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Chess Strategy
Think like a positional player: weigh the imbalances, find the right plan, and turn small edges into wins.
How to Think: Imbalances & Plans
Evaluate a position by its imbalances, then make a plan that uses them.
- Think in imbalancesHow strong players size up a position.Learn
- What is an imbalance?The differences that shape a game.Quiz
- Where plans come fromRead the board, then decide.Quiz
- Your worst pieceThe fastest way to a better position.Sort
- The planning checklistCompare before you commit.Quiz
- Read the biggest imbalanceLet the difference choose the plan.Sort
- Evaluate the tradeIs this exchange good for you?Sort
- Spotting the planTurn a small edge into a clear plan.Replay
- Guess the Move: press the leadPredict the moves that turn a head start into pressure.Guess
- Find the plan, then convertRead the imbalances, pick the plan, and bring home the point.Plan
- Review: the planning habitOne question that always points somewhere useful.Quiz
Basic Endgames
King power, the opposition, and turning a pawn into a queen.
- Endgame essentialsThe king wakes up; pawns become queens.Learn
- The king in the endgameFrom hiding to fighting.Quiz
- The oppositionWho really holds the squares?Sort
- The square of the pawnCan the king catch it?Sort
- Building a bridgeThe winning rook-ending method.Quiz
- Race or block?The opponent has a runner too.Sort
- Seize the oppositionKing move first, not pawn.Sort
- Win the K+P endgameEscort the pawn home.Drill
- Now drill itTechnique sticks through reps.Learn
- Review: the endgame kingThe piece that decides.Quiz
Calculation & Combinations
Look at forcing moves first, and calculate them to the end.
- How to calculateForcing moves first, all the way to the end.Learn
- Forcing moves firstWhere calculation starts.Quiz
- Candidate movesYour shortlist to calculate.Quiz
- Count the capturesLook before you grab.Sort
- Smothered mateA forcing sequence to the end.Puzzle
- Which move to calculate first?Forcing moves narrow the search.Sort
- Do the captures favour you?Count to the last capture.Sort
- A combination in actionPunish greed by calculating forcing moves.Replay
- Now calculate for realTrain forcing-move calculation.Learn
- Guess the Move: the forcing pathPredict the sharp moves in a famous attacking line.Guess
- Find the plan, then finishChoose the winning idea, then calculate it home.Plan
- Review: the calculation reflexThe habit that catches tactics.Quiz
Good Bishops & Bad Bishops
A bishop is only as good as its diagonals — keep your pawns off its colour.
- Good and bad bishopsA bishop is only as good as its diagonals.Learn
- What is a bad bishop?Not all bishops are created equal.Quiz
- Freeing a bad bishopWhat to do with a piece that's boxed in.Sort
- Pawns and your bishopA simple rule of thumb.Quiz
- Spot the good bishopOne bishop is free, the other is stuck.Sort
- Where to put the pawn breakFree the bishop, don't bury it.Sort
- Trade it or keep it?Your bad bishop, their good one.Sort
- The better bishopWatch one side end up with the superior bishop.Replay
- Guess the Move: place the bishopsPredict where the bishops belong.Guess
- Find the plan, then convertBack your bishops, then bring home the point.Plan
- Review: pawns and bishopsThe rule that keeps a bishop good.Quiz
Knights & Outposts
Knights need support points — a protected square in enemy territory is gold.
- Knights & outpostsFind your knight a square it can't be kicked from.Learn
- What is an outpost?A knight's dream square.Quiz
- Knight or bishop in a closed position?Locked pawns change everything.Sort
- Why outposts are so strongThe pawn does the protecting.Quiz
- Route the knight to the outpostPlan the journey, not just the destination.Sort
- Keep the lock or open up?Match the pawns to your pieces.Sort
- The knight forks the queenA knight's payoff.Puzzle
- Planting a knightWatch a knight settle onto a protected outpost.Replay
- Guess the Move: keep the knight activePredict the moves that give a knight purpose.Guess
- Find the plan, then convertPut the knight to work, then win.Plan
- Review: what makes an outpostThe condition that matters.Quiz
Bishop vs Knight & the Two Bishops
Open positions love bishops; closed ones love knights — and the bishop pair is a lasting edge.
- Bishop, knight, and the pairWhich minor piece fits the position?Learn
- Open positionsWhich minor piece shines?Quiz
- Bishop or knight here?Read the structure.Sort
- The bishop pairWhy two bishops are special.Quiz
- Using the bishop pairPlay to your strength.Sort
- Which minor to keep?Trade the right piece for the structure.Sort
- Play to your bishopsYou hold the pair.Sort
- Letting the bishops breatheWinning the pair and opening the board.Replay
- Guess the Move: open it for the bishopsPredict the moves that suit long-range pieces.Guess
- Find the plan, then convertBack the bishops, then bring it home.Plan
- Review: which piece, which positionThe pawns are the tiebreaker.Quiz
Space & Prophylaxis
More space means more room for your pieces — but watch the enemy's plans before you push.
- Space & prophylaxisMore room — used carefully.Learn
- What space buys youThe real point of more room.Quiz
- Breathing roomWhen you're short on space.Sort
- ProphylaxisStop it before it starts.Quiz
- Too far forwardThe risk of pushing.Sort
- The prophylactic moveStop their plan before your own.Sort
- Cramped: what now?Less room, more trades.Sort
- The big squeezeClamping the position.Replay
- Guess the Move: grab the spacePredict the moves that annex territory.Guess
- Find the plan, then convertUse the squeeze, then win.Plan
- Review: the cramped side's antidoteFree your pieces.Quiz
The Center
Control the centre — but know the difference between a strong centre and an overextended one.
- Owning the centerStrong centre, or overextended one?Learn
- Why the centre mattersThe board's crossroads.Quiz
- Facing a big centreHow to hit back.Sort
- Overextended centreToo much of a good thing.Quiz
- Spot the breakA pawn lever in the centre.Sort
- Which break hits the centre?Pick the lever.Sort
- Hitting the centreBuild it, then break it.Replay
- Guess the Move: build the centrePredict the moves that claim the middle.Guess
- Find the plan, then convertUse the centre, then bring it home.Plan
- Review: when a centre is strongStrength has a condition.Quiz
Weak Pawns & Strong Pawns
Isolated, doubled, and backward pawns are targets; passed pawns are a long-term trump.
- Weak pawns & strong pawnsTargets to attack, trumps to push.Learn
- The isolated pawnA pawn with no friends.Quiz
- Playing against the IQPTwo-step plan.Sort
- The backward pawnStuck and exposed.Quiz
- The passed pawnA future queen.Sort
- Attack the isolated pawnWhere does the knight go?Sort
- Creating a targetManufacturing a weakness.Replay
- Guess the Move: manufacture a targetPredict the moves that saddle the enemy with a weak pawn.Guess
- Find the plan, then convertTarget the weakness, then win.Plan
- Review: playing against a weak pawnThe two-step recipe.Quiz
Weak Squares & Outposts
A square no pawn can ever defend is a permanent home for an enemy piece — learn to spot one, occupy it, and convert.
- Weak squares & outpostsA square no pawn can ever guard.Learn
- Strategy Lab: the eternal knightWatch a permanent outpost appear — with the engine's read alongside.Replay
- Guess the Move: route the knightPredict the moves that steer a knight toward its outpost.Guess
- The outpost strikesCash in the knight on its home square.Puzzle
- Find the plan, then convertRead the position, choose the plan, and play it out.Plan
- Review: read the imbalanceName the trade-off honestly.Quiz
Open Files & the 7th Rank
Rooks belong on open files — and a rook on the 7th rank is a monster.
- Open files & the 7th rankGive your rooks a highway.Learn
- Where rooks belongGive your rooks scope.Quiz
- Pig on the 7thWhy the 7th rank is gold.Sort
- Doubling rooksTwo are better than one.Quiz
- Back-rank mateInvade the open file.Puzzle
- Which rook takes the file?Seize the open line.Sort
- Seizing the fileA file opens; a rook pours through.Replay
- Guess the Move: pry open a filePredict the trades that open a highway for the rooks.Guess
- Find the plan, then convertUse the file, then finish.Plan
- Review: the 7th-rank rookWhy it's so feared.Quiz
Development & the Initiative
A lead in development is a temporary edge — use it fast, before it fades.
- Development & the initiativeA lead in development is borrowed time.Learn
- Use it or lose itThe clock on a lead.Quiz
- Open it upMore pieces out = open the board.Sort
- Dynamic vs staticTwo kinds of advantage.Quiz
- Don't dawdleThe classic mistake.Sort
- Forcing or quiet?Keep them on the back foot.Sort
- Punishing slow playOne side dawdles and pays.Replay
- Guess the Move: invest for the leadPredict the moves that buy time with development.Guess
- Find the plan, then convertPress the activity, then win.Plan
- Review: the nature of a leadBorrowed time.Quiz
Defense & Saving Lost Positions
Half of chess is played from the worse side. How to defend stubbornly, prevent the opponent's plan (prophylaxis), and find the saving resources — counterplay, fortresses, and the perpetual.
- The art of defenseWorse positions are won and lost too.Learn
- How to defendActive vs passive.Quiz
- Find the defensive ideaYou're under pressure — what now?Sort
- Prophylaxis: stop the planPrevent before you cure.Sort
- Saving a lost positionThe escape hatches.Quiz
- Guess the Move: defend solidlyPredict the moves of a rock-solid defence.Guess
- Now put it to the testDefense is sharpened by playing.Learn
Material, Sacrifice & Putting It Together
Trade material for other imbalances when it pays — then convert by planning and stopping counterplay.
- Putting it all togetherMaterial is just one imbalance.Learn
- When material isn't everythingThe price of an imbalance.Quiz
- Kill the counterplayThe winner's habit.Sort
- Pick the right edgeMany pluses, one plan.Quiz
- Convert the exchangeUp material, head for the ending.Sort
- Is the sacrifice sound?Count what you get back.Sort
- A sacrifice for the long gameA small give-up for a lasting edge.Replay
- Guess the Move: pay for activityPredict a gambit that trades a pawn for lasting pressure.Guess
- Find the plan, then convertWeigh the imbalances, then win.Plan
- Review: converting a won gameThe winner's discipline.Quiz
- Now put it togetherStrategy is learned by playing.Learn