Iceland Endgame Challenge
36 positions to study and learn 1. Play through the solution 2. Try to do it on a board without looking at the solution! 3. Try to do it against an opponent — human or computer. Click […] to list all examples
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How to defend
Don’t panic! You need a clear head and a calm heart Defend threats You must spot and defend threats Don’t make weaknesses (if you can avoid it) Don’t help your opponent! Don’t open lines (if you can avoid it) Don’t help your opponent! Seek swaps Get the Queens off (if you can) Make blocks and…
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Endgame accidents
How to turn a win into a draw How to turn a draw into a loss How to turn a win into a loss Two players show how to make wins and draws into losses How to arrange an accident Know or find a position you want to steer for Keep a straight face!
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Attacking and defending done badly
Steinitz taught us: If you’re attacking: Don’t attack too soon Attack with a team Attack only if you have good reason=you have an advantage If you’re defending: Defend what you have to Don’t make weaknesses Let’s see what happens if you break the rules… Attacking done badly Too soon Too lonely No excuse Defending done…
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Winning with the Queen’s Gambit
…and other Queen’s-side openings As White, you often have a choice of going for a big advantage in a risky position, or going for a safe small advantage. Here are the sorts of advantage you can seek in the Queen’s Gambit. Better development White has got their pieces to better squares and can attack wherever…
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Attacking the King: patterns
Some patterns you should know Rook on eighth rank Rook on seventh rank Italian diagonal Long diagonal Classic diagonal Open f-file Open g-file Open h-file Knight on e5 Knight on f5 Knight on g5 a1h8 a2g8 b1h7 f1f8 g1g8 h1h8 Ne5 Nf5 8th 7th
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Attacking the King: types of attack
Attacking the uncastled King Attacking the castled King Attacking with pieces Attacking with the help of pawns Opposite-side castling Using weaknesses: sacrifices and pawn levers Using weaknesses Making weaknesses Attack with a closed centre The Very Slow King’s-side Attack The King Hunt
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How good is your thinking?
A bit of a plug for Ray Cheng’s Practical Chess Exercises Puzzles in books, particularly tactics puzzle books, have a flaw: you know the answer is there somewhere. There are some ways to help you find the answer: i. look at every check, every capture, every threat ii. make a list of all the moves…
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How to play against 1.d4
How do you defend against openings other than 1.e4? (The Queen’s Gambit and other openings) Against most of them you can play the same way. 1. Play in some order 1…d5 2…e6 and 3…Nf6 (1…Nf6 2…e6 and 3…d5 is usually OK or 1…e6 and 2…d5). 2. Develop your King’s Bishop and castle. Other Knight goes…
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