Beginner To Master

Themes

Each number is a game; it opens the move where he explains the idea. Open a theme to read what it is about.

General

1. The method of comparison, in both directions

   A move is right or wrong for a reason. Compare it with a position where it was the other way round, and the reason shows.

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2. Bank the material when the option is there

   Offered a promising attack or a clean extra piece, take the piece. It is still there if the attack fizzles.

   0103
3. Compare the captures, do not take the flashy one

   With more than one way to capture, compare where each leaves the pieces. The flashy one, a fork or a check, is often not the best.

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4. Ask what he is actually threatening

   Before defending, ask whether the threat is real and what exactly it threatens. Often the answer is less than it looks.

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5. Ask what the move just allowed

   After every move, name what the position now allows that it did not a moment ago.

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6. Be obsessed with undefended pieces

   Make it a habit to notice every undefended piece, yours and his, and to count the defenders of every piece that is under attack.

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7. Positional combination: trade with tactics

   When the piece you want to trade will not go quietly, force the trade with a tactic that wins the material back.

   07
8. Releasing the tension hands something over

   Releasing tension feels clear, but it often hands the opponent a square or the centre for nothing. Keep it until the release gains something.

   0917
9. When the main idea is stopped, the position is not

   When your plan is stopped, the position is not lost. Look again for another way to the same goal.

   09
10. A move that threatens something is the one played without checking

    A move that attacks something feels productive, so it gets played without checking. Check it anyway.

    12
11. Make one move do two jobs

    When a task can be done in a way that also does something else, do it that way. Do not tie a piece to one job if another can do it and keep working.

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12. Use no more force than the job needs

    Use no more force than the job needs. A piece spent on overkill is not doing something else.

    13
13. Earn the right to break a rule

    A rule can be broken by someone who knows how to apply it. Learn to apply the rules before practising the exceptions.

    16
14. Prepare a plan with a move that is good anyway

    Of the ways to prepare a plan, pick a move that would still be good if the plan came to nothing.

    16
15. In trouble, decide what to save

    Under pressure you cannot save everything. Decide what matters most and give up the rest.

    21

Opening

1. Castling is a developing move, not only a safety move

   Castle for what it does for the pieces, such as a rook on a file about to open, not only because the king feels unsafe.

   0103
2. A trap is a bet on the opponent's reflex

   A trap only works if the opponent plays the automatic move. Prefer a sound line to one that depends on him not knowing.

   08
3. The opening is chosen for what it teaches

   An opening can be chosen for what it teaches, such as closed positions or a structure you need practice in, not only for an advantage.

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4. Meet a flank move in the centre

   A pawn move on the wing does not develop anything. The usual answer is a strike in the centre.

   14
5. A gambit is a contract for the initiative

   After giving material for the initiative, develop fast, keep the pressure on, and do not get stingy about trades or material.

   15

Pawn structure

1. Doubled pawns are judged by what they do, not how they look

   Judge doubled pawns by their jobs: what they control, what they shelter, and what the trade that made them gave you.

   0111
2. Defend a pawn with a pawn

   A pawn defending a pawn costs nothing, where a piece doing it is a piece out of the game.

   0203
3. A pawn move leaves a hole you cannot fill

   A pawn cannot move backwards. Before advancing it, ask which square it stops guarding for good.

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4. Hanging pawns cut both ways

   Two pawns side by side with no neighbours are strong while they stand together and weak once they can be attacked; when one falls, the other usually follows.

   04
5. A weakness is only a weakness if someone can use it

   A weakened square only matters if the opponent has a piece that can get to it.

   1016
6. Attack a chain where it hurts - usually the base

   Attack a pawn chain at its base, unless the aim is to get rid of a particular pawn.

   1214
7. Bad pawns defend good squares

   A weak-looking pawn can be the one holding a key square. Judge it by what it guards, not how it looks.

   16

Piece play

1. Do not over-defend

   Answer a threat with the cheapest move that does the job, and stop adding defenders once a point is held often enough.

   0102
2. Restrict the bishop, or pay to remove it

   A strong bishop has to be dealt with: take away its best square, shut it in behind pawns, or pay something to trade it off.

   020304
3. Identify the one piece that matters

   Work out which single piece the position runs on, and be willing to pay to remove it, or to keep it.

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4. A piece can be given the job of defending

   Not every piece has to be active. One that stays home holding the position can be doing the most important job on the board.

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5. Send one piece through the square another wants

   When two pieces want the same square, send one through it on its way somewhere else, and let the other one stay.

   06
6. Hit the pawn with pieces where a pawn would let him close the position

   Attack a pawn centre with pieces when a pawn strike would only let the opponent push past and lock the position.

   07
7. A square can be a route rather than a destination

   A square can be worth going to for where it leads next, not for what the piece does there.

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8. No good square for the piece? Develop it a different way

   If every normal square for a piece has a drawback, develop it differently, for example by fianchettoing it.

   13
9. Not every pin is effective

   A pin the opponent can undo with a useful move is no pin at all. Judge a pin by what it holds and for how long.

   1819

Strategy

1. One square decides the game

   Some games are organised around one square. Name it early, and let the fight for it decide most moves.

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2. Spend a move to make the natural move work

   When the natural move is one quiet move away from working, play the quiet move first.

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3. Let the other side commit first

   Make the moves you would make anyway, keep the optional ones in reserve, and let the opponent make the decision you would rather not.

   05
4. Closed positions run on a different clock

   In a closed position there is time for long manoeuvres, as long as the opponent cannot open it while you are away.

   05
5. A piece up, convert by improving

   A piece ahead, finish developing rather than hunting for more material, and look for the trade that turns the advantage into a win.

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6. Let him spend the moves taking it

   Sometimes it is better to let a piece be taken than to defend it, if taking it costs the opponent the moves you need.

   0712
7. Work back from the wish list

   Start from the outcome you want and work backwards, removing whatever stands in its way one step at a time.

   09
8. The king can be tucked away without castling

   The king can sometimes be made safe by walking it a square or two, keeping the rook where castling would have taken it away.

   1120
9. Compensation is a list, not a feeling

   When you are a pawn down for compensation, list what you have in return and give each item a plan.

   14
10. Pressure is a piece that cannot move

    Pressure is when a piece cannot move because something behind it would fall. It can be as strong as a threat.

    16
11. Convert an extra piece by attacking, not only by trading

    A piece ahead, you can win by trading down or by using the extra piece in an attack on the king; attacking is often quicker.

    1819
12. Far ahead, a pawn is currency

    When far ahead, a pawn is something to spend, for example on a trade that simplifies. Do not cling to every pawn.

    1921
13. A lead in development is cash, material is gold

    Material and a mating attack win by themselves. Other advantages, like a lead in development, only count once you turn them into one of those.

    21

Attack

1. Is the attack real? Count who is home

   Before attacking, or opening the centre, count whose pieces are actually out. The side with pieces still at home is the one punished.

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2. An attack away from the king needs a target you name yourself

   An attack away from the king works like one on the king: pick the target yourself, bring the pieces, and pile on.

   12
3. Play for mate, not material

   Against an exposed king, play for mate. Material that drifts into a queen trade is not worth taking.

   13
4. The queen leads the battery

   In a queen-and-bishop battery aimed at the king, put the queen in front: the queen at the head threatens mate.

   19

Tactics

1. Remove the defender

   Before taking, ask what is holding the target together, and take that first.

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2. Tactics override verbal logic

   General reasoning picks good moves most of the time, but a concrete tactic beats it. Look for pins and loose pieces every move.

   0204
3. Sacrifice in the order that keeps the tempo

   When sacrificing, choose the order of moves that keeps the opponent busy answering threats.

   1317
4. A piece on the king's line is a tactic waiting

   A piece on the same line as its king can be pinned or hit by a discovered attack. Check those lines every move.

   14
5. A pawn on the sixth: think promotion, even in the middlegame

   A pawn on the sixth rank is close to queening. Look for a way to clear its path, even in the middlegame.

   15
6. Desperado: if a piece has to go, take something with it

   If a piece is going to be lost anyway, take something with it on the way out.

   1921
7. Pin it, then attack what is pinned

   To exploit a pin, attack the pinned piece, ideally with a pawn.

   21

Endgame

1. An endgame does not rescue an undeveloped position

   Trading queens does not save an undeveloped position. Without pieces out, there is nothing to stop what the opponent does next.

   09
2. Running from checks: pick the square first

   Facing a run of checks, decide where the king should end up first, then head there.

   15