Chess Strategies And Tips
If you've been through the chess strategies here and you think there is some important aspect that I have not covered you can easily add your know how to the site. It's always a possibility that I have missed something useful. If we all put our heads together and pool our experience we'll all be better for it.
You can write a few lines or an entire article it's up to you. Your contribution could be of real value to many people.
Your words can reach people anywhere in the world and your tips and hints may decide games played in parks, clubs and homes in cities, towns and villages the world over. Just think.
Your words can reach people anywhere in the world and your tips and hints may decide games played in parks, clubs and homes in cities, towns and villages the world over. Just think.
If your tip or pointer is in relation to the endgame, middlegame, opening or if it's a general hint I'm looking forward to reading about it. Hopefully it will help my game too! Always hoping to play sharper chess moves. Don't forget to read the tips left by others. You might find something you hadn't thought of before. One of the most important strategic decisions you'll make is your choice of opening. Let's consider some of our options.
Why Would You Choose the Sicilian?
1.e4 c5
So why would you choose to play the Sicilian Defense? Well maybe because you want to win. When you play with Black, and it is Black who posesses the Sicilian in his armory, you have two choices. Play solid chess, maintain parity or something close to that and wait for White to make a mistake. Or play for the initiative from move 1. Bang on the gates of White's citadel right from the start and make him solve the problems you set.
The Sicilian is the perfect suite of tools for this job. This labyrinth of lines of attack containing a wealth of attacking motifs should give White much to do to hold you out. They say attack is the best form of defense. It is not played without risk you must understand. White is not without agency in the Sicilian.
Every opening develops as an arms race between White and Black. The great masters are forever trying to find improvements in every position, in every line. White has many well known options in this opening too. If both players know how to play the Sicilian you will be part of an epic encounter.
Traversing the Vast Expanse of the King's Pawn Game
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4
The King's Pawn Game covers all games beginning with 1.e4. This is the most commonly played opening move. Alongside another opening move, it is considered by many to be the best choice. Which of the two is the best, well it is the subject of many a heated argument.
The previously mentioned Sicilian Defense is just one of many variations found within the King's Pawn Game. It is surely the most important but far from the only one. The soon to be mentioned Ruy Lopez Opening otherwise known as the Spanish Game is another infamous complex arising from 1.e4.
This opening is the way to play if you want to get at Black straight away. Get your pieces into position and strike at Black's Kingside in the early middlegame. If you have somewhere you've gotta be and you don't want to win in 60 moves then win in 20 with 1.e4.
How Deep is the Ocean We Call the Queen's Pawn Game?
1.d4
Of course you may not want to rush into a full blooded battle right out of the opening. Maybe you want to play a slow burning, methodical game. Build a solid position around your King with your pieces operating in a defensive manner behind the pawn shell. They are also positioned to spring into the attack when you unleash the pawn break in the late middlegame. It may be at this stage that the game catches fire.
We are talking of course about the Queen's Pawn Game. All games beginning with 1.d4 fall under the banner of the Queen's Pawn Game. 1.d4 is the other move that many people argue for as the greatest opening move. Which camp are you in?
The Queen's Gambit Accepted and Declined fall into this family along with the Slav and Semi-Slav Defensive systems. The London System, the Dutch Defense, the Benoni Defense, the Colle System and the Catalan Opening are also in this category along with many others.
Treat Your Opponent to an Indian Summer
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6
The Indian family includes a number of defensive openings that Black can play. The King's Indian Defense is the main one. You also have the Queen's Indian Defense, the Nimzo-Indian Defense, the Bogo-Indian Defense, the Grunfeld-Indian Defense and last but not least, alledgedly, the Old Indian Defense.
You can pretty much play the King's Indian against anything although White's choices will lead to wildly different variations and positions. Some of the other Indian Systems work against most of White's options. Others are possible only after certain White moves.
The King's Indian, Queen's Indian, Indian and Old Indian can be played against anything because you don't make contact with enemy pieces in the early moves. The Nimzo-Indian, Bogo-Indian and Grunfeld can be entered into only if White plays specific moves as early contact is a feature of these openings. The game only goes down those roads if both players are happy to travel them together.
Forget the Center - Attack on the Flanks!
1.c4
One of the first things you will hear when you start playing chess is "Fight for the Center". And it's true. Hegemony or at least parity in the center is of the utmost importance. But it's possible to advance more than one goal at a time. You can try an opening that is based on action on the flank while also achieving security in the center.
The English Opening is undoubtedly the preeminent opening in this category. White also has the King's Indian Attack where he plays the set-ups from the King's Indian Defense, except he does it with the White pieces. White can also ape the Queen's Indian Defense by playing the Queen's Indian Attack. Much the same story with White stealing lines from the Dutch Defense when playing Bird's Opening. Having the first move can make these ideas even more powerful.
It's important to remember not to play on the flanks if you are shakey in the center. It naturally follows then that if you get attacked on the wings, you may be able to neutralize your opponent's plans with a decisive counter-attack in the center.
Share Your Golden Nuggets on Chess in General
The endgame, they say, should be played like a machine. You've got to know your stuff on opposition, the Lucena maybe or even how to mate with just a Knight and Bishop. Well you never know! Do you know any other crucial endgame gems?
The middlegame is where the magic happens. Recognizing opportunities to lay traps. Winning material or getting great positions by playing clever combinations and just knowing your way around the board. Maybe you have tried and tested methods for gaining the upper hand in this phase.
There is a lot of theory in the openings but it is important to understand each opening you play, not a case of simply memorizing the moves. It's easier to improvise when needed if you understand what you're trying to do. What's your favorite opening and why do you like it? How do you use it to get an edge in your games?
Spill Your Killer Chess Strategies
What's the best way to approach a game of chess? What rules of thumb should be foremost in your mind? Do you think I have overlooked any top chess strategies? Or maybe neglected to mention some subtle but valuable tip or hint? Do you have a little golden nugget to help give us the jump on our opponents? Spill Your Killer Chess Strategies right here!
Red Hot Strategies and Tips by other Contributors
Read these red hot strategies and tips left by other Contributors...
Winning Chess Games 
I have some tips for surviving the opening because there is no point in having great middlegame and endgame skills if you are losing games in the early …
Middle Game Goals
Anyone can learn off some reliable opening moves. But when the opening is over you have to know what's going on. Lot's of people throw the game away in …
Controlling Mind Game
Chess involves a mind game where the player must figure out the opponent's move and it's reason. Then he must find an answer to it so that he may have …
Moving On
Chess Strategies: Fool's Mate - 1.f3 e5 2.g4 Qh4#
Now I guess it's my turn to share with you. The expert chess player has a huge arsenal of chess strategies on all openings. He is constantly following up on the latest advances in each of these. The newest idea that may improve a variation nest in the opening. Something that will give him a better game.
He understands what kinds of middlegames arise from each opening and how to play them. He gets the positional elements and the tactical possibilities that are contained within them. He builds his game around this knowledge.
He also knows how to play all of the endgames, based on material remaining for both players. He can play all of the many known key endgame positions. He can simplify complicated endgames down to these known positions. That's the level that you can work towards. Before immersing yourself in advanced theory that might make your eyes water, let's start with some basics. Fool's Mate and Scholar's Mate.
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