Learn Chess Strategies for free

Where can I learn chess for free? Learn chess strategies, chess openings and chess tactics on this site for free. Chess is a great and fascinating game, an absorbing mental adventure.

What are the Basics of Chess?
How do I get a Chess Rating?

What is a good Chess Strategy?

• • 1. Develop your pieces (pieces are: Knights, Bishops, Rooks and the Queen, not pawns) as fast as possible. “Time is important” – 1 Tempi is 1 Move

• • 2. Castle as soon as possible! Develop your kingside knight and bishop quickly, then castle!

• • 3. Don’t push too many edge pawns as this cost development time and slows down your piece development. Just push the center pawn and get your pieces out to control the center squares.

• • 4. Don’t attack with your queen right away. This is dumb. The queen just gets chased around by your opponents pieces and he develops his pieces at the same time at your cost. You soon will be in a lost position as he will have all his pieces out and you got only your queen out. Ridiculous! Do you want to win with your queen against the whole army of your opponent’s pieces. Think again! Only beginners do this.

• • 5. Don’t trade pieces when this action develops your opponents piece. Don’t improve the position of your opponent. Simple logic!

• • 6. Keep the two bishops if you can. Don’t trade bishop for knight for no reason. The bishops are more flexible in open and semi-open positions, and this is mostly the case. When the position gets closed then get rid of the bishops and trade your bishop for a knight.

• • 7. Never take a move back and never allow that your opponent takes a move back or this behaviour will end in endless discussions. “You have taken a move back before when you blundered your rook, now I want to take this move back!” It is against the rules to take moves back. When you touch a piece you have to move it.
    When you have blundered your queen then resign and start a new game but don’t take the move back. Chess requires mental discipline, if you have no discipline and not the right attitude then play some other game but not chess.

• • 8. Always check your opponents last move!! If you think only about yourself then you will run into all sorts of traps. Forks, checks and hidden threats of all kinds. Chess is not only about you. It is a form of communication between two players. Rise your level of awareness and study the potential of your opponents last move carefully.

• • 9. Specialize in some opening systems as you can’t know them all. Become an expert in some good and solid openings. Don’t learn dubious opening systems. What a waste of time! It takes years to master some openings. Just look what grandmasters play and do likewise! Top Grandmasters don’t play dubious chess openings.

• • 10. Watch out for pawn moves of your opponent! Every pawn move of your opponent creates a weak square in which you might be able to place your knight or other pieces! This creates outposts for you. Senseless pawn moves have ruined many games! The pawns can become weak and attackable too if you push them forwad prematurely!

• • 11. Double pawns are not always bad! If they control vital squares in the center then they are good. Everything is relative in chess. It takes a master to judge the position correctly!

• • 12. EVERYTHING IN CHESS IS ONLY ABOUT SQUARES! Watch every square and don’t look at the pieces only. What squares do these pieces control? Only that matters! If you want to control the best squares then obviously don’t place your pieces badly at the edge of the board but in the middle of the board. Don’t place your bishops and rooks behind pawns forever (just temporarily if necessary), they need open lines and diagonals to point into the opponents camp!

How can I win Chess easily?

You can’t win a game of chess easily if the opponent is as strong as you. Chess is a very difficult and hard game. It takes years to become a good chess player. If you become better, your opponents get better as well, because you move up to higher levels as your rating rises.

How can I learn Chess by myself?

If you are a beginner at chess please read the chess rules and learn how to move the chess pieces correctly.

Study commented chess games to understand how a game of chess should be played.
Then go to chess strategies for beginners and start learning chess principles and read about chess tips

Work through all the chess strategies that are presented in those sections. When you reach the end of Beginners go to Strategy I,II and Tactics. (see left navigation)

UNIQUE Chess Courses for BEGINNERS created by Grandmaster Smirnov

Beginners – READ and ASK CHESS QUESTIONS HERE!

You might become a master, if you have natural talents. Study here to find out.

Always analyze your positions to find out where you went wrong. Play a lot of games. Read chess books. That’s the way to learn. It is important to be able to find good ordinary positional routine moves and to apply chess strategies in real games.

Chess Openings

Learn proper chess opening moves by replaying hundreds of games in which a particular opening is used. Specialize in some opening systems as you can’t possibly learn them all.

To become really good, you should become an expert in a few opening systems.

Your superior knowledge will give you a slight advantage in a game of chess when you know the opening system better than your opponent.

This often makes the difference between winning and losing as the opponent drifts slowly, but surely, into a bad position. Read more about opening chess moves…

If you are too busy to spend time on learning opening moves then read this.

Learn Chess Strategies

When you play a game of chess you should understand the plan and the ideas that are hidden in the position. There are many general concepts and plans to be learned which can be applied in your games later on. Study standard plans and positional chess ideas to be able to use them.

In chess when you play without a plan you are going to lose. Your pieces are going aimlessly here and there and are not working together harmoniously like a family to achieve a common goal. Often the pawn structure can show you where you should play, at the kingside or at the queenside.

However, there are many chess strategies you should learn to become a good player. And it takes time too. So be patient. You don’t become a master overnight. Read more about chess strategies…

Chess Tactics

Tactics is most vital. If you can’t see a combination how are you going to win? You are just like a blind duck running around in circles.

To win material helps to win a game as having more material than your opponent is often decisive. Learn to spot surprising tactical moves that win a pawn or a piece.

After you won material trade off as many pieces as possible to simplify the position and go into the endgame. It is much easier to win the endgame when you are up in material.

Before you learn to play the game in a more positional way, you should try to develop your tactical abilities.
Learn to see combinations first. Read more about chess tactics…

Your Chess Training

You will find various online chess programs on my site. They don’t have grandmaster strength but can be beaten by you if you are a good player.

They play much weaker than the Top PC Chess Programs you can buy, for example Fritz, Shredder or Rybka. They are the best chess software worldwide and can beat super chess grandmasters. Almost every chess player worldwide uses these chess programs to prepare for chess tournaments. These strong PC chess programs all have similar strength.

However, go to the various chess lessons that are offered on my site and you will improve from day to day.

Vincent Keymer – German Chess Genius

Benefits of playing Chess

• 1. Chess is the best sport to exercise the most important organ in your body: the brain. It is played among participants of all ages, from the young to the elderly.
• 2. The game of chess builds your lifelong mental health which is one of the best assets you have!
• 3. Promotes brain growth
  Neural communication within the brain improves and becomes faster.
• 4. It exercises both sides of the brain
  Both, the left and right hemispheres of the brain become highly active.
• 5. Raises your IQ
  Scientific study has shown that playing the game can actually raise a person’s IQ.
• 6. Helps prevent Alzheimer’s
• 7. Increases problem-solving skills
  Chess requires fast thinking and problem-solving because your opponent constantly puts you in difficult situations on the board.
• 8. Teaches planning and foresight

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How Chess Grandmaster Igor Smirnov developed his chess teaching system.