TheChessWorld: Chess Tips to Help You Win Chess Games

5 Things We Should All Learn from Mark Dvoretsky

04.22.2018

WGM Raluca Sgîrcea, IM Renier Castellanos

Known as one of the best coaches of our times, Mark Dvoretsky left us a valuable legacy to help chess players improve their training technique and take that much-awaited leap forward. His books are a great source of inspiration and help for every aspiring chess player. Mark Dvoretsky learned how to play chess before elementary school, but back then he was mostly interested in mathematics, so the game wasn’t given that much importance. He started to take chess seriously and began going to the district’s chess club and studying only when he was in the fifth grade.

Middlegame Tips

Fighting The Isolated Pawn

10.28.2015

WGM Raluca Sgîrcea, IM Renier Castellanos

A while ago we have shown you the advantages of the isolated queen’s pawn, the ideas and plans you can adopt when finding yourself on the side having such a structure. However, as everybody knows, an isolated pawn represents a weakness that should be exploited.

The King’s March in Middlegame

10.29.2015

WGM Raluca Sgîrcea, IM Renier Castellanos

The subject of this article is a bit unusual among chess publications, as there hasn’t been talked much about the role of the king in the middlegame. It is well known that the king is the most important piece in the endgame. A centralized king is without a doubt a factor that gives advantage in the endgame.

Typical Attacking Plans: Rook Lifts

04.13.2016

WGM Raluca Sgîrcea, IM Renier Castellanos

Knowing how to attack is very important in chess. Just as a player must train his positional understanding by learning new concepts and putting them in practice, attacking skills can be improved by learning the standard maneuvers of each position. Attacking is not always easy. Many times a player can't rely on calculations and he must play by instinct.

Training Tips

Openings Ideas Middlegame Advice Endgame Strategies

How to Play Against a Chess Master – A Practical Advice

09.22.2017

WGM Raluca Sgîrcea, IM Renier Castellanos

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.

5 Things for Becoming a Better Chess Player without a Coach

07.08.2017

NM Viktor Neustroev

It’s hard to imagine that it's possible to become a master without a coach. But before I share a few tips and ideas how to work on chess by yourself, I should definitely say that if you have an option to hire a coach, you should do this. Working together with a good coach will benefit you the most. A good coach can help you to improve certain aspects of your play which you can hardly spot by yourself. However, in this article, I want to tell you how to train most effectively on your own.

5 Most Effective Chess Training Techniques You Have to Try

10.14.2016

WGM Raluca Sgîrcea, IM Renier Castellanos

Have you ever felt like you have reached the top of your level? Times goes by and you see no improvement in your play? In this article we want to give you 5 training tips that could change this situation drastically. Each one of us has different strengths and weaknesses, as well as different amount of time available for chess. However, there are general and tested methods that guarantee improvement within months. Here is a list with what we consider the most effective exercises.

Opening Tips

Learning from the World Champions: Robert Fischer on the Spanish Opening

03.25.2016

WGM Raluca Sgîrcea, IM Renier Castellanos

A chess player needs to constantly keep looking for new ideas for his opening choices, for future games preparation or simply for the sake of improving. These new ideas are not always in the Super Elite tournaments but hidden in the past, in the history of our great world champions. In this article we are going to have an inside look at some of Bobby Fischer's games and his particular way of handling the Spanish Opening with the white pieces.

10 Best Games on French Defense

02.26.2016

Yury Markushin

French Defense is a very solid opening choice for black. White is able to setup an "ideal pawn center" e4-d4, but black starts contesting it right away with a move 2...d5. French is played by chess players of all levels, including the most elite GMs. For example, Alexander Grischuk was employing it very successfully on the top level. Today we will look at 10 prominent games played with French Defense.

Typical Pawn Formations: The Staunton Pawn Structure

11.09.2015

WGM Raluca Sgîrcea, IM Renier Castellanos

Very often in the English Opening we can find on the board the so-called Arab pawn structure, or the Staunton pawn structure, as I learned it. It is probably one of the most aesthetic pawn formations, with 4 pawns in the in the center accompanied by the knight pawns one square behind. With a little imagination we can think of a castle with two towers on each side.

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