TheChessWorld: Chess Tips to Help You Win Chess Games

Identifying and Fixing My Chess Weaknesses

01.24.2020

WGM Raluca Sgîrcea, IM Renier Castellanos

Sometimes we win, sometimes we learn, us chess players like to say a lot. It can make us feel better after a loss, but this should be more than just a saying to improve our post-game mood. We should, in fact, be always learning, whether we win, lose or draw. Many players think that they can learn something only from their losses, others only like to show their wins to their trainers. Truth is, all games are equally important. There is no perfect game and play can almost always be improved at some point.

Middlegame Tips

The Queen’s Side Pawn Majority: 5 Rules to Know

03.11.2015

WGM Raluca Sgîrcea, IM Renier Castellanos

You must have heard a million times that a queenside pawn majority is usually preferable, as it gives you a significant strategic advantage. But why is it better and how should you play in order to increase your advantage? It is common knowledge that a queenside majority is dangerous in the endgames, but, many times, the game ends sooner and the endgame isn’t reached. In this article, we will give you some guidelines you can follow and show you some plans that you can use when having a queenside pawn majority.

Material vs. Development: The Compensation Concept

01.25.2016

Yury Markushin

One of the most difficult concepts to explain to beginners is the concept of “compensation” in chess. As a trainer I have seen many of my pupils struggling to correctly evaluate unbalanced positions, no matter what side are they on.

Positional Elements of Chess: Giving Up The Fianchetto Bishop

07.08.2015

WGM Raluca Sgîrcea, IM Renier Castellanos

In chess, the positional struggle is based on the accumulation of small advantages. There are several elements that a chess player must takes into consideration in order to unbalance the game in his favor. These elements are well known: pawn structure, bishop pair, weak squares, piece coordination, king safety, just to name a few of the most commonly used factors.

Training Tips

Openings Ideas Middlegame Advice Endgame Strategies

5 Reasons You Struggle in Chess Tournaments [and how to fix it]

04.09.2019

WGM Raluca Sgîrcea, IM Renier Castellanos

Playing in chess tournaments is a completely different thing from studying chess or playing friendly casual games at the club with your pals. While we can do pretty well during our lessons, training sessions with friends or coach, an official competition forces you to make your best effort and put to work your best competitive skills and character. Of course, usually there are hundreds of other colleagues doing exactly the same and as if this didn’t sound hard enough there is the time pressure.

How to Deal With Chess Anxieties, Barriers and Obstacles

07.29.2015

Yury Markushin

Many chess players ask me the same questions over and over again. The most common questions involve the big 3: anxieties before and during the game, barriers that prevent them from improving at chess and obstacles that disallow focusing on chess, sticking to the plan and reaching the goals. In today's article you will learn how to deal with these 3 big problems that prevent many chess players from fully enjoying the game and reaching their potential.

How to Improve at Chess for Adult Players? [a secret revealed]

09.14.2018

GM Alex Colovic

How frustrating is to observe kids make leaps and bounds with seemingly no work while we adults work so hard and yet we barely make progress! While it is true that sooner or later everybody reaches a plateau, I think there are other, hidden factors at work when it comes to chess improvement as adults.

Opening Tips

10 Best Games on Dutch Defense

01.04.2017

Yury Markushin

Dutch defense is a great attacking opening choice where black prepares king's side attack from move one. In order to avoid complication in the center black usually locks it up early in the game. Dutch was never a super popular opening especially on the top level. Nevertheless, many strong players including Alexander Alekhine, Bent Larsen and Paul Morphy used this opening with a great success. Currently, Hikaru Nakamura is the only top-10 player that uses Dutch on regular basis. If you are a club player, looking for a new active opening choice, the Dutch may be exactly what you need.

The English Opening: A Solid Weapon for Attacking Players

02.10.2016

WGM Raluca Sgîrcea, IM Renier Castellanos

Besides the common opening moves 1.e4 and 1.d4, white's most popular move is 1.c4, known as the English Opening. The English Opening is a perfect choice for aggressive players who prefer to play schemes and creative plans rather than memorizing heavy theory. Of course, there is a great deal of theory in the English Opening as well, but the character of the opening is a lot less forced.

The Caro-Kann: Exchange Variation

01.20.2016

WGM Raluca Sgîrcea, IM Renier Castellanos

It is not the first time in our series of articles that we mention the popularity that the Caro-Kann has been enjoying for the last few years. It is a defense with an old reputation of being passive and only suitable for those positional players who like to keep the game quiet.