Working on strategic understanding is essential for players of any level if they want to improve. And club players know it as well, but they often prefer working on tactics instead. It is understandable; you can solve lots of puzzles to sharpen your tactical vision and then try to score some quick wins by spotting blunders. The strategy seems to be more complicated and less attractive, and so often it remains neglected. Although no one would argue that it is useful, it sounds too abstract. What are the specific benefits?
If you are looking to take your positional understanding to the next level, the TCW Academy course on the Outposts is a definite must-take! IM Milovan Ratkovic starts out with the basics and quickly deep dives into the mechanics of the outpost play.
The Sicilian Defense is the most popular and fun opening in chess. It leads to exciting positions, never makes you bored and its combative nature attracts millions of chess fans of any level. When top-level grandmasters need to win with Black pieces, they use the Sicilian in most of the cases. And it is the best-scoring response after White’s first move 1.e4! Perhaps everyone thought about adding this marvelous Defense (or maybe “Attack”?) to their repertoire. But which line of the Sicilian to choose?
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Creating a repertoire for black is usually a challenge, as your opponent is the one who’s setting the pace and can decide what type of positions to go for. If you are still struggling with putting yours together, then this article is for you!
Once you’ve learned all there is to know about the chessboard and how to set it up, it’s time to see how those figurines you’ve just arranged on their starting squares move.
One thing to remember from the very beginning is that they have different values, so I’m going to start the presentation in ascending order.
One of the biggest questions when it comes to building a repertoire is should I focus on only one opening or include more than one option for each side? There is no right answer to this question; probably the way to go is what works best for you.
Both have their advantages and disadvantages. For example, playing more than one opening could result in knowing them less; you might not get to know all the subtleties and existing plans. The bright side is, of course, that you’ll be able to change your opening depending on the opponent you’re facing.
Do you struggle in middlegame/endgame play? Have you ever wished you could convert your advantages more seamlessly in your games?
If so, have you considered engaging in the middlegame and minor-piece endgame study? We at TheChessWorld.com want to introduce you to Minor Piece Mastery. This 3-hour course will show you how to recognize good and bad minor pieces, when to trade, and how to convert the advantage in seemingly equal positions!
If you are a current club chess player I have 3 questions for you… Have you been struggling to find an opening that suits you and your playing style? Has it become harder to get into winning positions with your current opening repertoire? Has playing the same opening resulted in boring, predictable middlegames?
If you answered ‘yes’ to any of the above questions, read on to discover your new favorite opening based on ChessBase’s win statistics!
Finding the right opening for you is a complicated and time-consuming process. You need to be objective, know yourself very well, and try to find positions that will suit your style.
If you are still looking to build a repertoire with white, but not sure which opening would suit you best, we are here to help! In this article, we are going to take a brief look at the English Opening and its characteristics.
