Hall Of Fame - 24: Howard Staunton
Howard Staunton was considered the world's leading player from 1843-1851. He also gave us the Staunton chess set and the...
Hall Of Fame - 27: Johannes Zukertort
Zukertort lost to Steinitz in the first World Championship match in 1886, but was a dominant player in the 1870s and 1880s.
Learn The Trompowsky And Torre Attack
Learn the key ideas for both sides in the Trompowsky and the Torre Attack.
Spicing Up A Quiet Queen's Gambit: Mamedyarov's Dynamic Pawn Play
It seems like g4 is playable in any position these days. Check out how GM Mamedyarov tried a rare g4 advance in a position...
How To Play Chess: Learn All The Rules
Learn how to play chess, one of the most popular games on the planet! In this video, IM Danny Rensch will teach you all...
The Game That Decided The Candidates?
Ian Nepomniachtchi did not let a quiet opening prevent him from playing for victory. He ground out a win and continues to...
Learn The Semi-Slav Defense
The Semi-Slav is one of Black's best counter-attacking options against 1.d4. Some lines are solid and others are among the...
Pieces Working Together
Like in team sports, all of your pieces should work together for success in chess! One powerful piece will not be able to...
Using Your King
Early in the game you will want to castle the king to safety. In the endgame you want to use the king to help escort pawns...
Using Your Queen
Queens are very powerful, but you must be careful not to lose her for less valuable pieces. For that reason, queens often...
Using Your Rooks
Put your rooks on open files, where they won't be blocked by pawns. Rooks are also good on semi-open files, attacking opposing...
Using Your Knights
Knights are best in the center, where they can control up to eight squares. Knights work well with queens and also do a...
Using Your Bishops
Bishops are most useful when controlling long, unblocked diagonals. Bishops are particularly useful when you have both of...
Using Your Pawns
Pawns have four primary uses. 1. Pawns can control key squares, such as the center. If your pawns control the center the...
Checkmate in 2 Moves
It's helpful to look at all of the checks for each side and see if there are checkmates or other tactics available on the...
King Safety
Never forget to protect your most important piece, the king. A material advantage doesn't matter if there's checkmate. Be...
Weak Targets: f2 and f7
The f2 and f7 pawns are only defended by the king in the starting position, so it can be subject to attack. If you can attack...
Back Rank Checkmates
Castling is a good idea, but if the king is on the back rank without other pieces to defend it, it may be vulnerable to...
Don't Just Check
Attacking the king is great - but it's not always the right move. Be patient. Make sure that a check accomplishes a goal,...
Pawn Race
When both sides only have kings and pawns it's essential to count how many moves each side will take to promote. Usually...
Skewers
A skewer occurs when one piece attacks an opposing piece, that has a less valuable piece behind it, that can be captured...
Piling Up
Once you have pinned a piece, it can't or shouldn't move. Frequently the best way to take advantage of this situation is...
Pins
A pin occurs when a piece is under attack and cannot move without exposing a more valuable piece to capture. An absolute...
Forks
A great way to win material is to attack more than one piece at a time with one of your own. This technique is known as...
Counting Captures
It's usually a good idea to capture something if you have more attacking pieces than the opponent has defending pieces....