevillano. Okay nothing to worry about, I can go out there and try really, really hard to win, and if I don’t nobody expected me to anyway. It was a good game that went about 4 hours. I had 5 seconds left on my <a href=”http:www.wholesalechess.com”>chess clock</a>. As I analyzed it afterward, there was one point that I probably could have drawn (disappointing that I didn’t) but okay.
Next day, I get a forced bye (full point). Ugh! I feel like I am getting punished for not doing something I was expected to do. It was especially hard because we came so far and it was only a 5 round tournament to begin with. But someone had to get it and it just worked out I did. I actually hoped one of the higher rated players would finish fast and would play meSmile (it didn’t happen). So, my mom and I decided to go get lunch and relax at a park. It was snowing that day in Utah so we enjoyed the nice weather of California.
Next round, I know I can’t get the bye again at least, and I figured that I would play the highest rated of the 1-point people, I was right. I got (FM) Joel Banawa, and I wasn’t nervous or anything. It was fun to try my new white opening for the first time in a standard tournament against a 2425 rated player. It also was a good game, I think it also went about 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Got a good night’s rest, ready for the next game. I was feeling okay because even though my only point came from my bye, I had played two high rated players and I felt like I had done pretty well.
The next morning, I got a 2074, Varun Krishnan, who is a good player. “Oh rats, I really need to win this game,” I thought. With no wins and a lower rated player…I really needed it. It is probably not hard to figure out what I did majorly wrong in that game. As my mom put it, “You let fear play the game for you.” And let me tell you, fear isn’t a good chessplayer!! So I think you can figure what happened. My opponent, even though he was a 2000 (now 2100), played pretty well, and me, the NM, decided to have fear play for me.
CAUTION! Do not let fear play chess for you, it is not a good chessplayer.
I played careful (not in a good way) and cautious and was so worried about making a mistake that I played completely different from how I normally play. I was white again and this time I worried about playing a new opening that I was not completely familiar with. The thing is that playing with fear made everything that I was fearing happen. Not to take anything away from Varun because he played a good game, but I didn’t play my game.
Last round, I have three losses, two against higher rated one against a lower rated. I get Joshua Gutman. “Funny,” I think. I got him in the last round of the last tournament I played in. We overheard him telling his friend that he had lost to me in the last tournament and his friend said, “He (meaning me) is not having a very good tournament,” and truthfully…I wasn’t!! I knew that Joshua was a really good player and I did not want to leave the tournament without any wins (other than a forced bye). Oh… I was feeling the pressure before the game!! My mom told me I would be walking home if I didn’t win, and even though I knew she was joking (all they ask is that I play my best), I think it gave me a little more incentive to win. Smile
We started the game and I was definitely feeling it! Fear really wanted to play for me (I will feature this game at the end). First couple of moves I was tired and nervous. Finally, I gave myself a mental slap in the face, got it together and decided I wanted to play (not fear). It was a good game. We played the Grunfeld and ended up going into an endgame. He had more pawns in the center, but I had a beautiful placement of the king (the king placement killed him). I eventually broke on the side, got up one pawn, but that one pawn was enough to win, so he resigned. We later went over the game and decided that even with my great king placement he probably could have held a draw but he made one move that just killed him in the game.
Yes! I actually won and didn’t let fear play for me. I ended up only dropping 7 points which I think was a good payment to learn the lesson I did.
After the tournament I got to hang out with GMs, Khachiyan and Ramirez, and IM Jacek Stopa as well as, the class B champion, Leo Kamgar, and his mom. It was probably the best part of the whole tournament, we did chess puzzles and played some blitz games. It was tons of fun! I will post some of the puzzles they gave Leo and I to solve later on in the week.
I would like to thank the TDs and congratulate the class B winner (and my new friend), Leo Kamgar.
Next tournament the people I play better watch out because I am not going to let fear play the game for me anymore!!
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