Understand what makes the most popular openings great
What's the hottest 1.e4 opening among Grandmasters today? It's the Italian Game and IM Yuriy Krykun demonstrates the key ideas to win with White.
Practice essential checkmating patterns with GM Simon Williams! Learn these incredible ideas to shock your opponents and win!
Learn from GM Aman Hambleton as he teaches you how to dominate in the fastest games. What openings should you play? When should you pre-move? How do you flag your opponent? Learn these tricks and more!
Train yourself to discover the right plans and ideas
Learn about the moments that changed the history of the game with IM Anna Rudolf, starting with the oldest recorded game and showing some of the greatest rivalries chess history! Learn history and strategy from the legends of the past.
Learn from GM Ben Finegold as he demonstrates the sort of practical and tricky tactics that win and lose games. Watch Ben's wins and losses, as well as tactics from World Champions.
Love online chess and want to play a tournament? That's great! GM Ben Finegold will walk you through the differences between online and tournament play to get your ready for the event.
Make the most of each piece by finding its best square
Are you looking for a perfect opening to play that doesn't require too much studying and memorization? GM Simon Williams has the line for you! The London System offers good attacking chances with little risk or deep theory. Take a look and get to playing this fun opening right away!
Computers have shaped the game of chess and can play better than any human ever has. Yet, computers aren't perfect and there are still some positions that you can understand better than your engine. Join GM Simon Williams as he shows how you can still trick the silicon beast.
Improve your endgame play with these winning techniques
"Basic Checkmates and ...." presents some of the most common checkmating patterns and a few other basic concepts.
Set your sights on the king and overwhelm his defences
"Introduction to Tactics" introduces the student to the tactical tools of chess (forks, pins, etc.).
"Exclusively Checkmates" provides a series of simple checkmate problems.
Win more games with beautiful chess combinations
Learn the critical themes to win more games in the end
"Step Up in Tactics" presents exercises, both checkmates and tactical, which are somewhat more difficult than the material covered so far.
"Endings, Openings, a Taste of the Middle" begins with some endgame basics and proceeds to an in-depth coverage of king and pawn endings. We have also thrown in some opening challenges.
"Intermediate Tactics" presents tactical exercises that are significantly more difficult than those seen up to this point.
"Rook and Other Endgames" covers rook endings with some minor piece and queen endings included.
"Level X: Advanced Tactics" contains tactical problems that will challenge a player rated Elo or USCF 1700 or higher if attempted without using any of the hints.
This module with 100 challenges has something for everyone. FM Craig Mar includes some opening traps, endgames, combinations, and positional challenges. Many of the challenges are at the intermediate level (USCF or Elo ratings between 1300 and 2000) and many are at the expert and master (USCF or Elo rating above 2000) level. Mar chooses positions from many sources including his own games as well as GM's, IM's, and amateurs.
A Kaleidoscope of Openings - Former US Champion John Grefe takes the novice and early intermediate level players on a guided tour of many popular openings.
Silman Teaches Tactics - IM Jeremy Silman The classic challenges in this module contain combinations and tactical material for intermediate and expert level players (USCF or Elo ratings between 1400 and 2000+). Some challenges here are difficult even for masters and above. However, players of all levels can enjoy and learn from these examples.
Pawn Endings from Beginner to Expert - IM Eric Tangborn & FM Thomas Wolski. With the 100 challenges in this module, Tangborn & Wolski cover king and pawn endings thoroughly.
The Roots of Positional Understanding, by IM Jeremy Silman. Are you ever at a loss for what to do when there are no immediate tactics in sight? If so, then you need to learn the basics of positional play. The master seems to optimally place his pieces with effortless ease where they coordinate well and control key lines and squares. This is because he sees the board as a structural entity. (Initial release date of November 20, 1998)
This module contains 130 challenges that cover all common checkmates and most uncommon checkmates that occur regularly in middlegame positions and sometimes in openings. Nearly all of the positions come from actual games, and the various themes are repeated from simple to more complex examples. This module is suitable for novice players up to intermediate players with Elo or USCF ratings up to 1600, and will enable them to recognize checkmate possibilities in their own games.
This is a course on chess traps and miniatures. They are from actual chess games that have ended in 20 moves or less. In almost every game, errors are swiftly punished, and thus this course may be studied as a source of opening traps and lines to be avoided or take advantage of. This course provides an excellent opportunity to study tactical positions, attacks, combinations, and sacrifices.
This course is designed to help players improve their opening play in a way that is rarely presented in the books. By going through positions featuring typical ideas it develops and understanding of typical Colle positions. With better PATTERN RECOGNITION players start to get a feel for where their pieces belong in the opening and what they should be trying to do.
This course contains positions that lead to checkmate. All the positions are from real games that ended quickly, less than 20 moves. Most of the games are from opening traps in which an opponent fell victim and quickly got checkmated. Look for the attacking patterns and tactics that lead to checkmate.
IM Anna Rudolf covers basic king and pawn endings that you should know well, along with more complicated endgames by top players that you can emulate. Learn how to activate your king and win with just a few pieces left on the board.
Learn how to attack in many different types of positions with Grandmaster Dejan Bojkov. Sharpen your attacking skills against the uncastled king, when kings are both castled on the same or opposite sides, how to attack with an open center and even how to attack the queenside when the kings are safe. Follow along and get ready for some amazing attacks in your own games!
Laugh and learn along with IM Konstantin Kavutskiy as he explores some of the strangest and funniest chess games ever played.
Join GM Simon Williams, as he demonstrates the most amazing moves of all time. See if you can find the best ideas of Morphy, Shirov, Ivanchuk and other geniuses.
This course is designed to explore the fork motif in the game of chess. The fork occurs when one of your pieces can attack two or more of the opponent's pieces. It can be executed with any piece other than the King and it is a very powerful strategy which can quickly turn the tables and lead to a decisive position.
Pins and skewers are two ways that the "long-range" pieces (the bishop, the rook, and the queen) can attack two or more pieces simultaneously along the same rank, file, or diagonal. This is another basic tactical tool that is easy to understand and critical to master.
A "double attack" occurs when two pieces make two attacks at the same time. The difference between a fork and a double attack is that a fork is one piece attacking two things at the same time, while a double attack is two pieces making two attacks at the same time. The trick to seeing this possibility in any chess position is to look for any situation where one piece is "covered" by another piece, where if the piece where to become "uncovered", it would create a threat.
These are a specific kind of Double Attack or Discovered Attack. A "Discovered Check" happens when one piece moves away and "uncovers" check against the king by the piece behind it. "Double Check" is the same thing, except that the piece moving away also puts the king into check, so the king is attacked by two pieces at once.
Deflecting or removing the defender is all about getting a defensive piece out of the way. Often you'll have a situation where if you could just get one of your opponent's pieces away from a key square, you could execute a powerful attack.
In a clearance sacrifice the sacrificing player aims to vacate the square the sacrificed piece stood on, either to open up for his own pieces, or to put another, more useful piece on the same square. In this course you will learn how to use this tactical idea successfully so that you will be able to use this idea in your own games.
An in-between move or Zwischenzug is one that is made unexpectedly in the midst of a sequence of moves. But not just any series of moves, one in which the player falling for the Zwischenzug feels the sequence is forced, while his opponent demonstrates to him that it certainly isn't! Most commonly these fall in between trades where a recapture seems to be the only proper means of play.
Interference occurs when the line between an attacked piece and its defender is interrupted by sacrificially interposing a piece. It is a chess tactic which seldom arises, and is therefore often overlooked. Opportunities for interference are rare because the defended object must be more valuable than the sacrificed piece, and the interposition must itself represent a threat. But when this opportunity does arise it can reap huge rewards!
Sometimes in chess the pieces can step on each other's toes and get in the way of one another. This allows for the opportunity of trapping pieces and exploiting the opponent's misplaced pieces. Here you will see many examples of misplaced pieces and how to take immediate advantage.
Often times there is a critical weakness in the opponent's position known as the back rank weakness. This is when the opponent's King is placed on the back rank and there are other pieces in front of the King or covering the squares in front of the King which in turn traps the King on the back rank which can often lead to a decisive mating attack.
This course will bring many examples of the smother tactic in chess and how it can be used to put a quick finish to the enemy's king.
This course advises on handling non-mainstream openings. You'll see simple solutions to countering unexpected replies in the opening. We will look at various White approaches and unusual defenses to 1.e4. I often refer to "the opening guidelines". By this, I mean the four rules which will generally get you through the openings 1. Place a pawn or two in the center 2. Castle! 3. Connect your rooks 4. Aim your rooks When you aren't sure what do do, think about those four goals.
In this course you will learn to think about the opponent's moves and ideas when considering how you should continue. As you are able to recognize your opponent's moves and plans you will be better able to plan ahead for success.
Strategic errors are played at every level of the game. However, in the amateur ranks, strategic mistakes are a dime a dozen. Nevertheless, just because a move might be strategically dubious doesn't mean that it will be punished. This course will help you become more aware of strategic errors, and will help you strive to milk every drop of juicy goodness from your opponent's mistaken concept.
This course has been created so that players can improve their opening play in a way that is rarely presented in the books. By going through positions featuring typical strategies and tactics the reader can develop an understanding of typical positions arising from the London System.
The Sicilian Dragon (1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 g6) was so named partly because of its ferocity and partly because Black's battle formation may resemble a dragon. This course is designed to familiarize players with typical Dragon strategies and develop a feel for where the pieces belong.
Endings with rooks and pawns are by far the most common endings in chess. You will probably lose or gain as more points in these positions than in all other endings combined. Therefore you need to know the basic positions, and some strategic principles when the play becomes more difficult. I want to have you learn and practice the former, and give you a feel for the latter.
The 8th World Champion Mikhail Tal was one of the most brilliant chess players of all time. His games inspired not only the spectators, but his opponents as well. Sharp sacrifices were his trademark, often played by instinct rather than by calculating concrete variations.
In this series we will test your ability to calculate complex variations featuring a variety of tactical themes and checkmates. You'll be asked to find the best moves in games of world-class players such as David Bronstein, Robert Fischer, and Vladimir Kramnik. Are you up to the challenge? Good luck!
Pawn play is a vast subject. In this course we're going to cover its most typical - and some atypical - aspects. Some puzzles will focus on tactics, others on strategy. A few of the ideas covered: Strong and weak pawns; the overall pawn structure; understanding how the characteristic pawn formations of various openings determines the middlegame plan; the fight for the center; pawns attacking and defending the King; advanced passed pawns, etc. etc.
Pawns play important roles in all phases of the game, but it's in the ending that it becomes obvious they are the stars of the show. If you remember how to handle them you'll enjoy chess more and score more victories. Good Luck, IM John Grefe, 1973 U.S. Champion
Raise the shields! Most players would rather attack than defend - but if you want to take your game to the next level, you must learn the art of defense. Developing solid defensive skills will improve your understanding of chess - and your rating. This course will give you ideas and tricks every tournament player needs to defend against checkmate. Learn to frustrate your attackers and win more games!
In this course, I will try to teach you how to react to a dubious looking move that you have never seen before in the opening. Theory is all fine and good, but you need to be able to punish early mistakes on your own as well!
Knowing when to sacrifice material in order to open up your opponent's king is one of the most important tactics to learn in chess. Proper execution of this maneuver must take in to account all of a defender's pieces (or lack thereof) to determine whether or not the sacrifice will work and is sound, and/or if you have a continuation to follow the try.
This course aims to give you a basic understanding of the most common knight endgames. The positions range from 1000 up to 2400 level in difficulty, so there should be a few appropriate positions for any chess student. More to follow!
This is part 2 of a course about exploiting typical opening errors or inaccuracies, aimed for stronger players than the first one. A variety of openings, themes, both tactical and positional, are presented. You will deepen your understanding of opening strategy and the balance between black and white's ideas, and particularly improve your ability to deal with unusual moves, off-beat lines, moves played out of order, and opening errors.
Join GM Ben Finegold as he shows how he defeats the anti-Sicilians in his own games. If you are trying to win big American open tournaments like Ben does you can't afford to give up too many draws, even with the Black pieces. Follow along and see how Ben creates sharp positions and attacks each sideline that White might throw at you.
Being sensitive to weak color complexes provides extremely important insight into positional and tactical chess play. It often shapes the entire middlegame struggle, and informs the decisions made as early as the opening phase of the game.
This course shows the most important methods of battle in endgame positions where both players have knights. It features some extremely important exact positions, as well as the typical strategical ideas behind some complex endgames that will help the student better understand the ideas behind knight endgames. The positions cover a range of material from 1000 level all the way up to expert (2000). Enjoy!
Everyone wants to be a winner in chess. But don't forget that part of winning is...not losing! Every chess player, from the earliest beginner to the world champions, sometimes has a game that gets derailed and needs to be saved. There is beauty in saving a difficult ending, in holding on with subtle and dour defense. This first part will deal with more basic endgames - part 2 will deal with more complicated defenses. So now let's sit back and learn how to keep the game in the DRAWING ZONE!
This is the third part of my "Exploiting Opening Errors" Course. It is geared only for strong players who have already completed the first 2 easier courses-- You'll find no trivial problems here! And with that, I bid you good luck!
In "The Drawing Zone, Part 1" we saw some examples of how to hold a draw in an inferior position. Saving a draw in the endgame may not be the most sexy part of chess, but it is still a very important element of chess ability. Now let's see some more difficult problems on the same theme.
In this course we will look at pawn storms when both kings are castled on the same side. This will serve as a great attacking tool but as we will see, it is risky if you do it at the wrong time. This course has problems with a huge range of difficulty, from 800 all the way up to 2200, so it will be a good exercise for players of all levels.
Join Grandmaster Eugene Perelshteyn as he introduces several essential pawn structures from both e4 and d4 openings and shows how to use them to attack. Openings as diverse as the Sicilian and King's Indian Defense all feature pawn structures that can help you play brilliant mating attacks. Follow along and good luck!
Mikhail Tal was the eighth world champion (1960). He shined like a meteor all his life and was known for his brilliant attacking chess. His play could be described by all the colours of the rainbow. All of them, but the grey one! Enjoy his sparkling combinations!
The third world champion was famous for his incredible technique. The endgame was the area where his natural talent discovered its full potential and Capablanca produced a number of model endgames. I would like to share some of them with you!
GM Simon Williams has played the French Defense throughout his whole career and it has served him well, even against strong opposition. Now Simon presents an in depth course on how to handle every line of the French. It's a great system, allowing you to play for a win against all levels of opposition.
Join GM Simon Williams as he demonstrates a full system against 1.e4. Simon meets the Open Sicilian with the rare and double edged Dragandorf variation. He also demonstrates sharp attacking lines against every anti-Sicilian that White can throw at you!
Are you looking for more spice in your life? If you want to play fun, attacking positions with the White pieces, GM Simon Williams has just the recipe for you! Simon provides an exciting gambit against each of Black's popular responses, with many of the opening names being almost as fun and entertaining as playing the actual gambit openings. Enjoy!
The tactical heritage of Mikhail Tal is enormous and I hope that a third course on his brilliant ideas will please the reader...and bring the reader to the next level of tactical mastery!
Join GM Ben Finegold on an instructive tour of the Philidor Defense. If you want to play with a pawn on e5, but don't want to work through hours of Ruy Lopez theory, this could be the line for you!
Join IM Keaton Kiewra on a tour of his favorite opening, the Dragon Sicilian. The Dragon has long been a favorite of attacking stars, including Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura. You'll see their games and more in this detailed examination of an exciting opening.
The Scotch is an opening full of traps on both sides of the board, and if you play it you need to know how to spot them. Join Grandmaster Alex Delchev on a tour of each line of the Scotch and be ready to try it out in your own games!
In this course we will be examining some of the most advanced strategies which chess masters use in their games. There will be a particular emphasis on pawn strategy.
If you are looking for an active answer against 1.d4 (and almost everything except 1. e4) - you should watch the course that explains the most important ideas of the Tarrasch Defense. IM Mat Bobula is an expert on the opening and demonstrates one of the most dynamic ways to meet the Queen's Gambit in a 10 part series.
The Najdorf is a sharp and complicated opening full of attacking potential for both sides. This is a great opening if you enjoy imbalances, opposite-side castling, and if you need to play for a win as Black.
Are you tired of deep theory in many main lines? Join NM Sam Copeland as he demonstrates the exciting and practical Alekhine's Defense, an opening that he has played successfully for years!
The Sicilian Sveshnikov is a sharp variation in which Black accepts a backward pawn in return for active pieces and complicated play.
The King's Indian Defense is possibly Black's best way to play for a win against 1.d4. White gets a space advantage, but Black frequently gets a powerful kingside attack in a blocked position.
In the Berlin Defense White can force a complicated endgame or head for open play. It's considered one of Black's most solid defenses against the Ruy Lopez.
In this course we will be learning how to attack and defend like a master.
The Semi-Slav is one of Black's best counter-attacking options against 1.d4. Some lines are solid and others are among the most complicated in all of chess.
Everyone makes mistakes, but one of the best methods of chess improvement is to learn from your errors. John GM Illingworth in his new video series on why we make mistakes, how to learn from them and how to avoid them going forward.
Learn how to play the Ruy Lopez Marshall Attack for both White and Black. The Marshall gives Black great attacking chances at the cost of a pawn, leading to exciting play.
Join GM Daniel Naroditsky, one of the top online chess players, as he shows how to win fast games. People will think you're lucky when it's really all planned out.
The Sicilian Dragon is a fire-breathing opening! If you're looking for a complicated and fighting line to play against 1.e4, this might be the line for you. If you play 1.e4 and want to know how to handle the Dragon, you'll also want to take a look.
In this course we will be learning about some of the most complicated and difficult techniques, practical ideas, and fundamental winning methods in the endgame - those which you will ultimately need to achieve mastery.
The Alapin Variation of the Sicilian Defense is a logical attempt for White to avoid the complexities of the Open Sicilian. White aims to control the center, but risks falling behind in development. Learn the key ideas in this important variation for both sides.
2...e6 is a flexible move that can lead to the Sicilian Taimanov, the Sicilian Kan, the Pin Variation and even the Sicilian Four Knights. Watch this video to learn how to play either side of this flexible Sicilian setup.
What should you do when all seems lost? NM Jeremy Kane demonstrates his favorite techniques to hold on, even in the most hopeless looking positions. Figure out when you need to complicate the game, simplify to a draw or just keep persisting.
Are you excited about Puzzle Rush? Thousands of chess players are hooked on this incredibly fun and fast-paced tactical training on Chess.com. GM Simon Williams, a tactical whiz himself, shows some of the common themes in Puzzle Rush challenges. Join us and pump up your Puzzle Rush score!
Bishops of opposite colors have always been considered rather peaceful opponents. The drawing tendencies in these endgames are very high but if the conditions are right (there are good passed pawns, one of the bishops is much stronger than the other, or one of the sides has a more active king) we can successfully play for a win.
Join GM Simon Williams as he demonstrates that amazing tactics can occur at any point in the game, including quiet-looking endgames. Follow along and learn how to win endgames with zugzwang, breakthroughs and unexpected mates!
Opposite colored bishop endings have a reputation of being dull and drawish, but GM Ben Finegold is ready to show us how to discover fighting chances and use this imbalance to win! Ben shares one of his own endgame squeezes against a fellow GM and two of the most famous endings ever by GM Shirov and World Champion Botvinnik.
Life is easier when your pawns are working for you! Join GM Aman Hambleton as he demonstrates structures that can give you an edge!
What should you do when you're losing a chess game? If it's not time to resign, it's time to swindle your opponent! WGM Qiyu Zhou demonstrates the tricks you need to survive lost positions!
No one in the world can win endgames like Magnus Carlsen. GM Dejan Bojkov gives a close work at the skills that make Magnus unique!
Pogchamps 1 and 2 have been huge tournaments with some of the top streamers in the world. See if you can find the tactics that decided many of their games!
Looking for a way to fight for an edge against solid 1.e4 e5 players? Why not try the Ruy Lopez with 5.d4 and learn about it from one of the world's leading experts. IM Keaton Kiewra will show you the ins and outs of one his favorite openings!
Want to learn an opening that doesn't require too much theory and was a favorite of Bobby Fischer? IM Keaton Kiewra teaches you what you need to know to play either side of the fascinating Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation!
Don't want to jump into an open game with immediate tactics in the Sicilian? Try the Closed Sicilian, where White can delay a tactical skirmish and start a powerful kingside attack, but Black is not without good counter chances.
How do you decide what moves to play? IM Kostya Kavutskiy demonstrates several key techniques in evaluating candidate moves.
Learn about some of the less popular, but nevertheless, interesting variations in the Ruy Lopez. These include the romantic Schlieman Variation, the positional Exchange Variation and the exciting Open Variation.
The Queen's Gambit Declined is an extremely solid opening for Black and it's no coincidence that it's been played by nearly every World Champion. Learn the plans and tactics for both sides.
Frequently in the Queen's Gambit Black aims for an early c5 to contest the white pawn center. However, two solid systems, the Cambridge Springs Defense and the Orthodox Defense feature a black pawn triangle on c6, d5 and e6. The Cambridge Springs features many traps and the Orthodox is extremely solid. This course explains the key ideas and tactics in both key variations.
When can a group of pawns overpower the opposing pieces? NM Elijah Logozar shows you how to evaluate a sacrifice and overwhelm your opponents.
Do you really know how much each piece is worth? GM Larry Kaufman demonstrates some common misconceptions and shows how valuable each piece really is.
The Exchange Variation is a popular way for White to meet the Queen's Gambit Declined. White fixes the pawn structure at an early stage and often prepares the minority attack. This course also examines the active Tarrasch Defense and the solid Semi-Tarrasch.
Join GM Simon Williams as he demonstrates how perseverance and opportunistic play pays off for amateurs against strong Grandmasters. If you want to beat Grandmasters someday, this is a must watch!
When Grandmasters play 1.e4, but want to avoid the sharp Open Sicilian, they mostly rely on an early Bb5 move, the Rossolimo and Moscow Variations.
The Closed Variation of the Ruy Lopez has been one of the most popular openings at grandmaster level for generations. Learn the key move orders and ideas for both sides!
Learn the key ideas in the Bf4 Queen's Gambit for White and Black!
The Candidates Tournament is back! The winner earns a match with Magnus Carlsen! Check here for highlights after each round.
The Ginger GM, Simon Williams, brings you the five best moves from the careers of each of the eight players, competing to challenge Magnus Carlsen for the World Championship. What amazing ideas have these top players discovered in their illustrious careers?
Simon Williams, the Ginger GM, brings you the top five moves of some of the greatest players in chess history. Learn from the best moments of Carlsen, Kasparov, Morphy and more!
Chess is a tricky game, even for the world's best. See if you can find the path to a quick mate against the best players of the past and today's top stars!
Strong players all explain their career highlights.
Can you find the moves of Queen's Gambit star Beth Harmon as she progresses from beginner to world-class player?
NM Sam Copeland has picked the 10 best games of recent decades. Take a look at his picks for the 1970s and learn from the greatest games of an amazing era!
