Back in the 18^th century, the famous chess player Francois Andre Danican Philidor was underlying the importance of the pawns and “playing them well”, concluding that “pawns are the soul of chess”. In the coming years, more and more strategical concepts were put together and nowadays we have a whole set of guidelines that help us understand important positional ideas.

It is common knowledge that the key to making progress in chess is the consistent and deep analysis of your own games. Once you have learned the most typical nuances of positional play and tactics, it is worth finding out what you miss in your own practice. It is necessary to try to get to the source of your mistakes and learn more about your own strengths and weaknesses.

If you are an active player you have probably already been paired against a much stronger opponent at least once in the tournaments you’ve played. It is clear that this will never be an easy encounter, but it is important that you know how to approach the game and how to set your mind for it. There are many players who feel discouraged when they see themselves in such a situation and they think that they will stand no chance against such a strong player.