The match has an important place in chess history. When two players pit themselves against each other over a long series, the result is a tense struggle in which both sides fight for the advantage at every turn. While tournaments can be memorable, virtually all of the most dramatic and pivotal moments in chess history have come from match play.

With that in mind, I've begun a series of articles that will cover the most important matches in the history of chess. Today, I've uploaded summaries of two (well, technically three) matches that had a huge impact on the world of chess: the Fischer-Spassky 1972 World Chess Championship, and the two matches played between Garry Kasparov and Deep Blue. If you're not familiar with these matches and have an interest in chess history, I hope they give you a little insight into these amazing chess battles!

Great Matches in Chess History originally appeared on About.com Chess on Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 at 18:59:53.

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One of the most popular articles on this site is the "Every Move Explained" piece on the famous Morphy Opera House Game. It occurred to me that it might be worthwhile to do another of these articles soon, focusing on another of the most famous games in chess history.

A few of the most likely candidates can be found in a new article I just posted, detailing ten of the most famous chess games ever played. Is there a particular game people would like to see notes and annotations for on this site? While I'm probably not qualified to be analyzing any of these games on my own, plenty of the greatest minds ever to play chess have done so before me, which should help make it possible to provide a move-by-move analysis on any chess game you guys want to see.

More "Every Move Explained" Games? originally appeared on About.com Chess on Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 at 02:00:07.

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Levon Aronian put together an impressive tournament to win the 2012 Tata Steel Chess Tournament. Despite losing to World #1 Magnus Carlsen, Aronian still won the tournament by a full point over carlsen, Teimour Radjabov, and Fabiano Caruana, who shared second place.

For a full review of Wijk aan Zee 2012, check out the new article I've posted on the tournament!

Aronian Wins Tata Steel Chess Title originally appeared on About.com Chess on Monday, January 30th, 2012 at 23:21:07.

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Okay, so the 2012 World Championship isn't set to be played until May, but that doesn't mean we can't look ahead to the next World Chess Championship, scheduled for sometime in 2013. As I mentioned in my last post, Levon Aronian and Vladimir Kramnik are obviously already thinking about it, as they've set up a match in April to help them prepare.

Later this year, the 2012 Candidates' tournament will determine who, exactly, will challenge the reigning champion for the title in 2013. If you've been looking for information on this tournament, such as the format or who will be participating, I've just set up a page that should answer your questions -- at least, if we have answers yet, as not all of the details have been ironed out. Here's to some great championship chess over the next two years: the schedule is loaded with matches and tournaments that should have contenders pitted against each other on a frequent basis.

Thinking Ahead: The 2013 World Chess Championship originally appeared on About.com Chess on Sunday, January 29th, 2012 at 17:42:55.

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One of the more exciting pieces of news to come out of Wijk aan Zee (which I'll have a recap of later tonight) was the announcement of an upcoming six-game match between Vladimir Kramnik and Levon Aronian. The match is designed to help both players prepare for the Candidates tournament for the following World Chess Championship, which both players will be participating in later this year.

This is the first time in history that two players rated over 2800 will be playing each other in a match. I'll be sure to have plenty of coverage of the match when it takes place in late April!

Kramnik and Aronian to Play Practice Match originally appeared on About.com Chess on Sunday, January 29th, 2012 at 16:49:59.

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