More confident
with every move.
From opening moves to tactical discoveries. Short explanations, positions and practice.
From your first step to your own idea
Read, watch an example and try it on the board.
All articles in this section
First chess moves: the centre and piece development
A clear opening plan: occupy the centre, develop knights and bishops, and check your opponent's reply. Explore an example on the board.
First stepsCastling: when it is legal and why to move the king
Kingside and queenside castling: king and rook movement, attacked squares and retaining castling rights. Try it on the board.
Rules and planningThe knight fork: seeing two targets in one move
Find a knight fork, check the reply, and distinguish a material gain from an attractive but useless double attack. A three-move example.
TacticsCheckmate and stalemate: no moves does not always mean victory
Check, legal replies and the extra-queen trap explain the difference between checkmate and stalemate. Deliver rook mate on the example board.
Ending the gameEn passant: why a pawn disappears from the adjacent square
Five moves explain when en passant is available, which pawn is removed, and why the opportunity cannot be saved for later.
RulesPawn promotion: when a knight is more useful than a queen
The four promotion choices and a fork by the new knight. Check the check, the king's reply and the subsequent queen capture.
TacticsPins: why a knight has ordinary moves but no legal ones
Find the rook–knight–king line and remove an absolute pin. A step-by-step position explains why a move is forbidden and why that changes.
TacticsAvoid hanging pieces: check threats before moving
A short routine for checks, captures and opposing replies. Compare an undefended knight with a similar position where a pawn protects it.
Strategy and practiceThe library grows with DUEL. The checkers articles cover Russian checkers on an 8×8 board; other variants have different rules.
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