Advanced
Strategy: pawn structures, plans and calculation.
- Candidate movesNextBefore you move, a short list of moves and the rival’s best answer to each one.
- Active piecesA piece is worth what it does: how many useful squares it sees and where it can go.
- Pawn structureIsolated, doubled and backward pawns, chains and breaks: what lasts the whole game.
- OutpostsSquares no rival pawn can drive you from, and the piece that uses them best.
- Open files and the seventh rankRooks need files without pawns to get into the rival camp.
- The passed pawnHow a passed pawn is made, supported and stopped, with Lucena and Philidor.
- Bishops and knights in the endgameThe bad bishop, bishop against knight and opposite-coloured bishops.
- Zugzwang and tempoWhen having to move is the problem: mutual zugzwang, the waiting move and triangulation.
- Attacking the kingWhen a king is weak, the Greek gift, the uncastled king and the pawn storm.
- Advanced tacticsCut your opponent’s lines, open your own and join two ideas in one blow.
- DefendingSeeing the threat coming, finding the move that stops it and not giving up when you are worse.
- Making a planFour questions to understand the position and choose what to do when there is no tactic.