Excelling at technical chess is a quality rarely found below top level chess. The ability to convert winning positions into a full point with certainty is something every player should work on until it is polished at a medium/high level. As you already can imagine, this is easier said than done and even Grandmasters struggle with this issue at times. In this article, we wanted to shed some light in an endgame that may seem easy at first sight but still takes a fair amount of work in order to bring home the full point. As you already can imagine, this is easier said than done and even Grandmasters struggle with this issue at times. In this article, we wanted to shed some light in an endgame that may seem easy at first sight but still takes a fair amount of work in order to bring home the full point.

In today's article we will have a closer look at the use of open files in the middlegame. From the very early start of our chess learning we are told that we must control any open file with our rooks, but as usual it's always easier said than done.

Many of you may have read before about the principle of two weaknesses, but for beginners, it might still be a concept difficult to apply, although very easy to remember. This principle is the most important one to remember in positions when you’re trying to materialize an advantage, either material or positional.