A Chess Opening Course

Bogo-Indian Defense

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+

Many strong positional players appreciate the importance of the system's strategic themes - solid and positionally sound. There's really no need to memorize the long move sequences of alternative sharp defenses. These two main reasons appealed to them greatly! 

Considered to be the little brother of the Queen's Indian (3...b6), with many identical strategic themes and possible transpositions. It is also conceptually related to the Nimzo-Indian (3.Nc3 Bb4), as the strategic ideas of black in Nimzo and Bogo are pretty similar. 

Study the Opening Course

Recommendation: The game A.Khalifman - M.Adams, Groningen 1990 is a classic illustration of the solidity and thematic queenside plan for Black. An instructive game that a Bogo-indian fan should not miss studying.

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Best Opening Course

What should the best chess opening course contain?

My answer is simple – chess opening course "by a specialist" that will teach me the secrets of the opening system.

Similarly, i'd like the opening tutorials to not only help me understand and digest the knowledge enclosed but also teaches how to train better, more efficiently and productively.

The Seven Standards (a best chess opening course should contain...)
1. Brief history and introduction about the opening to tackle.

2. Strategic themes to gain an overview of the opening and explain general plans and ideas.

3. Recommended lines (suggested & practiced by the author) with good general explanations supported by just enough concrete variations.

4. Illustrative games with good commentaries and less detail on variations.

5. Top-notch tips on proper move-order, transpositions, and untested but interesting ideas.

6. Tactical themes section to sharpen the reader's awareness of common tactical motifs.

7. Test positions (taken from practice) to help train skills in finding typical ideas for one side or both Black and White in the opening labyrinth.

NEW Chess Course On OPENING

Chess Training Without A Board

Chess Aspirant

Here are some practical principles I'll recommend to someone who wants to develop his play.

1. Find a training partner. 

Plan your chess training together and encourage each other to do your best.

2. Warm-up before a game or a training session.

Good focus is needed here and bring your mental skill in top shape.

3. Keep your pieces protected (a good technique to keep in mind).

Make sure your pieces are connected to not overlook something.

4. Spot the opponent's threat (after opponent's last move).

Ask yourself the intention of the opponent's last move and what he will do next.

5. Perform anti-blunder check (before making your move).

Check the opponent's attacking response especially on your half of the board.

Chess Quotes

          Words of wisdom from a "scheming mind".

Chess Reflections

Play the opening like a book, the middle game like a magician, and the endgame like a machine. – Spielmann  

General Tips

Chess is a matter of delicate judgment, knowing when to punch and how to duck. – Fischer 

Opening

Your only task in the opening is to reach a playable middlegame. – Portisch 

Middlegame

The middlegame I repeat is chess itself; chess with all its possibilities, its attacks, defences, sacrifices, etc. – Znosko-Borovsky  

Endgame

The theory of the endgame proper is concerned to a large extent with the conversion of an advantage of one pawn into a win. – Fine 

Tactics and Strategy

The tactician knows what to do when there is something to do; whereas the strategian knows what to do when there is nothing to do. – Gerald Abrahams 

Analysis

Chess mastery essentially consists of analyzing chess positions accurately. 

– Botvinnik 

Peak Chess Performance

Stress and Recovery

" I have observed that if a player spends more than 20 minutes over a move, the result is almost always a mistake." - John Nunn

Physiologists discovered that in virtually every discipline, a dominant performer features the routine use of recovery periods. Athletes who are able to relax in brief moments of inactivity are almost always the ones who deliver when the game is on the line.

With regards to chess, the quality of a chess player's thought process will be higher if it is preceded by a period of relaxation. Improvement in play can be noticed if the mind releases some of the tension and not to think long and hard (all the time) during a game.

"Time-frame" of Training

Scientists refer to "proper timing of training" in relation to the scale of our mental activities, and how we are able to attain maximum performance in it. 

GM Grivas, mentioned in his writing that science unanimously accepts the following categorization of people:

1. Larks (early bird): their mental processes are most efficient during the first half of the day, falling off during the second half. Approximately 25% of the world's population belongs in this category.

2. Owls (night bird): their mental processes are most efficient during the second half of the day and especially during the evening hours. They usually go to sleep late and wake up accordingly late. Approximately 30% of the world's population belongs in this category.

3. Hummingbirds (arrhythmics): for these people mental processes do not display any special ups and down during the day or night. Approximately 45% of the world's population, the largest part, belongs to this category.

The Greek GM also explained that in practice, all top chessplayers belong to the 'Owls' category. Simply because it is directly related to the standard time-frame of chess competitions, which mostly take place during the second half of the day. Therefore, chessplayers 'must' place himself in this category (as far as possible) and adapt his training schedule accordingly.

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How to study chess effectively? 

        Know the general principles of effective study and get the maximum benefit from your training. It will help you to improve any skill (not just chess skills) effectively!

This course provides a complete and effective "training program" from 
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"Self-taught GM"

A Short Course in Chess

Secrets of Strong Players
Three Main Principles
* " To take is a mistake." 

* " Offense is the best defense."

* " Keep focus on attack and keep an eye on opponent’s attack." 

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7 Important Ideas to Remember

(1) Avoid unnecessary exchanges of pieces.

(2) Keep the tension.

(3) Let the opponent make an exchange and you’ll become more active.

(4) When being attacked don’t simply go for defense, try to start a counter attack.

(5) Don't just focus on your opponent’s threat, know your PLAN as well.

(6) Focus on the opponent’s half of the board, to find attacking moves you can play there.

(7) Focus on your half of the board, to anticipate opponent's attacking responses.

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Luck In Chess

Lucky Topalov

" A good player is always lucky."  -  J.R. Capablanca

Indeed, competitive chess at the top level is a combination of mistake and opportunity. One needs to play good and a little bit of luck - to WIN! 

Grandmaster Topalov after his miracle turnaround against the current champion Carlsen in the first round, managed to gain victory again when his opponent blundered the game away. 

Here are some game fragments between GM-Hammer(NOR) and GM-Topalov(BUL) during Sunday's 5th round encounter. While following the game on ICC, i noticed an interesting idea for Black to proceed from the current position.

Black's turn

It is the move 68...Rb6!? (at first, thinking it is Veselin's main idea - with bishop moving h8 then back to d4) that caught my attention. The Rook cannot be taken (69.Rxb6? Bxb6 70.Kb5 Ba7 71.Kc6 Ke6-+) as the position will transpose to what eventually happened in the game. 

69.a7 Rb1! Skewer motif comes in handy. 70.Rd6 (70.Rc7+ Ke6 71.Rc6+ Kf5 72.Rd6 Bxa7 73.Rf6+ Kg4 74.Rxg6 Kxf4 75.Rg7 Bd4=+) 70...Bxa7 71.f5 gxf5 72.Rf6+ Kg7 73.Rxf5 Kg6=+ transposing to the theoretically drawn rook+bishop vs rook ending with correct play. But in practice, the stronger side usually wins most of the time. 

After five more moves from the diagram above, the position below emerges. An improved version of the line with 68...Rb6 69.Rxb6 Bxb6 mentioned earlier and should be an easy draw. 

White's turn

Looking at the second position, White needs to shuffle his King between d6 and e5 or trade Black's only chance for a win (pawn that can promote) with 75.Ke5 Ke7 76.f5! = capturing the pawn next move leaving Black with insufficient mating material 1/2-1/2.

Then, "lightning strikes" with White making an unbelievable blunder - 74.Kc6??  (thinking about winning) and after the simple 74...Ke6! Black is winning 0-1.

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Be An Endgame Expert

        Learn the two main endgame plans and know how to use your pieces in this last phase of the game. An endgame improvement amplifies your positional play automatically.

You can get the necessary endgame skills from the course: 
"An Endgame Expert"

An Endgame Expert

Additional Study Material:

The art of the Endgame