Openings

Pawn Structures: In this article, we would like to show our readers a common pawn structure that often arises from the different defenses against 1.e4 such as the Caro Kann, the Alekhine, or the French Defense. It can also arise from certain 1.d4 variations. The structure is the following.

English Opening is a very popular opening choice that starts off with 1.c4. It is considered to be a hypermodern opening where white initiates a fight for the center immediately taking control of d5 square. In today’s article, we will explore how great players of the past and present have treated This Opening and learn […]

Najdorf Sicilian is perhaps the most popular defense among chess players. No matter if you play it or not, you know it and you have probably seen many great historical games in this variation. The great world champions played it quite often as did many other classic Grandmasters of that time.

Nimzo-Indian and Queen’s Gambit: Continuing our series of articles on typical pawn structures, we would like to show our readers a very common structure that arises from the queen’s pawn openings. See the diagram below.

Reti Opening, starting with the moves 1.Nf3 2.g3 has always been a second or third opening choice for white. It’s rarely seen at the club level and it is historically considered to be harmless and dull compared to the most popular 1.d4 and 1.e4. However, this is a very superficial judgment.

French Defense is a very solid opening choice for black. White is able to set up an “ideal pawn center” e4-d4, but black starts contesting it right away with a move 2…d5. This Opening is played by chess players of all levels, including the most elite GMs. For example, Alexander Grischuk was employing it very […]

Opening Mistakes to Avoid: Every chess player knows how important opening preparation is. A good opening knowledge can give you an advantage necessary to get a comfortable Middlegame as white or help to equalize as black. In today’s article, we will talk about the 3 most common opening preparation mistakes that you must avoid at […]

Samisch variation, named after the German master Friedrich Samisch, is among the most popular replies against the King’s Indian. Usually, the second player has two important ideas in this opening. One is to attack the center and put pressure on the square d4 and on the pawn on e4 and the other one is to […]

Ruy Lopez is one of the most common and classical chess openings. It starts with the following moves 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5. The main idea behind this opening for white is to compromise Black’s pawn structure by exchanging one of the bishops. For compensation, black will keep the bishop pair. It […]

Closed Sicilian: The Sicilian Defense is one of the most popular choices for the black player nowadays. While many prefer to open the center with 2. Nf3 followed by 3. d4, the Closed variation of this opening is not to be overlooked. It is a great weapon if you don’t like learning a lot of […]