First, let me remind you of the special offers I’m providing you with on our new course “The Secrets of …
Release of “The Secrets of Strong Players”
Today our new course “The Secrets of Strong Players” is released! As I said earlier, I am the author of …
Teaser of the RCA Chess Course “The Secrets of Strong Players”
In our previous blog-post I’d informed you about RCA’s next chess course “The Secrets of Strong Players”, from which you …
Magnus Carlsen going to reach ELO 2900?
The recent big news is that World Champion Magnus Carlsen has won the 2019 GRENKE Chess Classic, which was held …
5 Tips to Improve Your Positional Play
If you would like to improve your chess and have better results, then you need to master the positional play. …
How to Attack Your Opponent’s King?
About a month ago, we published an article on the topic “Why do you lose chess games?” – it was …
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 …
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 …
Why Mikhail Tal is called the Magician from Riga – Brilliant Sacrifice!
Mikhail Tal, the eighth world chess champion and the “Magician from Riga”, was known as a brilliant attacker, a creative …
WC 2018 Carlsen vs Caruana: Decision Making in Critical Moments Part-2
This is the second part of the lesson about the World Chess Championship 2018 between Magnus Carlsen and Fabiano Caruana. …
WC 2018 Carlsen vs Caruana: Critical Moments, Decision Making, Time Management
Magnus Carlsen won the World Chess Championship 2018 last month, successfully defending his title against the American Fabiano Caruana. All …
Planning in Various Stages of a Chess Game
First, I’d like to inform you about something really cool –from now on, you can comment on our blog-posts from …
Magnus Carlsen’s Exchange Sacrifice Against Fabiano Caruana in Biel Chess Festival
The world chess champions surely have contributed to the development of the chess game. Fischer, Tal, Botvinnik, Spassky, Kasparov, Karpov, …
Planning Ahead in Chess
Today I’d like to present to you an article from our guest coach IM Larry Evans. IM Evans founded Mountain Lake …
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) …
The Greatest King Walk in Chess by Nigel Short!
A king walk in chess, also known as a king march, is when the king travels up around the board, …
Queen Maneuvers in Chess
What is a Queen Maneuver? A Queen Maneuver is the idea where the queen makes a series of moves, traveling …
Kasparov defeated 13-Year-old Carlsen in Rapid Chess Game!
First, I’d like to remind you of the special 30% discount we’re providing you with on all RCA courses in …
3 Ideas to Play Better in Open Center Positions
Sometimes, it’s quite confusing when both you and your opponent do not have any pawns in the central d- and …
How Piece Coordination and Pawn Structure give you the Initiative?
A few days ago, I shared with you an instructive video lesson from our guest coach IM Valeri Lilov about …
5 Principles to Effective Middlegame Planning
Today we’re going to discuss about an interesting topic. How does the opening structure affect your middlegame plans? What middlegame …
Garry Kasparov’s Immortal Chess Game
Today we are going to see one of the greatest chess games ever played in the history – it’s the …
Weak Squares in Chess
Today we have an interesting topic to discuss. It is called the weak squares in chess. And the immediate question …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Is the Isolated Queen Pawn Good or Bad?
Isolated Pawn An isolated pawn is a pawn that has no pawns on its adjacent files. For instance, let’s say …
GM Igor Smirnov Answers Students’ Questions from the Live Event (Part-2)
A few days ago, I shared with you the first part of my live stream on 7 November, celebrating the …
3 Tips to Improve the Position of Your Pieces in the Middlegame
Do you remember any of your games where some of your pieces were ‘locked’, became too passive and you couldn’t …
Hikaru Nakamura’s dramatic and adventurous win in Dutch defense against Jovana Vojinovic
Today our guest coach, CM Tryfon Gavriel, has a very instructive game to show you, which he considers one of …
3 most important middlegame principles
After the opening stage, when you have developed your pieces, you need to find the right way to proceed in …
How to create a solid plan in challenging/passive positions?
Planning is one of the most important skills in chess. But how do we create a solid plan in a …
How to exploit imbalances in chess?
Today we’re going to talk about a very interesting topic: exploiting imbalances (weaknesses). Most often, we don’t know how to …
The Kasparov Gambit: amazing win against Karpov in WC 1985
Today we’re going to look at one of the greatest chess games of all time, from the World Championship Match …
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 …
Levon Aronian vs Magnus Carlsen – Norway Chess 2017
The fourth round of the 2017 Altibox Norway Chess tournament was nothing short of entertainment. Although there were three decisive …
What to do after the opening stage?
First, I’d like to remind you of our new course “From opening to middlegame” by IM Asaf Givon. To celebrate …
Release of the course “From opening to middlegame”
The day is finally here – our new course “From opening to middlegame” is released today! This course deals with …
Teaser video of our next course “From opening to middlegame”
First, I’m very glad to inform you that our next course “From opening to middlegame” by our guest coach IM …
Theory of pawn breaks explained!
What is a pawn break in chess? National Master Dan Heisman defines pawn break as: “A break move is a …
16-year old Bobby Fischer’s amazing game against Tigran Petrosian
Today we’re going to have a look at what can be called as an absolutely classic encounter between two of …
Top 5 ways to improve your chess skills
I know the question which has stuck in your head: “How can I improve myself?” This is a very logical …
4 simple ways to deal with time trouble!
Recently, I have received a couple e-mails from my students who are having a hard time dealing with time trouble. …
RCA chess courses are effective: proven!
Today is the LAST chance for you to grab our special offer in honour of the World Chess Championship match …
Special 40% discount in honour of the World Chess Championship
Let me remind you that we’re providing you with a really, really massive 40% discount on all the RCA comprehensive …
Improve your middlegame and comprehensive knowledge in chess
The World Chess Championship 2016 between Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin is really a spectacle, as we have witnessed some …
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-1: Surprising Trompowsky
One journalist asked Magnus Carlsen in the first official press conference who is the best chess player in the world. …
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 …
Review by a former world number 5 chess player
First, let me remind you of the amazing special offers we’ve provided you with to celebrate the launch of the …
Launch of “Winning the Middlegame”
Today is the day – the much-awaited course “Winning the Middlegame” is released today! 🙂 This course was born after …
What exactly should you do in the middlegame?
Now, let me ask you a question: what EXACTLY should you do in the middlegame? Well, in the …
Winning the Middlegame – Teaser and Pre-Registration
A few days ago, I informed you that our upcoming course will be called “Winning the Middlegame” and is about …
30% discount on middlegame chess courses
Today, I’d like to remind you of the huge 30% discount we’re providing you with on RCA’s two middlegame chess …
Improve your middlegame skills
Almost every chess player would have come across this question – “What to do in a middlegame?”. While the question …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Creating ideas in chess
This is the final part of the series of articles “Interpretation of chess moves” prepared by Srikanth G., a friend …
Interpretation of chess moves
Some time ago, we published an article about stress during a chess game and lots more. It was prepared by …
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 7 Highlights
In the previous article, IM Valeri Lilov prepared a video lesson for you, annotating the games of the sixth round …
How to evaluate a position in chess?
Today, I’d like to share with you a very interesting article on the topic “How to evaluate a position in …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Lecture details and how to register in Vellore paying by cash
First, let me remind you of my upcoming seminar in Vellore. As I’ve informed you already, it will be a …
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 …
Piece coordination and maneuvering in chess Part-2
Recently, we published a video lesson “Piece coordination and maneuvering in chess” prepared by our guest coach GM Levan Aroshidze. …
Piece coordination and maneuvering in chess
Today we have an interesting topic to discuss. It’s called “Piece coordination and maneuvering in chess”. As you may know, …
GM Igor Smirnov AMA event highlights
About a week ago, on 20 July (International Chess Day), I conducted an “Ask Me Anything” (AMA) event on Reddit. …
Magical Chess Rooks
When I was thinking about rooks, I recalled a famous quote: “The only good Rook is a working Rook!” – …
Endgame and Middlegame Essentials – Introduction
In the previous article, I made the announcement that our Game Festival has started. And I also told you that …
RCA Game Festival and Next webinar
Recently, I made the announcement that we’ll be conducting our next game festival in the following days. As promised, I’m …
How to press your opponents like Carlsen?
Magnus Carlsen does not require much introduction – his great chess power and tremendous results are well known. The Norwegian …
Special Offer – final reminder
First, let me remind you that today is the LAST chance for you to get the new course “Unlocking the …
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 …
Chess Engines and a New Course in Spanish
Nowadays, most chess players learn and practice chess by using COMPUTERS. There are many chess programs like ChessBase, Fritz, etc., …
Changes for the better
The beginning of a new year is considered to be suitable for two things: An analysis of your results in …
Winning Patterns
Today we will be discussing typical middlegame plans and patterns. Thus this lesson will contain practical information that you’ll be …
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 …
What is Your Plan? (Part-3)
In a few previous lessons we’ve been talking about a PLAN for your chess progress. Having such a plan ensures …
What is Your Plan?
Can you imagine a sea captain who tries to reach a distant land without a map? Can you imagine a …
How can they do it?
I’m sure you have watched a video or perhaps read a book, where a Grandmaster analyzes his game. Most likely, …
