The Muzio Gambit Favors the Bold
The Muzio Gambit is a chess opening that every attacking, tactical player dreams about. There are few openings where you can sacrifice a minor piece on move five, but the Muzio Gambit allows you to do just that. White must not fear entering the Double Muzio Gambit with Bxf7+ Black can delay the capture on […]
The Openings of the 2022 FIDE Candidates Tournament
Get ready to explore the best openings by the top players. In this article, we give a day-by-day breakdown of the openings played in the 2022 FIDE Candidates Tournament, with a short introduction to the openings. If you haven’t checked out who is playing yet, take a look at our guide to the 2022 Candidates […]
Queen’s Gambit Accepted: A Powerful Chess Opening
The Queen’s Gambit Accepted is a classical opening with a long history that is still going strong today. Suitable for players of all levels. The principal battleground of the Queen’s Gambit Accepted is the Classical Variation with 3.Nf3. The Two Knights Variation with 4.Nc3 is arguably White’s most aggressive attempt to refute the Queen’s Gambit […]
Colle System: A Simple, Strong Opening Choice
The Colle System is an excellent opening for beginners and stronger players alike. The Colle System is very light in opening theory, which frees up your training time to work on other areas of your game. This chess opening ensures you can adopt a relaxed approach to the start of the game because you won’t […]
Stonewall Attack: A Sure and Steady Opening
For those who want to keep opening theory to the minimum, you are unlikely to find a better chess opening than the Stonewall Attack. This chess opening is a system-based opening where the white pieces generally go to the same squares no matter what Black plays. White usually places pawns on c3, d4, e3, and […]
Play the Exciting, Fighting King’s Gambit Now
The King’s Gambit was played back in 1575 by Ruy Lopez de Segura and much more recently by Luke McShane in 2017. That means we have recorded evidence of the King’s Gambit stretching back four-hundred-and-forty-seven years. There is nothing to stop you from playing the King’s Gambit at any level. You can play it against […]
Chess Opening Theory for Beginners
Quick overview: Opening theory is one of the most studied and complex parts of chess improvement. Knowing how much to study is often a key concern of new players. It is first best to know opening principles before diving into concrete theoretical study. Once you have a grasp on opening principles, you can dive into […]
The Icelandic Gambit: An Opening Guide for White & Black
Quick overview: The Icelandic Gambit is a rare opening arising from the Scandinavian Defense after the moves 1.e4 d5 2.exd5 Nf6 3.c4 e6. Black seeks rapid development and the initiative when playing this gambit. White usually accepts the gambit, with 4.dxe6 Bxe6 5.Nf3 considered to be the most challenging line. In other lines, White will […]
How to play the Belgrade Gambit
Quick overview: The Belgrade Gambit is an uncommon gambit arising from the Four Knights Game or the Scotch Game, typically reached via the move order 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nd5. White hopes to take Black out of preparation by sacrificing a pawn and wants to enter into challenging lines after 5…Nxe4. […]
A Modern Approach With the Benoni Defense
There is a lot to like in a defense that allows you to counter-attack on move two! The tactics of the Modern Benoni often overshadow the strategic element. Do not be fooled into thinking the Modern Benoni is all about tactics. There is a great battle in the Benoni Defense between White’s pawn majority in […]
Try the Dangerous Trompowsky Attack Today
Among the many contributions British chess players make to opening theory, the Trompowsky Attack is one of the most dangerous. The Trompowsky Attack takes your opponent out of their preferred defense to 1.d4 by side-stepping the King’s Indian Defense, Nimzo-Indian Defense, and Grunfeld Defense. Even if theory says the position is equal, you have drawn […]
The Polish Opening – Playing with the Orangutan
Quick overview The Polish Opening is a rare opening that also goes by the names the Sokolsky Opening and the Orangutan Opening. It arises after the move 1.b4, and White attempts to grab some queenside space and fianchetto the bishop to b2 on move two, in hopes of launching a long-range attack. Black has several […]