Once you have learned the basics of chess, it is time to tackle strategy. Chess strategy is more than just simple tactics; it involves bigger goals and plans that help set your game up for success. Whether it's where your pieces should be focused during different parts of your game, or how your king should be used in the endgame, chess strategy will be what you focus on and hone for the rest of your chess career.
When you first started playing chess, it’s likely you focused on short term gains more than strategy. This is natural! After gaining a bit of experience, players begin to “see” their position on the board and develop strategies. A chess strategy is a set of moves advancing the player’s overall position and chance of winning the game. Strategy is important throughout the game, but it’s usually set in motion during the opening, supported or changed by tactical play in the middle-game, and (hopefully) realized in the endgame.
If you’re sick of playing against the Catalan Opening, join the club! Because this is one of the toughest chess openings to play with the black pieces, we’ve created a guide to help you spice it up, or avoid it altogether, and win more games. Including Richard Rapport’s ingenious, aggressive Stonewall variation.
The queen is the most powerful chess piece, and when players exchange them, it fundamentally changes the game. Understanding when to exchange queens involves understanding some key ideas in chess.
Once you know how all the pieces move, how check and checkmate work, and all the other rules of chess, then you can start thinking more about strategy. But what is a chess strategy, and which strategies should club players master?
Learning chess tactics will undoubtedly improve your game, but understanding a fork is like water an inch deep. Fully understanding chess strategy and becoming a master of chess means you are swimming in an ocean of chess possibilities.
Many players choose between positional or tactical style of play. Finding out which one suits your game is a quick way to allow your game to come on in leaps and bounds.