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Train · Chess strategy

Learn strategy from the games that defined it.

One strategy, one great game, taken apart at the moments that decided it: what each player saw, what they weighed, what Stockfish says now, and how to use the same plan in your own games.

10articles10/32strategies covered7families of ideas
Read the latest: Bishop Pair Strategy: Kramnik v Tiviakov 2001, Checked by StockfishSee every strategy
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Kramnik 1–0 Tiviakov, Corus Group A 2001

The articles

8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1hPieces and squares · 17 minBishop Pair Strategy: Kramnik v Tiviakov 2001, Checked by Stockfish

Kramnik, the new world champion, turned the two bishops into a win at Wijk aan Zee 2001. Stockfish 19 shows what the pair was worth and where both players let the advantage slip.

Kramnik 1–0 Tiviakov, 2001

8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1hKing safety and attack · 15 minKing in the Centre: Morphy's Opera Game, Checked by Stockfish

Morphy's famous 1858 win against two amateurs, and what Stockfish 19 says about when the uncastled king was really lost.

Morphy 1–0 Duke and Count, 1858

8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1hKing safety and attack · 14 minActive King in the Endgame: Capablanca's King Walk, Checked

Capablanca gave up two pawns to march the king into Tartakower's camp in 1924. Stockfish 19 says the king walk was sound, but the game was decided two moves earlier.

Capablanca 1–0 Tartakower, 1924

8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1hPawn structure · 17 minIsolated Queen's Pawn: Botvinnik's Attack Against Vidmar

Botvinnik wins in 24 moves at Nottingham 1936 with the textbook plan for the isolated pawn. Stockfish 19 says the decisive error was quieter than the famous one.

Botvinnik 1–0 Vidmar, 1936

8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1hPieces and squares · 14 minOutposts: Kasparov's Octopus Knight v Karpov, Checked by Stockfish

Kasparov's knight on d3 in game 16 of the 1985 match, what Stockfish says about it, and how to build an outpost no pawn can attack.

Karpov 0–1 Kasparov, 1985

8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1hExchanges and transformation · 15 minPositional Exchange Sacrifice: Petrosian's 25...Re6 and Stockfish

Petrosian gave a rook for a bishop against Reshevsky at Zurich 1953. Stockfish 19 shows the famous sacrifice was a rescue, and how to make the same trade work for you.

Reshevsky ½–½ Petrosian, 1953

8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1hEndgame strategy · 13 minOpposite-Coloured Bishops: Shirov's 47...Bh3 Checked by Stockfish

Topalov traded queens into an opposite-coloured bishops ending that looked drawn. Shirov won it with 47...Bh3. Stockfish 19 says the sacrifice was the only winning move, and the ending was lost before it.

Topalov 0–1 Shirov, 1998

8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1hPieces and squares · 19 minBishop vs Knight: Fischer's Famous Exchange, Checked by Stockfish

In game 7 of the 1971 Candidates final, Fischer traded a dominant knight for a bad bishop and won a textbook bishop-against-knight ending. Stockfish 19 says the trade was not best. Here is why it worked anyway.

Fischer 1–0 Petrosian, 1971

8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1hPawn structure · 14 minMinority Attack: How Petrosian Squeezed Krogius, Checked by Stockfish

Petrosian's b4-b5 plan in a 1959 Soviet Championship game, and the twist Stockfish 19 finds: no blunder by Black, just a staircase of small concessions.

Petrosian 1–0 Krogius, 1959

8a7b6c5d4e3f2g1hProphylaxis and planning · 13 minProphylaxis: Karpov's 24.Ba7 Against Unzicker, Checked by Stockfish

Karpov's quiet bishop move at Nice 1974 is the textbook case of prophylaxis. Stockfish 19 says the move was the only good one, and that the game was decided later, by Black's 31...g5.

Karpov 1–0 Unzicker, 1974

The strategy map

Every strategy we teach, by family. The highlighted ones have an article; new ones are added regularly.

Pawn structure

Pawns cannot move back, so every pawn move sets a plan: weaknesses, breaks, majorities and chains.

  • The minority attackAdvance two queenside pawns against three to leave the opponent with a weak, isolated or backward pawn.
  • The isolated queen's pawnWith the IQP, use the open lines and the e5 or d5 outpost to attack; against it, blockade the square in front and trade pieces.
  • Hanging pawnsTwo side-by-side pawns on half-open files: strong while they can advance, targets once they are blockaded. Coming soon.
  • Pawn breaksThe pawn move that opens lines for your pieces: find it, prepare it, and play it at the moment it works. Coming soon.
  • Attacking the base of a pawn chainA pawn chain is only as strong as its base: undermine the back pawn and the whole chain falls. Coming soon.
  • The queenside majorityMore pawns on one wing make a passed pawn; trade pieces and push it home while the king stays near. Coming soon.
  • Space and the Maróczy bindPawns on c4 and e4 clamp d5 and squeeze the opponent: keep the breaks shut and gain space elsewhere. Coming soon.

Pieces and squares

Which pieces are good, where they belong, and how to make the worst one better.

  • Bishop against knightWith pawns on both wings and open lines, a bishop outruns a knight: steer into that ending on purpose.
  • Good knight against bad bishopFix the pawns on the bishop's colour, plant a knight on a square no pawn can attack, and the bishop has nothing to do. Coming soon.
  • OutpostsA square no enemy pawn can attack, deep in the opponent's half: put a piece there, ideally a knight, and it dominates.
  • The bishop pairTwo bishops cover both colours: open the position, avoid trading one, and they grow stronger as the board empties.
  • Rooks on the seventh rankA rook on the seventh attacks pawns from the side and cuts off the king; two there often decide the game. Coming soon.
  • Controlling the open fileSeize the open file with a rook, double on it, and use it to reach the seventh rank or an entry square. Coming soon.
  • Improve your worst pieceWhen there is no concrete plan, find your least active piece and give it a job: the whole position improves with it. Coming soon.

Exchanges and transformation

What to trade, when, and how to turn one advantage into another that wins.

  • The right exchangeTrade the pieces that defend, keep the ones that attack, and give up a good piece when the ending it leaves is better. Coming soon.
  • The positional exchange sacrificeGive a rook for a minor piece to win squares, a pawn or a lasting initiative, and the material counts for less than the position.
  • Transforming an advantageChange one kind of advantage into another that wins: activity into material, space into a weak pawn, an attack into an ending. Coming soon.
  • Simplify when aheadA pawn up, trade pieces, not pawns: every exchange makes the extra pawn count for more. Coming soon.

King safety and attack

Attacking the king, defending your own, and knowing when the king is a fighting piece.

  • Pawn storms with opposite castlingKings on opposite wings make a race: throw the pawns at the enemy king and open files before the opponent does. Coming soon.
  • Punishing the king in the centreDevelop fast, open the centre and use the lead before the uncastled king escapes.
  • The king as a fighting pieceOnce the queens are off, march the king to the centre and beyond: in the ending it is worth a minor piece.

Prophylaxis and planning

Stopping the opponent's plan first, making yours, and playing on the whole board.

  • ProphylaxisAsk what the opponent wants and stop it before making your own move: the plan that never happens cannot hurt you.
  • The principle of two weaknessesOne weakness can be defended; attack a second on the other wing and the defender's pieces cannot cover both. Coming soon.
  • Restriction and dominationTake squares away from the opponent's pieces until they have no good moves: the slow way to win without a fight. Coming soon.
  • OverprotectionDefend a key point more times than it is attacked, and the pieces guarding it stand well for everything else too. Coming soon.

Initiative and dynamics

Time, activity and compensation: when moves matter more than material.

  • Playing with the initiativeKeep making threats so the opponent only answers: the initiative is worth material as long as it lasts. Coming soon.
  • The positional pawn sacrificeGive a pawn for squares, open lines or a lead in development that lasts beyond the next few moves. Coming soon.
  • Using a lead in developmentA lead in development fades: open lines at once, before the opponent finishes developing. Coming soon.

Endgame strategy

The plans that win and save endings, beyond the textbook positions.

  • Opposite-coloured bishopsDrawish in a pure ending, deadly in an attack: the attacker's bishop has no opponent on its colour.
  • The outside passed pawnA passed pawn far from the kings drags the enemy king away while yours eats the pawns it left behind. Coming soon.
  • Rooks behind passed pawnsPut the rook behind the passed pawn, yours or the opponent's: it gains scope as the pawn advances. Coming soon.
  • Building a fortressWhen material is lost, a position the opponent cannot break into can still be a draw. Coming soon.

How these articles are made

Every game score is checked against two sources. Every position and line is replayed for legality and every number comes from Stockfish 19, searched deepest at the moments that decided the game. Nobody can know exactly what a Grandmaster was thinking, so each claim says how we know it.

How we know what we say

  • Verified From the record: Stockfish's numbers, the players' own notes or interviews, or a cited source.
  • Inferred Read from the moves and the position: a reasoned reconstruction, not the player's words.
  • Speculative A guess about mood, intent or practical motives: plausible, not proven.