Exeter Chess Club

[Daily Chess Puzzle]

1. A chess tactic is an unstoppable threat.  Often you can Avoid, Block, Capture or Defend your way out of a threat, but if you can't, you're probably on the receiving end of a tactic.

2. Tactical themes include:

• jumps, mates, forks, nets, pins & ties

A fuller list of tactical themes might be:

Summary

There are useful opening 'rules' (really, guidelines) which should be known and adopted at least until you know better.  Sadly, even strict obedience to the rules can lead to trouble, so you have to learn some specific opening lines.  You don't have to know every opening, but you need at least one system for White and a couple as Black.  Which ones you choose depends on your style and your appetite for study.

Opening principles

It's useful to review and rehearse the

Charlie Keen

I don't have notes but I do have this very nifty slideshow.

The secret of Grandmaster play is to make use of the hidden 65th square on the chess board. I'm sure you've all had the experience of having a piece come at you, apparently out of nowhere, to take one of your army. That piece came from the 65th square.

I can't show you the square, because it's not on the usual 8x8 grid system, but I can show you that it is there.

I have been looking at French repertoires recently, and thought it was useful for my own amusement at least to see what various authors writing for the Black audience recommended.

Repertoire books these days often give you a choice, which is excellent.

Variation

McDonald 2008

Some tips when choosing a Christmas gift for the chess player in your life. (An odd idea I know, but I think many of them still live with their mum. [Hello, Mum!])

The Ideas Behind Modern Chess Publishing (Gravy Train)