Middle Game
The isolated pawn is a very common middlegame theme. Thus, it is very important to know the strategy for playing with and against it. In my previous article, I’ve covered the general ideas of playing with the isolated pawn, if you missed it, you can always review it here. The importance of this topic is […]
In modern chess theory, an isolated pawn is a common and very important positional theme. The side playing with an isolated pawn typically tries utilizing spatial or developmental advantage in exchange for the pawn’s weakness. By accepting the position with an isolated pawn, a player expects to employ the position dynamics for starting a quick […]
Another important figure of classical chess is former World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik. He was born in the Soviet Union, in a region of what is now Saint Petersburg. He learned chess at the age of twelve, from a school friend of his older brother’s and fell in love with the game immediately. His first success […]
Knowing your theory well is very important nowadays, but unfortunately not enough. With such an amount of information available to practically everyone, it is less and less probable that you win a game out of the opening thanks to some good preparation. Usually, the difference between a strong player and an amateur or beginner is […]
There is probably little we could say about Alexander Alekhine that is new to our readers. He is considered to be one of the greatest players ever and his games are an inspiration to every chess aficionado. He became the fourth World Champion in 1927, after defeating the Cuban legend Jose Raul Capablanca. He defended […]
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 […]
Perhaps the most common structure arising from the majority of queen’s pawn openings (1.d4) is the structure known as the Carlsbad pawn structure. It is a structure rich in ideas for both sides with many hidden subtleties and unique methods of playing. Of course, if you have followed our articles in the past you may […]
Akiba Rubinstein is probably a familiar name to every chess player, having left behind a precious legacy of games that new generations of chess players still study and learn from. Born in 1880, Rubinstein is one of the players who never got to be a World Champion due to the simple fact that he never […]
The middlegame is something that many club players are struggling with because there is no clear way to improve it. You can work on tactics, memorize openings and drill the endgames, but the middlegame understanding is something that comes only with experience. In order to get that experience, you need to both study the classics […]
Knowing how to attack is an essential part of the chess struggle. An attack can emerge for several reasons – poor coordination of the opponent’s pieces or a weakness in his king’s shelter could be enough to launch a direct offensive. However, there are other types of attacks that arise very often and this is […]
