Openings

Win with Black Pieces: The player with the White pieces moves first in chess, which gives them a certain advantage. They can choose what direction the game will take and can fight for the initiative from the start. At the beginner level, such an advantage doesn’t matter.

Studying openings is one of the most popular activities among chess players. It is reasonable: if you are good at openings, you get a head-start for the middlegames or even endgames. The first stage of the game is also the most predictable one. You can cook certain lines or traps at home and then catch […]

Sveshnikov Sicilian: The Sicilian is the most popular answer to 1.e4 and is one of the openings we can find at any level, from club players to the very top. The reason why so many players employ it is it usually arises from unbalanced positions, with good fighting chances for both sides. It is also […]

Pirc Defense is a hypermodern opening named after the five-time Yugoslavian Champion Vasja Pirc. At the highest level, the opening has always been staying on the roadside of the mainstream theory. Still, Mikhail Botvinnik used it in the Century Match in 1970, and Robert Fischer employed it against Boris Spassky in the World Championship in […]

1…e5: “What should I play against 1.e4?” is a big question when creating your opening repertoire with the black pieces. There are a number of good openings for black, with the Sicilian (1…c5) being the main choice by the second player.

O’Kelly Sicilian is a great variation of the Sicilian Defense when you don’t have so much time to study its theory. Chess has always been a fascinating game. When you see brilliant minds silently competing over the board, it is not even necessary to know the rules to get excited. Many people study chess hard. […]

The Sicilian Defense is one of the most interesting and versatile openings. It leads to imbalanced positions and suits dynamic players. While some variations, such as the Dragon, are razor-sharp and aggressive, there are solid alternatives for Black as well. One of such lines has recently become trendy – the Taimanov Sicilian.

Scandinavian Defense appears on the board after the moves 1.e4 – d5 and is one of the oldest recorded openings in chess. Its idea is very straightforward – right from the start, black is attacking white’s center, trying to undermine it.

Sicilian Dragon is one of the main weapons for black against 1.e4. The Dragon is known as a fighting opening, which can lead to sharp play and sharp complications in some lines. Black has a lot of set-ups to choose from, each with different characteristics and plans. In this article, I am going to present […]

The most popular way to start the game is by moving the King’s pawn two squares forward. This move has been played for centuries and is the move that most beginners are taught to start with. It is one of the most correct first moves, as it opens two pieces, the Queen and the light-squared […]