How To Play The Catalan: A Master Class With Levon Aronian
GM Georg Meier walks you through the most popular defense against the Catalan among top players. Meier shows you how one...
Openings
How To Play The Catalan: Dubov's Sharp Variation
How does GM Meier like to play when he's on the Black side of the Catalan? He tries a deep check on b4 to sideline White's...
How To Play The Catalan: Caruana's Brilliant Catalan
What's the best move order to reach a Catalan? What should you do if Black aims for an e5 break instead of a c5 break? GM...
How To Play The Catalan: The Closed Catalan
Grandmaster Georg Meier is back with another installment in his world class coverage of the Catalan. See how he built up...
How To Play The Catalan: My Pet Line
GM Meier demonstrates one of the most popular lines at the top level and how he scores well with his pet variation! White...
Control The Center
Put your pieces in the ideal position to control the most important part of the board - the center. Try to attack those squares,...
Develop Your Pieces
Take control of the game by developing your pieces rapidly to squares where they control the center. You want to develop...
Protect Your King
King safety is the most important positional factor in chess. Usually the best way to secure your king is to castle. That...
Active Pieces
An active piece has the potential to make many moves. At the start of the game, most pieces can't move at all and the knights...
Phases Of The Game
Chess games typically feature three phases. The opening is when each side focuses on developing their pieces from the back...
Your Opponent's Move
It’s important to pay attention to what your opponent is trying to do each turn. You want to watch out for any checks, captures,...
Tips And Tricks Of The London System: Bxh7
GM Aman Hambleton demonstrates a devastating trick that has won him many games in his favorite opening, the London System....
Tips And Tricks Of The London System: Common Structures
What happens in the London system when queens face off on the b-file? GM Hambleton demonstrates the key idea of forcing the...
Tips And Tricks Of The London System: Black Fianchetto
How can Black cause serious problems for an inflexible London System player? GM Hambleton recommends an early g6 setup with...
Tips And Tricks Of The London System: Early b2 Attack
What should you do if Black attempts to steal a pawn quickly on b2? Traditional theory thinks there's likely to be a forced...
Tips And Tricks Of The London System: Random Moves
What tricks do you need to learn as early as move two in the London System? Find out what rare, but dangerous moves GM Hambleton...
How To Win With The Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation
Want to learn an opening that doesn't require too much theory and was a favorite of Bobby Fischer? IM Keaton Kiewra teaches...
How To Win With The Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation: The Ending
One of White's main goals in the Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation is to reach a winning king and pawn endgame. Follow along as...
How To Win With The Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation: The Delayed Exchange
If you like the Ruy Lopez Exchange Variation, but want to mix things up, you can try the Delayed Exchange! IM Keaton Kiewra...
How To Win With The Ruy Lopez 5.d4
Looking for a way to fight for an edge against solid 1.e4 e5 players? Why not try the Ruy Lopez with 5.d4 and learn about...
How To Win With The Ruy Lopez 5.d4: Pouncing On Mistakes!
5.d4 is a rare and aggressive move against the Ruy Lopez, so most players with the Black pieces won't know the best defense....
How To Win With The Ruy Lopez 5.d4: Master Games!
IM Keaton Kiewra wraps up his coverage of the 5.d4 Ruy Lopez by demonstrating two key games. One example shows how you can...
How To Play The Catalan: The Modern Main Line
GM Georg Meier has already covered many of the attacking ideas in the Catalan. Now he covers one of the current main lines,...
Sicilian Pin Variation: Leko vs Aronian
Want to learn the Sicilian Pin Variation? Watch two legends of modern chess, Peter Leko and Levon Aronian, play the opening...
Sicilian Pin Variation: Yates vs Alekhine
Now that you've had seven lessons on the Sicilian Pin Variation, it's time to see the opening in action in a game with the...