IM Renier Castellanos - Author at TheChessWorld Blog
IM Renier Castellanos is a Spanish chess player and coach who was born in 1982. He had a peak FIDE rating of 2528 and has 2 GM Norms.
He also holds the title of FIDE Trainer.
He has also won several tournaments in Spain and abroad.
He is also a popular online instructor who teaches chess students of various levels and ages on online platforms.
He has produced many chess courses and videos on topics such as positional chess, openings, endgames, and tactics.
Chess Articles by IM Renier Castellanos
The Queen’s Gambit: The Minority Attack in The Carlsbad Pawn Structure
Before starting the actual presentation, we will first address a basic question to the understanding of this article: “What is the ‘Carlsbad pawn structure’?” This notion refers to the pawn structure arising in the Exchange Variation of the Queen’s Gambit, which made its debut in Carlsbad, in 1923. We can see this pawn formation in […]The Queen’s Side Pawn Majority: 5 Rules to Know
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, […]3 Best Games of the Week – 2
For this week we have chosen a Slav Defense, an English opening and a Kings Indian defense with 7…Na6. They all have in common very lively play with fancy attacks, but also lots of complications that are analyzed in detail.3 Best Games of The Week
Welcome to this new section of TheChessWorld. Here we will have three recent games analyzed in detail byIM Renier Castellanos andWGM Raluca Sgîrcea,every week. We will present the games from different players and with different openings. This week features two games of Alexander Grsichuk and recent Anand’s victory over Nakamura.Fighting King’s Indian Defense: The Saemisch Part 2
In the previous article, WGM Raluca Sgîrcea and IM Renier Castellanos explored the Saemisch variation of the King’s Indian Defense, especially focusing on what happens after white take the pawn 7.dxc5. This article will concentrate its attention on a more popular variation 7.d5. Crushing King’s Indian Defense: Saemisch Gambit
In this article, WGM Raluca Sgîrcea and IM Renier Castellanos cover the Saemisch variation of KID in great detail. This is one of the most important weapons that white can use against a very popular on all levels from club to super-GM King’s Indian Defense. Ready to learn more?Crushing French Defense – The Korchnoi Gambit
The French is among the most popular defenses against 1.e4 and for a good reason. It is a very solid choice, but at the same time quite aggressive. Black’s counterplay on either wing (this depends on the specific variation) offers him an opportunity to unbalance the game and take white into a very sharp and […]Playing against the Nimzo-Indian Defense
For most of the 1.d4 players, the Nimzo-Indian defense is one of the toughest defenses to get an advantage when playing against. It is a defense that has remained a solid, flexible, and active weapon throughout the years, surviving the test of openings trends every time. Many grandmasters consider this defense the best choice against […]The Benko Gambit: Zaitsev Variation
The Benko gambit (also called the Volga gambit) is one of the most popular choices against 1.d4 in modern practice. It gives the second player the opportunity of setting up a strategic battle mixed with tactical elements that turns out to be successful very often. Although this opening never became a main weapon at the […]Doubled Pawns: Weakness or Strength – Part 2
In the first part of this article, we have discussed how to play against the doubled pawns and exploit their weakness. It is very important to remember that they are not always weak and there are situations when doubled pawns represent an advantage. ***
