Course · chess-course.com

Beginner

RATING 0–1100

01 Module 1 · rating 0–800

Foundations: the board and the pieces

Everything starts here: the board, how each piece moves, the special moves, and how a game ends. If you already play, skim the lessons and solve the exercises at the end of each one to make sure there are no gaps.

11 lessons43 exercises7 examples

1.1How to use this course · 1 exercise
1.2The board and chess notation
1.3The rook, the bishop and the queen · 3 exercises
1.4The king and the knight · 2 exercises
1.5The pawn · 1 exercise
1.6Castling
1.7En passant and promotion · 1 exercise
1.8Check, checkmate and stalemate · 7 exercises
1.9How games are drawn
1.10What the pieces are worth · 8 exercises
1.11Practice: mate in onePractice · 20 exercises

02 Module 2 · rating 400–1000

First checkmates

You can't win a won game until you know how to finish it. This module teaches the basic mates with heavy pieces, the back-rank mate that decides thousands of games at every level, and the early traps every beginner meets.

7 lessons45 exercises5 examples

2.1Queen and king against king · 2 exercises
2.2The ladder mate with two rooks · 1 exercise
2.3Rook and king against king · 1 exercise
2.4The back-rank mate · 11 exercises
2.5Scholar's mate and how to stop it
2.6Mating with the queen up close · 10 exercises
2.7Practice: mate in twoPractice · 20 exercises

03 Module 3 · rating 600–1100

Opening principles

You don't need to memorise long opening lines to play the first ten moves well. You need a handful of principles: take the centre, develop your pieces, castle, and don't waste time. This module explains each one, shows what happens when it's ignored, and gives you a simple first repertoire.

7 lessons29 exercises13 examples

3.1Fight for the centre
3.2Develop your pieces
3.3King safety: castle early · 8 exercises
3.4Common opening mistakes · 6 exercises
3.5Opening traps to know
3.6A first repertoire
3.7Practice: punish opening mistakesPractice · 15 exercises

Novice

RATING 1000–1600

04 Module 4 · rating 1000–1400

Tactics I: the core motifs

Most games below 1800 are decided by tactics: short, forcing sequences that win material or mate. This module teaches the eight motifs that appear again and again, with a clean example of each and a set of real positions to solve. Expect to come back to the practice sets many times.

10 lessons136 exercises0 examples

4.1Hanging pieces and counting · 10 exercises
4.2The fork · 14 exercises
4.3The pin · 13 exercises
4.4The skewer · 11 exercises
4.5Discovered attacks · 11 exercises
4.6Discovered check and double check · 13 exercises
4.7Removing the defender · 12 exercises
4.8Trapped pieces · 12 exercises
4.9Practice A: mixed tacticsPractice · 20 exercises
4.10Practice B: mixed tacticsPractice · 20 exercises

05 Module 5 · rating 1000–1600

Checkmate patterns

Strong players don't calculate every mate from scratch: they recognise the picture. This module collects the named mating patterns that turn up in real games. Once you know them, you'll start seeing mates two and three moves before they happen.

8 lessons99 exercises3 examples

5.1Smothered mate · 9 exercises
5.2Anastasia's mate and the Arabian mate · 12 exercises
5.3Boden's mate and the double-bishop mate · 10 exercises
5.4Hook, epaulette, swallow's tail and dovetail mates · 14 exercises
5.5Opera, Morphy's and Pillsbury's mates · 12 exercises
5.6The Greek gift: Bxh7+ · 8 exercises
5.7Attacking with queen and minor pieces · 12 exercises
5.8Practice: mates in two and threePractice · 22 exercises

06 Module 6 · rating 1000–1500

Endgame essentials

Capablanca told students to study endgames first, because the endgame shows what each piece can really do. This module covers the knowledge every club player needs: the active king, king and pawn endings, the opposition, passed pawns and the first rook endgame ideas.

9 lessons67 exercises6 examples

6.1The king becomes a fighter · 8 exercises
6.2King and pawn against king · 6 exercises
6.3The opposition · 8 exercises
6.4The rule of the square
6.5Passed pawns · 8 exercises
6.6The pawn breakthrough · 7 exercises
6.7Queen against a pawn on the seventh
6.8First rook endgames · 10 exercises
6.9Practice: essential endgamesPractice · 20 exercises

Intermediate

RATING 1400–1900

07 Module 7 · rating 1400–1800

Tactics II: combinations

The core motifs rarely appear alone in strong games. They are combined, and prepared by moves that drag a piece onto a bad square, block a defence, or clear a line. This module covers the "second layer" of tactics that turns a club player into a dangerous one.

11 lessons130 exercises4 examples

7.1Deflection · 10 exercises
7.2Attraction (decoy) · 10 exercises
7.3Overloaded defenders · 10 exercises
7.4Interference · 10 exercises
7.5The in-between move (zwischenzug) · 10 exercises
7.6X-ray attacks · 8 exercises
7.7Clearance · 10 exercises
7.8Quiet moves · 10 exercises
7.9Promotion tactics · 12 exercises
7.10Practice A: combinationsPractice · 20 exercises
7.11Practice B: combinationsPractice · 20 exercises

08 Module 8 · rating 1400–1800

Calculation and the thinking process

Knowing tactics isn't enough: you have to find them in your own games, under time pressure, without anyone telling you there is something there. This module gives you a thinking routine for every move, and trains the calculation skills behind it.

7 lessons79 exercises0 examples

8.1Checks, captures and threats · 10 exercises
8.2Candidate moves · 10 exercises
8.3Visualisation: seeing ahead · 10 exercises
8.4Evaluating the final position · 10 exercises
8.5The blunder check · 12 exercises
8.6Defensive resources: perpetual check and stalemate · 12 exercises
8.7Practice: deep calculationPractice · 15 exercises

09 Module 9 · rating 1500–1900

Positional fundamentals

When there is no tactic, what do you do? This module teaches the static features that decide most positions: piece activity, good and bad bishops, outposts, open files, weak squares, pawn weaknesses, space and the bishop pair. It ends with how to turn them into a plan.

10 lessons14 exercises13 examples

9.1Piece activity · 6 exercises
9.2Good and bad bishops
9.3Outposts
9.4Open files and the seventh rank
9.5Weak squares
9.6Pawn weaknesses
9.7Space
9.8The bishop pair
9.9When to exchange pieces · 8 exercises
9.10Making a plan

10 Module 10 · rating 1500–1900

Endgames II: practical technique

The theoretical positions every serious player knows, and the practical principles for the endgames you'll actually reach: rook endings, minor-piece endings, queen endings and the art of zugzwang.

9 lessons76 exercises3 examples

10.1The Lucena position: building a bridge
10.2The Philidor position: the third-rank defence
10.3The active rook · 10 exercises
10.4Minor-piece endgames · 16 exercises
10.5Opposite-coloured bishops · 8 exercises
10.6The wrong rook pawn
10.7Zugzwang and triangulation · 10 exercises
10.8Queen endgames · 12 exercises
10.9Practice: technical endgamesPractice · 20 exercises

Advanced

RATING 1600–2100

11 Module 11 · rating 1800–2100

Pawn structures

Pawns can't move backwards, so the pawn structure is the most permanent feature of a position, and it tells you the plans for both sides. Masters recognise a structure and immediately know where the pieces belong. This module covers the ten structures you will meet most.

10 lessons15 exercises11 examples

11.1The isolated queen's pawn (IQP)
11.2Hanging pawns
11.3The Carlsbad structure and the minority attack
11.4French pawn chains
11.5King's Indian structures
11.6The Maroczy Bind and the Hedgehog
11.7Sicilian small centre
11.8The Stonewall
11.9Pawn majorities
11.10Practice: master-level structuresPractice · 15 exercises

12 Module 12 · rating 1800–2100

Attack and defence

How strong players build an attack against the king, when sacrifices are justified, and how to defend calmly when you are the one under fire.

8 lessons61 exercises7 examples

12.1When to attack the king · 10 exercises
12.2Opposite-side castling and pawn storms · 8 exercises
12.3Sacrifices on f7, g7 and h7 · 10 exercises
12.4The exchange sacrifice
12.5The initiative
12.6Defence · 10 exercises
12.7Counterattack · 8 exercises
12.8Practice: attacking positionsPractice · 15 exercises

13 Module 13 · rating 1600–2100

Openings: understanding and repertoire

Openings are where club players spend too much time memorising and too little understanding. This module surveys the main openings by their ideas, so you can choose a repertoire that suits you and play it with a plan rather than from memory.

10 lessons15 exercises17 examples

13.1Building a repertoire
13.21.e4 e5: the Italian and the Ruy Lopez
13.3The Sicilian Defence
13.4The French and the Caro-Kann
13.5The Queen's Gambit
13.6The Indian defences
13.7Flank openings: English, Réti and London
13.8Gambits
13.9Studying openings with model games
13.10Practice: opening tacticsPractice · 15 exercises

Expert

RATING 2000–2400

14 Module 14 · rating 2000–2300

Advanced strategy and decision-making

The ideas that separate masters from strong club players: prophylactic thinking, the principle of two weaknesses, improving pieces patiently, transforming one advantage into another, and knowing when to trust dynamics over structure.

8 lessons38 exercises6 examples

14.1Prophylaxis · 8 exercises
14.2The principle of two weaknesses
14.3Improving the worst piece
14.4Transforming advantages
14.5Positional sacrifices
14.6Statics and dynamics
14.7Converting a winning position · 10 exercises
14.8Practice: master-level positionsPractice · 20 exercises

15 Module 15 · rating 2000–2400

Master endgames and studies

The endgame knowledge expected of a master: the deeper rook-endgame defences, the bishop-and-knight mate, fortresses, and the classic endgame studies that train calculation like nothing else.

5 lessons42 exercises2 examples

15.1Rook endgames: advanced defence · 10 exercises
15.2Bishop and knight mate
15.3Fortresses · 10 exercises
15.4Endgame studies: Réti and Saavedra · 2 exercises
15.5Practice: master endgamesPractice · 20 exercises

All levels

ANY RATING

16 Module 16 · rating Every rating

Training, practice and the road to master

Knowledge alone doesn't make you a master. Players improve through the right mix of playing, analysing and training, kept up over years. This module explains how to train at each stage, how to learn from your own games, and how to manage time, nerves and tournaments. Read it early and come back to it often.

8 lessons0 exercises1 examples

16.1A training plan from beginner to master
16.2Analysing your own games
16.3Using engines and databases well
16.4Building calculation
16.5Time management and practical decisions
16.6Tournament preparation and psychology
16.7How to study master games
16.8Your roadmap: milestones by rating

The historical games library

20 GAMES · 1851–2013

Every game opens on the replay board with notes at the key moments, and the lessons link to the exact move where an idea appears. You can also open any PGN file in the replay board: your own games, a tournament download or a whole collection.