Experts

Experienced players, County players, KS4

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    U9/U11 Skills and links

    ByDrDave

    Topic page video OPENING       How to start like a Grandmaster https://devonjuniorchess.co.uk/content/openings-advicehttps://devonjuniorchess.co.uk/content/opening-dos-and-donts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UAHjZsrVw0   Opening traps http://devonjuniorchess.co.uk/content/opening-traps https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gx7TmtMkg_U   Next steps for U11s https://devonjuniorchess.co.uk/content/how-play-opening-2   TACTICS       Tactics advice https://devonjuniorchess.co.uk/content/middlegame-tactics-adviceKnow all the basic tactics https://devonjuniorchess.co.uk/content/middlegame-tactics-advice#6 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83oae4kRfnMhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvr94Dinfr4    https://devonjuniorchess.co.uk/content/middlegame-tactics-advice     (U11) A course in chess tactics http://devonjuniorchess.co.uk/content/course-chess-tactics     Practice spotting tactics https://lichess.org/training     Check after…

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    Tactical themes

    ByDrDave

    Mates  Annihilation of Defensive Barrier/Obliteration/Demolition of Structure  Clearance/Line Opening  Decoy/Attraction/Removal of the Guard  Defensive Combinations  Deflection  Desperado  Discovered Attack  Double Attack    Double Check  Drawing Combinations  Fortress  Greek Gift Sacrifice  Interference/Obstruction  Knight Fork(s)  Overloaded Defender(s)  Paralysed Piece(s)  Pawn Promotion/Pawn Breakthrough  Perpetual Check  Pins  Queen Sacrifice  Simplification  Skewer  Stalemate  Undermining/Removal of the Guard  Underpromotion  Weak Back…

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    the Exchange

    ByDrDave

    Not exchanges in general: The Exchange. The Exchange is when a Bishop or Knight is swapped for a Rook. By normal chess accounting, that’s a swap of 3 pawns for 5, so one player has lost the Exchange, we say, and is then an Exchange behind in material. Losing the Exchange is enough to lose…

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    pawn structure

    ByDrDave

    “Pawns … are the soul of chess.” — Francois Danican PHILIDOR “The most important feature of the chess position is the activity of the pieces. This is absolutely fundamental in all phases of the game (opening, middlegame and especially endgame). The primary constraint on a piece’s activity is the Pawn structure.” — Michael STEAN The…

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    material

    ByDrDave

    “Now I have the pawn and the compensation.” –Roman Dzindzichashvili Material refers to the pieces and pawns on the board. Usually, if you have extra material, you have good chances to win We have a rough rule to work out who is ahead in material: a Knight or Bishop is worth about 3 Pawns; a…

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    pawn: doubled

    ByDrDave

    Two pawns of the same side on the same file They are not easy to move and cannot easily be both protected, so, one or both may be a weakness (Fischer-Petrosian, Debbage-Lane, Matison-Nimzowitsch, Jepps-Regis) However, if the capturing pawn moves towards the centre, as it should, there maybe compensating advantages of central control, a half-open…

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    potential

    ByDrDave

    “It is not a move, even the best move, that you must seek, but a realisable plan.” –Eugene ZNOSKO-BOROVSKY Any position where you are cramped, blockaded and/or uncoordinated means you can’t do much. Your position lacks potential. This is an advanced idea: if you’re still at the stage where you are blundering pieces, potential isn’t…

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    bad Bishop

    ByDrDave

    A Bad Bishop is a Bishop hampered by its own pawns. If it’s your only piece, or one of a few pieces remaining, it can lose you the game (Bernstein-Mieses) If your position overall is good, you can tolerate a poor Bishop in the mix. Several defences ask Black to put up with a bad…

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    battery

    ByDrDave

    When two pieces queue up on a file or diagonal, they more than double their power. When two Rooks join forces on a file or rank, we call them doubled. (Nilsson-Boehm, Marshall-Capablanca) You can even triple major pieces on a file. (Alekhin-Nimzowitsch, Karpov-Kasparov) A Queen and a Bishop can combine to form a powerful battery…