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Here are some essential chess tricks and tips that will help you understand the game of chess better:

• In the opening look for a pawn move first, then for a knight move, then for a bishop move, then for a rook move (or castle), and finally for a queen move.
• Do not move the same piece move then once in the opening if you do not have a very good reason for it (such as material gains).
• Do not accept many pawn sacrifices during the opening, especially playing black. Otherwise, you can get a couple of extra pawns, but also get checkmated quickly because of your underdeveloped pieces. Remember, the main purpose of “opening” is to develop pieces quickly and efficiently.

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The main idea of pretty much any chess opening is to develop pieces as quickly and effectively as possible. Here are some basic principles for white which can be applied to most opening situations in the world.

How it all begins…
Chess is very old and wise game which was invented in India about 2000 years ago. In the very beginning, only Indian kings played this game. Instead of going to war two Indian shahs (kings) just set down with the chess board between them and decided whose land is whose and who is stronger. This way they saved their armies and lives of thousands of innocent people. The game of chess was called the game of kings.
The rules were almost identical to the modern chess. Queen was able to move only one square in each direction. There was no “castle” and “en passant”.

Chess is a complex game. Not regarding the moves but regarding the strategies, one needs to opt for winning. From the basic rules to advanced tactics, theory and opening and ending moves, the entire game of chess is subjected to a lot of patience and concentration. Practicing meditation alongside learning to play chess is thus a vital part. And it is important to know the following before starting the actual tutorial.

Have you ever played an opponent who is 400 points higher rated than you are? If you’re playing chess regularly I bet you did. According to the statistics if player is 400 points higher rated he will win at about 95% of games. But do not get disappointed and read on. There is a pretty good chance that after reading this little article and following this basic guidelines YOU will be in that 5% who manage to draw or even win a game against much stronger party. So, why do these high rated players beat weaker ones? Well, they are well trained: high rated players know openings well, they have good chess vision, their tactics level is high and they know really well how to play and win theoretical endings.

Online chess is fun. Online chess is cool. Online chess is easy to play. But have you ever think about how much time do you spend playing online chess and later wondering why are you not doing well over the board, at real “wooden” chess (or may you be using plastic USCF chess set) somewhere on the Atlantic Open with standard time control? While playing online most people most commonly play so-called quick chess, with time control 10 or 15 minutes for game or even shorter. This kind of chess has NO REAL VALUE for improving your standard time control chess.

Here is a very nice collection of greatest chess players of XX century. If you know well the characters of these players you will easily understand why one or another player is presented the way he is. We all know that Tahl was a great fighter and never accepted (well… almost never) draws. That’s why he is presented in form of boxer with the chess board on a boxing glove. Karpov was famous for his prophylactic moves, so he is shown in from of archer. Smyslov treated chess more like an art than a sport. He is a music composer in this collection. There are total of 13 chess grandmasters in this collection: Karpov, Kotov, Tahl, Botvinik, Pologaevski, Smyslov, Boleslavski, Keres, Spaski, Bronstein, Petrosian, Stein, Taimanov.

We all know that chess programs become extremely popular among players of all levels. But what’s so great about all these modern Rybka, Fritz, Junior, Crafty, Shredder and zillion of other chess engines? How to use these chess monsters to improve your game? If you’re interested to know answers to questions above keep reading.