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Today we shall take a look at the most basic yet crucial checkmate patterns. At one point or another, you will encounter an endgame where you are obviously up material - the real question is: can you convert your advantage into a win? We all don't want to be that person who can't checkmate even when up a Queen! Now that would be humiliating.... You only have a maximum of 50 moves to checkmate (w/o any captures) before the game is automatically drawn. The first thing you might think to do is attack the enemy king by giving check. However, running around checking willy-nilly is actually counterproductive. The enemy king will just keep moving out of check and heading back to the center of the board (where it is harder to be checkmated). King + Rook vs. King King + Queen vs. King King + 2 Rooks vs. King King + 2 Bishops vs. King King + Bishop + Knight vs. King Disclaimer: this is an extremely rare scenario! Bishop+Knight is difficult checkmate pattern to master. However, you should familiarize yourself with it just in case it pops up in your game....(I honestly can't remember this pattern lol). Countless Grandmasters have also failed to win w a Bishop and Knight - here is an infamous video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFF5ibgB6eA Here is a video if you are curious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=45&v=r3EqM17jvOc&feature=emb_logoPatience is crucial! Checkpoint questions: What general guidelines can you follow in order to checkmate in the most efficient way (regardless of the position)? What general guidelines can you follow to make it harder for your opponent to checkmate YOU? Assume you're playing the disadvantaged side - don't give up until you're finally mated!

Most chess players know that when a pawn reaches the back rank of your opponent's camp, it can become a queen. However, did you know that it can also become any other piece(besides a king and pawn)? Now many of you must be wondering: "WHY ON EARTH WOULD I PROMOTE TO ANOTHER PIECE WHEN I CAN MAKE A QUEEN???" WELL FRIENDS, I PRESENT FOUR REASONS WHY UNDERPROMOTION OCCURS!!! 1.To avoid stalemate 2. To use the unique ability of a knight 3. To be fancy-schmancy Bonus reason: your name is Hikaru Nakamura

Ok y'all I'm running out of winning games to show you so I might as well expose my epic losses. They're super educational! I know I joke a lot about losing and often brush it off, but it's actually one of the most important parts of chess. Everyone loses at one point or another because no one is invincible. You may be devastated after a loss, but don't forget to review your game and really hone in on your mistakes. You can also imitate the way your opponent played if you think they outplayed you! Checkpoint: What is one thing that Black could've done better in this game? What's one thing that White did really well, which essentially allowed him to win?

Hello there! For this lecture, I will be presenting some of my own tournament games. I find these pretty instructional, so I hope you will too. It's always good to review your own games to identify your strengths and weaknesses. ^What can you learn from the above game? Give two concrete examples or explanations. ^What did you notice about the way my opponent and I played this game? What techniques did we constantly employ?

Today, we will learn about Judit Polgar, a Hungarian chess grandmaster who is considered the strongest female chess player of all time. Polgar’s father Laszlo, an educational psychologist, believed that any child is capable of achieving exceptional things if trained in a specialist subject from a young age. He attempted to prove this with his three daughters who were all home-schooled, with chess at the center of their education. The Polgar sisters faced obstacles from the very beginning, first from the socialist government (which opposed home schooling) and later from the Hungarian chess federation. All three sisters (Susan, Judit, and Sofia) achieved remarkable success, but Judit was always the outstanding talent. At just 12, she was already ranked number 55 in the world, and at age 15, she became the youngest grandmaster up to that point in history. Judit has rarely played in women's-specific tournaments and has never competed for the Women's World Championship: "I always say that women should have the self-confidence that they are as good as male players, but only if they are willing to work and take it seriously as much as male players." During her peak years, she recorded wins against almost all the leading players of her generation, and famously changed the opinion of Kasparov. In 1989, Kasparov claimed, "Chess does not fit women properly. It’s a fight, you know? Women are weaker fighters." But by the end of Polgar’s career he had revised that view, writing that based upon her games, "if to play like a girl meant anything in chess, it would mean relentless aggression." Polgar is now retired from full-time competition after a life of achievement in chess. Below is a link if you wish to watch her TedTalk where she talks about her chess journey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-ttu7dyBCU Once upon a time, at age 11, Judit defeated a GRANDMASTER. Legend has it that after losing this game, the GM was banging his head against an elevator wall. We feel your pain, man.... Overall, Judit is a very aggressive and tricky chess player. She has revolutionized the chess field, especially for women, and truly lives up to the hype. I encourage you to take a look at her amazing sisters, Susan and Sofia, who also accomplished incredible things. I hope you learned that hard work plays a larger role than natural talent, so stay on that grind and never give up!

Everyone says "Chess is 99% tactics" so here you go

Oh, so you thought it was over, well get shafted I'm your instructor again, Masters KimbarLee and Darik still have not gotten their Respek they deserve. Nevertheless, by popular demand, we will be talking about sacrifice exchanges by analyzing Chess's most famous games "Opera Game", absolutely brutal a viewer discretion is advised. Before we start our program we will be talking about two more fundamental and essential imbalances, so sit tight little children. Here's a picture of our Lord and savior to ease the excitement. Alright, Gang, we shall conclude our basic imbalances saga with the two topics: King Safety Statics vs. Dynamics Strap in Buckarooes, let's make Master KimBarLi Proud! King Safety-Dragging down the Enemy Monarch Statics vs. Dynamics - The Battle Between Short Term and Long Term Imbalances Alright, Alright, ALRIGHT YOU WANT IT HERE IT bE cuh! I hope you all enjoyed my lecture today, A lot of people undermind the great Paul Morphy cause he is old, but he is considered the greatest for a reason. I suggest you guyscheck out this image, some punk was mad dogging Morphy with a lot of bark, but in the end no Bite. Check this out. The result is as expected, 0-1 Master Morphs Takes another Dub

A continuation of WFM Kimberly Liu's masterclass on Imbalances, we will be looking at the next four imbalances Control of a Key File Control of a Hole/Weak Square Lead-in Development Initiative Sorry about the downgrade in Instructors, don't forget to show your gratitude and admiration to Frau Liu, great teachers don't come easily, you are all lucky. Back to my outsourced lesson. Control of a Key File-Roads for Rooks Control of a Hole/Weak Square- Homes for Horses Lead in Development-You're Outnumbered! Initiative- Calling the Shots AHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA

As you may have noticed, you need to achieve a superior position in order to win a chess game. But what distinguishes a "good" from a "bad" position? To do this, we have to consider many different types of imbalances: - Superior minor piece- Pawn structure- Space- Material- Control of a key file- Control of a hole/weak square- Lead in development- Initiative- King Safety- Statics vs. Dynamics In the following weeks, we will be covering each imbalance so that you have a general idea of how to improve your game! SUPERIOR MINOR PIECE - BISHOPS V. KNIGHTS PAWN STRUCTURE - WEAK, PASSED, ETC. SPACE - THE ANNEXATION OF TERRITORY MATERIAL - THE PHILOSOPHY OF GREED Checkpoint questions: What are the 4 imbalances we covered today? Are Bishops always better than Knights, or vice versa? What should you do if you are playing against someone who has a weak, isolated pawn?

Hello fellow chess enthusiasts, today we will take a look at a game from my most recent tournament. To my surprise, I actually played pleasantly well, taking down an 1800, 2000, 1900, drawing a 2300 (WIM), beating a 2300 (IM), and finally finishing off by drawing against a 2600 GM. Obviously, for most people, achieving a draw against a grandmaster is no small accomplishment, and I am no exception. The game started out with a boring opening that transpired into a mildly complex middlegame. From there, the position simplified into an endgame where I turn on my precision senses to transpose into the most favorable version of a rook ending I could possibly get. So without further ado, let's cut to the chase and hop straight into the game. Remember not to be rattled even if you are playing a higher opponent! It is okay to respect your opponent, but do not put them on a pedestal and always be confident in yourself. May you all take many dubs cheers

Here are some of my personal favorites - enjoy!

Hello all, today we will be reviewing some games of the not-so-prestigious Derek Wu. Feel free to follow the annotations as he goes over the mind-boggling thoughts that were going through his mind as he was playing the games! Enjoy Game 1: Wu vs Grabinsky Wow what an upset! Believe me, I was really happy with myself after this game. As for my opponent, not so much. Game 2: Markin vs Wu (fight for AL K-8 state champion title)

This week we will go over some of the most beautiful chess games ever played! They have withstood the tests of time and will go down in history as classics. #1: Paul Morphy vs. Duke Karl / Count Isouard The prodigious Paul Morphy proves that two brains are not necessarily better than one... #2: Bobby Fischer vs. Boris Spassky Probably Fischer's hardest flex on world champion Boris Spassky

Bare Bones Breakdown of Positioning Control Of Center Space Control Active pieces Observing Pawn Structures Center Control The significance of center control gives you an advantage in space. To elaborate, space is the territory in which your pieces are safely allowed to advance in, and also a territory that is unsafe for your opponent to move to. This is an ideal center since every minor is activated, and guarding spaces, making it difficult for the opponent to advance, and compressing the opponent's pieces. Space A more in-depth look into space and attack. To reiterate, space is the "control of squares". When acquiring space, you ought to consider where exactly are you attacking, "Plan of development" you develop your pieces towards where you are planning on attacking, preferably where the enemy is vulnerable, More often than not this would be the less developed area. Your space should compliment your pieces' ability, giving you a better position. Understand that your position influences how your pieces perform. Certain Positions give pieces more value and more control over spaces. Other times pieces are hindered by bad positioning, making them inactive or less valuable. Active Pieces Activating your pieces is an important part of developing. Especially at high-level games utilizing your entire arsenal gives you a distinct advantage against someone who doesn't. The activeness of the piece depends on the square it occupies, the squares it controls, and the pawn structure around it. An inactive piece is pieces that are unable to move to any square or very few squares. An active piece is defined by a piece that is capable of moving to a large number of squares or the maximum amount of squares of its type. In other words, activity has a lot to do with mobility. Furthermore, the activity of pieces in defense is important to understand. When looking at defenses there are generally two types: Active and passive defensive moves. Active defense moves involve using you use your pieces to actively threaten other pieces instead of only defending your threatened pieces. By doing this you hinder your opponent's developed attack, and you are given the opportunity to counter-attack. However, there are many situations where you are not given the opportunity, in that case, you are forced to passively defend your threatened pieces, and making no threats yourself. Pawn Structure As mentioned before your position is improved with well-placed pawns. Pawns are the soul of the game, they may seem expendable but are crucial for a well-developed position, and especially important for an endgame. Not One Step Back Pawns cannot move backward, so every move should be evaluated before executing, you want to make sure that the move you commit is an effective and secure one. The strength of the Pawn structure is determined by the amount of "Pawn Weaknesses" are present throughout the structure. Pawn structures offer great insight into openings, generally, you should be attacking in the general direction of your pawn chain, without properly developing your pawn structure you have no clear direction for an attack. Pawn Strengths: Passed Pawns Connected Pawns Pawn majorities Pawn Weaknesses Backward Pawns Doubled pawns Hanging Pawns Isolated Pawns If a Pawn weakness is spotted, it makes way for important breakthroughs, such as opening up diagonals and files for your bishops and rooks to exploit.

Refer to the 3/21/19 post on Prophylactic thinking in order to solve these puzzles Try to think like your opponent and then prevent them from achieving their goal! These are very difficult puzzles, so please take your time and try your best to solve them before looking at the answers and reading the explanations. Have fun!

Ok, so you're probably wondering what 'prophylaxis' means. Well, there are so many different variations of prophylaxis that it is hard to define in a simple sentence. Let me give a few examples to help you visualize it: - Prophylaxis can mean stopping a possible plan by the opponent. For instance, evacuating the king from a danger zone is an example of prophylaxis - the king might be subject to an attack, and removing the king completely nullifies the effectiveness of the attack. - Another example is when you take away an important square from your opponent, thus rendering a certain plan or idea useless. The first person that touched upon the concept of prophylaxis was the Danish Grandmaster Aron Nimzowitsch. He certainly deserves full credit for "inventing" prophylactic thinking since he formulated the idea itself and emphasized its importance. Important: prophylaxis is completely different than defense. In defense, you're almost always trying to parry threats that are already present, while prophylaxis is all about rooting out the source of problems. For instance, if one side has a bishop that can potentially cause problems, trading the bishop for another piece to eliminate it is an example of prophylaxis. Enough talk: let's look at an example now Checkpoint: What should you ask yourself on every move? Try to predict your opponent's ideas and threats so you can sabotage their plans! Prophylactic thinking is a superpower since it is similar to mind reading. Practice and more practice will definitely develop your intuition and sense of danger, which will ultimately hone your prophylactic thinking. Remember, prophylaxis is a very complex chess strategy. Don't expect to master it immediately! Just remind yourself to be aware of it, and in the future you will make fewer blunders in your games I hope this lesson proves to be useful in your future games! Don't forget to always maintain a sense of danger and ask yourself the holy grail question: What is my opponent's plan/threat?

Ready for a challenge? Hint for puzzle 1: stalemate

Today we will learn the concept of checkmate and how to defend against it! Checkmate (aka "mate") is when a player's king is in check (threatened with capture) and there is no way to remove the threat. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. There are a couple of ways to get out of check. If you are able to do one of these, then you're not checkmated and you're still alive! Three ways to get out of check: - Capture the piece that is delivering check - Run away - Block the check It's relatively easy to escape from a check. However, it is not as easy to identify a checkmate threat and defend against it. We know that you're checkmated when your King is under attack but you cannot defend against it (block, capture, or run away). Now, let's imagine an interesting scenario. What if you have no legal moves, but you're not in check (King is not under attack)? This is called a stalemate. Black has no legal moves, and unfortunately, you cannot force him to make an illegal move. The final result is a draw (game ends and no player wins). In the position above, white was completely winning, but lost concentration for a bit and allowed black to enter a position in which he saved himself with a stalemate. Pro tip: if you're losing a game, try to force a position in which it's your turn to move but you have no legal moves left! That way, you'll induce a stalemate and earn 0.5 points (for a draw) as opposed to 0 points (for losing). Now let's change up the position slightly...it's black to play - did black save the game with a stalemate trick? Remember: a stalemate only happens when a person has to make a move, but has no legal moves at all. That's it for today! Try to be conscious of checkmates, checks, and stalemates in your future games. Be clever like a fox :-)

Welcome to the first chess lesson! We will be learning about relative piece values and general opening rules/tips to help you play even better. The official piece values are as follows: pawn = 1 point knight = bishop = 3 points rook = 5 points queen = 9 points king = pRiCeLeSs Explanation: These values are derived from the activity of each piece. Since a pawn can only move forward, it is considered as the lowest value piece. The knight has a short range, but it can jump over other pieces; the bishop has a long range, but is restricted to moving on only one color along a diagonal. Thus, the knight and bishop have roughly equal values of 3 points. The Rook is a speedy boi: it has a long range and can move horizontally and vertically, thus awarding itself a high value of 5 points. The Queen is like a Rook + Bishop hybrid; its value is likely determined by: 5 pts (rook) + 3 pts (bishop) + 1 bOnUs pt (bc she's cool) = 9 pts. Next time, don't give away your queen (worth NINE points) for that measly pawn (worth only ONE point)! Remember which pieces are worth more; it will help you decide whether trading pieces is in your favor or not. Don't get cheated by your opponent! Which knight is more active, and why? The one on a8 (in the corner) or the one in the center (e4)? Answer: the e4 knight is more ACTIVE because it has 8 squares it can go to, whereas the a8 knight in the corner only has two options (b6 and c7). Thus, activity is best described as the amount of squares that a piece can choose to go to. If a piece has lots of choices, it is active; if a piece is obstructed by other pieces or located in a corner, its activity is restricted. In chess, you want to have ACTIVE PIECES since they are better at attacking! No one wants to be passive and defend 24/7....right? Also, notice that a piece's mobility range increases as it gets closer to the center Now we will lightly touch upon the idea of relative piece values...the point values that I introduced are not set in stone (like every other "rule" in this world! jk...or am I). They are flexible and depend on the position. In some cases, a knight can be worth more than a rook if the knight is super active/dominating while the rook is severely restricted in terms of mobility. In some extreme cases, an entire piece can be completely worthless if it is "trapped" or "out of play". In the above position, material is equal (add up all the points if you want to check). You might be tempted to say that no one is winning! But look again: white's rook is trapped in the corner and cannot move. Also, white's knight on f1 is on the edge of the board (limited mobility). Compare this to black's position: black's rook is active and preventing the white king from escaping onto the c-file. Black's knight is in the center and has incredible mobility range (notice that Nd2 would be checkmate if white's knight were not guarding the square - we will talk more about mates in future lessons if you are lost right now). Conclusion: black's Rook is technically worth more than white's, based on its superior mobility. Black's knight is worth more than white's, for the same reason. White's rook is so useless that we can completely ignore it and its inherent point value - even black's knight is better than the a1 rook. Checkpoint question: what is a good way to increase the activity of your own piece? OPENINGS Hopefully by now, you have an idea of how important piece activity is. That's why you should try to control the center of the chess board right from the start. The beginning stage of a game is called the opening. Make the most of each move and fight for the center! Here are three "golden rules" for the opening that you should try your best to follow: 1) Pawn in the center 2) Develop pieces (by bringing them to control the center) 3) King safety (castling) View the following example game to see these rules in action: These rules, like all others, are subject to change. They're like glasses to help you see better, but you shouldn't rely on them 24/7. If your piece is attacked, address that threat first before continuing with the opening rules. However, under normal circumstances, the three golden rules should be followed closely to ensure a comfortable game. The more squares you control in the center, the less you give your opponent. Your pieces will be more active, allowing you to launch a deadly attack or win material, and eventually win the game. Checkpoint question: What are the three golden rules? Must you always follow them? I hope you have a better understanding of how the game works! If you have any questions, please comment below and I will promptly come to the rescue (not that you need rescuing or anything).

Here are some fun warm up puzzles that I think you'll enjoy! Feel free to test yourself - a puzzle a day keeps the doctor away I'll be posting new ones every week for those who are interested in practicing and improving their tactical vision! FIND THE BEST MOVE