Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Chess Resources Online

Hi there again!

So much infos, so little time to have them all! That's how I see the internet, cyberspace, or online resources. It's an oceanful of resources for all sorts of stuff! It is D' Library of all library. You need to know something? go online... You want to find outthe latest line of an opening? go online!

Most of these resources are for free, just like our beloved Philippine Chess Chronicles Blog. That makes the cyberspace even more powerful, FREE!

And for chess, yes, chess! We have a lot of stuff for us. I am discussing those sites that I have used and abused for my addiction (playing and paying for it!).

I'd like to start with Chess Kids Academy...

If you will look for it thru any of the search engines available online, it can easily be located with the easy to remember address, www.chesskids.com. Ad line says "Teach your kids how to play chess with our free online chess course". I am telling you, IT IS ABSOLUTELY FOR FREE! Ok, I want to clear this now, the site has a store where you can find a good list of resources from books to videos and yes, I have to tell you this too, the ads they have do not and will not pop-up to remind you to buy their products unlike other half-for-free-half-for-a-pay site.

Enough of what they won't do to your online time. Let's go to what they have for you (and make your time worth it!).

Let's start with their drop down menus. They have 9 and all of them would lead you to a good-read-and-learn-about-chess stuff! The usual HOME stuff, c'mon guys, who in the world will not post their homepage link in their site? Next we have ABOUT stuff. FAQ and About us are there. Frequently asked questions like, are you for free? what the hell are you talking about? why the site is there? for what reason? purpose? are you going to sue us if we copy your site or not? who was your first kiss? when ws the last time you fell in love? (oooppsss! sorry!). Next is the KIDS Section. Here, the page shows a superhero (good way to present chess among children di ba?) wearing the ala-superman attire but with the name ChessKid! The page says:

Welcome to chessKIDS academy, a website where kids can learn and play chess.

It takes a SUPERHERO to play chess well. If you click here you can find out how you can train to become chessKID, the greatest superhero of all time.

If you prefer just to go to school and have some lessons you can click here.

Or choose what you want to do from the menu at the top of the page.

Have fun and play well!

Before you go any further, please read the
TERMS AND CONDITIONS for kids using this website.


Also on this page, we get the drop down menu with titles like BEGINNERS, THINKING SKILLS, IMPROVERS, SCHOOL, and OTHER RESOURCES.

And there is the GROWN-UP SECTION. Click it and you'll get Parents, Teachers and The ChessKid Project. It is self-explanatory of what you will find there.

Next is the RESOURCES Section. Yahoooo! Here, I call this the Chess Paradise for Chess Teachers!!! It is! Don't you believe me? Go there to check it yourself! I call it paradise...

Okay okay! I'll let you in on it. Free books by Richard James. His works Move 1 and Move Two has helped a lot of chess students in England and all over the world. There is also the Simple Opening Guides. Books for Chess Parents and yes, Beginners Guide To Chess... If you still disagree with me, then you don't know what paradise mean!

Of course, the next section is the Chess Store. One way of helping these free sites online is to buy your chess needs and addiction to them, online! The usual line, proceeds of the sales help maintain the site is truly (madly!) appreciated.

Advice is the next section. I need this too. It's a bit techie (goodness Kiko! use computers and your on the techie side!) Explains how to further or maximize their free resources. I want to call this section as the guide to proper abuse of chesskids site! Hahahahah!

Second to the last one is the SUPPORT section. Donate and Link to us. Now, I've done the link to us part... let's donate to this site!

The last one says Legal! this might go against the section I call abuse chesskids but don't get me wrong. If you plan to use chesskids in any manner against the laws of your land, you'll be sorry! Because you ought to be good boys and girls when you become a chesskids academy student or teacher!

And before I forget, I'd like to tell you all that they have interactive trainings and lessons. You can hook-up with your smart board or LCD Projector. Go there now! Hassle free!ChessKids Academy..

The next one is a site I never expected would have an owner as generous as the sun during the summer season in the Philippines and as giving as the rains during the months of June to November.

The owner wants to be called as Professor Chester Nuhmentz. Read it on a 180 KPH speed and you'll get the idea, PROFESSOR CHESS TOURNAMENTS! What do they have there? Downloadable materials, some are for free and some you can have for a very minimal fee. Chess Vision Exercises, Chess Club Sites, Discussion Forum for Coaches, Player Biographies, Subscription Information, Question, Problem and Suggestion, Tales from the Diary of King Gustafon, Chess Puzzles tips and solutions, Customized Forms and Certificates and Online Chess Quizzes.

Hey! I missed one part, the RECON 64 section of the site. This is one of the strenght of the site when we talk about training for its susbscribers and visitors. What does it do then? Basically, it is a move prediction exercise with a few twist. Players may make up six guesses to anticipate a move. The twist? an imaginary money or wager is placed on each prediction!

By the way, Prof. Chester Nuhmentz is Jim Mitch in real life and here's his great work, Professor Chess.

Next site I'd like to share is the recent link I have, Chess Videos. Full of stuff for chess instructions using videos, diagrams and forums full of yes, videos. Yes! You do not have to pay for anything to register. You have to register to enjoy the full benefits of membership. Here are the other Free Chess Utilities you can avail of: Chess Diagram Generator, PGN Game Replayer, Chess Puzzle Creator and Chess Qoute of the day. What else can we ask for? we mere mortals...

The forums are very great! They have sections/threads for a lot of chess stuff. We have General Chess Discussion, Intermediate or Advance Chess Strategy Videos, Beginners Chess Startegy Videos and of course, Chess Game Replays and Analysis!

Forums with videos titled "Winning vs Pawn on 7th Rank" is a killer! Advanced Level Video called "Isolated Queen Pawn Struggle" is a great one. There is this book club recently started which aims to discuss 2 chapters of a nominated and won book every week. Meaning, in the forum, you get to read and discuss a book chosen by the forum members. I think they have started to discuss End Game Manual by Dvoretsky.

Here, you check it out...Chess Videos..



Oh boy! I'm lost for words but still can't get enough of the resources available online.

And yes, please check out the right side panel board of our blog. there, you can find lots of links for chess federations, play chess sites, scholastic and training chess sites.

Guys, it's worth your cybertime! Gotta go now! Oooops! Before I go, I'd like to make a disclaimer... I am not paid to write such stuffs! It's a voluntary thing for me becuase those sites i wrote about and the ones I linked with helped me so much for free. So this is also for free!

Ciao!

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