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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 your opponents with them.
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 an opening that requires knowing a fair amount of theory, so beware of this before you decide to play it.
Here’s a fun fact. Fischer beat Reuben Fine in a friendly game in just 17 moves. Opening used? Evans Gambit.
Fine later said Black’s job gets more difficult in this opening since you can’t play …d6 or give up a pawn to gain equality.
Positional Chess: To improve at chess and become a strong player, one needs to include all parts of the game in their training.
Tactics and strategy go hand in hand during a game and it is usually difficult to separate the two. One might be more present throughout a game than the other.
But, they are both needed in order to build up the game and finally win it.
Are you looking for a serious upgrade to your anti-1.d4 repertoire? If you play Queen’s Gambit Declined (QGD) with black pieces I have great news for you.
FM Zaur Tekeyev is here to present a trendy novelty when it comes to QGD!
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Mikhail Botvinnik is one of the classics every player should study.
He was the 6th World Champion and held the title for almost 15 years, though not consecutive.
But he is also widely known as the Patriarch of the Soviet Chess School, as he trained many strong Grandmasters, with some of the most famous students being Garry Kasparov, Anatoly Karpov and Vladimir Kramnik.
Trompowsky Attack: Are you a 1.d4 player?
Tired of Black knowing all the White’s plans and shifting gears into Slav, Nimzo, King’s Indian… resulting in slow, impossible-to-win positions?
Sveshnikov Sicilian: It is no secret that Sicilian Defense is the single strongest response against 1.e4.
In fact, Sicilian is so strong, that many players switched to 1.d4 altogether.
Chess can be divided into three parts: the opening, the middlegame, and the endgame. Each one of them is equally important and, in order to become a strong player, one should include all of them in their training routine.
