Chess coach with over 13 years of experience, specializing in positional play and long-term planning. I focus on helping students understand the underlying structure of each position, enabling them to make confident, high-quality decisions over the board. Whether you’re looking to refine your positional understanding or build a solid all-around foundation, I’m here to guide your growth.

Capablanca's effortless positional play continues to inspire me…

You should not trade pieces if you have the initiative
Opening the position helps to exploit weak squares
The best number of pawn islands to have is two
Exchanges increase the chances of mobilizing the majority wing
When behind in pieces, trade pawns, but not pieces
Calculate wide, not deep
Space is usually more important than tempo
Releasing the tension reduces your options
The player playing against the IQP should usually exchange all of the knights
You should not mobilize pawn structures that have doubled pawns
If a move looks bad on general principles, the plan is probably bad
The side with a positional advantage has no need to complicate
Knights are often better than bishops in blitz
A plan is made up of ideas, not moves
Trying to play the best move and playing to win are not the same
The weak point of the fianchetto position is the h3 (h6) square
Complications are good for the side that is losing
Long analysis, wrong analysis
If the move feels wrong, it usually is
The fianchettoed bishop is not as good as a pawn is in guarding holes
Do not win a pawn if it costs you more than two tempo
Sharp openings are best in blitz
The initiative is especially important in blitz
To play chess at a strong level, it is essential to play according to sound principles
To increase the influence of your fianchettoed bishop, open the center
A temporary advantage must be exploited at once
When you fianchetto one bishop, the other bishop automatically loses a little of its mobility
Rooks attack best from a distance
You should not change openings because the opponent is higher-rated
Pawns gain in strength as the power of the pieces left on the board decreases
There is a difference between blitz and time-trouble
Exchange your redundant rook for your opponent’s only rook
When ahead pieces, trade pieces, when behind pieces, trade pawns
When you are ahead on pieces, trade pieces (but not necessarily pawns)
Connected passed pawns on the 6th rank beat a Rook
The more redundant two pieces are, generally the weaker they are together
A lead in development is less important in closed positions
It is usually a good strategy to put your pawns on the color opposite of your bishop
A three-to-two majority is easier to convert into a passed pawn than is a four-to-three majority
Plan your action on the side of your pawn majority
A central pawn majority favors the attacker
Having a rook on the seventh rank is worth about a pawn
It is best to leave active pieces where they are
Tactics flow from superior positions
Bishops gain in strength as the endgame approaches
Calculate the moves that are forcing and tactical first
If an attack can succeed with pieces alone, then leave the pawns where they are
It is usually better to have the rook in front of the queen when playing on an open file
Queen exchanges are usually better for the player who is attacking on the queenside
Take the minimum risk and use the maximum in economy to stop an attack
Only defend against direct threats
Bishops and knights rarely coordinate well with each other
A sudden change into an endgame can throw an attacker off his game
Three useable diagonals are worth a pawn
Plans are usually made for just a few moves at a time
Wing pawns become more valuable relative to central pawns as material diminishes
It is usually a mistake to move a pawn on the side where your opponent is attacking
Try to meet short-term threats with long-term moves
It is usually wrong to remove a rook from an open file to avoid exchanges
Play where you have the advantage
You can usually allow weaknesses in your position in return for good piece activity
The move g3 is usually a more weakening move than h3
If you have the bishop pair, put your pawns on the same color as your opponent’s remaining bishop
If you are facing a double fianchetto, try to close the position and gain control of the center
The knight pair is not a good combination
If you have a dynamic advantage, but a static weakness, it might be better to keep your queen
If the rooks cannot penetrate, it is often worth the sacrifice of the exchange to force penetration

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