Easy Chess Tips – Page 5 – One-Point Tips To Help You Improve Your Game

The Jobava London: White’s Best Chess Opening for Beginners?

February 24, 2019

Simon Williams, aka “The Ginger GM,” has just published couple of videos and a 6-hour DVD about the Jobava London opening. It’s a relatively easy chess opening to learn as the White player because you almost always make the same two or three opening moves. That makes life a bit less complicated than is the case with other opening systems, which is why it might be the best chess opening for beginners playing white.

You may not have heard of the “Jobava London” opening, and that would be no surprise. The name for the opening has only just been coined by the Ginger GM himself for his new DVD about the opening.

As Simon explains,

It’s an opening which I’ve been very interested in for the last five years since I saw some top games by Baadur Jobava. He used this opening to beat some of the best players in the world. … I coined the name because I thought it should be named after the man himself because he’s the world’s leading practitioner.
Ginger GM: https://youtu.be/bPLrXjQyNFQ

Here’s the first of the Ginger GM’s two YouTube videos on the Jobava London opening:

Chess Opening Moves White Can Play Against The Marshall Defence

January 5, 2019

In this video I take you through some chess opening moves White can play when Black responds with the Marshall Defence.

The Marshall Defence occurs after 1. d4 d5 2. c4…

Black now moves his g8 Knight to f6. When that happens, what should White do?

On page 42 of A Strategic Chess Opening Repertoire for White John Watson recommends, 3. cxd5, the most common line against the Marshall Defence.

Actually, most of the theory behind this chess opening moves video training and blog post is taken from A Strategic Chess Repertoire for White – it’s an excellent guide to anybody who favours the Queen’s Pawn openings and is available on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2LPDCaf .

After 3. cxd5 Black has several options but I confine the video and this blog post to just ONE response, 3… Nxd5.

What Are The Best Starting Moves In Chess for White?

April 30, 2017

In searching for the best starting moves in chess, White is confronted with twenty possible first moves. White may move any one of his eight pawns one or two spaces forward. White may also move either of his knights onto the third row, to a3, c3, f3 or h3.

Of those twenty possibilities, the best starting moves in chess are those that attack the centre or help development. So forget about starting with your flanking pawns.

Also, do not start by moving one of your knights to the edge of the board.

e4 and d4: The Two Best Starting Moves in Chess

There are two options that most people agree are the best starting moves in chess. They are 1.e4 and 1.d4. That is, White begins by moving either the king’s pawn or the queen’s pawn two spaces forward. In either case, white is attacking the centre and preparing to develop his pieces.

The starting moves, 1.e4 and 1.d4 dominate opening theory. The Penguin Book of Chess Openings devotes 209 of the 252 pages of the book to those starting moves.

Why 1.d4… 2c4 Are The Best Starting Moves In Chess For White

Chess Tactic Training Tip 1: The Art Of Distraction

March 31, 2017

In this chess tactic training lesson I will focus on how to use the art of distraction on the chessboard. Because distraction is a powerful chess tactic training yourself to see opportunities to distract will significantly improve your game.

The purpose of distraction is to cause your opponent to move a piece away from a key square. This chess tactic training lesson will show you several ways to do it. As you become aware of the power of distraction, you will begin to notice distraction opportunities as they arise. At least, you will start to look out for them during a game.

Very often, the art of distraction is employed against a piece that is guarding a crucial square. The guard may be distracted by the offer of a sacrifice of by the threat of capture. Once the guard has been distracted, the square you wish to occupy will now be unguarded and you can safely move in.

Distraction is often used during the late middle game or the endgame. Here is an example from an endgame in which Black employs the tactic of distraction against White’s knight on a4:

Chess Tactic Training – Distraction Problem 1

It is Black’s move.

What would you do in this situation if you were Black?

(Note: Black wants to advance his pawns UP the board towards row 1!)

This is a good example of how to use distraction in the endgame to achieve a decisive advantage.

If we analyse the imbalances we can see that White is one pawn ahead and holds a material advantage. However, Black holds a positional advantage with his occupation of the centre. The pawn on g7 is also guarding against White achieving an easy promotion of the h pawns. It is Black’s turn to move and sieze the initiative.

I will post the solution in the comments tomorrow!

David Hurley

Easy Chess Tips

How To Lose Both Bishops In Chess Queen Pawn Opening Blunder…

January 31, 2017

Bishops in chess can be tricky pieces to place correctly on the board in the opening game. Here is an example of a Queen Pawn opening blunder that involves the loss of White’s black-squared bishop. My opponent was the White player.

My opponent opened with d4 and I replied with Nf6. The first three moves suggested to me that White was playing a delayed Queen’s Gambit.

However, what followed was an ill-conceived string of bad Bishop moves that led White to disaster:
4. Bb5+ c6 (easily dealing with the checking Bishop, and completing Black’s pawn set-up)

5. Ba4 Bd6 (Black continues to develop.)

6. 0-0 Qc7 (eyeing Black’s h2 square and keeping the knight on f3 busy.)

7. Bd2 Nbd7

8. Bc3?? This is where things unravelled for White. Can you see WHY moving his bishop to c3 is a bad move here? Can you guess what Black did in response? What would you do if you were black?