I have enjoyed playing chess for roughly 50 years now, still considering I didn´t have too much time to play during many years. With Chess.com I had a chance to catch up in the last 8-10 months what I am very thankful.

Analyzing chess.com stats I came to the conclusion that it takes a lot of efforts, even to Grand Masters, to polish their chess skills. Most of them win 52% at most 57% of their games, what draw us to a simple conclusion: It takes time and efforts, even to the best ones. There is no free lunch! – The uphill way is tough, but the view…wow! It pays off!

If I can share with young chess players a few things I have learned in the last half century, I summarize them as follows:

Choose one defense to play as black and study its opening and middle-game strategies well.

As white play e4 or d4 – I believe it is hard to play both of them well. You have to choose. I am an e4 player, what requires I know at least something about a list of defenses against e4; therefore, it is hard to play both e4 and d4 as white.

E4 games are more tactical and d4 are in general more strategic, with many exceptions, yes!

I decided to play e4 cause I had many challenges with tactics and it was a decision which helped me to work out that liability over the years.

Learn all basic strategic concepts (chess.com lessons have all them) and then try to recognize in your games which ones are more relevant – this is “strategy step 2”. It takes a few years to master all chess strategic concepts. I still can´t do it well after 50 years…

Sound strategy leads to tactical opportunities, not the reverse. You have to learn how to squeeze tactical opportunities out of sound strategic positions.

Chess is essentially thinking, but it also requires emotional equanimity and drive (energy, determination and effort).

Thinking has to do with unveiling (alethéa – Greek) – to unveil the secrets of each position!

It has to do with tactics and traps but also with the leading strategic concepts of each position.

After reading Heiddeger (Intro to Philosophy) I came to the conclusion that chess is about pursuing truth. Fischer arrived in the same conclusion in the end of his life, when he was in Iceland.

As we all know the beauty about truth is that it keeps evolving and the only thing we can be sure about is that we all know very little…but we remain as faithful truth lovers, what really counts!

Bhavatu, Sabba, Mangalam! – Be Happy!

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