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A warm welcome to the world famous Chess Strategy site. My name is Barry Newton and the aim of this site is to show you how to use simple chess strategies to win games. This site is dedicated to helping new players and more experienced players alike to learn that chess strategies are not only for Grandmasters but for us mere mortals to use as well. I have been playing chess for more than 40 years and have filled this blog with tips, tricks and strategies which, I hope will remove some of the mysteries which surround chess tactics and to simplify them and ultimately improve your chess.

A wee while back I had the offer to play a old Polish gentlemen at chess. He found out from my father that I played. I jumped at the chance as I knew how seriously they take their chess in Poland. Up to this point I had rarely been beaten but to be honest I used to play the same opponents over and over again and this was usually after the pub had shut.

Wake Up call
I turned up at Mr Podwojski's house to be greeted my is beautiful looking daughter Vanda. I sat down and decided to show this polish guy (and his daughter) just how good us Scot's are at chess. During the next 2 hours he beat me 5 times. He played chess tactics and strategies which I had never seen before. He made sacrifices at the start of games which did not materialise until the endgame. "How could somebody think so far ahead," I asked myself. Poland 5 Scotland 0

I returned home with my ego shattered. What did he think of me? What did Vanda think of me? I decided to get some books out the library on chess strategies, read them and return and take my revenge for my honour but more importantly the honour of Scotland.

To tell you the truth, reading these books became a drudge. I had to get my chessboard out and number the rows and columns. Then I had to read pages on chess notation to see what the author was talking about. Weeks later I was ready.



I called Mr Podwojski , "Do you fancy another game of chess?" He said he would love another game. "Will Vanda be there?"



Revenge is sweet

I sat across the table staring the Pole in the face. This was war. Vanda was making us some tea. After 4 hours of chess we decided to call it a day. It was his Idea to stop. I wanted to play on. Revenge? well not quite. We had played 4 games and he had one all 4, but it had taken him 4 hours to to it compared to 2 hours in the last session. Eat my dust Poland. Poland 4 Scotland 0

Alright, alright, I hear what you are saying. This was no revenge at all . But,I had to beat this bloke. There had to be another way to learn chess strategies without going through pages of chess notation.

Well there was and this is it. Grandmaster Strategy Chess Videos Not one of my articles on this site have been taken from this product as I did not want to steal Charles Kimball's thunder. It has taken him many, many hours of work to produce Grandmaster Strategy Chess Videos and he deserves all the credit not me. These 29 videos will change the way you think about chess and give you the confidence to take on anybody. This product is a must for all chess players. Check out the testimonials then try the free trial course and see what you think. Click Here

Anyway, back to my story. Armed with my new found knowledge I called Mr Podwojski
and asked for a chess rematch. Vanda answered the phone and told me her Father had passed away. I couldn't believe it ,the old bugger had died. "Do you play chess yourself Vanda?" She confirmed she did not. "I could teach you if you are interested." And so began a short relationship and over the next 3 months I taught Vanda the secrets of chess and we played many a game together. Poland 0 Scotland 235
Alright, stop moaning, I know she was a rookie but it still counts, does in not?
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The Fianchetto

Contents Of This Site


Tactics For Rookies
Stalemate
More Than A Game
Rules For Open Play
The Pinning Chess Strategy
A Knight's Tale
Attack Attack
Plan To Win
Trap the Bishop
Use Psychology
Attack The Queen
Chess for Kids<
Attack The Knight
Fried Liver Attack
10 Principles Of Chess
Discovered Check
Queen sacrifice
Break the Rules
Promote That Pawn
Don't Be Fooled
Study The Masters
What if?
Element of Surprise
Keep Up The Momentum
The Stalemte Chess Strategy
The Oppening Chess Strategy
7 Sins of Chess
Chase the Knight
How to Beat The Computer
Bishop Sacrifice
The Rook
Can you Learn Strategies?
Stay Alert
A Chess Blunder
The Ruy Lopez
Use Your Fork
Don't Weaken Your Castled King
Patience is a Virtue
Castling
Don't Rush In And Use Logic
A Piece Down?
Lost Your Queen?
Practice
Initial Tactic
Morphy's mate
Passed Pawn
Legal Chess Strategy
Forced Error
Knight Rules
Pawn Formation

Chess Strategy Blunder,

The Chess Blunder

It is a blunder to imitate your opponents moves at chess. Many chess rookies will try this thinking if "I play move for move it should end up with an even middlegame and then I will think about attacking with my own chess strategy". It doesn't take long however for them to realise this is nonsense and they usually learn the hard way. This is a game I played the other night against a very inexperienced player. I was White.



If you find a player copying every move you make it is very easy to trap her. Look at the diagram. I don't know what she was trying to do but she probably thought if I copy the first few moves it will save me having to think of a chess strategy of my own and also my opponent will have no clear advantage as the pieces will be in similar positions. This is not the case.



I moved my knight twice in a row which is not a good chess strategy but in my defence there was no risk. I took her pawn and was ready for a quick escape in case I had missed something. She copied me and took my paw with her Knight. Bad move.

I moved my Queen in front of the my King to chase her Knight away. Look at the position the pieces are in now.



If she protects her Knight with a pawn I will move my Knight to safety and leave hers pinned against her King. A swift move of my pawn to attack her Knight and she will be unable to move it. To her credit she saw this coming and moved her Knight away. But this is worse



She was in a disclosed check situation. I moved my knight to attack her Queen at the same time checking her King with my Queen and game over. There was no way back. What a mess she got into all because she copied my first 3 moves.




If you are a newbie to chess and are unsure about what to play stick to the
10 Principles of Chess and I promise you will have a sound platform to start your attack from.

Never copy your opponent's moves unless you have very good reason to do so.This is just one of many scenarios which will all end in disaster for the imitator.

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Chess Strategy Forced Error

Last night's game brought about a perfect example of what I always encourage players to try. If you are playing an opponent who knows good chess strategy and there does not appear to be a weakness in his piece and pawn structure, then it is up to you to force the error.

My opponent had set up a sound defence and was attacking with his bishop. His Bishop was left at the side of the board unprotected and I immediately began to think about how to take it out for maybe a pawn or free, if possible. I did not want to move my pawns up as this would seriously weaken my pawn structure and further, he was a good player and I knew he would see this coming and move his Bishop to safety and the chance would have gone.

I was surprised then to see him leave his Bishop unguarded and bring his Knight into play on the same side. His knight was protected by a pawn. As you know I love the Knight and the way it can dance about all over the chess board. Nonetheless, being overconfident about getting your Knight to safety can have disastrous affects.

After a couple of subtle moves with my pawns I began to cover all the escapes routes for the Knight apart from one. I left him one "safe" square behind his Bishop. Exactly where I wanted him to end up. The plan was to put him in such a position that he could not defend both pieces at the same time.


I could see his mind ticking over as he had to play this and he knew that one Bishop in an unguarded square was risky, but to have two pieces one behind the other unprotected is asking for trouble.


The trap was set. I moved my Queen up in front of the Bishop and voila. He had to concede one of his pieces as he could not protect them both with one move.



It transpired that he give up his Knight rather than his bishop but I was happy with that. Be careful when setting a trap like this. I had to sacrifice my pawn structure to get to this stage and if it had not worked then I would be the one in on the back foot. Anyway the point is try to force your opponent into making a bad move. Even if you don,t win a piece if it weakens his defence it may be worth it.

Next Article Chess Blunder

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The Pawn Formation Chess Strategy

Pawn Formation

It is more important to concentrate on your chess pawn formation than focusing on moving your pieces. Why? Well for three reasons. The first is you need to attempt to control the centre ground. Whoever controls the centre of the chess board controls the game. The best way to control the centre squares is to have your pawns covering them. Secondly, if you move a piece too far forward you can always bring it back. this cannot be said of the pawn.
Thirdly, apart from the Knight, all the chess pieces are trapped behind the pawns and therefore they have to move to free up theses pieces.


This is where a lot of newbies go wrong. They treat the pawns with contempt, a hindrance which has to be gotten rid off in order for the real pieces to become active. They do not realise that a well formed chess pawn structure can make the difference between winning or losing a game of chess. How many times have you said to yourself during a game of chess,"I can see a great move if it wasn't for that damn pawn sitting there." This is because pawns are a vital component of any chess game. They are essential for your defence and can be devastating in attack.

It is the easiest thing in the world to get your bishop or some other piece trapped by a string of those pesky pawns. But this would not be the case if they were not in a solid formation. Like a colony of ants they look out for each other and attack in groups.

The pawn formation you create at the beginning of the game may indeed last until the end game and this is testament to the importance of getting it right. You cannot afford to push your pawns too far forward unless you are certain this will benefit your attack and they are not needed in defence.

Of course when it comes to the end game, it is usually the player with the best pawn formation who manages to get one promoted. This is because the can guard each other in close formation as they march through the opponent's defence.

By the way, if you want a more in depth theory of pawn structure I would strongly recommend Roger Marler's 101 Killer Chess Strategies

Obviously you will not get everything your own way as your opponent will be using the exact same chess strategy and it will be a race to see who gets their pawn formation developed first. As always White has the advantage of the first move and therefore Black's role is to keep up and try to turn defence into attack. Nonetheless, it is amazing the amount of times I have seen white disregard the chess strategy of constructing a solid pawn formation and instead attacking from the off. This is a Godsend for Black who can chase the White pieces around the board and in doing s developing their own pawn formation and pieces.

Weaknesses in pawn structures resulting from backward, isolated or doubled pawns are more often than not permanent. They should be avoided if at all possible. A weakness in the pawn formation around the King can be fatal. Many sacrifices during chess games are for the sole purpose of smashing the pawn structure in this area as it is very hard to defend the King without pawns.

The main point is. At the start of a game of chess your pawn formation will determine the way the game will be played. If it is done correctly, your pieces will be free to move. Your opponents pieces will struggle to find effective attacking squares. Your pawns will form a line of defence right across the chess board.You will stifle your opponents chess strategy and ultimately you will win the game.
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The Openinig Chess Strategy

Openings have been studied in chess since the invention of the game. Without a doubt most good players will tell you to move each chess piece once before moving the same piece twice. There are exceptions to this rule of course but for the average player and certainly the beginner should stick to this chess strategy. By each piece I am relating to the pawns, bishops, knights and rooks. The Queen can stay where she is until the battle gets going but the King should be castled.

So why is is so important to move each piece? Well, the pieces as the stand at the beginning of a game of chess are in a awkward position. They should be moved to cover the most squares that they can. If one of these pieces were to move twice they would be approaching enemy territory without any backup. The opponent would start to move each of his pieces out to chase yours around the board. The result would be the opponents pieces become developed and you have moved one piece. Moreover, your undeveloped pieces are very vulnerable to attack.

Check this out: 1. P-K4 P-K4 2. P-Q4 PxP 3. QxP PxP 4.Q-K3 Kt-B3 5. P-KR3?
Why would he waste a move. Better would have been B-K2 which would have served the same purpose. It would also have developed his Bishop and made room for the King to castle. Moving these pawns in front of the Rooks is one of the most common mistakes made by beginners at chess.

Ok so White is still underdeveloped, remember white had the advantage of the first move and should be ahead of Black in terms of development. White spots an attacking opportunity and forgets about his defence.

5. .... Bk2 6. P-R3?? Oh no, what's he doing?

6....... 0-0 Black is showing maturity and tucks his King out of harms way because in a minute it is going to get bloody out there.
7. B-B4 at last, some piece development..7...... R-K1 Can you see what's comming?


8. ...P-Q4 9.BxP Kt XB 10.QxKt QxQ 11.PxQ B-Kt5 Double check 12. K-Q1 R-K8 Mate








The lesson here is the best chess strategy is to develop all your pieces first before attemptng an attack nevertheless, if there is a chance to spring a surprise and you are sure it will work, go for it.

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Chess for Kids

Teach your Kids Chess

I have been asked before to tutor kids on chess however time is the enemy and I cannot fit this in to my schedule. I started playing chess at the age of 5 and to be honest, I did stop for a few years; well just to get married and then I started again. I believe chess is the best game in the world for kids to learn. It teaches patience, tactics, strategy, thinking outside the box, respect for an opponent but most of all, it is the most fun you can have with a slab of wood and marked out into squares and 32 pieces of plastic or wood shaped like wee horses or castles.
And once you have purchased these items you can play as many times as you want free of charge, forever.

Kids and chess just go together. It is a natural way for children to utilise their energy which has been bottled up sitting in school all day. It gets their brain working. Did you know that kids are getting more dense than at any other period in history. This is because they are not taught to think. They have computers and calculators to do their thinking for them. I don't think they realise the joy you get when you resolve a problem all by yourself without using an electronic crutch to help you out. And this is where chess and kids are perfect partners.

Throughout a chess game many challenges, problems, irritations and much more will arise and the child will have no alternative than to try and work out a solution. If he or she does not, it's no big deal, they have tried and that is the point. The experience will be stored in their memory and will be used to good effect the next time a similar situation arises and that is not only for chess. These experience will help them resolve life's challenges.

I was a shy kid growing up in Glasgow, Scotland and went to an inner city school. I could not fight to save myself. Nevertheless, I relied on a lot of the problem solving experiences from chess games which gave me some confidence in my own capabilities. I would say to myself "they may be stronger than me but I could stuff them at chess".

Children should be taught chess, they will not always win but but they will not always lose. It is an imitation of life. An opponent of mine, when we were kids, used to accidentally knock the board over if he was losing or he would leave the table saying he had to go in for his tea. Guess what, I have just been told by his wife that when he gets beat at any board game against his kids he still makes excuses not to finish the game and storms out. Chess is for kids and hopefully it will teach them to take defeat in their stride. Put it down to experience and learn from it. This is what life is all about.
If you are serious about teaching kids chess you could do no better than to purchase Charles Kimball's brilliant chess videos for the price of a good meal in a resturant. Click Here for more information

PS By the way I have a free ebook for you if you want to drop me an email at Newtonformula@gmail.com It was written years ago by the then chess champion of the worl Jose Capablanca called Chess Fundamentals it,s a bit out of date but it's yours if you want it. Newtonformula@gmail.com

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7 Deadly Sins Of Chess

The 7 Sins of Chess

1. Don’t move your pieces out to the side. Always aim for the centre where they will guard more squares. For example a knight in the middle of the board could cover 8 or 10 squares but knight at the side of the board may only cover 4. The same can be said for all the pieces. If you take the centre stage your opponent has no option than to attack you from the flanks and this will be a weakened attack.Control the centre and you control the game.

2/ Don’t castle too late. Get your King tucked in to the corner as soon as possible and out of harms way. A King left in the centre is vulnerable to attack .By the same token, try to castle to the Kings side as it is safer. If you do have to castle to the Queen’s side it will take and extra move to get your King tucked in. A word of caution. Take note of what your opponent is planning. If it looks as if there is going to be an all out assault on the Kings and you cannot stop it side then it would probably be safer to castle Queens side.

3/ Do not move your Queen out to the centre of the board in opening play unless there is a very good reason to do so. A Queen can be chased around the board by a host of pieces and while your Queen a running about like a headless chicken your opponent is developing all his pieces.

4/ The oldest Don’t in the book. Don’t move one piece twice until you have moved all your pieces once. When I say pieces this does not include the pawns. Your pieces should move as a unit. As one galvanised fighting force all covering for each other. The chess board is no place for individual heroes. Again, this is a guidline and not a hard and fast rule. There will be many times in your chess games where it would be dangerous to do this just for the reason that it is best practice. Also, do not miss an opportunity to take a piec or to move to a good position just because it means moving a piece twice.

5/ Don’t get blocked in by your own pawns. Try to move the middle pawns out 2 squares at the beginning to let you bishops and knights out into open play. Nevertheless, remember you can not move pawns backwards and therefore when moving them forward make sure they are going to a safe square and by moving them you will not weaken your defence. Give them back up from other pawns and other pieces.

6/ It here are only two Kings and some pawns left on the board during the end game Don’t follow your pawns up to 8th rank with your King for promotion. Try to get your King in front of your own pawns. This prevents the opponents King getting in and blocking your pawns. On the subject of promotion don’t always opt for a Queen. I saw a game once where a player was struggling but managed to promote a pawn but realising this was going to be tool late to save a checkmate opted for a knight. This put the opponents King in immediate check and te King had only one move and he was instantly checkmated. Had he gone for a Queen the King would not have been in check and he would have been checkmated himself in the next move.

7/ If you want to continue improving you chess. Do not forget to record each game you play and go over the positives and the negative moves. Remember when you start playing chess you will lose most of your games. Nonetheless, if you learn from each defeat you will start to win. It took me years to beat my Dad but when I was 12 I studied chess books and practiced what the masters did and low and behold I not only beat my dad totally wiped the floor with him. It was my proudest moment and probably my dad’s as well but he would not admit it.

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