Openings

If you’re looking to add a new surprise weapon to your opening repertoire, I have some exciting news for you. The Hanham Variation offers Black good control of the center, along with positional and strategic advantages. It is a solid and reliable opening based on Philidor Defense.

As you keep improving in chess, there comes the point where you have to learn a chess opening to better fight for the advantage. However, learning a chess opening can be a huge task for beginners and even intermediate players. There are so many openings, having different ideas and concepts, variations, and subtleties. How can […]

Englund Gambit is one of the openings that can surprise and confound your opponent, leading to an exciting and rich position with lots of possibilities. If you want to add excitement and unpredictability to your games, the Englund Gambit can be a fun and effective option. An often underlooked element in chess is creativity. The […]

A chess opening is the only stage of the game where you can anticipate and prepare moves in advance. This is the reason why having a good repertoire of openings is so important for any chess player who wants to improve their game. A well-prepared opening can help you get the positions you want in […]

Opening strategy refers to the specific moves and principles employed during the first few moves of a chess game, with the goal of gaining an early advantage or controlling key positions on the board. The first stage of a chess game is opening. It’s surprising how often good players find themselves in unfavorable positions within […]

1.d4 gambits are some of the most important gambits in chess. When it comes to opening preparation, it makes sense to devote more time to more popular variations. This way, you can be better prepared in the lines that are more likely to happen in your games. On the other hand, it makes you more […]

Nimzo-Indian Defense is named after Aron Nimzowitsch, a Latvian chess grandmaster who was one of the leading players of the early 20th century. The Nimzo-Indian Defense was first played by Nimzowitsch in the 1920s, and it quickly became a popular opening among top-level players.

Rossolimo Attack: Black does not play the Sicilian to play the meek lamb against White’s e4. It’s getting ready for some action. Then he plays the knight to c6, grabbing the exact squares that White’s f3-knight is trying to control. Oops! It’s not going to be easy it seems.

Four Knights Game – Scotch Variation: Opening trends change all the time. People play whatever is played the most at the top level, whether that opening suits them or not. Many players like to follow the latest trends, dictated by the leading experts in the opening.

In the previous post, I shared the opening that IM Ratkovic found to work exceptionally well for his students. Quick reminder… Four Knights Game Scotch Variation (FNGSV).