Chess blog

There is no wrong age to start chess. What the first months should look like at every age from 3 to 13, and for teenagers and adults.

7 min read

Preschoolers learn chess one piece at a time, through mini-games, not full games. A realistic plan for the first months at ages 3 to 5.

4 min read

Ages 6 to 8 are for patterns: mate in one, forks, pins and the back rank. What to practise, when to play a first tournament, and why to skip openings.

4 min read

Starting chess at 9 to 12 is not too late. How deliberate practice catches up with earlier starters, what to train, and how to handle being new.

4 min read

Adults can get good at chess. What adults learn faster than children, what comes slower, a realistic ceiling, and a first-year plan.

4 min read

The centre is d4, e4, d5 and e5, where pieces reach the most squares. How to measure centre control and three ways to fight for it.

2 min read

Development means moving pieces off their home squares to posts where they have a job. A move order that works, and the mistakes to avoid.

2 min read

Castle before the centre opens and keep the pawns in front of your king. How to judge king safety, and when delaying castling is right.

2 min read

Pawn structure decides where files open, which squares are weak and which wing to play on. Isolated, doubled, backward and passed pawns, holes and chains.

2 min read

Rooks need open or half-open files to be active. How to open a file on purpose, then double rooks, reach the seventh rank and guard your back rank.

2 min read

An early queen move loses time, because every developing move that attacks her gains a move. How to punish one, and when an early queen move is fine.

2 min read

The Italian Game is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4. White's plans with c3, d3 and d4, the Evans Gambit, and Black's two main replies.

2 min read

The Ruy Lopez is 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5. Why Bb5 works, Black's main defences, and the plans that come back in almost every game.

2 min read

The Sicilian Defence is 1.e4 c5. How the Najdorf, Dragon, Classical and Accelerated Dragon differ, and which Anti-Sicilians to prepare first.

2 min read

The French Defence is 1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5. How Black attacks White's pawn chain with ...c5, handles the c8-bishop, and meets the main lines.

2 min read

The Caro-Kann is 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5. It challenges e4 like the French but keeps the c8-bishop free. Main lines, Black's plan and a trap to avoid.

2 min read

The Queen's Gambit is 1.d4 d5 2.c4. Why White gets the pawn back, how the Accepted, Declined and Slav differ, and the minority attack.

2 min read

The London System is a setup for White: d4, Bf4, e3, Nf3, c3, Bd3, Nbd2 and castling. Its plans, Black's best tries and its drawbacks.

2 min read

The King's Indian Defence lets White build a big centre, then attacks it with ...e5 or ...c5. The main plans, the pawn races and White's systems.

2 min read

The Scandinavian Defence is 1.e4 d5, trading off White's e-pawn at once. The Qa5 and Qd6 lines, the ...Nf6 option and the standard setup.

2 min read

Count the attackers and defenders of the target square, then check the order of captures. A short routine that catches one-move blunders.

2 min read

To reach 1500, stop losing material to one-move threats. A plan: a blunder check, daily tactics, one opening per colour, seven endgames and game review.

2 min read

Twelve common chess mistakes, from skipping the blunder check to trading at the wrong time, each with a one-line fix to use in your next game.

2 min read

Analyse a game before the engine does: note what you thought, find the turning point, name the mistake, then use the engine to confirm it.

2 min read

Notation protects your result, proves draw claims and gives you a game to study. What a scoresheet does for you and what FIDE rules require.

2 min read

Algebraic notation names each square by file and rank. Learn piece letters, captures, check, mate, castling, promotion, disambiguation and PGN.

3 min read

Correct notation for castling, en passant, promotion, two pieces reaching one square, draw offers, claims and illegal moves, with the usual mistakes.

3 min read

Replay the game on a board and legality settles almost every scribble. How to decode fast handwriting, missing symbols and clock times on a scoresheet.

2 min read

Make board coordinates automatic: the colour rule, landmark squares and diagonals, and five short daily drills for coordinates and visualisation.

2 min read

Control chess nerves with a routine that works even when you feel anxious: before the round, the first moves, after a blunder and between rounds.

2 min read

Fair play in chess means no devices, no outside help and honest results. The rules on phones, advice, touch-move, and what to do if accused.

2 min read

Every chess result carries information. What wins, draws and losses tell you, and a three-question review that turns any game into improvement.

2 min read

Good chess etiquette lets both players concentrate: a handshake, silence, a clean resignation, a signed scoresheet. Some of it is also a rule.

2 min read

Call the arbiter for illegal moves, clock faults, devices and draw claims. Pause the clock, raise your hand and state the facts.

2 min read

Spend most of your clock on the middlegame and on forcing moves. How to budget time, avoid time trouble, use increments and play fast when short.

2 min read

A four-week chess tournament plan: fix your openings, build tactics volume, practise the time control, sort logistics, and follow a per-round routine.

2 min read

The chess in Netflix's The Queen's Gambit is unusually accurate. What it gets right, what it invents, and what the title means on the board.

4 min read

The best chess films, series and documentaries, sorted by kind, with what each gets right about the game and which famous scenes are invented.

5 min read