educate yourself at chess

Nowadays it is obviously very important to know theory and get out of this phase with some slight advantage or at least an equal, playable position. However, besides learning your lines well, it is useful to know how to play common structures and patterns that arise from different openings. Knowing the plans and the ideas in these middlegames will help you improve your overall understanding of chess and save time over the board when faced against them.

In this article, we are going to discuss and briefly explain some of the most important structures that can arise in a game.

Mistakes are part of the learning process, they say. We have to go wrong in order to get better. However, it is safe to say that in chess everybody prefers to avoid mistakes, or at least make as little as possible. It can be frustrating to see how a good game turns into a nightmare in only one move. It takes a lot of hard work to lessen (if not completely make disappear) such moments and even so, the inevitable might happened to anyone, from club players to strong Grandmasters. A moment of carelessness or simply a bad day at the office is all it takes.

In this article, we are going to make a short list of what we believe are the most common mistakes that amateurs tend to make in the hope it will help you improve your overall results. Here we go.

Defense is perhaps one of the most important chess skills you can have. World Championships and major tournaments are always won with a help of outstanding defense. Ability to play well in inferior positions and don’t collapse under pressure is the trait shared by all World Champions and greatest chess players.

If you want to strengthen your game, it is one of the skills you should definitely look to develop. Today we will study the 7 greatest defensive combinations by the world’s best.

Garry Kasparov is the legend among the legends. His playing style is a hybrid between Alekhine’s, Tal’s and Fischer’s. He is a very dynamic player with extensive opening knowledge and aggressive play. Kasparov is perhaps the most titled and awarded player that ever lived. He played a total of ~2500 rated games winning 55% of the times and losing just 7.7% throughout his career! For comparison, Magnus Carlsen’s winning percentage is “just” 43% and losing 16.6%. Kasparov has played hundreds if not thousands of beautiful games, but today we show you 5 of his amazing wins. Any chess player from 100-2800 can learn from those games.

Siegbert Tarrasch was one of the world’s best chess players in the early 1890s. He had a “+3” score against Wilhelm World Champion Wilhelm Steinitz but never faced him in the Match because of Tarrasch’s full-time job as a doctor. Tarrasch was an influential contributor to opening and endgame theory. One of his famous principles states: “Always put the rook behind the pawn…. Except when it is incorrect to do so.” Today we will take a  look at some of the best chess games played by Siegbert Tarrasch. Let’s learn from this great teacher together!

The best way to learn something new is by observing how that’s done by professionals. Chess is no exception. There is no need to stress about the importance of tactics, especially for under 2200 rated players. Ability to find tactics, and survive complication is often a decisive factor in an amateur game. If you want to achieve progress in this area, you should go over grandmaster’s tactical combinations and practice finding those in your own games. To give you a jump start, we invite you to see those 7 GM games decided by tactics.

Studying chess combinations is one of the sure and proven ways to improve your games. By simply observing and understanding how Grandmasters were able to pull out one tactics trick after another, it is possible to learn and start applying those in your own games. If you combine this exercise with rigorous tactics drills you will soon start seeing a positive trend in your rating development.  Today we will witness some of the most beautiful chess combinations. Let’s get started!

One of the best ways to learn chess is by closely observing how Masters and Grandmasters play the game. If you want to improve, you should spend a certain amount of time analyzing and going over the games of strong players every day. The key is to understand why the moves were made, what was the plan and thinking behind it. You can learn an enormous number of ideas from studying classic games. Today we will take a look at 9 of those games, fully annotated for your convenience.

An opening is the first, most fundamental stage of the game. Opening play often decides how the game progresses into the middlegame and then into the endgame. Typically, slight opening inaccuracies and mistake don’t lead to instant defeat. However, when the mistake is serious enough and the opponent is strong a single opening mistake can finish the game. Today, we will explore 7 examples of how opening mistakes can lead to the devastating results.

Studying classic games is a tested and proven approach to learning the strategies and mastering the ideas. It’s not always easy to understand the purpose of each move because it is a part of a bigger plan which can go as deep as a dozen moves ahead. That’s why it is important to study well-annotated games, where the most important ideas are explained.