Total Chess

Dynamic tactics occur when an attack involves more than one of the opponent’s pieces. They are the most common tactics in chess. They happen all the time, if you know what to look for. 1) Fork A fork tactic happens when one piece attacks two pieces at the same time. While the opponent is busy […]

Direct tactics occur when an attack involves only one of the opponent’s pieces. They are the easiest tactics to learn and use. 1) Single Threat A single threat happens when one piece attacks one of the opponent’s pieces, or gives check, or makes a threat. It may be a checkmate threat or a threat to […]

Board strategy means making your overall position better. A better position leads to better moves, and better moves leads to a better game. You should always try to make your position better, and try to make the opponent’s position worse. There are three parts to the chess strategy to make your overall position better. The […]

Piece strategy means making your pieces better. Better pieces lead to better moves, and better moves lead to a better game. What is a better piece? A better piece is a piece that is well placed on the board, or a piece that works well with other pieces.

Pawns are the least valuable pieces on the chess board. So, are pawns important? Yes! Every pawn could turn into a queen. When you capture one of the opponent’s pawns, you never have to worry about that pawn becoming a queen. When the opponent captures one of your pawns, you have one less chance of […]

In the opening, many different moves are possible. You cannot memorize them all, but you can learn the opening systems you would like to play. An opening system is a specific type or style of opening, and the ideas and the strategies that go with it. Each opening system has its own typical moves and […]

This endgame might seem simple, but it is not. There is a lot of strategy. If you have the pawn and you can promote it to a queen, then you will win. If the opponent has the pawn and you can stop it from promoting to a queen, then you will draw. Often, the deciding […]

There are three more ways to draw, but they do not happen very often. They are more common with advanced players than with beginners, and they are more difficult to recognize and harder to decide.

In the opening, many different moves are possible. You cannot memorize them all, but you can learn the opening systems you would like to play. An opening system is a specific type or style of opening, and the ideas and the strategies that go with it. Each opening system has its own typical moves and […]

Now that you know about strong pawns and weak pawns, you are ready to learn about pawn advances and pawn exchanges. The pawn structure changes every time you or the opponent moves or captures a pawn. Naturally, you want the changes to be in your favor, not in the opponent’s favor. Always consider the changes […]