Learn chess
Clear articles to help you improve, organized by theme. Every principle is tied back to your own games.
Your path
An ordered learning path, tuned to your level. Start at the beginning, move at your own pace.
Master the fundamentals, give nothing away, mate cleanly.
1
Opening
Occupy and control the centre from the first moves
Lessons
Train
Related weaknesses
2
Defense
Check the opponent’s threats before every move (checks, captures, threats).
Lessons
Train
Related weaknesses
3
Attack
Stop leaving pieces en prise and spot one-move forks and mates.
Related weaknesses
4
Endgame
Deliver clean K+Q and K+R mates, and avoid stalemate.
Lessons
Related weaknesses
Middle· Unlocked at Intermediate level
Reference
Browse all the content freely, in no set order.
Browse by theme
OpeningStart the game well, without indigestible theory.5 articlesStrategyUnderstand middlegame plans.8 articlesDefensive vigilanceSee your opponent’s ideas before they hit you.5 articlesMissed chancesSpot the winning moves you let slip.9 articlesEndgamesThe techniques that turn an edge into a point.8 articlesThinking processWhat to think about, every move, methodically.2 articles
From the blog
Guides and improvement tips — the generalist reading around the path.
How to Manage Your Clock Time and Avoid Time TroublePlenty of games are lost on the clock, not on the board. Here is how to budget your time by the moment, move fast when it makes sense, and stop dropping into time trouble.Set a Realistic Chess Rating Goal (and Reach It)A rating goal can motivate you or wear you down, depending on how you set it. Here is how to aim for a realistic level, separate outcome from process, and turn the goal into habits that actually move the needle.Which Time Control Helps You Improve: Blitz, Rapid or Classical?Twitchy blitz, balanced rapid, or a long thinking game: each time control trains different skills. Here is how to compare them and build a mix that genuinely helps you improve.What to Do After Losing a Chess Game (and Learn From It)A well-reviewed loss is the most rewarding chance to improve. Here is a clear routine to absorb the defeat, dissect the game, classify your mistakes, and turn them into a real training plan.Chess.com vs Lichess: Which One to Choose to Improve at Chess?Chess.com and Lichess are the two leading online platforms. Here is a clear comparison — cost, tools, support — and a simple method to pick the one that will take you from 800 to 1400 ELO.Understanding Chess Evaluation Scores: Centipawns, Advantage & StockfishThe evaluation score displayed by chess engines puzzles many club players. This guide explains what centipawns mean, how to read a positive or negative advantage, and why a single number never tells the whole story of a position.AI Chess Analysis: Why It Beats Using an Engine AloneA chess engine sees everything but explains nothing. Discover why AI-assisted analysis turns every game into a real lesson, and how to get the most out of it as a player rated between 800 and 1400.How to Improve at Chess from 500 to 1500 ELO: The Complete MethodFrom 500 to 1500 ELO, chess improvement follows a clear logic. Discover the complete method: tactics, pawn structure, openings, and endgames, illustrated with real game positions.What Opening to Play in Chess as a Beginner (Guide by ELO)Queen’s Gambit, e4 e5, Sicilian Defence: which opening repertoire fits your level? This practical ELO-based guide helps beginners build solid foundations from their very first games.The 6 Most Common Chess Weaknesses and How to Fix ThemSlow development, hanging pieces, damaged pawn structures… These six recurring weaknesses hold back most players rated 800–1400. Here’s how to spot them and start fixing them today.How to Analyse Your Chess Games and Actually Improve (Step-by-Step Method)Analysing your chess games is the most direct path to improvement at any level. Here is a concrete six-step protocol to turn every game into an actionable lesson.
All articles
Opening
Start the game well, without indigestible theory.
- OpeningThe 6 Opening FundamentalsControl the centre, develop quickly, castle early, keep the queen in reserve, move each piece only once, finish development before attacking: the 6 fundamentals that carry every opening you play.
- OpeningWhen and Why to CastleCastling is arguably the most profitable move of the entire opening: it tucks your king into safety while waking up a sleeping rook. The art lies in choosing between kingside and queenside, timing the move correctly, and recognising the rare positions where castling means walking straight into danger.
- OpeningThe Universal Principles of the First Five MovesControl the center, develop your pieces, get your king to safety: discover the four principles that guide your first five moves, and how White’s first-move advantage changes everything.
Strategy
Understand middlegame plans.
- StrategyThe Principle of Two WeaknessesA single weakness can be held; two weaknesses overload the defender. Learn to open a second front and turn an advantage into a win.
- StrategyImproving Your Worst PieceChess games are often won by accumulation: a piece doing nothing is a piece you don’t have. Learn to spot your weakest link and turn it into an asset.
- StrategyWhen to Trade and When to Keep Your PiecesA trade is never neutral: every swap shifts the balance of the game. Learn the four criteria that turn an ordinary exchange into a winning decision.
Defensive vigilance
See your opponent’s ideas before they hit you.
- Defensive vigilanceThe CCT Routine: Checks, Captures, ThreatsA three-word mental checklist — checks, captures, threats — run in both directions before every move. The simplest method to stop hanging pieces and missing tactics.
- Defensive vigilanceLPDO: Loose Pieces Drop OffAn undefended piece is an invitation. Learn why insufficiently defended pieces fuel nearly every tactic, and how to scan for them on every move so you stop dropping material for free.
- Defensive vigilanceForks: Spot Them Before You Suffer ThemThe fork is the most profitable tactical weapon in amateur chess, and the most painful to walk into. Learn to spot it half a second before your opponent does: the knight’s mechanics (which ignore alignment), the long-range pieces' geometry, and the decisive reflex on undefended pieces.
Missed chances
Spot the winning moves you let slip.
- Missed chancesExploiting Pins: Freeze the Piece, Then CollectA pin freezes an enemy piece on its line. The real skill is cashing it in: recognising the geometry, provoking the alignment, piling attackers onto the pinned piece and defusing the defences. The complete method, verified position included.
- Missed chancesExploiting Skewers: The Front Piece Betrays the BackThe skewer is the most lucrative of the line tactics: the valuable piece, attacked first, must flee and surrender the one it was masking. Learn to spot profitable alignments, deliver a skewer by check and force the alignment when it is missing.
- Missed chancesMastering Discovered Attacks: Two Threats in One MoveIn a discovered attack, your front piece steps aside and unmasks a hidden attack: two threats arise from a single move, and the opponent can only parry one. Mechanics, discovered check, double check, building the battery and defending — the complete lesson.
Endgames
The techniques that turn an edge into a point.
- EndgamesThe Active King: The Number One Rule of EndgamesIn the middlegame, the king hides. In the endgame, it attacks. Learn to centralize it, place it in front of its pawn, and wield the opposition to turn this timid piece into a decisive weapon.
- EndgamesThe Rule of the Square and Pawn RacesCan the king catch that passed pawn? The rule of the square answers at a glance, with no square-by-square counting. Discover the two-square jump exception, the power of the outside passed pawn, and the magic of Réti’s study.
- EndgamesMastering the Opposition: The Key to Pawn EndingsOpposition, direct or distant, decides most king-and-pawn endings. Exact definition, key squares, the square rule, outflanking and the rook-pawn traps: the complete method for converting — or saving — these endings to the tempo.
Thinking process
What to think about, every move, methodically.
- Thinking processWhat to Think on Every Move: The Complete ProtocolMost mistakes between 800 and 1400 don’t come from a lack of talent, but from a move played without a method. Here is a reusable protocol, move after move, to evaluate the position, spot threats, find candidate moves, compare them, and verify before playing.
- Thinking processManaging Your Time in ChessThink long at the critical moments, play theory and obvious moves quickly, and never collapse in time trouble: learn to spend your clock like a precious budget.