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Chess

Chess: 900 to 1800

Tactics, strategy, endgames, and a full opening repertoire, all practised on the board in the Chess Trainer: every lesson is interactive, and every exercise is checked by a chess engine.

132 lessons ~24 h 5 courses

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Who it's for

Climbing from about 900 to 1800: stop giving pieces away, win with tactics, hold the endgame, and play openings whose plans you understand.

Course 1 of 5

Chess Practice: Play and Review

The trainer's daily plan, coached games, and game review: the routine to keep up alongside every other course.

0 of 3 done
Unit 1

Play and Review

3 lessons · 45 min

  1. 1 The Training Plan 5 min Start
  2. 2 Coached Games 25 min Start
  3. 3 Reviewing Your Games 15 min Start

Course 2 of 5

Chess Tactics

Most games below 1800 are decided by tactics, so the patterns come first: forks, pins, skewers, and the mating patterns.

0 of 19 done
Unit 2

Tactical Motifs

10 lessons · 153 min

  1. 1 Free pieces and counting 16 min Start
  2. 2 Forks 18 min Start
  3. 3 Pins 15 min Start
  4. 4 Skewers 16 min Start
  5. 5 Discovered attacks 16 min Start
  6. 6 Removing the defender 15 min Start
  7. 7 Deflection and decoy 15 min Start
  8. 8 Trapped pieces 12 min Start
  9. 9 In-between moves 15 min Start
  10. 10 Stop the threat 15 min Start
Unit 3

Mating Patterns

9 lessons · 139 min

  1. 1 Mate in one 18 min Start
  2. 2 Back-rank mates 18 min Start
  3. 3 Smothered mate 15 min Start
  4. 4 Anastasia's and Arabian mates 15 min Start
  5. 5 Mates with bishops 16 min Start
  6. 6 Queen mates 15 min Start
  7. 7 The Greek gift 12 min Start
  8. 8 Mate in two 15 min Start
  9. 9 Mate in three 15 min Start

Course 3 of 5

Chess Strategy

The blunder check and opening principles, then pawn structures, piece play, attack, and converting an advantage.

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Unit 4

How to think at the board

5 lessons · 31 min

  1. 1 The blunder check 7 min Start
  2. 2 What does my opponent want? 7 min Start
  3. 3 Loose pieces drop off 5 min Start
  4. 4 Candidate moves 5 min Start
  5. 5 Look for a better move 7 min Start
Unit 5

Opening principles

5 lessons · 37 min

  1. 1 Develop and fight for the centre 9 min Start
  2. 2 Castle early 5 min Start
  3. 3 Don't waste time with the queen 7 min Start
  4. 4 Finish development: connect the rooks 7 min Start
  5. 5 When your opponent breaks the rules 9 min Start
Unit 6

Pawn structures

6 lessons · 41 min

  1. 1 The isolated queen's pawn: attacking with it 5 min Start
  2. 2 Playing against the isolated pawn 7 min Start
  3. 3 The Carlsbad structure and the minority attack 8 min Start
  4. 4 The London pyramid and its breaks 11 min Start
  5. 5 Pawn chains: attack the base 5 min Start
  6. 6 Weak pawns and passed pawns 5 min Start
Unit 7

Making your pieces work

6 lessons · 42 min

  1. 1 Good and bad bishops 8 min Start
  2. 2 Knight outposts 8 min Start
  3. 3 Rooks: open files and the seventh rank 6 min Start
  4. 4 The bishop pair 7 min Start
  5. 5 Improve your worst piece 7 min Start
  6. 6 Trade the right pieces 6 min Start
Unit 8

Attacking the king

5 lessons · 27 min

  1. 1 The king in the centre 5 min Start
  2. 2 Opposite-side castling: the pawn storm 5 min Start
  3. 3 The h-pawn lever and the London's h-file 5 min Start
  4. 4 More attackers than defenders 7 min Start
  5. 5 The targets: f7, f2, h7 and h2 5 min Start
Unit 9

Winning won positions, saving bad ones

6 lessons · 36 min

  1. 1 Converting extra material 7 min Start
  2. 2 Kill the counterplay first 7 min Start
  3. 3 Winning with the outside passed pawn 6 min Start
  4. 4 Defending worse positions: activity first 6 min Start
  5. 5 Fortresses 6 min Start
  6. 6 Prophylaxis: stop his plan first 4 min Start

Course 4 of 5

Chess Endgames

Basic mates, king and pawn endings, and the Lucena and Philidor rook endings, then minor pieces and endgame principles.

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Unit 10

Basic checkmates

5 lessons · 55 min

  1. 1 Queen mate: the box 12 min Start
  2. 2 Rook mate 12 min Start
  3. 3 Two rooks: the ladder mate 9 min Start
  4. 4 Two bishops mate 12 min Start
  5. 5 Bishop and knight mate 10 min Start
Unit 11

King and pawn endings

10 lessons · 105 min

  1. 1 The rule of the square 12 min Start
  2. 2 Key squares 10 min Start
  3. 3 The opposition 14 min Start
  4. 4 King in front of the pawn 12 min Start
  5. 5 The rook pawn 12 min Start
  6. 6 Triangulation 9 min Start
  7. 7 The outside passed pawn 9 min Start
  8. 8 The protected passed pawn 9 min Start
  9. 9 Pawn breakthrough 9 min Start
  10. 10 Shouldering and king races 9 min Start
Unit 12

Queen vs pawn

2 lessons · 21 min

  1. 1 Queen vs pawn on the 7th 9 min Start
  2. 2 Bishop and rook pawns: the stalemate defence 12 min Start
Unit 13

Rook endings

6 lessons · 64 min

  1. 1 The Lucena position: build a bridge 14 min Start
  2. 2 The Philidor position: third-rank defence 10 min Start
  3. 3 Cutting the king off 9 min Start
  4. 4 Rooks behind passed pawns 11 min Start
  5. 5 Active rook vs passive rook 9 min Start
  6. 6 Rook against pawn 11 min Start
Unit 14

Minor-piece endings

5 lessons · 50 min

  1. 1 Wrong bishop and rook pawn 9 min Start
  2. 2 Bishop endings: same and opposite colours 12 min Start
  3. 3 Knight against pawn 10 min Start
  4. 4 Good and bad bishops 11 min Start
  5. 5 Bishop against knight 8 min Start
Unit 15

Endgame principles

6 lessons · 53 min

  1. 1 Activate the king 9 min Start
  2. 2 Passed pawns must be pushed 8 min Start
  3. 3 The principle of two weaknesses 9 min Start
  4. 4 Do not hurry 9 min Start
  5. 5 Ahead in material: trade pieces, not pawns 9 min Start
  6. 6 Counting pawn races 9 min Start

Course 5 of 5

Chess Opening Repertoire

The London with White and the Scandinavian, Caro-Kann, 1…e5, and Queen's Gambit Declined with Black, learned line by line on a spaced schedule.

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Unit 16

The London System

11 lessons · 146 min

  1. 1 The London System: Key Ideas 8 min Start
  2. 2 Main line: …d5, …Nf6 and …e6 15 min Start
  3. 3 Early …c5 and the …Qb6 attack 15 min Start
  4. 4 Symmetrical …Bf5 9 min Start
  5. 5 Slav set-ups: …c6 15 min Start
  6. 6 King's Indian and Grünfeld set-ups 9 min Start
  7. 7 Hunting the bishop: …Nh5 and …Bd6 15 min Start
  8. 8 1…Nf6 2.Bf4: …e6, …b6 and …c5 15 min Start
  9. 9 Chigorin set-ups: …Nc6 15 min Start
  10. 10 Offbeat first moves 15 min Start
  11. 11 Traps and tricks 15 min Start
Unit 17

The Scandinavian Defence

6 lessons · 80 min

  1. 1 The Scandinavian Defence: Key Ideas 8 min Start
  2. 2 Main line: 4.d4 Nf6 5.Nf3 c6 15 min Start
  3. 3 White's 4th and 5th move alternatives 15 min Start
  4. 4 White's 3rd move alternatives 12 min Start
  5. 5 White avoids 2.exd5 15 min Start
  6. 6 Traps and tricks 15 min Start
Unit 18

The Caro-Kann Defence

8 lessons · 101 min

  1. 1 The Caro-Kann Defence: Key Ideas 8 min Start
  2. 2 Advance Variation: 3.e5 Bf5 15 min Start
  3. 3 Classical: 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 15 min Start
  4. 4 Exchange Variation: 3.exd5 cxd5 4.Bd3 12 min Start
  5. 5 Panov-Botvinnik: 3.exd5 cxd5 4.c4 12 min Start
  6. 6 Fantasy Variation: 3.f3 e6 9 min Start
  7. 7 White's second-move alternatives 15 min Start
  8. 8 Traps and tricks 15 min Start
Unit 19

1…e5: The Open Games

10 lessons · 119 min

  1. 1 1…e5: The Open Games: Key Ideas 8 min Start
  2. 2 Italian: Giuoco Piano with 4.c3 15 min Start
  3. 3 Italian: 4.O-O, 4.Nc3 and the Evans Gambit 9 min Start
  4. 4 Ruy Lopez: the Closed Spanish 15 min Start
  5. 5 Ruy Lopez: the Exchange Variation 6 min Start
  6. 6 Scotch, Scotch Gambit and Göring 15 min Start
  7. 7 Four Knights, Vienna and Bishop's Opening 15 min Start
  8. 8 Centre Game, Danish, King's Gambit and Ponziani 12 min Start
  9. 9 Early queen attacks and Scholar's mate 9 min Start
  10. 10 Traps and tricks 15 min Start
Unit 20

Queen's Gambit Declined (and Black vs 1.d4, 1.c4, 1.Nf3)

8 lessons · 98 min

  1. 1 Queen's Gambit Declined (and Black vs 1.d4, 1.c4, 1.Nf3): Key Ideas 8 min Start
  2. 2 Orthodox Defence: 4.Bg5 Nbd7 15 min Start
  3. 3 Exchange Variation: the Carlsbad structure 15 min Start
  4. 4 4.Nf3, 4.Bf4 and quiet e3 lines 12 min Start
  5. 5 The Catalan: 3.g3 6 min Start
  6. 6 White without c4: London, Colle, Torre and friends 15 min Start
  7. 7 1.c4, 1.Nf3 and other first moves 15 min Start
  8. 8 Traps and tricks 12 min Start