In 2019, I wrote my first yearly wrap-up of the best chess books I have read, with the hope that it will become an annual tradition. I was, fortunately, able to write the 2nd iteration in the series this year, as well, and am planning to continue doing so in the future.

However, in 2020 I also started working at Chessable – a company that sells interactive digital online courses. I immediately realized making a similar „Best of“ list would be helpful for Chessable in terms of spreading the word about Chessable’s products, but also from the perspective of SEO and backlink building. But I also believed it might be helpful for users to have a lot of information in one place and to get an insight about certain courses from someone who has actually already studied them.

Thus, since I am not only a Chessable employee, but also a very enthusiastic user of the platform, ¹ I have decided to start another tradition of writing annual wrap-up posts related to Chessable courses.

Now, before we get to an actual list, there is a disclaimer I would like to point out.

Even though the title of this post is „Best Chessable Courses 2020“, it is highly subjective as it refers to the Chessable courses that appealed to me. It does not apply that the 10 courses below are BETTER than other Chessable courses – merely that there are subjective or less subjective reasons (the topic, choice of variations, style of analysis, author’s way of presenting things) why I spent more time studying them than some others.

Of course, I won’t deny the quality of the content varies on Chessable and that „quality“ wasn’t a factor when assembling this list at all. But the list of high-quality courses available on the platform is far greater than 10 and it will only increase in the future, so I had to put a stop somewhere and judge them using more subjective criteria. ²

Also, this post does not necessarily refer to the courses published in 2020. I have included some courses published way back in the day. The aim of this post is to single out 10 of my favorite courses that are available on the platform at the end of 2020.

With that being said, let me present you with a list of the best Chessable courses in 2020.

Hope you will enjoy it and find it useful.

BEST CHESSABLE COURSES 2020

Lifetime Repertoires: Caro-Kann by GM Erwin L’Ami

What is the course about?

Chessable’s Lifetime Repertoires are opening courses that tend to provide the user with an overall, long-lasting repertoire based on a certain move (1. e4 or 1.d4 for White) or against a certain move (1. e4 or 1. d4 as Black). Lifetime Repertoires: Caro-Kann is, thus, an overall repertoire against 1. e4 revolving around the move 1…c6.

The course covers every possible reply at White’s disposal after 1.e4 c6. And when I say every, I really mean every. Apart from all the main lines such as the Advance variation and Classical variation, L’Ami also covers things like Fantasy variation, Exchange variation, Panov Botvinnik and even goes as far to cover all the sidelines on move 2 such as 2.d3!?, 2. b3!?, 2. f4!? and many others.

Why have I included it on this list?

Even though I have been primarily playing the Modern Defence against 1.e4, for a long time I have been pretty aware I do need a more reliable weapon. I have been kinda aware that Sicilian might be a good choice, but have been lazy to pick it up.

As an „in-between“ solution, I have ventured some Caro-Kann without knowing too much theory in the past and have had relatively decent results. ³ I decided I might use some theoretical knowledge, so when Erwin’s course came out, I started studying it slowly and have also used it to prepare for one or two league games of mine this year (which ultimately ended in a draw).

There are several reasons why this course is simply outstanding. First of all, it is very deeply and thoroughly analyzed. Erwin is the former second of Veselin Topalov and the current second of GM Anish Giri and it definitely tells throughout the course.

However, it is not only about the analysis itself – the course is also deeply annotated and full of subvariations that explain finer points of the position to great detail. Erwin is not only a strong analyst but also a „man of chess culture“ and he also provides detailed historical background and a nice overview of the developments in the Caro-Kann throughout recent years.

Last but not least, Erwin is a very enthusiastic and engaged user of Chessable who really had a deep understanding of Chessable as a platform and it really tells throughout the course. Wherever possible, he went an extra mile to make the learning experience enjoyable – he even included multiple weapons to battle White’s most common moves (3…c5 and 3…Bf5 against the Advance variation and 4…Bf5 and 4…Nf6) against the Classical variation.

He is also very active in the course forums and very fast to reply and clarify any questions a user might potentially have.

So long story short, it is very clear that this course is a labor of love and that Erwin spent almost 3 months working on it and I would whole-heartedly recommend it to any chess player considering playing the Caro Kann as Black.

French Toast: How Harikrishna fries 1.. e6 by GM Pentala Harikrishna

What is the course about?

This course was the first course on Chessable created by elite GM.

As the title suggests, French Toast: How Harikrishna fries 1…e6 is a „Anti French Defence course“. GM Pentala Harikrishna provides the student with a repertoire against the French Defence revolving around the main move 3. Nc3 (1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3).

The „meat and potatoes“ of the course are two main lines of the French: Winawer with 3…Bb4 and Steinitz with 3…Nf6. Harikrishna doesn’t go for the mainlines and chooses relatively more rare variations (4. exd5 against the Winawer and 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Nce2!? against the Steinitz) and tries to demonstrate that they are more practical than main theoretical lines, yet that they also contain a lot of venom for the Black player.

He also covers all the possible replies by Black on move 3, including the offbeat systems such as 3…Nc6, 3…h6, 3…a6, and many others.

Why have I included it on this list?

Just like many other club players, I have struggled against the French Defence for ages, so when I saw GM Harikrishna publishing an Anti-French repertoire, I didn’t hesitate twice to buy it.

And even though many books in the past have provided white with weapons against 1.e4 e6, (such as Parimarjan Negi’s famous Volume 1 of his 1.e4 series) none of them appealed to me as much as this one. I really liked Harikrishna’s choice of lines as I have found them more practical indeed + I have also realized many Black players don’t encounter them as often as other attempts.

That is especially true of all the sidelines on move 3, where Hari provides easy and clear-cut solutions and emphasized understanding over memorization. The main lines of the course are far more demanding, theoretical, and difficult to learn, but in my opinion, they are worth it.

My results against 3…Nf6, in particular, have improved tremendously after picking up Hari’s proposed plan with 4. e5 Nfd7 5. Nce2 as I found the overall concept of reinforcing the center with c3, placing the bishop on d3 and knight on f4 very intuitive (even though it is not that simple, of course).

Unfortunately, I can’t say the same for the lines against 3…Bb4, as they haven’t appealed to me to the same extent. But to be fair, I haven’t devoted a similar amount of attention to them and tried employing them in my own games to have any concrete evidence for my hypothesis.

In any case, this is yet another Chessable course where you have an opportunity to experience super-GM level of analysis first hand, yet despite that the course is not overly long.

So if you are searching for a weapon against the French Defence, I can definitely recommend it.

The Complete Chess Swindler by New In Chess and GM David Smerdon

What is the course about?

This course is a Chessable implementation of the famous New in Chess Book, accompanied by a video presentation by GM David Smerdon personally. You can find more details about the book in my post about best chess books 2020 where I wrote about it in greater detail, but in a nutshell – the book covers the topic of swindling ⁴ and tries to create a framework that can help you become better at swindling in your own games.

Why have I included it on this list?

For the same reason I have included it on my best chess book list – it is a fun, entertaining and engaging read and I found our adaptation very good. It is true that some exercises are very demanding (as it is not your typical chess tactics course), but I think trying to find the „swindling“ move works really well in Chessable’s Movetrainer format.

I also found Smerdon’s videos quite brilliant – his presentation is very energetic, lively and entertaining.

Lifetime Repertoires: Najdorf Sicilian by GM Anish Giri

What is the course about?

This repertoire from the Lifetime Repertoires series, made by the current world nr. 11 ⁵ is devoted to the most complicated and famous variation of the Sicilian of them all – the Najdorf Sicilian.

In this course, Giri covers every possible reply against 1. e4 c5 White can throw at us – including the ever so popular Bongcloud with 2. Ke2.

Of course, the main chapters of the course are devoted to the famous position arising after 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6!?. Giri’s choice is to go for the pure Najdorf setup with …e5, and not for the Scheveningen setup with …e6 as often as possible (with the notable exception being the move 6. Bg5!?).

Why have I included it on this list?

As mentioned above, I have been toying with the idea of starting to learn the Sicilian for ages now, but have been daunted by it forever.

Once I saw a super-GM is creating a course on it on a platform that makes it very convenient for me to study opening theory, I decided I can’t fool myself into postponing it any further. And even though the course just came out recently and I have studied only one chapter, I can already say that decision was definitely the correct one.

There are several aspects why I think this is a great course:

• Najdorf is an incredibly vast territory that is very difficult to cover and it seems to me that Anish has managed to make it as practical and condensed at possible. For example, against 6. Bg5, he recommends going for the Nbd7-Qc7-b5-Be7 development scheme as often as possible. The course also has „only“ ~900 trainable variations, which is not as enormous as you would expect.
• I really liked how the course provides a detailed overview of every variation where Giri talks in great detail about trends, various options for both White and Black and explains why he decided to go for a particular setup. It really helped me get acquainted with the basics of the Najdorf and to get some context before starting to learn the lines themselves.
• The course is once again very well annotated and explained and the analysis is once again super-impressive and to the level you would expect from someone that strong.

The only drawback I have noticed so far is the number of variations that end in a forced-draw/repetition/perpetual. But the majority of them are long, forced variations where White plays very computerish sacrificial moves and I am not sure how likely they are to appear in practice – especially on the club level.

In any case, I am definitely planning to learn this course and start playing more Najdorf in the future and I hope this review might entice someone else to start doing the same.

100 Endgames You Must Know by New In Chess/Jesus de La Villa,  presented by IM John Bartholomew

What is the course about?

This course is a Chessable adaptation of another famous New in Chess book, 100 Endgames You Must Know, written by International Master Jesus de La Villa.

It is a „shortened Endgame Theory“ book that provides the reader with 100 theoretical endgames the author considers every player should know. The Chessable version comes with more than 20 hours of video instruction by everyone’s favorite International Master John Bartholomew.

Why have I included it on this list?

Everybody who has ever played against me knows my endgame technique has been my Achilles heel. I have tried working on this aspect of the game in my past and have even read 100 Endgames You Must Know in paper form, long before it was available on Chessable (or before I was aware it was available, there).

However, in contrast to game collections where I enjoy setting the board anew and playing through the games, I found this task in the context of 100 Endgames You Must Know (and other endgame books) quite time-consuming. I also found out I have trouble remembering key positions and reviewing the content from the book that needs reviewing.

Thus, I decided to give it a try on Chessable and thought it is great I just need to click a button to have a position ready and that I am able to review the material periodically to improve the learning process.

In general, I honestly think Chessable’s MoveTrainer works really well for Endgame books and that the possibility to „drill“ the positions in a short period of time is very helpful for memorizing key theoretical endgame positions.

Break The Rules: Play the Trompowsky by FM Kamil Plichta

What is the course about?

Some of the readers of the blog might recall the name of Polish FM Kamil Plichta and how in his interview back in February 2019 he expressed his ultimate dream is to make a living out of chess.

Ever since, Kamil has managed to fulfill his dream and become a Chessable celebrity and „superauthor“ and currently has 13 courses published under his name (with more to come).

Break The Rules: Play the Trompowsky was Kamil’s first course for the platform, in which provides White with an opening repertoire against 1.d4 Nf6, based on move 2. Bg5!?. The repertoire covers all possible Black moves on move 2 and provides the user with some fascinating sacrificial lines after 2… Ne4 3. h4!? (the Raptor variation) and 2…c5 3.d5 Qb6 4. Nc3 Qxb2 5. Bd2 (the Vaganian Gambit).

Why have I included it on this list?

There are numerous and highly subjective reasons why this course is featured on this list, and I will try to present them one by one:

• This was, I believe, the very first Chessable course I ever bought and if you believe in the Butterfly effect, you could make an argument it changed my entire life. Were it not for me buying it, I would have maybe never decided to make my own course and never ended up working for Chessable.
• It has to be said I purchased this repertoire at the moment where I was experiencing a real crisis with my own chess and was not at all enthusiastic about the game. Sacrificial and entertaining variations provided in this course really helped me reinvigorate my love for the game as I got exposed to something new and exciting.
• Trompowsky is a really good practical opening that many Black players really don’t like facing.
• I am also very happy about the success my friend Kamil has experienced on Chessable and am somehow glad it all started with this repertoire.

There are some drawbacks – there are some lines that have presented me personally with some problems. I am not very fond of facing 2…e6 and I am also not very keen on dealing with 2…d5 3. Bxf6 exf6. Kamil also initially had some small analytical oversights (such as 2…d5 3. Bxf6 gxf6 4. c4 e5!? that basically kills that line), but considering it was his very first Chessable repertoire, those things are perfectly understandable. ⁶

But it has to be pointed out that Kamil is one of the most agile and hard-working authors to deal with the drawbacks in his courses. He is very quick to reply to the questions, he is constantly monitoring and updating his repertoires and his Trompowsky course has gone through at least one major overhaul since its first launch.

So for everyone who seeks a practical and less theoretical weapon after 1. d4 Nf6 that is not the dreaded London System, I can highly recommend the Tromp ‘a la Kamil’.

Chess Principles Reloaded: Center by IM Andras Toth

What is the course about?

One of the things we first learn when we start learning chess is the basic chess principles like develop your pieces, occupy the center, bring your king to safety. However, through his work as a chess coach, IM Andras Toth made an observation that many club level players disregard the principles once they continue their chess journey and start climbing the rating ladder. That is why he decided to create a three-part Chessable series aimed at reminding us of their importance starting with Chess Principles Reloaded.

CPR: Center is the first course in the series devoted to the topic of central control. The course consists of a number of annotated games where one side utilizes the central control to achieve a swift, and often very attractive, victory. The games are presented by the man of the hour, IM Andras Toth himself.

Why have I included it on this list?

I have a confession to make. Even though my guilty pleasure is watching „non-instructive“ chess videos of people playing chess, I was never the person who enjoys watching a lot of „instructive“ chess content and have always preferred to learn things from books/courses/on my own.

Andras’ videos are a rare exception. I find his presentation delightful and utterly hilarious. The way he explains ideas clearly and concisely, his constant bashing of the London system and his emphasis on the importance of „centaaaah“ have greatly appealed to me. I have enjoyed watching the entire video series from minute one until the very end. I am not sure if there is a secret ingredient in the Australian air that makes people like Andras and Smerdon so energetic and entertaining, but I can definitely recommend watching their content.

Of course, that is not to say that course is all mindless entertainment. The choice of games is very interesting, the selection of puzzles also very well done and the course did lamp that ‘A-H-A’ bulb inside my head when it came to thinking about Chess Principles. It is also one of the rare courses on Chessable that has an almost perfect user rating (4.9/5.0 based on 106 user ratings) and I believe it is fantastic for people below 1800 (or even 2000) rating.

Last but not least, I have also developed a friendly (Twitter) relationship with Andras and I am very happy to see his course(s) doing really well and am happy to recommend them!

The Complete Open Sicilian Vol 1 for White by NM mn79

What is the course about?

Even though we have a huge catalog of courses on Chessable, there are still some gaps remaining and one of the bigger ones is the content on the Open Sicilian for White.

The Complete Open Sicilian for White by National Master mn79 ⁷ is a course aimed at filling this gap. In this two-part series, NM mn79 aims to provide White with an overall anti-Sicilian repertoire based on the Open Sicilian.

Volume 1 covers all the 2nd move sidelines, the e6 Sicilian, Accelerated Dragon, Nc6 sidelines, Kalashnikov and Sveshnikov.

Why have I included it on this list?

One of the beauties of Chessable is that one can easily find „hidden gems“ – courses that don’t get that much publicity, but which provide really good content. The Complete Open Sicilian for White is one such course. It is a very practical and not overly complicated repertoire against all Sicilian mainlines.

I really liked it because the author managed to strike a nice balance between length and usefulness. The repertoire is not overall, grandiose and „cutting-edge“ as some other repertoires such as Lifetime Repertoires, but it is nevertheless very decently researched and offers very decent and playable lines, aimed at getting some advantage. I primarily used it to study the Maroczy lines against the Accelerated Dragon and I really liked the author’s work and recommendations in that chapter.

It may not withstand the scrutiny of Master level and above, but I think it is a perfect starting point for club players who want to get some ideas on how to handle the Sicilian and then potentially build upon that knowledge as they progress.

Therefore, if you are looking for something not overly lengthy and practical, I can definitely recommend this one (and Vol 2 of the series). If not, well, let me just say we have a lot of surprises in store for 2021 :).

Crush the Pirc, Modern & Philidor by Chessforlife

What is the course about?

Chessforlife is an experienced and rather well known Chessable Community (untitled) author who has already made several very ambitious repertoires aimed at refuting lesser-known/slightly dubious defences.

In this course, he provides the student with a sharp repertoire against the Pirc and my beloved Modern revolving around the Austrian Attack (early f4) and around Philidor Mainline (1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 e5 4. Nf3 Nbd7 7. Bc4).

Why have I included it on this list?

Even though Chessforlife is not a titled player, his repertoires are very ambitious and sharp and very well received within the Chessable community. For each and every one of them, he spends a lot of time analyzing various possibilities with top engines and offering very concrete, „I play for a big advantage“ variations.

Out of his all courses, this one appealed to me the most because:

• I already had some previous knowledge about the Austrian Attack against Pirc and Modern and I supplemented it with the lines offered in this course.
• Since I am quite familiar with the Modern from the black side, I can definitely confirm his lines are very problematic and he even paid attention to some of the variations offered in my course.
• I believe Philidor mainline is the best variation against this opening and I used this opportunity to get acquainted with it.
• In general, I like that approach of going for the throat and playing for the big advantage right out of the opening.

Of course, when relying heavily on chess engines, there is always a danger that the human factor is completely disregarded and lines are too abstract to learn. To be fair, there have been some complaints in that regard related to Chessforlife repertoires and I also think some longer lines could be more deeply annotated and explained. I can understand why some lower-rated players, in particular, could have a hard time grasping the material provided in these courses.

But in general, I think this approach is suitable perfectly for repertoires aimed against offbeat/slightly dubious defenses and that chess is a concrete game where it is worth to go for this maximalist approach.

So if anyone is looking for very sharp and critical attempts to refute these setups, I can highly recommend Chessforlife’s courses – especially this one.

The Modern Defence Against Everything by CM Vjekoslav Nemec

What is the course about?

This course created by your trully is a repertoire for Black revolving around the move 1…g6. Despite its title, the main focus of this repertoire are White setups arising after 1. e4 and it also includes the Averbakh variation with 1.d4.

There are some plans to turn it into an overall repertoire and include 1. c4, 1. b4, 1. b3, but it is still not 100% clear when and how that will happen, so stay tuned.

Why have I included it on this list?

Even though I am aware it is very shameless and douchey to include your own repertoire into the „Best of“ list, considering it is a highly subjective one, I couldn’t do without doing it because this repertoire had a huge impact on my life – its release led to me quitting my day-time job and working for Chessable.

Aside from that non-chess factor, I honestly think it is a decent repertoire. I put many hours of analysis and writing into it and I was (and still am) proud of the final result.

Of course, that doesn’t mean it is anywhere near perfect. Since it was my very first repertoire and since I had no clue what I was doing, there are so many things I would have done differently today. I already talked about it in my promo post for this blog, but some of the things I would have changed are:

• Relied less on engines and shortened some of the long and forcing variations
• Been more careful and thorough with the analysis. I would scratch a number of variations and change them for something else today.
• Written better and clearer explanations throughout the repertoire. Even though I did a lot of writing, I got the feeling I did it „on the wrong places“ – in many places I have still seen general chess cliches such as „with compensation“ or „Black is better“ or „Black has equalized“ without ever explaining why. In the past year, I have become much more aware of the importance of emphasizing understanding even more and my course still leaves a lot to be desired in that regard.

I do plan to address these issues in the near future and fix the repertoire even more.

But all that aside, I still think it contains a lot of useful information for a potential Modern Defence player AND it literally changed my life for the better, so I have absolutely no problem mentioning it again :).

Besides, if you really thought I am  NOT the type of person who would include his own work into any BEST OF list, I am not sure what you are doing on this blog in the first place.

Honorable Mention: The Fierce Nimzo-Indian by WFM Maaike Keetman

What is the course about?

My colleague and fellow Chessable’s Publishing Manager WFM Maaike Keetman provides the student with a dynamic and combative repertoire for the Black pieces based on the Nimzo-Indian 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4.

In contrast to many other Nimzo-repertoires, she refrains from going for „equalizing“ quickly with an early d5, but rather prefers to play to win by playing b6-Bb7 and/or c5 as often as possible.

Why have I included it on this list?

Even though I haven’t studied her repertoire yet and have no interest in the Nimzo-Indian for Black, I did take a look inside the course ⁸ and was highly impressed with its content. It is enough to say that the repertoire currently has 180k words, which is the record word-count on the site when it comes to Chessable’s original content. ⁹

Besides, having worked with her closely, I know Maaike’s work ethic and her dedication and have no doubt she put her heart and soul ¹⁰ into this course. Since she is one of the „elders“ among Chessable stuff, she has a good understanding of the student needs and course design and it is not at all surprising her work has been very well received.

Besides, if this repertoire wasn’t on this list, I would have to listen to „Yeah, sure, you include your own repertoire but not mine“ remarks until the end of my life.

It may be one small step for this blog, but a giant leap for the quality of the relationship between Chessable’s Publishing Managers.

The post Best Chessable Courses 2020 appeared first on Chessentials.

Introduction

I was always aware that there is computer cheating in online chess. However, I never regarded it as an insurmountable problem because I always thought their number is too low in terms of the percentage of total players.

Also, it wasn’t such a big problem for me personally, since I almost exclusively played blitz and bullet in the past – disciplines with short time controls where computer cheating is much more difficult to pull off (although not entirely impossible).

However, some 2 months ago, I decided to take online chess more seriously and gave myself aim to play at least one longer game – rapid (10+0) or classical (15+15) – a day. Soon after I started doing it, I became aware of how many computer cheaters actually are there in online chess, as I started encountering them on a regular basis.

Without exaggeration, I think I encounter one cheater in every five games. I successfully reported over 30 of them, ¹  I even started reporting people I have never played against, just on the basis of their account. But new cheaters keep appearing every day and there is seemingly no end.

I got to a point where I have started aborting games against anyone who I consider even mildly suspicious ² – I decided it is worth being overly suspicious than spending anywhere between 20-40 minutes to play against the engine. ³

Just another day in the office when playing longer games online

Since this situation is incredibly frustrating and annoying and since one of the reasons why many cheaters get away with it is people not bothering/not being aware that they play against one, I’ve decided to write this article and share my experience regarding computer cheating in online chess accumulated during the last two months.

The article will be divided in two parts. First, I will talk about recognizing cheaters and describe signs you might be playing against one. Then I will talk about how I personally deal with them and what steps do I take after losing a game against someone I find suspicious.

I hope you will enjoy it and find it useful ⁴

How to recognize computer cheating in online chess: 12 signs a player might be a computer cheater

Big correlation to engine moves in multiple games

First and most obvious. Computer cheaters make very strong moves and usually crush you mercilessly.

It has to be pointed out that these aren’t ordinary crushes. In my online games, I regularly play against titled players. But even when I am up against a Grandmaster, I rarely feel I have zero chance from the start to finish – especially if we play multiple games. ⁵

When playing against an engine, the feeling is completely different. You have the feeling as if you were never really in the game. Their moves are just perfect and, needless to say, are unanimously correlated to top 3 (top 5) engine choices.

If you see your opponent had a small average centipawn loss, ⁶ you have to be vigilant that there is something fishy.

Finding beautiful and deep tactical ideas

Since chess is 90% tactics, ⁷ it is no wonder computer engine users excel in this area of play. Very often, they demonstrate very deep, long and forcing tactical ideas that are very difficult for a human (even of a higher playing strength) to find.

The previous game against SharpBishopChess is a good example, but this one is no less fascinating:

Demonstrating perfect conversion technique

Even though the difference between a human and the engine is apparent in all stages of the game, it gets even more pronounced when the stronger side obtains a clear advantage and has to convert it.

Upon obtaining an advantage, human players have a tendency to relax and start playing suboptimal moves. It is not a coincidence that there is a saying that „the hardest game to win is a won game“. Numerous games have been spoilt by laziness/over hastiness in a position with a clear advantage, ⁸.

Also, humans usually have a way they go about converting their advantage. We all tend for simplifications in such positions and avoid sharp continuations that might offer tactical counter chances.

Engines don’t have this problem, as the following game demonstrates:

Playing bad/weird openings and then continuing to play strongly

Another common trait of engine users is playing very bad/weird openings, landing in a suspicious/bad position with a lot of pieces on the board and then proceeding to outplay you.

I am not sure why this is characteristic. Perhaps some of them use engines without access to opening database ⁹ Or they just don’t bother because they know they will win anyway so they want to humiliate you.

But in any case, it is another sign to be aware of. Take my game against the user Marshall_The_Goat as an example:

Making very unnatural, „engine like“ moves

There is also a way engines play. There are some moves that are very difficult to find for humans (and some moves humans don’t even consider) – we all have certain aesthetics ingrained.

But engines don’t care – they will calculate and play the best continuation no matter how it looks.

A continuation such as the whole sequence ending up in Ng5 and Rf4-Rh4, trapping the queen, such as my afore-mentioned game against SharpBishopChess or seveshnikov.

This beautiful queen sac played against IM Eric Rosen is also a move worth noting:

Playing moves in regularly spaced intervals

Another typical cheater trait is playing the moves in regularly spaced intervals (say 3-5 seconds for blitz games), because it takes them time to feed the move to the engine, get its output and then play it on the board. A good example of this can be seen in the following video by Christoff Sielecki A.K.A. Chessexplained:

To be frank, I haven’t encountered this one myself all that much, probably because longer time controls provide the cheaters with more degrees of freedom.

But it is definitely something to keep in mind!

Taking time to make very obvious moves

Irrespective of whether they take in regular intervals or not – all cheaters do take time for all their moves.

Even the most obvious ones like a forced exchange or capture of a loose piece. For example, take a look at yet another game I played against user Marshall_The_Goat. It took my opponent more than 30 seconds to take the piece after executing a double attack. I actually didn’t realize he was cheating after that first one we have seen, but after this one, I had no doubt he was:

The following one against NT_99 is also worth noting:

Therefore, if someone executes a brilliant 5-move combination and then takes his time to play the final move and reap its rewards, you are more probably playing against a cheater.

A significant drop in level when faced with time trouble

I personally haven’t yet encountered it in longer time controls (although I did suspect some people in blitz because of it), but many cheaters start playing really badly when faced with time trouble.

The reason is simple – with little time, they don’t have the luxury of consulting their „silicon friend“ any longer. So they start playing themselves and reveal their „true“colors. The final result is sometimes comical, as the afore-mentioned video by Chessexplained demonstrates.

Having an anonymous account

This is probably self-understandable, but every single player I successfully reported for cheating had an anonymous account.

I usually check the profile before every game (even blitz ones) to see who I am playing against. If a player has a name listed, I also check his FIDE profile, just to see if he is legitimately a strong player of not.

With cheaters, you usually don’t have that luxury. You can’t see if they have a FIDE profile. Sometimes they even put some arbitrary FIDE rating, but there is no way to verify it.

But I guess that is kinda the point – nobody wants to risk their reputation by writing their name out in the open.

Having a recent/new account

Another thing I have noticed with cheaters – many of those I reported have made their account relatively recently and didn’t have a huge number of games.

Many cheaters don’t want to risk their „actual“ account, so they open a new one just for cheating purposes. Also, they all eventually get caught, so it is impossible to keep cheating consistently through a huge period of time and games.

Accounts made recently don’t have that constraint.

Having big discrepancy in rating between short and long time control (or no ratings in shorter time controls whatsoever)

Another thing I always look when dealing with potential cheaters is their blitz and bullet rating.

Many of them have a big discrepancy between ratings in short and long time controls. It is not uncommon to for me to play against a user with 1700 or 1800 blitz and bullet rating and 2200-2400 classical/rapid rating. Even though to speak of one is not to speak of another, I believe a certain correlation between these ratings has to exist.

Also, many cheaters don’t have blitz or bullet ratings whatsoever, which makes is it even more suspicious? What kind of player has NEVER been tempted to play at least one shorter game?

Different ways of trying to make the account less suspicious

Last, but not least, even though cheaters are very dumb, they are not completely dumb.

Some of them do realize that the account with high rapid/classical rating, big winning percentage, or big discrepancy in rating between bullet/blitz and rapid/classical is suspicious.

That is why some of them try various methods of making their accounts less suspicious. Here is an overview of different methods I have seen while investigating and reporting cheaters in my lichess classical career:

Using engine only in some games/only in some moments during a game

The most obvious thing. Even though the majority of cheaters is dumb enough to use the engine during the entire game, some of them realize this doesn’t help them to reduce the suspicion, so they use the engine irregularly – only in some games or – more commonly – only in some moments during a game.

This game against TheRicketsRick927  fooled me:

We will also see another game against polish_warrior_3000 later which was a good example of this. Also, both games against Marshall_The_Goat are exemplary of that (he skipped engine in the opening completely).

Intentionally resigning games to reduce their winning percentage

Since cheaters most often crush their opponents mercilessly, they usually have absurd winning percentages.

Some of them realize that and try to reduce it intentionally, by losing games on purpose. Some of them are smart enough to play an entire game without the engine and lose it in a human way, but some of them are so dumb that they play anywhere between 5-10 moves and then resign, irrespective of the position on the board.

I guess your time is too valuable to spend on actually playing chess when you could be cheating instead.

Losing casual rapid/classical games intentionally

Often combined with the previous point – many cheaters play casual games and then lose them intentionally. It both increases the total number of games they have played and includes loses in classical in their career stats.

Playing a huge number of games against the same opponent (friend) and losing some of them, but still gaining rating

I caught one or two cheaters playing 10-20 classical games against the same opponent and essentially trading rating with him. Most of the games ended up in quick resignations /checkmates and both cheaters actually gained rating at the end of it.

It was a clear attempt to include some classical games in their collection of games to make the account seem more legitimate.

Playing a low number of games in all time controls/variants

Some engine users know that an account with only classical games is suspicious, so they try to play some games in all time controls and even variants of the game.

It is not too hard to detect if you actually click on the profile and see the number of games. If you bother to check the actual content of the games, you will most probably see a lot of short games and early resignations, as well.

But if you don’t bother to click on their profile and just check if they have any ratings by hovering over it, ¹⁰ you might get fooled, so some of them like to implement it.

Playing the first game on their own/with moderate engine use, asking for a rematch and then using the engine

Last, but not least, I recently played a pair of games against a clear engine user.

In the first one, he played a horrible opening, then after my imprecisions found a very good defence, managed to equalize, reached a completely drawn endgame and then fell for the checkmate of the knight against an edge pawn. The game was actually pretty funny:

Since I assumed he was playing by himself, I accepted his rematch offer.. and got crushed like a bug, as we have seen earlier (the third game I have given in the article).

I guess it can be compared to a drug dealer. He first “hooked me” in the first game (although I am not sure he actually wanted to – he probably aimed for a draw and then relaxed prematurely) and then punished me in the second one.

Disgusting.

How to deal with computer cheating in online chess in 4 steps

Now that I have described how to recognize a computer cheater, I can get on with how to deal with them. Even though the answer: „Report them“ is self-evident advice, I’d like to expand on it a bit. I have pinpointed 4 important steps of dealing with computer cheating in online chess.

Don’t make premature accusations. Give your opponent the benefit of a doubt (everyone can play 1 good game)

I have recently read the book Talking to Strangers by famous writer Malcolm Gladwell. The topic of the book is the human tendency to evaluate unknown people completely wrong, which often leads to misunderstandings and conflicts.

In one of the chapters, Gladwell writes about Harry Markopolous, an American investor and financial fraud investigator, who warned people about the Bernie Madoff pyramid scheme as early as in 2001. He tries to explain why how exactly Bernie Madoff managed to keep his fraud going for so many years and why nobody listened to Markopolous even when he came out with his claims. ¹¹

Gladwell mentions that we humans have a truth bias – a certain tendency to expect the truth and to convince ourselves that even the most unviable events are actually possible. He also points out that this mostly a good characteristic and that world would be unable to function normally if we suspected everyone.

He also emphasizes that Markopolous is one of those rare people whose brain is wired completely differently. He was incredibly suspicious in all spheres of his life and Bernie Madoff scheme was just one of the examples of how it manifested itself.

Now, you might be wondering why I am blabbering about Gladwell, Madoff and Markopolous. The reason is that both extremes – tendency to expect the truth and tendency to suspect everyone – are bad when dealing with computer cheating in online chess. ¹²

One of the reasons I think many of the cheaters manage to get away with it is the fact that other players simply don’t suspect them. Some of the accounts I reported and got banned were so blatantly obvious that it left me wondering how on Earth did none of their previous opponents did not react earlier. Of course, I don’t recommend anyone to become a narcissistic, overly competitive rating-whore like myself, but I do think that cheaters would have a much harder time if an average Joe was slightly more vigilant.

On the other hand, I also think I have become too suspicious, borderline paranoid. I think it is important to give your opponents the benefit of a doubt and realize that anyone can play one good game. Acting too rashly, sending reports without any investigations and publicly accusing people of cheating just because it „felt like it“ are more likely to start a witch hunt than to help anyone.

I think it is important to keep everything private and under the table and to be rational when it comes to dealing with such a situation – not to go „full Markopolous“.

Take your time to investigate their profile and analyze their games. Search for signs and patterns mentioned above

I think this is the most important step of dealing with cheaters most people are not willing to make. ¹³ Before reporting a cheater, it is necessary to gather as much information/evidence as possible by going over their profile, analyzing their games and searching for signs and patterns they might be cheating mentioned above.

I usually do it by checking obvious stuff such as when was the account made, whether it has a name and what are the ratings in all time controls and variants.

Then I go and analyze a lot of their games  (5-10) by myself. At first, I look at their average centipawn loss (which is available immediately in the lichess environment) and then check the nature of games.

It usually takes me 30-60 minutes to do this. But it is definitely worth it – not only because I convince myself that the person is actually cheating and avoid starting a witch hunt, but also because I am able to provide moderation with much more context and more convincing arguments. ¹⁴

Report the cheater and let the moderation do their job

After you have done your homework, there is nothing else left to do but report the cheater, block him and wait for the moderation to respond.

Don’t be like me and report the cheater several times – the moderation is doing their job the best they can, ¹⁵ so filling several reports about the same person doesn’t really help.

Laugh in the cheater’s face and taunt him if he gets reported and goes on to insult you below your Youtube videos

Of course, if you followed these instructions closely, the cheater will have no ideas who reported him or what hit him.

However, if you are a sore, salty loser like the author of these lines you can also accuse a person of cheating in the post-game chat, report him and get him banned and then have some fun when he posts angry comments below your Youtube videos because he knows exactly who caused his online chess career to end:

I don’t usually endorse the use of the „mum“ jokes, but when it comes to computer cheating in online chess, I have no inhibitors or empathy, whatsoever. Good riddance.

In any case, I hope you have found this article helpful and that you will manage to deal with computer cheaters in online chess more successfully after reading it.

The post How To Deal With Computer Cheating In Online Chess appeared first on Chessentials.

In the 21st century,  new technological solutions and applications have changed several aspects of our lifestyle.

One activity that was particularly affected by the arrival of the digital era was reading.

The appearance of the first e-readers like Amazon Kindle has led to the appearance of digital books which has been rapidly growing ever since.

Naturally, this technological breakthrough had a marked effect on the status and the need for physical books. Since it became possible to

• order books with 1-click
• have them instantly delivered to your device
• and to store multiple books on a single device,

the demand for them reduced and the traditional book market shrunk significantly.

But not disappeared completely. Due to the fact that there is a marked difference between holding a paper in your hand, the fact that you don’t really own a digital product once you buy it ¹ and the fact that the conversion of the old physical books in the digital format (and the formatting of the new ones) is not always very smooth, many people still prefer ordering their own physical copy of the book.

This is especially true of chess players, because of the following:

• Many chess players belong to the older generation(s) and are somewhat old-fashioned and skeptical when it comes to new technologies.
• It is difficult to read many chess books without a physical chess set.² It is, therefore, more difficult to read them while laying in the bed or traveling, which diminishes comparative advantages of digital books.
• Chess books have a special format (annotations and diagrams). They are much more difficult to convert into e-book format. Many of them are converted poorly.
• Even when the conversion is smooth, diagrams take a lot of screen space and make it difficult to keep track of annotations (which are often on the next page). In such cases, it is much simpler to turn the page back and forth than to do it on a touch-screen device.

The existence of the issues above meant that, even after the appearance of first e-readers, there was a gap in the market when it comes to digital chess books.

This was recognized by some smart and capable people, who started working on the solutions. It was immediately recognized that every innovative solution should offer its users the possibility to make the moves on a digital board while reading.

That is why, in recent years, several products based on the concept of Interactive Chess E-books have been developed. Well established publishers like Everyman Chess and Gambit Publishing have come up with their own applications (Everyman Chess Viewer and Gambit Studio).

However, several new companies independent of the big publishers have also appeared on the scene. One of the new „players on the scene“ that has gathered a lot of attention, in particular, and become very successful is Forward Chess – an interactive chess e-book reader for mobile phone (iOS and Android) and desktop (Windows and Mac).

In this blog post, I would like to take an in-depth look at it and review its features, functionality, pros, and cons.

Hope you will find it helpful.

What is Forward Chess?

As mentioned above, Forward Chess is an interactive chess e-book reader/application.

In contrast to the traditional e-book readers which are „static“, Forward Chess -apart from the book text, diagrams and annotations – also provides the user with an interactive chessboard on which the reader can play through the moves in the book, try out his own lines and even analyze with Stockfish.

The basic idea is to provide every chess player (and not just strong ones) with the opportunity to read chess books without the need for a physical board.

What functions does Forward Chess have to offer?

From the functionality’s standpoint, Forward Chess has everything an interactive chess e-book reader should have:

• A very quick and immediately responsive interface
• Possibility to make independent moves
• Easily accessible engine analysis
• Opening and reference game database (available only on the desktop app)
• Possibility to store notes
• Possibility to bookmark parts of the book
• An easily accessible table of contents
• Customizable settings (board size, piece type, night mode, etc).

Last but not least, Forward Chess has a big choice of available books – 484. ³

Which leads me to the next point.

Difference between Forward Chess and other similar apps?

Now, you might be wondering what is so unique to Forward Chess compared to the afore-mentioned Everyman Chess Viewer and Gambit Studio and other similar apps? ⁴

To be fair, I haven’t tried using other apps myself, but from what I’ve read, I’d say the difference is not that significant when it comes to functionality. Sure, some of the apps might miss a feature or two (ability to store notes or to bookmark, for example), some people might prefer the other apps’ visual identity ⁵, but in general, I’d say there aren’t major differences in that regard.

However, what really sets apart Forward Chess from the rest of the apps is the number of books it has available. No one else comes even close to having 484 titles available in their library. For example, previously mentioned Everyman Chess Viewer and Gambit Studio have around 300 ⁶ and 100 titles ⁷, respectively. The other apps from Watson’s list have significantly less and he pointed it out as their major drawback, as well.

Moreover, since Forward Chess is an independent company, it offers books from a variety of publishers – New In Chess, Quality Chess, Thinkers Publishing, Chess Stars, Chess Evolution, to name a few. Apps owned by publishing companies don’t have that luxury – Everyman Chess Viewer and Gambit Studio offer only titles published by Everyman Chess and Gambit Publishing. ⁸

How does the Forward Chess interface look like?

Now that we have gotten acquainted with the basic features of Forward Chess, it is time to take a look at its interface. Since I mainly used the mobile app, I will mainly refer to it and post corresponding screenshots. All the features also apply to the desktop app, which also has some additional functionality (namely, the opening and reference games database).

So, after we have downloaded, installed and clicked on the Forward Chess app, the home screen appears:

On this screen, you can see the list of the books you have purchased and the „STORE“ tab, from which you can make your purchases. Little plus, minus and pen signs on the right serve to organize your books in folders, while the fourth symbol (the little blue cloud) serves to log into Forward Chess using the credentials obtained from their website – which allows you to connect to the cloud and sync the mobile app with the desktop app and the website.

After you have purchased the book and it appears on your home page, you can click on it and open it, which lands you to the following screen:

Once we have opened the book, we navigate it as follows:

• The current chapter is navigated by scrolling up and down via the touch screen
• Going to the following chapter (or returning to the previous one) can be done via the black arrows in the lower right corner of the screen (or by scrolling right and left via the touch screen – this setting is adjustable)

Of course, the screen with only text is nothing revolutionary. Interesting things start to happen when we reach the very first chess game:

As we can see from the screenshot above, the moves and the diagram are displayed just like in a physical book. However, you may notice that moves are „blue“. By clicking on any of them (or by clicking the king symbol in the bar at the top of the app) we are able to open an interactive board with the current position after that particular move:

In this board, we can easily navigate the variations analyzed in the book by using the arrows below it (or by clicking the moves manually). The user can also make his own moves. Last but not least, Forward Chess comes with the chess engine Stockfish, which we can toggle by clicking on the symbol right to the king at the top of the screen to get the evaluation of any position (main variation, subvariations, our own variations):

The other two symbols in the top bar are as follows:

• The notebook symbol on the very left allows you to access the table of content and instantly navigate to any chapter
• The three dots on the right open a menu with settings from which you can enter notes, create bookmarks or choose your preferences when it comes to the board, the size of the board, the pieces, etc.

And that is basically it! It is very simple and intuitive to use Forward Chess and once you figured out how to open the interactive board and toggle the engine on, you are ready to enjoy your favourite chess book until the end.

However, there is a lot to be considered before you actually do start enjoying Forward Chess. As usual when it comes to technology – there are some advantages and there are some disadvantages of reading digital chess books on your mobile phone.

In the remainder of the article, I will weigh both the pros and cons of reading chess books on Forward Chess. In the end, I will wrap it all up with my own thoughts and experience.

The pros of reading chess books on Forward Chess?

Simple and intuitive

As I mentioned previously in this article, Forward Chess is simple and intuitive. It is easy to set it up and even people not feeling at home with technology should have no problems using it.

Stable and fast

Forward Chess is a very good app from a technical standpoint. It is quick and responsive. There is no delay or lag of any kind. I haven’t had a single instance of the app crashing – it is something that is not valued enough in the world of poorly coded applications that keep causing problems for their users.

Great selection of books

As mentioned previously in this article, arguably the biggest comparative advantage of Forward Chess compared to its competitors is its vast library, which constantly seems to be expanding.

No need to set up the chessboard

When reading physical books, only very strong players (or those with incredibly developed visualization skill) are able to read the book without the need of the chessboard – especially if it is full of long and dense variations. The interactive chess board completely eliminates that need.

Ability to analyze positions from chess books with a chess engine

Not a single chess book in history is not without its mistakes. Fortunately, the appearance of chess computer engines has made it easy to check the material provided by the author, do our own analysis and correct the mistake.

However, in order to do this, we still need to put the book down, enter the game into our computer and run the engine. And even though all publishers provide you with accompanying .pgn file when you buy a certain book, it is still somewhat inconvenient.

The ability to analyze a position simultaneously while reading is extremely handy. Especially when reading an older book like Soviet Outcast, since it contains many „holes“ in the analysis (which is not surprising consider engines didn’t even exist at a time when it was written).

The cons of reading chess books on Forward Chess?

Somewhat clumsy and tough to navigate

Even though I have said that Forward Chess is simple and intuitive, it was also somewhat inconvenient to navigate. I frequently accidentally scrolled to the next chapter or wrong part of the book, if I wanted to jump between moves in a certain variation, I’d miss them and I sometimes felt the screen was not big enough when book diagram, interactive board and engine were all turned on.

No need to set up the chessboard

Now, I know this might be inconsistent since I mentioned this as one of the advantages, but I also think there are some inherent dangers to reading chess books without the chessboard. ⁹ I think reading digital books has a detrimental effect on our visualization. I have also heard some people complaining about how it is difficult to adjust to real boards in real-life tournaments.

Finally, I think digital books make us more likely to switch off our brains and go on autopilot. Which leads me to the next point.

Ability to analyze positions from chess books with a chess engine

Even though it is definitely useful to have the ability to analyze a chess position with a chess engine, it is another double-edged sword. It is well known that deliberate practice is the best way of improving your chess. Few chess players have the discipline to think on their own when they can get instant answers by pushing just one button.

Engines are tools that may help our thinking process.

Not the substitute for our brain.

Purchasing digital books is not the same as owning them

I have recently read a very interesting book titled Who Owns The Future which basically states that there is no such thing as „free lunch“ when it comes to technology and that every convenience comes with a hidden cost.

In the context of digital books, it made me aware that, in contrast to physical books, they don’t really belong to the owner, but to the company. You can’t lend them, you can’t sell them after the use and most importantly – it is not very certain what happens with them if the company that issued them ceases to be.

Of course, it is highly unlikely that companies such as Amazon will go bankrupt. But in his excellent review on chess.com, Sam Copeland did point out that the risk margin is significantly greater when it comes to Forward Chess, as the niche is much more narrow.

Of course, the company seems to be doing fine for the moment, but it is unclear what happens with your purchases if they ever go out of business.

The hidden cost(s) of using too much technology

Last, but not least, another factor not typical only of Forward Chess, but highly relevant in this context – let’s not forget that there are dangers connected to technology and spending too much time on your smartphones.

In fact, writing anti-technology articles has become a separate discipline ¹⁰ and I will not reiterate all the arguments that can be found all over the Internet.

Except for one. In his book Why We Sleep, scientist Matthew Walker talks in great detail how staring at the screen before sleeping has a bad effect on both our capability to sleep and our quality of sleep.

For me personally, this was a huge factor. I usually do a lot of reading in the evening, before going to sleep. I believe it is much healthier to go for the good, old-fashioned physical book than to stare at a digital board in the (late) evening hours. ¹¹

Conclusion

Throughout this article, we have gotten acquainted with the Forward Chess app and talked about its positive and negative aspects. In this final paragraph, I’d like to share some of my additional thoughts and talk about how this article came to be.

I decided to write this post after I was contacted by the Forward Chess representative. They did provide me with the free copy of the book Soviet Outcast. I have also agreed to become an affiliate and included several links in this article (and elsewhere on the blog).

However, if someone asked me whether I will continue to use Forward Chess myself, my answer would probably be: „Probably yes, but not 100% of the time!“. I don’t see many advantages of reading chess books without diagrams (such as Genna Sosonko’s books) on Forward Chess over reading them on Kindle, while I am also trying to develop a habit of reading chess books with the use of the board because I believe it is more beneficial for my chess.

Now, since I have a policy of reviewing and advocating products I personally use, I’d like to clarify why I deviated from it in this particular instant. ¹²

I decided to write this review simply because I think that many people will find Forward Chess useful and more appealing than I did. Several people whom I respect greatly – most notably the host of the Perpetual Chess Podcast Ben Johnson – advocate it and use it on a regular basis.

I think Forward Chess is particularly great for working adults with families and very busy schedules. My approach of reading chess books with chess board is definitely very time consuming and most people simply don’t have the liberty to go over every game in every book in great detail. ¹³ I think Forward Chess is a great choice for that type of audience, although I wouldn’t completely exclude myself ordering another book at some point in the future.

I would definitely urge everyone to try it, but also to think about some of the points I raised previously in the article.

If you do, let me know what you think in the comments!

Other useful links and reviews of Forward Chess

Forward Chess official website

Forward Chess FAQ

Forward Chess Review by chess.com director of content Sam Copeland on chess.com

Forward Chess Review by grandmaster Alex Čolović

Forward Chess Review by John Watson

The post Is Forward Chess All It’s Cracked Up To Be? An Honest Review appeared first on Chessentials.