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[ Home of ... ] Chess Strategies, Chess Tactics

(And The BIG Chess Glossary)

"Strategy requires thought; tactics require observation"

[ GM Max Euwe, World Chess Champion, 1935 - 1937 ]

On the surface, the game of Chess appears to be so simple, it should be easy to make a list and rank a few good strategies from good to best, right?

Afterall, it's just a game of 64 squares and
two players, each with just 16 pieces.

But, if you've played long enough to learn just ONE of the many chess strategies - even if it's just an Opening, you'll soon realize it's not so simple to nail down a single, perfect strategy, as each new opponent has his/her own ideas of how to set up to counter your advance...

One player may studiously mimmick your moves - either because it's their game strategy, or because they haven't got a clue of what they're up to and are just trying to learn by taking your lead, then seeing what may develop.

Your next opponent may decide to launch a sudden, blistering attack, knowing that they'll lose a piece or two, but in their minds worth it to disrupt your deployment strategy ... and now YOU must change your original plan to compensate for the sudden loss in personnel.

It's likely dawned on you already that trying to rely on a single chess strategy is a flawed game plan and that the best strategy is to be able to call upon multiple strategies as the situations present themselves.

"The #1 Best Strategy: Be Adaptable"

Just like any other sport or battle, if you're to prolong your victories, it's vital that you become skillful at being able to change your plan at any given point throughout the game.

This website aims to encourage you to try different tactics and strategies - to play them out ...

It's a simple case of finding out what works and what doesn't ... All it takes is playing first one game and exploring "what could happen", so you can plan and adapt for future games ...

Try and take what seemed to work into your next game and 'tweak' the Basic Chess Strategy to improve on what, ultimately, failed ...

Over time, as you practice, analyze your games and learn from mistakes, you'll be training your Chess-brain to choose:

The right time to attack.

The right time to pull back in order to preserve pieces of value.

When it's actually cunningly smart to sacrifice pieces, even your Queen.

The point when you're no longer likely to win a game, so you're able to make the quick change, to plotting your route, in order to salvage ½ a point, which you'll get from a Draw (Stalemate).

New To The Game?

First off, if you're new to playing the game, get yourself up to speed with the Beginner's Chess section ...

There, you'll learn the basics - important stuff that'll provide the solid foundation from which all "killer" Chess Strategies will develop.

Beginner - But Know a Bit?

You may want to also check over the Beginner section ...

Most of it'll likely be familiar to you and you'll probably just want to get stuck in with the Chess Tactics and, maybe check out the Basic Chess Strategy - so, grab a coffee, knock yourself out.

Of all the material a beginner must know, it's the Annotated Chess system bit that we find takes a few goes to get to grips with.

But it's vital to know as, beyond the basics, if you get really involved and follow live Tournaments, all games are reported using the Algebraic Chess Notation system, which we also cover in the Beginners section.