The Complete Guide to Chess Principles
What you'll learn
- Ability to understand and apply opening principles.
- Ability to balance attack and defense in the middlegame.
- Ability to identify and execute tactical combinations and calculations.
- Ability to understand the importance of material imbalance in middlegame and endgame scenarios.
- Ability to appreciate and execute artful checkmates.
- Ability to navigate closed positions effectively.
- Ability to undermine opponent's pawn chains strategically.
- Ability to utilize pawn breaks to create dynamic play.
- Ability to discern when and where to make pawn captures.
- Ability to identify and execute good moves in a variety of situations.
- Ability to manage your time effectively throughout the game.
- Ability to spot and exploit weaknesses in your opponent's position.
- Ability to ensure king safety throughout the game.
- Ability to understand the importance of material and when to consider sacrificing it.
- Ability to balance pawn structure considerations with piece activity.
- Ability to make decisions on simplification in the middlegame.
- Ability to evaluate and use passed pawns effectively.
- Ability to utilize thorn pawns to restrict the opponent's king.
- Ability to manage tempo effectively to gain an advantage.
- Ability to improve piece locations throughout the game.
- Ability to understand and apply positional chess principles.
- Ability to apply key endgame principles to secure a win or draw.
- Ability to incorporate the psychological aspects of chess in your gameplay.
- Ability to use principles from "Art of War" in your strategy.
- Ability to understand and apply key principles for chess improvement.
- Ability to assess the value and potential of each piece.
- Ability to create and implement a game plan based on the current position.
- Ability to transition smoothly from the opening to the middlegame.
- Ability to recognize critical positions and respond appropriately.
- Ability to exploit your opponent's tactical errors.
- Ability to formulate and execute a successful endgame strategy.
- Ability to anticipate your opponent's plans and counter them.
- Ability to adjust your strategy based on the evolution of the game.
- Ability to recognize patterns and motifs in different positions.
- Ability to understand the importance of piece coordination.
- Ability to utilize tactical themes like pins, forks, and skewers.
- Ability to use prophylactic thinking to prevent opponent's plans.
- Ability to understand the importance of space in chess.
- Ability to understand pawn structures and their impact on the game.
- Ability to adapt your approach based on different opponent styles.
Requirements
- Know how the chess pieces move
Description
Welcome to "The Complete Guide to Chess Principles," a comprehensive course expertly designed to turn you from a chess enthusiast into a competent player, familiar with the fundamentals that govern this incredible game.
Starting with an introduction to the essential basics, we will guide you through a journey of discovery, exploring the intricate dimensions of chess. We gradually unravel the layers, starting from the Opening Principles tier by tier, to help you establish a solid footing right at the start of the game.
Our meticulously structured middlegame modules address multiple facets of this crucial phase - from balancing attack and defence, honing your tactics, combinations, and calculation skills, to understanding the subtleties of material imbalance and the art of checkmating.
We delve into the distinct strategies of playing in closed positions, undermining pawn chains, executing pawn breaks and captures, and the nuances of making good moves. Not overlooking the vital principles of time management and exploiting weaknesses, we also underscore the importance of king safety and the delicate art of sacrificing material.
Our focus then transitions to the strategic aspects of the middlegame, with dedicated modules on pawn structure, piece activity, simplification, passed pawns, thorn pawns, tempo management, and enhancing piece locations. We equip you with the knowledge to play positional chess confidently.
We then delve into endgame principles, ensuring you're well-versed in navigating this defining phase of a chess game. We explore the psychological aspects and apply principles from the Art of War to understand the intricacies of chess strategies.
Lastly, we lay out a clear path for your ongoing improvement in the game, sharing effective and proven principles to guide your chess learning journey.
Whether you are an absolute beginner or a casual player looking to improve, this course offers an in-depth, structured, and enjoyable approach to mastering chess principles. Get ready to embark on a captivating journey into the world of chess, a journey that promises to be as rewarding as it is enlightening!
Who this course is for:
- Beginner to Intermediate Chess Players
Instructor
- 4.6 Instructor Rating
- 2,760 Reviews
- 13,787 Students
- 33 Courses
Tryfon Gavriel, also known as "Kingscrusher" on the Internet. I am a FIDE Candidate Master (CM), and British Regional Chess Master, and run a popular Youtube channel for many years with over 114k+ Subs as of 2021 and a Silver Button Award.
I have done many shows on commercial chess servers. I am also the Webmaster of the correspondence-style chess server Chessworld which emphasizes game quality and research.
Playing experience
Over 35 years of playing activity both online and offline. Peak ICC blitz rating of 2625 (18-Jun-1999). Peak ICC 5 min auto-pairing of 2383 (29-Jun 2012). ECF Grading peak classical: 212 (A) ECF. Peak Rapid rating: 217 (C).
Lichess marathon top 10 finishers in 4 marathons so far. Top 50 finisher in 8 marathons so far. Top 100 finisher in 4 marathons so far. And top 500 in 2 marathons so far. Won quite a few tournaments at lichess - in fact giving me 3rd rank overall behind Lance5500 and papasi in a recent detailed statistical blog analysis titled "Lichess Marathon Statistics".
One of my earliest Over-the-board achievements in Chess was winning the Lloyds Under 18 national UK tournament in 1989. My trophy was awarded to me by Grandmaster and Ph.D. Mathematician Dr John Nunn.
Teaching experience
I have done teaching in Schools and also have done teaching online with several Lichess students on a regular basis, and have a very good coaching rating at lichess.
Other experiences
Played twice in the main British Chess championship. Many of my Youtube viewers claim big rating increases after watching my videos.
Best skills
I particularly love attacking chess, chess tactics, and combinations, and it is probably no accident that my "Complete Guide to Chess Tactics" has been a best-seller shortly after its release here at Udemy.
In general, I will try and give you greater enthusiasm for the game and in particular the dynamic attacking, aggressive tactical aspects of playing chess. My favorite heroes are mainly Attacking style tactical players: Paul Morphy, Alexander Alekhine, Mikhail Tal, Bobby Fischer, and Garry Kasparov. if you want to be a dynamic aggressive attacking style player, I may be able to encourage you and find you relevant resources on that path. The dynamic aggressive attacking players were particularly strong tactically and would often trade off pawn structure neatness and material to try and checkmate the opponent's kings. Checkmate does win the game :) They were masters of finishing combinations naturally as they sought to reduce the king's safety of the opponent in various ways including bringing the King out for often beautiful mating combinations.
Chess Openings
In terms of concrete openings to make use of potentially teaching here at Udemy through courses. I like King-Attacking aggressive openings even with the black pieces like the King's Indian Defence to 1.d4 which my heroes Fischer, Kasparov, and Tal made use of extensively.
As White, I sometimes like Solid openings on such as the London System. I also like provocative openings like the Knight's Tango systems to encourage weaknesses from opponents.
I am also at faster time controls especially, particularly fond of aggressive openings and gambits. For example, the Smith-Morra Gambit vs the Sicilian Defence, and other gambits can be used aggressively even with the black pieces such as the Albin Counter Gambit. Gambits vary of course in soundness and it is important to teach what "ticks many boxes" for use in various time controls. Also, I like surprising opponents with openings such as the Nimzo-Larsen attack, the King's Indian Attack, The London System, and Queen's Knight attack system 1. Nc3, all of which I have courses for here at Udemy.
In the search for the ideal courses to provide you, I like to search within myself for my core strengths and passions within the passion of Chess.
I truly hope you enjoy my courses and they improve your chess and your enjoyment of chess generally - and life generally :)