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The Art of Exchanges is one of those under-the-radar ‘super skills’ that all the strong players possess, and the rest doesn’t quite get.

It is perhaps the most important, very underestimated SKILL in chess.

Few players, other than IMs and GMs realize how powerful that skill really is.

Needless to say, over 95% of club players do not put much thought when it comes to exchanging their pieces or pawns. If the exchange looks “fair” or “equal” why not swap a pair of bishops, trade the knight, or few pawns?

In this article, I would like to explain the reasons for recommending the Scotch Game as a way to combat 1.e4 e5 instead of many other possibilities that exist out there. As a person who has played nearly exclusively 1.e4 e5 on the Black side, and a person who just published a Black course on 1.e4 e5 and is about to publish a book, I can definitely say that White does not have any opening advantage in 1.e4 e5.

It is not a secret that passed pawns are one of the most powerful weapons on the board. A passed pawn can promote into a queen and this is something that happens in endgames more than often. But in middlegames, things are usually a bit different. When there are many inhabitants on the board the road for the pawn is not sweet and full of roses at all. Pawns rarely promote in middlegames; a more seen scenario is that it gets blocked or surrounded by enemies.

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?

Want to learn the Rules of Chess? Now you can master the chess rules in less than 20 minutes! You’ll learn how pieces move, how to setup a chess board, what’s your pieces worth, how to castle, what’s promotion, what’s “en passant”, how to start the game and much more! If you are beginning your chess journey this is a perfect place to learn the rules.

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.