LM Dana Mackenzie

LM Dr. Dana Mackenzie is a USCF Life Master, a PhD mathematician, and an award-winning mathematics and science journalist and author. LM Dana Mackenzie started playing tournament chess during the “Fischer boom” of 1971-72 and for some reason never quit. He was the champion of North Carolina in 1985 and 1987, and became a master in 1988.   In 2009, Dana received his Life Master certificate from the USCF, and in 2012 was a member of the West regional champion team in the US Amateur Team tournament.

His most memorable game was in 2006, a victory over IM David Pruess, a game later featured as Game of the Day by Chessgames on November 23, 2011.  That same game so impressed then-IM Jesse Kraai that he invited Dana to give a lecture on it – on this site, where Dana has delivered more than 100 lectures since .

Mackenzie now lives in Santa Cruz, CA and runs a chess club for kids at the local library. His passion for chess and his enthusiasm for teaching is unmistakable.

FIDE: 2112                                                              Watch a lecture now!
TITLE: Life Master (USCF)                                     more details on ChessLecture.com

                             Dana Blogs Chess

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Latest Lecture:

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Dana’s competitions

Reno-Larry Evans Memorial, April 18-20

Dana’s books

The Universe in Zero Words: The Story of Mathematics as Told through Equations –  a history and celebration of 24 great equations in math and science  (Princeton University Press, 2012)

The Big Splat, or How Our Moon Came to Be   – Wiley, 2003;   Booklist Editor’s Choice for 2003, this lively science history relates one of the great recent breakthroughs in planetary astronomy-a successful theory of the birth of the Moon. Science journalist Dana Mackenzie traces the evolution of this theory, one little known outside the scientific community: a Mars-sized object collided with Earth some four billion years ago, and the remains of this colossal explosion-the Big Splat-came together to form the Moon. Beginning with notions of the Moon in ancient cosmologies, Mackenzie relates the fascinating history of lunar speculation, moving from Galileo and Kepler to George Darwin (son of Charles) and the Apollo astronauts, whose trips to the lunar surface helped solve one of the most enigmatic mysteries of the night sky: who hung the Moon?

DVD Collections

LEARN FROM YOUR FELLOW AMATEURS 1

LM Dana Mackenzie examines amateur games and gives his thoughts and strategies behind pivotal game moments. Games examined Caro-Kann, Two Knights Defense, Kings Indian: Fianchetto, Sicilian Defense: Najdorf, Queens Pawn game.

LEARN FROM YOUR FELLOW AMATEURS 2 

LM Dana Mackenzie examines amateur games and gives his thoughts and strategies behind pivotal game moments. Examined games are: Kings Indian Samish, 50…0-0,  Sacillian Defense Schevenigan, Red Flags French Defense, Reti Opening, Sicillian Defense.

LEARN FROM YOUR FELLOW AMATEURS 3

NM Dana Mackenzie examines amateur games and gives his thoughts and strategies behind pivotal game moments. Games examined include When 3P = 1R Scotch Game, Queen’s Gambit Declined: Sav, 4.Nc3, King’s Gambit Star and Superstar Moves, King’s Gambit The good the bad and the bogus, Pirc Defense: Austrian Attack: Phalanx.

LEARN FROM YOUR FELLOW AMATEURS 4

LM Dana Mackenzie examines amateur games and gives his thoughts and strategies behind pivotal game moments. Games examined include The French Defense Marshall Variation; Resigning to soon, French Defense: Winawer, Advance Variation: Another Tragic Resignation, French Defense Burn Variation Piece Coordination, Giuoco Piano: The Weak Back Rank, Pirc: Austrian Attack: Await, Avoid.

LEARN FROM YOUR FELLOW AMATEURS 5

LM Dana Mackenzie examines amateur games and gives his thoughts and strategies behind pivotal game moments.  Lectures included , French Defense: Marshall Variation designing Too Soon, French Defense: Winawer, Advance variation: Another Tragic Resignation, French Defense: Burn Variation
Piece Coordination, Giuoco Piano: The Weak Back Rank, Pirc: Austrian Attack: Await, Avoid,
Attack.

LEARN FROM YOUR FELLOW AMATEURS 6

LM Dana Mackenzie examines amateur games and gives his thoughts and strategies behind pivotal game moments. Games analyzed, Nimzo-Indian: Leningrad Variation, Queen’s Pawn Game, Queen’s Gambit Declined: Semi-Slav, Bogolyubov, King’s Indian: Orthodox, Taimanov variation, The Six-Point Bishop Redux, Bird’s Opening: Good News, Bad News, Good News, Scotch Game: Instructive Endgame Imbalances .

STRATEGIC DECISIONS

LM Dana Mackenzie explains his thoughts and strategies behind pivotal game moments, including:

• What Should I Do When My Opponent Doesn’t Play the Book Move?
• When Should I Chase the Bishop?
• When Should I Trade Queens?
• Where Should I Put My Rooks?

TACTICAL MOTIFS 1

Life Master Dana Mackenzie introduces the concepts and shows examples of hows how to effectively use Forks, Skewer, Xray Attacks, Discovered Attacks, and Armageddon as well as In Between moves (Zwischenzugs).

TACTICAL MOTIFS 2

Life Master Dana Mackenzie introduces the concepts and shows examples of hows how to effectively deal with trapped pieces, reverse the move order, mating nets, berzerker pawns, and the hit and run attack.

TACTICAL MOTIFS 3

Life Master Dana Mackenzie introduces the concepts and shows examples of hows how to effectively deal with loose pieces, cross pins, Alekhines block and other blocks and The Hook and Ladder trick.

NUKE THE SICILIAN

Life Master Dana Mackenzie explains a system he developed originally to defeat the computer program “Fritz”, spending two years to perfect the moves. Working with GM Jesse Kraai and IM Bill Paschall, he published his first lecture about it on ChessLecture.com. Since then, Dana has published several more lectures, exploring different aspects. GM Kraai also published a lecture on the system. This DVD contains all of those lectures.

PRACTICAL ROOK ENDGAMES

Many chess books teach the Lucena and Philidor endgames – but most rook endgames start in much more complicated positions. The objective of this series is to show you what to do in the earlier stages, when things are more complex and you may not even be sure who is winning. One of the key ingredients is obtaining active play for your Rooks, King and Pawns if you can safely do so. Here are real life lessons over the board with examples from Dana’s own games.

TWO KNIGHTS DEFENSE

Bronstein once suggested that the term “defense” does not fit this strategy, and suggested the name “Chigorin Counterattack” as this line is adopted as Black by many aggressive players including Chigorin and Keres. Here Dana takes you through the strategy and how it plays out in real games.