Main Article Links:

• Chess.com Articles and Blogs
• Get Better at Chess for Everyone (Chess.com Column Apr 2016-2017)
• All Articles by Subject (no longer includes Novice Nook columns)
• Principles
• Definitions

Other articles can be accessed by using the main pull-down menu above by going to "Articles and Blogs" and scrolling right.

Novice Nook Column (please read caveat below about the deleting of Novice Nook links)

The Novice Nook hyperlinks formerly on my website no longer went directly to my columns; instead they went to Chess Cafe, which is no longer free & sometimes those who have taken those links have had difficulty getting Chess Cafe to allow access even after they tried to pay their fee. As of April 2022 I have tried to remove all these links from my website. However, all other article and blog links should be fine; for example, all my "Chess.com" and "Get Better at Chess for Everyone" links are good.  Dan's students can access Dan's library of more than 160 Novice Nook articles by contacting Dan. The articles can be accessed by those with a link students get from Dan, NOT from this page. If a student can't access the Novice Nook files for some reason, contact Dan for a workaround to access the files in a different manner.

FLASH!! Unbelievable! A question tonight on ABC's famed game show Jeopardy (1/17/24) was: This column on Chess Cafe helped beginning players: _____ Nook? The answer was my column Novice Nook!!! On Jeopardy, for real. I'm flabbergasted. Pinch me...

Dan's instruction with other media:
My award-winning Youtube Channel with over 350 free videos on improvement your chess.
My 300+ ICC instructional videos on chess improvement. Each is ~30 minutes. ICC's page of my video packs. Many of the same subjects are discussed as in the Novice Nooks plus opening tabiyas and 100+ instructive amateur games. Includes links to my Chess.com TV show archive videos of "Q&A with Coach Heisman"

A Guide to Chess Improvement: The Best of Novice Nook book. Extensively updated and rearranged material; includes 3 new Novice Nooks which will not be available online:

• Is It Safe? Quiz
• The Three Types of Chess Vision  (Visualization, Board Vision, Tactical Vision); IM Rensch's video on visualization (for Chess.com members)
• Ask the Right Questions

If you like the Novice Nook columns, you'll love the book  It's Amazon 5-stars! Click the following graphic & search for the book at Amazon to give Dan credit:

​Chess Cafe "Skittles Room" and other articles (most not currently linked)

• The Secrets to 'Real' Chess - One of the best and most original articles I ever wrote (until the Novice Nooks, of course!).    Honorable Mention      "Best Web Article 1999-00 " by the Chess Journalists of America. - note my email address at the end of this article is my old email that no longer is valid. For further writings on this same subject see my book "The Improving Chess Thinker"
• Time Management During a Chess Game  - recommended by "Searching for Bobby Fischer" coach Bruce Pandolfini:  "Dan, Good column. I'm going to refer it to all my students. Best Regards, Bruce Pandolfini" - e-mail from Bruce, Nov 16, 1999. 
• Applying Steinitz' Laws - The basis for all planning and positional play. Don't know what to look for on a move?  Read this! (Steinitz's Theory)

• Encouraging Tournament Participation - This article won CJA 1st Prize, Best Editorial 2001-2002
• Steinitz, Zermelo, and Elkies - In order for your game to improve, your opponent has to make a mistake. The logic of chess evaluation.