The ultimate chess guide for beginners

Learning basic chess rules will help you build a strong foundation in chess. At their beginner stages, many students do not have a clear picture of these rules. That is why I have decided to help beginners with basic chess rules.

We have prepared for you the ultimate chess guide which contains everything you will want to learn about the basic rules of chess, starting from their evolution to the different stages of the chess game.
new chess guide for beginnersThe guide contains the following:

  • 14 chapters (from evolution of the rules to stages of the game)
  • 4 slides to summarize the entire article
  • an interactive quiz
  • 4 bonus lessons

You can get “Chess Rules – The Ultimate Guide for Beginners” by clicking the link below:
chess rules for beginners

If you enjoy studying the guide, please write your thoughts about it in the comments below – we would be very happy to know your opinion.

P.S. We’ve also created a webpage that contains this complete guide. You may visit that page by clicking here. If you would like to share this information with your friends, please go ahead and do so. :)

How to beat a weaker opponent?

People often ask me psychological questions related to chess (not surprising since I’m also a psychologist :) ). One of the more popular questions is about the CORRECT attitude (or mental approach) when facing a WEAKER opponent over the board. That’s what we will discuss primarily along with some practical tips and recommendations regarding it.

Anyway, we are talking about a situation when you are about 200 rating higher than your opponent. Let’s say you are 2200, and your opponent has a rating of 2000.
weak vs strongNaturally, you expect to win this game, and moreover, you want to make it easy and smooth. You would prefer not to risk, but to win slowly but surely. You start playing “normal” moves (as opposed to the best and the most vigorous moves). You think that it’ll be enough for a win (because your opponent is weaker) and you’ll avoid unnecessary risk and complications.

I’ve just described a very common scenario between 2 players who have quite a significant gap between their ratings.

Now let’s look at this situation from another angle. What does it mean to have a rating of 2200? It shows that performing like a 2200 is your BEST performance, your PEAK performance (otherwise your rating would be higher).

Do you ALWAYS use your full mental powers over the board? Most probably, no! For instance, if you are tired today, you will play weaker, maybe on 2100 level. There’s a teasing proverb amongst professional players: “Marriage will cost you -100 rating points”. Of course, your knowledge will remain the same, but it can be really hard to focus on chess. :)

All in all, your rating shows your best power. Sometimes, however, you may be using not your full potential. That happens when you start playing those “normal” moves against a weaker opponent.
chess potentialLet’s say you use 90% of your full power. 90% out of 2200 will be 1980, which is close to the power of your “weak” 2000 opponent. :)

That explains why after some play, you’ll appear in an equal (drawish) position. Then you start getting worried – you expect to win this game! Now you’ll face an unpleasant choice:

  • Either to accept a draw
  • Or to bite the bullet and do something risky

The second choice can lead to an annoying loss, yet another typical scenario in David – Goliath match ups like this!
beat your opponent in chessLet’s sum-up the things regarding to playing against a weaker opponent. Don’t fall into psychological illusion of your superiority “by default” (because of your higher rating). That’ll become true only if you perform at your BEST, and use your FULL potential.

So you’ve got to take risk and play the most vigorous moves even against a relatively weak opponent.

P.S. Do you have your own “strategy” to beat weaker opponents? Feel free to write in the comments below and discuss, I’d appreciate it! :)

Recommended

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Note: this article was published a few years ago. But I doubt if you will remember this article and what you have learnt from this lesson. That’s why, we’re helping you by re-publishing the material – even if you have not studied this article in past, that’s fine because you will find it interesting and learn something new. :)

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The advantage of space in chess

The advantage of space in chess enlarges your influence over the board and provides options that can be exploited tactically and strategically. It increases the flexibility of your pieces and compresses your opponent into accessing a limited number of squares only.

Today, we have a lesson from FM Eduardo Garcia. The lesson is about “Space advantage” in chess. Let’s go to the lesson straight away! :)

THE SPACE FACTOR


Ever since chess strategy began to take shape, the space factor has been considered supremely important for the evaluation of a position – so much so that some authors have recommended formula by counting squares and deducing mathematically who has the advantage.
space in chessOver time, we have come to recognize the relativity of space, as evidenced by defences like the King’s Indian or the Hedgehog systems, where Black cedes space in exchange for attacking the pawn centre later on or taking advantage of the weaknesses they leave behind with their advance.
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