Guest post from Christopher Fisher, MD The conversation of chess is one of the most profound and intricate dialogues to be found in the world of strategy and competition. With every move, the pieces on the board speak in a language that is steeped in tradition and strategy, a language that is both beautiful and complex. The chessboard serves as the stage for this conversation, a platform upon which the pieces dance and weave in a symphony of tactical brilliance. The pieces themselves are the words of this language, each…

You are all in for a treat. Today, James, a ChessGoals member, shares his wisdom on how to crush the Kings Indian Defense with the London System. Thank you, James, for giving away all these valuable insights for free. Let's dive right in! After 1 d4 Nf6 2 Bf4, the King’s Indian Defense (‘KID’) is by far Black’s most popular set-up to meet the London System. More than half of all games enter this position. You are more likely to see the KID than the Grunfeld, Queen’s Indian Defense and…

Hello everybody. Today we have another guest post from ChessGoals member James. We loved his middelegame posts so much that we wanted to share his chess goals for 2023 with the community. Generated with DALL-E 2 I have been mulling over chess goals to set for 2023. Writing out my goals publicly, cliché as it may be, allows you (dear reader) to hold me accountable. If the plan does not go well, we can learn from my missteps together. It is often said goals should be “SMART” meaning: Specific, Measurable,…

It was a totally normal Labor Day until Magnus Carlsen tweeted this: Magnus has never withdrawn from a tournament in his life. It is clear he senses something is off. Magnus is a huge futbol fan and linked a video of legendary coach Jose Mourinho, who was speaking of a cheating scandal. The allegations against Hans Niemann are very serious and potentially career-ending. We understand the weight these allegations hold and we will report what we currently know. We strongly hold that Hans is innocent until proven guilty. We will…

We’ve all fallen out of our schedules this summer. But that’s fine, fall is soon among us. We can smell PSLs, our kids are heading back to school. It’s time to get back to chess. Here are 3 ways to make it happen. Get on a study plan ChessGoal’s study plans are completely free. This will guide you through 12 weeks of structured study for your rating level. Don’t worry about what to learn, how to learn it, etc. We’ve got you covered. Just show up and follow the guide.…

Today we have a guest post from ChessGoals member James, who is continuing his deep dive into middlegames. Today he discusses how to find different moves to improve your position. Hi again! I'm continuing from the last article which dealt with how to improve your middlegame play. This time we will go a little deeper and explore common ways to find a good move in the middlegame. These ideas should assist you after the opening in equal positions. Improve your worst piece(s) Every piece to contributes to our position. If…

Today we have a guest post from James, a ChessGoals member and aspiring chess master. In this article James will cover middlegames and give you practical tips on how to improve your own middlegames. Hi everyone!Today I am exploring topic with you I have been studying the last few weeks – improving middlegame play. Most players today have strong opening preparation and an understanding of common endgames. It is still very common for club players to leave their opening preparation and be lost in the middlegame, however. As you encounter…