Learn the basic elements of chess strategy and take your game to the next level

What you'll learn

Recognize weak squares/outposts and use them

Recognize weak pawns and create a plan against them

Create and use open and half-open files to create threats against the opponent

The concept of space advantage and how to use it to make decisions during the game

The importance of piece activity and coordination

Requirements

You should know how the pieces move and the basic rules of the game.

Description

Chess strategy is a very important part of the game. It deals with evaluating positions and creating plans for future play. To win a chess game, you must have a better plan than your opponent. That is what strategy is all about.In order to assess the position strategically and create a plan, a chess player must be familiar with certain strategic elements. In this course we will focus on the most important elements of chess strategy - weak squares, weak pawns, open files, space advantage and piece activity and coordination. Understanding these elements will help you set goals and choose the right moves to reach them.In this course you will learn more about the following key points:weak squares/outpostsweak pawnsopen filesspace advantagepiece activity and coordinationA Woman FIDE Master Jovana Milosevic explains these elements of chess strategy in detail and shows examples from practical games. Jovana Milosevic is an experienced chess teacher and has given both private and group lessons, been a lead instructor in various chess camps and taught chess in community schools in Rochester, MN. At the end of this course you will have a much better understanding of chess strategy and you will be able to apply the knowledge you acquired in your own games. Understanding the concepts taught in this course will give you the tools necessary for finding the best plan in many different positions.

Overview

Section 1: Introduction

Lecture 1 Welcome!

Section 2: Weak squares

Lecture 2 Introduction to weak squares

Lecture 3 Robert James Fischer vs Olicio Gadia

Lecture 4 Mikhail Botvinnik vs Jan Hein Donner

Lecture 5 Mikhail Botvinnik vs Gyorgy Szilagyi

Lecture 6 Activity: Recognize weak squares and find the best way to use them

Section 3: Weak Pawns

Lecture 7 Introduction to weak pawns

Lecture 8 Tigran Petrosian vs Mikhail Yudovich Sr.

Lecture 9 Vasily Smyslov vs Arnold Denker

Lecture 10 Robert James Fischer vs Vasily Smyslov

Lecture 11 Activity: Recognize weak pawns and play against them

Section 4: Open Files

Lecture 12 Introduction to open files

Lecture 13 Mikhail Botvinnik vs Berndt Soderborg

Lecture 14 Alexander Alekhine vs Fred Dewhirst Yates

Lecture 15 Alexander Alekhine vs Aron Nimzowitsch

Lecture 16 Activity: Using open files

Section 5: Space Advantage

Lecture 17 Introduction to space advantage

Lecture 18 Friedrich Saemisch vs Aron Nimzowitsch

Lecture 19 Nikolai Kosolapov vs Rashid Nezhmetdinov

Lecture 20 Jose Raul Capablanca vs Karel Treybal

Lecture 21 Activity: Space advantage

Section 6: Piece Activity and Coordination

Lecture 22 Introduction to piece activity and coordination

Lecture 23 Efim Geller vs Miguel Najdorf

Lecture 24 Viktor Korchnoi vs Boris Spassky

Lecture 25 Alisa Galliamova vs Evgeny Prokopchuk

Lecture 26 Activity: Improving piece activity and coordination

Section 7: Summary

Lecture 27 What have we learned in this course?

Beginner to intermediate chess players who are interested in improving their middlegame play,Beginner to intermediate chess players who are interested in improving their knowledge about chess strategy