10/1/2019 0 Comments IM Jeremy Silman's 5 keysThe five keys below were openly "stolen" from a blog by IM Jeremy Silman on chess.com. I liked them so much, I had to share. Many chess players play for fun but if you want to get a higher rating or a chess title, you will have to put in some hard work. The 5 keys below will get you started. 1. Play opponents better than you. Sometimes it hurts when you get beat up but that's how you learn. Once in a while I get lucky online and a strong titled player plays several games against me. I get crushed but I keep on playing. 2. Learn basic endgames GM Jonathan Hawkins published a great book called "From Amateur to IM" and in it he shows how studying the endgame helped him get to IM. You must know the basics. 3. Create a simple opening plan. It can be very simple. For example, after 1.d4 I often play Bg5, this works after d5, f5, d6, Nf6, g6, etc. Against the Sicilian you can play Bb5 or 2.c3. 4. Study tactics If you're a regular reader of this blog you will know that I firmly believe in this point. You must practice tactics because they will win you games or save you from losses. Chess.com's new Tactics Rush is a fun way to test your tactics level. You get 5 minutes to solve as many puzzles as you can; three mistakes and you're out. 5. Pick up tons of patterns. Examples coming later. Let's take a look at a basic endgame from the 2018 World Chess Championship. Black has a dangerous passed c pawn but White neatly solves the problem. 1. ...gxf5 2. Nxc4 Kxc4 3. exf5 and it's a draw. You can also sacrifice your knight if you know that: White will park his King on h1 because Black's dark bishop doesn't control that square; and promoting the h pawn is impossible without creating a stalemate. See how easy it is when you know the basics? Good luck with your chess in 2019.
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December 2020
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