Silman’s Suggestion for Making a Plan

1. Figure out positive and negative imbalances of both sides, i.e., (Material, Pawn Structure, Superior Minor Pieces, Space, Control of a Key File or Square, Lead in Development and Initiative).
2. Figure out the side of the board you wish to play on.
3. Dream up your fantasy position.
4. Figure out if you can reach your dream position? If you can't then dream up another dream position.
5. Now calculate different candidate moves and select one for execution.

Valuable Tip for Searching a Best Move in Chess?

Apply following concepts to structure the search with the help of following concepts:

• Main Theme: the theme that dominates the position.
• Partial Goal: a position a little bit better than the one you have on the board, working within the overall plan.
• Mini Operations: small manoeuvres on the way to partial goals.
• Key Positions: positions where everything is critical; this is where games are generally decide.
• Tactics as a Strategic Tool: tactics that support the overall plan.

What are Different Pawn Structures?

We can divide Pawn Structures into following 5 types to facilitate our discussion:

1. Closed Centre: White’s and Black’s pawns from an interlocked chain in the centre. With pawns in the centre wedged against each other, it is on the flanks that breakthroughs are usually made. Often the players take one flank each and then try to be first to break through. However, the rule “An attack on the flank is best answered by a counterattack in the centre” can be relevant even with a closed centre, as it may be possible to disintegrate the centre by sacrificing a piece.
2. Open Centre: There are no pawns in the centre. When the centre lacks pawns the position of the pieces grow in importance. Active piece play is the key to success. A common plan is to coordinate your troops to create weaknesses in the pawn structure on either flank. The rooks usually play an important role as they have good prospects on the open files, striving towards the seventh rank.
3. Fixed Centre: Two opposing pawns are nailed to each other. When a fixed structure in the centre there are various types of plans, but often it is important to get a grip on the centre and to reinforce it with pieces. After that, the attacker tries to create weaknesses in his opponent’s position, infiltrating with his pieces or starting an attack on the flank.
4. Mobile Centre: One of the players has two or more pawns that are capable of advancing in the centre. The side that has a mobile centre often wants to advance the pawns to create a passed pawn. However, if the opponent prevents this, an attack on the king might become possible, as the opponent’s troops are focused on controlling the centre. The side that plays against a mobile centre wants to control and blockade the pawns, and later to undermine them and destroy the centre.
5. Fluid Centre: The structure of the centre is not yet decided. Both players must strive for the centre.

How to Make a Plan in Chess?

Following two questions are the basis for making a plan:

1. What type of pawn-structure is it?
2. What is good and what is bad about my position?

Once answers to questions 1 and 2 are clear, next stage in planning is to develop a plan and make it more specific. Following questions, help us in developing our plan:

1. Which pieces do I want to exchange, and which to keep?
2. Which side of the board should I play on?
3. What is my dream position?
4. What does my opponent want to do?

Last stage of planning is about how to carry out the developed plan, which is done by exploring the answers of these two questions:

1. Can I take a step in the right direction?
2. Which moves are worth taking a closer look at?

8 Tips for Analyzing your Chess Games

 

One of the best habit a beginner needs to develop in order to improve his game of chess is analysis of one’s own game. Here are few tips for chess novice on how to analyze his game:

1. It is highly recommended that you must maintain a database of all your games.
2. Analyze your game as soon as possible, preferably, immediately after the game has finished. It will help you in putting your thoughts which you had during the game easy. This practice help in remembering and understanding the reasons why you made the mistakes.
3. Run your chess software to run through your game in blunder check mode, to know major blunders you and your opponent made during the game.
4. Try to identify the critical moments of the game. Critical moments are times when evaluation of position significantly changes and advantage shifts from one side to the other?
5. Don’t forget to analyze the opening used in the game. Update your opening repertoire, if necessary.
6. Don’t just analyze the game in terms of variations, instead give verbal comments on critical positions. If in your opinion white is better explain why.
7. After you have completed analysis, give a short summary of the game. Where was the game decided – opening, middle game, endgame or tactical blunder?
8. Periodically, look at the trends in your games. Is your opening play weak or you play bad in the endgames? Can you fill the gap in your chess knowledge by study?

5 Tips in Developing a Strategy

These tips will help you in devising a strategy, even, in complex board situations:
✓ Control the center prior to initiating attacks on the wing.
✓ Avoid locking your bishops behind your own pawns.
✓ If you have less space, try to exchange pieces of equal value.
✓ If your opponent launches a flank attack, strike back in the center.
✓ Keep the king away from the center until the endgame.

The Queen's Gambit Declined : Semi-Slav

The Semi-Slav Defense Variation of Queen’s Gambit resembles a mixture of the Orthodox Queen’s Gambit Declined and the Slav Defense.



Encyclopaedia of Chess Opening has assigned codes D43 through D49 to Semi – Slav.
You can practice the opening here.

// Image Credits: www.wikipedia.org

Queen's Gambit Declined: Three Knights Variation (D37)

In Queen's Gambit Declined (QGD) Black rejects a pawn sacrifice offered by White. Black achieves a solid position in the center. This opening has the reputation of Black’s most reliable defense to 1 d4.

In Queen's Gambit Declined, White tries to exploit the passivity of Black’s light-squared bishop and Black will try to activate the bishop, exchange it or will use it for defensive purpose.

Click here to practice the opening.

// Image Credits: www.chess.com

Four Knights Game (C46)

Four Knights opening is popular among the beginners who strictly adhere to the opening principle, "Develop Knights before Bishops." This opening was quite popular till world war I on higher level play. But it was abondoned in favor Ruy Lopez. During the last decay of the 20th century, it again rise to popularity among chess players.

Usually the four Knights leads to quite positional play but there are variations where fireworks is common.
For practice of this opening click here.
// Image Credits: www.chess.com

Italian Game: Giuoco Pianissimo, Italian Four Knights Variation (C50)

Italian game was first developed in the 16the century and is most oldest of chess opening. Throughout the 19th century it was popular but later on it is supplanted by the Ruy Lopez. Italian Game with Giuoco Pianissimo Four Knights Variation (C50) often leads to aggressive open positions.

Practice this opening here.
// Image Credits: www.chess.com

An Advice on Finding an Opening That’s Right for You

There is rich diversity in styles of play when it comes to chess. In fact, there is no right or wrong chess style. Mikhail Tal became World Champion of chess in 1960 had a fierce attacking style while 1963 World Champion, Tigran Petrosian played his chess games so defensively that he was extremely hard to defeat.

Ask your inner-self, what you like most? Is it aggressive play or defensive and strategic ploy attracts you more. Follow your intuition. Once, it is clear to you which type of playing style you would follow; select an opening which would lead to games where you can express yourself better.

Ruy Lopez: Morphy Defense (C78)

Ruy Lopez is one of oldest and popular opening. It is also called Spanish Game after a spanish priest who wrote a book about this opening. Ruy Lopez has remained a favorite opening of world champion, Gary Kasparov and Boby Fischer.
There are several variations of Ruy Lopez, among which Morphy Defense is most popular among black’s responses.

You can practice Ruy Lopez – Morphy Defense (C78) here.
// Image Credits: www.chess.com

My Chess Improvement Plan

Preparing an improvement plan in chess is as important as it is in the different aspects of life. I have taken help from Dan Heisman and Susan Polgar to work out a plan for my self. Detail of the plan is:

1. Play at least one game of chess per day.
2. Improve my knowledge by reading chess books cover to cover, at least one each on opening, middle game and end game.
3. Pick one opening to specialize with when playing white and learn it well.
4. Learn two good openings as black to use against 1.e4 and 1.d4.
5. Learn to avoid recklessly attack but to play defensively when the situation requires it.
6. Annotate my own games immediately after playing them.
7. Study some annotated games of the top rated players.
8. Update my blog at least twice a week.

This is my initial plan. I’ll review it after a month to evaluate my progress.

3 Commonly Used Excuses for Not Playing Chess

I wonder why people stop playing chess after they have learned the game and enjoyed it for quite some time. Excuses which they commonly use are following:

• "I don't like losing." The truth is no one like to loose in chess. It busts your ego. But we can turn that bad experience in an opportunity for improvement by analyzing the game, identifying our mistakes and making a positive correction for the future.
• "I don't know the chess openings well enough (or the middle game, or the endgame, etc.)". So What? The real enjoyment in chess lies in discovering something you don’t know.
• "My rating might go down." No one likes to see his/her rating go down. Chess is supposed to be an enjoyable recreation? If it is not for you then there is no need to play it in the first place. Actually, rating is a tool to measure your chess progress only.

So, hey folks, get out of your hibernation period and make no further excuses. Enjoy the game of Kings!

Top 8 Rules to the Chess Opening!

 

There are rules and principles for different stages of a chess game, but in this post the focus will be on Chess Opening and the level of advice will be kept for beginner chess player in mind.

Rule #1 - Develop Your Pieces!

Development means to bring out your chess pieces from behind the pawn to center of the chess board. Development of pieces should be your first goal to achieve in the opening stage of the game. Development ensures your entire army is available when the action start in the chess game.

Generally, develop your minor pieces (Knights and Bishops) first. It is best to introduce Rook and Queen (Major Pieces) later in the game.

Rule #2 - Don't Move a Piece Twice Before Move 10!

This rule is obvious and needs no explanation.

Rule #3 Don't Bring Your Queen Out Early!

Queen is worth more than any piece besides King. If you bring her out early, she will become target of minor pieces of the enemy and you would lost your valuable time in defending her. So don’t bring queen out ealry!

Rule #4 Get Castled (Before Move 10)!

Castling will make your King safe. Try to achieve this goal within first 10 moves.

Rule #5 Attack (Develop) Towards the Center!

Controlling the center of the board is a useful time tested strategy. Besides, pieces are more active when they are at center of the board.

Rule #6 Connect the Rooks!

After castling, connecting the Rook is an easy task. If you have done this step, it means your minor pieces are out, you have castled your king and your queen is out on a safe square. You have nearly completed successfully your first stage of the game.

Rule #7 Develop Your Plans!

Remember that I have told your to develop your pieces, but it does not mean development without a plan. So, develop your pieces keeping in view some objective. This might be to develop Knight to attack a pawn or to develop Bishop to pin a Knight etc.

Rule #8 Attack "In the Direction" of Your Pawn(s) Structure!

Don’t take pawns lightly in the game of chess. Pawns are the only pieces that can’t go back. Their moves are of permanent nature. Learning to recognize and exploitation of pawn weaknesses is the key to understanding positional chess.

These are eight basic rules for novice chess player. Use them in your chess play and your play will definitely improve.

3 Easy Tips on How to Improve Defense in Chess

Defense in Chess is as important as the offence in winning a game. Following are 3 easy tips on how to improve your defense:

1. Avoid back rank mate. Give your king an escape.

2. Don't give your opponent open lines.

3. When getting attacked, swap off pieces.

Italian Game: Two Knights Defense, Knight Attack Normal Variation (C57)

Two Knights defense was first recorded by Polerio in the late 16th century. This particular sequence of moves were adopted by many aggressive player like Mikhail Chigorin and Paul Keres, and World Champions Mikhail Tal and Boris Spassky.

To practice this opening click here.
// Image Credits: www.chess.com

Strategy of Winning in Chess By International Master Jeremy Silman

Jeremy Silman, an International Master, described the following strategy for winning in chess:

• First I create some difference to work with, such as, a Bishop versus the opponent’s Knight.
• Next I create an atmosphere in which my Bishop will thrive – a nonlocked pawn structure so that my Bishop will have open lines; getting his pawns on the color of my Bishop so that they will be vulnerable in an endgame; taking away advanced squares from his Knight so that his minor piece remains inactive.
• When all this is done I will steer the game into an ending in which my speedy Bishop eats his gimpy Knight alive.
• In other words, I create an imbalance and devote all my energy into making it a positive force.

Queen's Gambit Accepted (D20)

The Queen's Gambit Accepted is among the popular second move of the black. Here white will make an endeavor to take advantage of the space while black will defend the position and aim for the queenside counterplay.

 

Click here to practice this opening.

// Credits: www.chess.com

How I Play Chess

There are many decent books on the topic of how to think during a game of chess. This post is not an attempt to challenge Grand Masters’ advice but instead is focused on how I play chess.

1) Threat scan. Scanning the chess board for threats from both sides is my first task. If there is a threat from the opponent, I think about how to counteract it.

2) Planning. I try to develop a plan by considering strategic goals, namely, piece activity, King safety and pawn structure. Once a plan is made, I focus on sequence of possible moves through which I can achieve my objectives.

3) Calculate Variations. First I prioritize available sequence of moves (candidate moves) and then analyze one by one critically. At the end I select the candidate move with the bright future.

4) Blunder Check. Before making the move selected in step 3, I quickly check once again one-move offensive or defensive disasters.

If all is clear, I made the move.