Get to know the chess pieces and how to play the game.
Learn the basic rules of chess and how to play a full game.
Practice essential checkmating patterns with GM Simon Williams! Learn these incredible ideas to shock your opponents and win!
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.
Get an advantage in the first few moves
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.
Turn your advantage into checkmate.
Surprise your opponents with powerful winning moves
Keep your eyes open and capture more pieces.
"Basic Checkmates and ...." presents some of the most common checkmating patterns and a few other basic concepts.
"Introduction to Tactics" introduces the student to the tactical tools of chess (forks, pins, etc.).
Win the game by focusing your attack on the vulnerable king
"Exclusively Checkmates" provides a series of simple checkmate problems.
Learn about the most common book chess openings and their main ideas
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.
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.
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.
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.
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, 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!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
