First, let me remind you of the special offers I’m providing you with on our new course “The Secrets of …
When to Start an Attack?
Today we are going to talk about a topic that most of the chess players love – ATTACK! Many chess …
5 Best Tips for Effective Chess Calculation
First, I’d like to remind you of the special offers I’m providing you with in honour of the International Chess …
RCA’s Next Course + That Deadly Rook on the Seventh Rank!
Rook Endings are one of the most common and most important endings in chess. And since it comes in the …
Don’t Give Up too Early in Chess!!
Have you ever played a chess game where you resigned, and then when analysing with your opponent you find out …
4 useful tips to avoid blunders
Blunders are always a nightmare for most chess players, even in the top GMs level. It is one of the …
How to Restrict Your Opponent’s Pieces? (Powerful Trick)
Chess is a game that requires you to come up with strong ideas and plans to defeat your opponent. But …
Praggnanandhaa Masterpiece at Isle of Man
In this blog-post, we are going to see a beautiful game played by the young chess prodigy from India, Rameshbabu …
Importance of Piece Coordination
In the previous lesson by our guest coach CM Tryfon Gavriel, we learnt about the power of playing our pieces …
Pieces Exchanges are more Crucial than You Think!
Let me remind you that the special offers I’m providing you with on our newly launched course “Exchange Pieces like …
Chess Strategy: The Exchange Technique
The strategy of exchanges (or the exchange technique) in chess is very often underestimated by the young/inexperienced players. Of course, …
Why Do You Lose Chess Games?
Recently, we published an article written by our Academy Manager, Aggelos Kesaris, about the middlegame strategy and how to break …
Benefits of a Doubled Pawns Structure
In chess, it is often said that the pawns should control the center of the board. However, there are certain …
Middlegame Strategy: Breaking into the Opponent’s Camp!
First, I’d like to remind you of the survey we are conducting to let you choose your favorite chess topic(s) …
What can we learn from the games of RCA Students?
In the last RCA survey we asked you to send some of your chess games in order to include them …
RCA’s New Course about Mikhail Tal!
First, I’d like to apologize for any inconvenience caused because our shop might have faced some issues due to over …
4 Tips for a Successful Attack
Attack in chess is one of the best (and most important) ways to checkmate your opponent and to win the …
5 Lessons I Have Learned from 25 Years in Chess
First, I’d like to remind you of the special offers I’m providing you with in honor of my birthday (on …
5 Greatest Queen Sacrifices by Magnus Carlsen
Today I’ve recorded a very interesting video lesson for you, in which I will show you the 5 greatest queen …
Chess Tactics in the Sicilian Defense
Today I’ve some great news for you – the RCA’s next chess course is in its final stages and it …
The Mighty Sicilian Dragon Bishop!
The Sicilian Defense is the most popular opening and one of the best responses to White’s first move 1.e4. The …
The RCA Student Ashwin Subramanian becomes ACO World Champion!
Ashwin Subramanian is a 40-year old engineering manager in Intel Corporation. He participated in the World Amateur Chess Organization (ACO) …
4 Key Principles to Win Queen-Rook Endgames
The queen and rook endgames are among the most important and critical endgames. The main reason is that they are …
Does Castling Really Make Your King Safe?
I’m sure you’re aware that castling your king is a very important part of the opening strategy, since it moves …
Adolf Anderssen’s Best Attacking Chess Games (Part – 2)
This is the second part of the article about Adolf Anderssen (1818–1879), a German chess master and the world’s leading …
Adolf Anderssen’s Best Attacking Chess Games
Adolf Anderssen (1818–1879) was a German chess master and he’s considered to have been the world’s leading chess player for …
Test Your Skills on Positional Chess
It’s always extremely important and instructive to follow positional principles in chess. Below I’ve presented a number of chess puzzles. …
A Unique Chess Pattern Which Will Help You Win Grandmasters!
I hope you are familiar with the oldest checkmate ever invented, the Arabian Mate. This fatal attack performs with the …
The Best Chess Strategy (simple and powerful)
Let me start this article with a question. What is the best chess strategy? Reading this, several important chess rules …
How to Find Active Squares for Your Pieces?
“Help your pieces so they can help you”, said Paul Morphy. Today, we’re going to learn how to find the …
Mikhail Botvinnik’s winning method
Mikhail Botvinnik was the World Champion for about 13 long years. And there are definitely a lot of things that one can learn from him …
Positional Pawn Sacrifices of Garry Kasparov
Today we are going to have a look at some of the greatest positional pawn sacrifices of Garry Kasparov. The …
Dream Start for Vladimir Kramnik at the Candidates 2018!
The FIDE Candidate Tournament 2018 in Berlin had a spectacular start. We saw several decisive games in the first three …
3 Important Principles to Win Knight Endgames
Today we’re going to discuss about some of the most important rules and principles regarding the knight endgames. The knight …
The Right Planning & Thought Process to Improve Your Pieces
Today we are going to discuss about two key topics that a chess player needs to get better at, so …
5 Interesting Games from the Tata Steel Chess 2018
Magnus Carlsen won his record sixth Tata Steel Chess title last month. He beat Anish Giri in the tiebreaks, as …
The Trompowski Attack – Typical Ideas for White
The Trompowski Attack is a chess opening that begins with the following moves: 1.d4 Nf6 2.Bg5, in which White tries …
6 Best Games of the World Rapid Chess Championship 2017
The King Salman World Rapid Chess Championship concluded on 28 December, and the 48-year old former World Champion Viswanathan Anand …
How Critical Converting Your Advantage into a Win is?
I would like to start off this article with some amazing news – today I will reveal the author of …
3 Tips to the Realization of the Material Advantage
Most of my students often say to me this: “I am able to reach a winning position OR get an …
2 Best Games of Mikhail Tal – The Magician from Riga
Today we’re going to learn from the 8th World Chess Champion, Mikhail Tal, The Magician from Riga, who was widely …
How to Calculate Variations Efficiently?
Today we have an important topic to discuss about – how to calculate variations efficiently? Many chess players often start …
Interesting Games from the FIDE World Cup 2017, Tbilisi
The FIDE World Cup 2017 was held from 2-27 September, 2017, in Tbilisi. In the final, after the four classical …
Interesting games from Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz (Part-2)
This is the second part of the article “Interesting games from Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz”. If you missed the …
5 best chess games of Bobby Fischer
Today we’re going to look at something spectacular – 5 best chess games played by Bobby Fischer! 🙂 But before …
Interesting games from Saint Louis Rapid and Blitz
The highly-anticipated return of the chess legend Garry Kasparov is real. The king of kings was back in real action …
Best aggressive chess openings for Black against 1.d4
This is the second part of our lesson on the best aggressive chess openings for Black. In the previous article, …
Best aggressive chess openings for Black against 1.e4
I know how difficult it is for most of you, as a club level player, to pick up the right …
6 best chess games of Magnus Carlsen
Have you ever wondered what could Magnus Carlsen’s best chess games be? Today, I’d like to share with you a …
Tactics and tips from Magnus Carlsen
Magnus Carlsen is from Norway and he was born on 30 November 1990. The “chess prodigy” earned his grandmaster title …
Which is the best side to castle your king?
Castling is a very important move which every chess player should do. It is an important goal in the …
Everything you need to know about “Master the Grunfeld Defense as Black”
First, let me announce that our upcoming course “Master the Grunfeld Defense as Black” will be released on Wednesday, 5 …
Grunfeld defense: Bobby Fischer’s masterpiece!
Today I’ve some great news for you – our next course is titled “Master the Grunfeld defense as Black” dedicated …
Why Peter Svidler is the god of Grunfeld defense?
The Grunfeld defense, followed by the moves 1. d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 is one of the most …
How to analyze your chess game?
In a recent survey we conducted, one of the students asked the following question: “How to analyze my own chess …
Calculation and Evaluation in chess
Often during a chess game, you have so many different choices of moves in a position (especially, in a middlegame …
What can you learn from our course “Crushing the King”?
Today is the LAST chance for you to get our new course “Crushing the King” with the special 20% discount. …
Basic conditions for a successful attack
In the previous article, we discussed about 5 biggest problems in attack and how to solve them. Today we’ll move …
5 most important attacking principles
“Attack is the best form of defense” is a well-known phrase, and it means that to attack or to strike …
Psychology of defense in chess
As I said earlier, defense is a very important chess skill. At least in about 50% of a chess game, …
4 typical chess mistakes in defense you should never make!
In this lesson about defense, you will recognize and understand those mistakes. It will help you avoid those mistakes in your future games and it will drive you in cloud nine!
How to become a defending champion in chess?
Remote Chess Academy (RCA) is very happy to announce that its new course is almost ready – it’s called “Defending …
How to use your rook effectively?
First, let me remind you of our survey – help us create an opening chess course tailored to your needs, …
Remote Chess Academy student wins Millionaire Chess!
The third edition of Millionaire Chess took place from 6-10 October 2016 at Atlantic City.
20 interesting and funny photos that summarize the World Chess Championship 2016
Before going to the photos, let me remind you that today is the LAST chance for you to grab our …
Carlsen-Karjakin tiebreaks: Magnus is the World Champion!
Before going to the tie-break games, let me remind you of the massive 40% discount we’re providing you with on …
Magnus Carlsen’s immortal chess game (and his birthday)!
First, let me remind you of the special offer we’re providing you with, in honour of the World Championship match …
Carlsen-Karjakin Game-12: Fastest game of the Match
After eleven hard-fought games, the twelfth and final game of the World Chess Championship was a brief, dull draw. Only …
Carlsen-Karjakin Game-11: A fighting draw!
The eleventh game was a fighting one, but ended up in a draw after 34 moves. Sergey started with the …
Carlsen-Karjakin Game-10: Magnus Carlsen makes a comeback!
The tenth game of the World Chess Championship in New York was crucial. Magnus Carlsen scored his first win, after …
Carlsen-Karjakin Game-9: Magnus escapes with a draw!
Just before the start of the ninth game, a chess fan, Bobby Fiske, made a fantastic photo-edit saying…. The World …
Instructive video analysis of Karjakin’s victory over Carlsen in Game-8
Our guest coach FM Marko Makaj has prepared a very instructive video analysis of Game-8 for you. In this video, Marko explains …
How the World reacted to Karjakin’s victory over Carlsen (Game-8)?
The 26-year-old challenger from Russia, Sergey Karjakin, draws everyone’s attention after defeating the World Champion Magnus Carlsen in the eighth …
Carlsen-Karjakin Game-8: Karjakin wins, seizes lead
World Champion Magnus Carlsen is down! Sergey Karjakin takes the lead after eight rounds, with 3.5 – 4.5 in his …
Carlsen-Karjakin Game-7: New opening, another draw
It was Carlsen’s time to put his head into the lion’s mouth and everybody expected the beast to snap. But …
Homeless ‘tramp chess champion’ challenges Cambridge’s best minds
A ‘tramp chess champion’ is throwing down the gauntlet to Cambridge University’s finest minds and challenging them to try their …
Carlsen-Karjakin Game-6: Halfway done
After one and half hours, game six ended in a draw. So a match of 24 games would be much …
Carlsen-Karjakin Game-5: Carlsen "screwed up"
The fifth game of the World Chess Championship ended in a draw, but this time things were little different. It …
Carlsen-Karjakin Game-4: Karjakin survives, again!
The ‘miracle’ continues at the World Championship! Karjakin managed to survive another extremely difficult position by defending, again, for 6.5 …
Carlsen-Karjakin Game-3: Over 6-hour long battle!
What a game, what a marathon! 🙂 Magnus tries to give his best on the subject which he knows the …
What can you learn from Carlsen-Karjakin Game-1?
There’s no doubt that the World Chess Championship started in a great manner on Friday, 11 November. In the first …
Carlsen-Karjakin Game-2: Ruy Lopez draw
We don’t know for sure if Woody Harrelson is the best chess player among Hollywood actors, but he was the …
Carlsen-Karjakin Game-1: Surprising Trompowsky
One journalist asked Magnus Carlsen in the first official press conference who is the best chess player in the world. …
Everything you need to know about Carlsen vs Karjakin
We’re exactly one week away from the biggest chess event of the year – the World Chess Championship Match between …
How to attack a central king? (Fischer’s great game)
Robert James “Bobby” Fischer, born March 9, 1943, was the strongest American Grandmaster ever. Many consider him the greatest chess …
Unknown stories about ‘Viktor the Terrible!’ (Part-2)
This is the second part of the article about the four-time USSR chess champion, Viktor Korchnoi! If you missed the …
Unknown stories about ‘Viktor the Terrible!’
Viktor Korchnoi: if he won a game, he was very polite with you and would analyze it happily. If he …
Best game from the Baku Chess Olympiad
After a dramatic last round, the United States of America won their first Olympic gold medal since 1976. The Ukrainian …
Decision making in critical positions – part 2
By IM Sagar Shah and myself (GM Igor Smirnov) In the first part of this article, we discussed what …
Decision making in critical positions
First, let me remind you of our new vacancy for the post of “YouTuber”. If you like to record videos …
Breaking chess rules – defying chess strategy
Being a good chess player is not only about following every single chess rule and guideline: it is about understanding …
Highlights of GM Igor Smirnov’s “Ask Me Anything Event”
First, let me remind you of the “RCA Crossword Contest” – we’re conducting a crossword contest that will run till …
Interesting games from the Sinquefield Cup 2016
Today, we analyze the most interesting games from the recent Sinquefield Cup 2016. This tournament took place in St Louis, …
Magnus Carlsen wins a very important game against Anish Giri
My good friend and experienced chess coach Aggelos Kesaris (from Greece) has prepared a nice article for you. This is …
Exploiting your opponent’s bad piece Part-2
A few days ago, our guest coach IM Boroljub Zlatanovic prepared a video lesson for you on the topic “Exploiting …
Best chess openings and how to pick one for you [Infographic]
Picking the good chess opening is important if you want to be successful in your chess career. Due to the …
How to exploit your opponent’s bad piece?
“Help your pieces so they can help you”, said Paul Morphy, one of the greatest chess masters. Indeed, that’s true …
Deadly attacks in chess: opposite castling
Opposite-side castling games are usually very exciting. Because both kings are on opposite wings, each player takes this opportunity to …
Power of centralised pieces in chess
There are several important advantages that come from centralising your pieces and aiming to have strong control over central squares. …
What are the consequences of neglecting the centre in chess?
The centre is the most important part of the chessboard, as pieces from the centre can easily move to either …
The advantage of space in chess
The advantage of space in chess enlarges your influence over the board and provides options that can be exploited tactically …
How to use an open file in chess Part-2
A few days ago, we published the first part of the lesson “How to use an open file in chess?” …
How to use an open file in chess?
Basically, an open file is one with no pawns of either colour on it. And a file with pawns of …
The power of the bishop pair in chess Part-2
In the previous article, we published the first part of the lesson “The power of the bishop pair in chess”. …
The power of the bishop pair in chess
The bishop, by itself, is a powerful piece. However, its value is more than doubled when another bishop is added …
Three ways to improve in chess
Nowadays, there are lots of chess tutorials out there, including books, video lessons, courses, DVDs and the list goes on. …
Weak Squares in Chess Part-2
In recent times, we have published several lessons for you on the topic of “Weak Squares”. In case you missed …
Chess Strategy: Weak Squares
A few weeks ago, we published an article “Transforming advantages in chess” which was prepared by one of the RCA …
Initiative in Chess
Today we have an interesting subject called “Initiative”. I’d like to recall a famous quote, “Only the player with the …
Who will it be – Carlsen or Karjakin?
The hottest news in these past few weeks is undoubtedly Sergey Karjakin winning the Candidates Tournament 2016, earning the right …
Finding the right plan: knight v bishop
There might be some points during a chess game when you are stuck in a position and cannot think of …
Transforming advantages in chess
Today, we have an interesting topic to discuss. It is entitled “Transforming Advantages” or converting advantages into a victory. This lesson …
Chess battles of the past between Candidate players
As competition is fierce in the 2016 Candidates Chess Tournament, today we’ll have a look at some interesting games played …
Tactical shots at the Candidates Chess Tournament 2016 and important news
First, I have some good news. For chess fans from Hong Kong, I’m going to visit it soon. If you …
How my lessons helped a student defeat an International Master
Sometime ago, I shared with you a message I received from one of my students, Ram S Krishnan. In that …
What happens when coordinated pieces occupy weak squares?
Recently, our guest coach IM Boroljub Zlatanovic published a video lesson for you on “Weak Squares”. In that lesson, Boroljub …
How to make use of important chess squares?
Some time ago, our guest coach IM Boroljub Zlatanovic prepared a lesson for you on the topic “Weak Squares”. If …
Bobby Fischer’s greatest chess game – game of the century
Today, we’ll have a look at the greatest chess game played by Bobby Fischer – the game that is also …
The greatest chess game everyone MUST know
Millions of chess games have been played over the history of chess. But there is only a small percentage of …
Useful story of an RCA student – Part-2
A few days ago, I shared with you the story of my friend and student, Ram S. Krishnan. If you …
Useful story of an RCA Student
First, I’d like to remind you of the new course “Think, Plan and Win” which contains my seminars that were …
Chess for Females
Today, I’d like to share with you a lesson for FREE from my new course “Your Top Chess Questions, Answered”. …
RCA Student Karthik stuns GM Roman Edouard
2015 has been a great year for most of the RCA students. There is no doubt about that! Many students …
The Big Clash: Anand vs Carlsen
This is the second part of the article prepared by IM Saravanan, featuring the first game of the World Chess …
The three most important principles of chess: Round-10 Highlights
“Less is more” really is a very nice quote by Mies Van der Rohe. Sometimes, simple and logical decisions are …
Indian National Premier Chess Championship 2015, Round-9 Highlights
In this article, you can watch the highlights of the ninth round of Indian National Premier Chess Championship, annotated by …
Indian National Premier Chess Championship 2015, Round-8 Highlights
As the competition gets tough, IM Valeri Lilov continues to provide you with the highlights of the key games from …
Indian National Premier Chess Championship 2015 Round 7 Highlights
In the previous article, IM Valeri Lilov prepared a video lesson for you, annotating the games of the sixth round …
Instructive games from Indian National Premier Chess Championship
One of the most grand and popular events in India, the Indian National Premier Chess Championship is currently being held …
WC 2014 Sochi: Anand vs Carlsen – the Grunfeld Defence
Today, we’ll have a look at the first game of the World Chess Championship Match 2014, Sochi between Vishy Anand and …
Evaluation of a position – Part-2
This is the second part of the lesson “How to evaluate a position in chess?” by GM Petr Velicka. To …
World Cup 2015 final: Karjakin vs Svidler – highlights Part-2
If you missed the first part, you can check it out here. Coming back to Karjakin – Svidler: …
More news and photos from my past seminars
As I promised, today, I am going to share with you, more information and photos from my past seminars in …
GM Igor Smirnov’s seminar in Thrissur
Firstly, I’d like to invite you to my upcoming live seminar in India. It will take place in Thrissur on …
GM Igor Smirnov's seminar in Thrissur
Firstly, I’d like to invite you to my upcoming live seminar in India. It will take place in Thrissur on …
World Chess Cup 2015 final: Karjakin vs Svidler – highlights
Today, I’d like to share with you an interesting article prepared by Srikanth G, a professional chess player and a …
Corner Pawn Attack in Chess Part-2
In the previous lesson, GM Levan Aroshidze gave you an introduction to the “Corner Pawn Attack” (CPA), along with a …
The Corner Pawn Attack: a new way to attack in chess
Even though the pawn is the smallest piece in chess, both in size and in power, it is good enough …
Another success story from an RCA student who defeated a Fide Master
Recently, I received a message from one of my students, Massimo Tricomi. He has shared some information about his wonderful …
How I defeated Fabiano Caruana in a blitz game!
<<Get the book now>> Talking about my new book A Promoted Pawn: My Chess Journey, this all started from a …
Two chess opening mistakes you should never make
I’ve prepared a chess opening lesson for you! 🙂 In this lesson, you’ll learn about two mistakes you should avoid …
Pre-registration for my book and the Art of Planning in Chess
To start with, I’ve great news – my upcoming book, A Promoted Pawn: My Chess Journey, will be released within …
What can you learn from the 2012 World Chess Championship match between Anand and Gelfand?
I recently watched a chess documentary called “Album 61”. It is about the Anand-Gelfand World Chess Championship 2012 match and …
Master the art of the exchange technique in chess
A few days ago, our guest coach GM Levan Aroshidze prepared a lesson for you about the “Exchange Technique” in …
How the course “GM’s Opening Lab” helped win a game against a FM
In my previous article, I informed you of my live seminar in India (for both students and coaches), which will …
How GM Igor Smirnov helped win a game against a Grandmaster
First, let me remind you of our new chess opening course, the “Bogo-Indian Defense” (LINK) and the special offers. You …
Fantastical chess defense and important announcement
First of all, let me remind you about the survey that we’re conducting to know your opinion about our existing …
RCA Student’s Feedback
Recently, I received feedback from one of my students. The student has shared his amazing experience after he studied my …
Paranormal chess endgames with different-coloured bishops
Generally, there are certain rules and principles that are followed in the endgame stage of a chess game. But in …
GM Igor Smirnov’s new book
Today, I’d like to share with you some great news. Some time ago, one of our students placed the following …
Bobby Fischer’s pawn sacrifice
About a month ago, I wrote in an article that I had watched the trailer of the movie “Pawn Sacrifice”, …
Mechanical Reactions in Chess
Today, we have an interesting topic to talk about. Normally, the term ‘mechanical’ refers to something that is operated by …
GM Smirnov’s new mini-course (FREE)
Today, we have a topic I’m bringing to your attention a bit suddenly, for I’d like to ask your adviceabout a …
Play like Mikhail Tal
As of now, I can inform you that we’ll be adding the premium video “Play like Tal” by GM Simon …
RCA Student's Success
I’m very excited today, as I’m going to share with you the “hot news” from Remote Chess Academy. Before that, …
Game Festival – top 3 games of RCA students
Recently, I made the announcement that I’ll be conducting my webinar “Play like Nakamura” on Saturday, 30 May at 3 …
RCA Game Festival winners and my next webinar
It’s been a great month here at the Remote Chess Academy – yes, I’m talking about the RCA Game Festival. …
Magical Chess Rooks
When I was thinking about rooks, I recalled a famous quote: “The only good Rook is a working Rook!” – …
How to purchase RCA products and important news
First, the latest date for submitting your votes for the RCA Game Festival winners’ games will be Wednesday, 20 May. …
RCA Game Festival Stage-2
As I informed you before, stage-1 of our Game Festival (LINK) went by in a great manner. Guess what? 🙂 …
Chess – a look at sharp tactics
Firstly, I’ve an important announcement about the game festival. (If you don’t know about our game festival, please see here: …
A to Z about Isolated Pawns – Introduction
Recently, I made the announcement that the next webinar “A to Z about Isolated Pawns” would be conducted for you …
Hanging Pawn Structure PART-2
In the previous lesson, we discussed “Hanging Pawn Structures” (HPS) in a famous game between Kasparov and Portisch. Let’s continue …
Gambit Rules Part-2 from Remote Chess Academy
In the previous article from the Remote chess academy, we shared with you the first part of the text version of …
Gambit Rules Part-2
In the previous article from the Remote chess academy, we shared with you the first part of the text version of …
Gambit Rules
Some time ago, I made a video lesson, “Gambit Rules“, for you. (If you missed that, check it now here: …
Interesting puzzles and great news
Let me remind you that you can get 20% discount on all our products and get a FREE premium video …
Merry Christmas and Happy New year
Firstly, Remote Chess Academy wishes you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year! 🙂 May 2015 be a …
How to use tactics in YOUR games – Part 2
In the previous blog-post, I shared with you the video lesson “How to use tactics in YOUR games?” (if you …
Najdorf with 6.Bc4
This article was written by a young IM (18 y.o.) from Cannes (France) named Gary GIROYAN. He was French youth …
Changes for the better
The beginning of a new year is considered to be suitable for two things: An analysis of your results in …
Intellectual Sport
Recently I gave an interview to a Ukrainian TV channel. The 2 most popular questions that non-chess playing people asked …
How To Grow A Champion
Today I’d like to provide some advice on chess training for kids. This will be especially important for both the …
Chess + 2nd Language
Have you ever thought about studying a 2nd language? Perhaps you’ve heard that Bobby Fischer learnt the Russian language in …
Ukraine Wins Women’s World Championship
Several days ago, the Women’s World Team Championship finished. The final results were: Ukraine China Russia A useful question we …
