Chess 3 Curriculum (Intermediate):

For an introduction to my teaching philosophy, look at my Chess 1 or Chess 2 curriculum pages.

Section 1 – Endgame Theory

 Lesson 1

• Piece vs Lone Pawn

  •  Bishop vs Lone Pawn

  •  Knight vs Lone Pawn

  •  Queen vs Lone Pawn

  •  Rook vs Lone Pawn

• Mini Games (Blue & Step Books)

Lesson 2

• King and Pawn Endgames

• King and Pawn vs Lone King (A Quick Tussle for Opposition)

• Sneaking into a Winning King & Pawn vs King Position

• King & Two Doubled Pawns vs Lone King

 • Rook Pawn (Stalemating the Stronger Side)

 • Outside Passed Pawns

• Mini Games (Blue & Step Books)

Lesson 3

• Minor Piece Endgames

• Bishop & Wrong Colored Rook-Pawn vs Lone King

• Lone King vs Knight and Rook-Pawn on the 6th or 7th Ranks

• Bishops of Opposite Colors

• Mini Games (Blue & Step Books)

Section 2 – Endgame Strategy

Lesson 4

•  The Role of Pawns in the Endgame

Lesson 5

•  The Problem of Exchanging

Lesson 6

•  Do Not Hurry

Lesson 7

•  The Principle of Two Weaknesses

Lesson 8

•  The Struggle for the Initiative

Lesson 9

• Suppressing the Opponent’s Counter-Play

Section 3 – The Art of Attack

Lesson 10

• Sack, Sack, Mate!

• The Greek Gift

• Double Bishop Sacrifice

• Sacrificing the Kitchen Sink

Lesson 11

•  King Hunt

• Attack on the Uncastled King

• Attack on the Castled King

• Attack on the Fianchettoed & Queenside Castling Positions

Lesson 12

• Combinational Ideas

• Focal Points

• Geometrical Ideas

• The Knight in Combination

• The Opening & Interception of Lines

• The Supporting Pawn

• Stalemate Into Mate

Lesson 13

•  The Life & Death of a Combination

• Preparing the Combination

• The Mechanism of Combinations

• Refuting a Combination

Section 4 - The Art of Defense

Lesson 14

• Defending against a Pin (Step 3)

Lesson 15

•  Defending against Mate (Step 3)

Section 5 – The Middlegame: Static Features

Lesson 16

•  Formations

• Central Formations

•  Structural Formations

• The Mystery of the Center

•  The Center Under Siege

•  The Indestructible Center

Lesson 17

 • The Struggle for Open Lines

•  Open & Half Open Lines

•  The Minority Attack

• Open Files

• Play on the Ranks

• The Struggle for the Diagonals

• Converging Lines

Section 6 – The Middlegame: Dynamic & Subjective Features

Lesson 18

• The Initiative

• The Activity of the Pieces

•  The Security of the King

•  To Make the Exchange or Permit the Exchange?

•  The Avoidance of Exchanges

Lesson 19

• Liquidation

• Liquidation in the Opening

•  Liquidation for Defensive Reasons

• Liquidation to Preserve an Advantage

•  Combinative Liquidation

Lesson 20

•  Familiar Mistakes

•  Eagerness to Win Material

•  Eagerness to Exchange Pieces

•  Eagerness to Checkmate

•  Obsession with the Draw

Section 7 – Intermediate Mates

Lesson 21

• Magnet & Mates

•  The Magnet (Step 4)

•  Mate in 2

•  Mate in 3

•  Mate in 4

•  Mate in 5

Section 8 – Material Gain

Lesson 22

• Finding Lines that Win Material through utilizing Tactical Themes learned in Chess 2

Section 9 – The Ideas Behind the Chess Openings

•  Lesson 23

•  Opening Systems

•  e-pawn Openings

•  d-pawn Openings

•  Reti & English Openings

•  Bird’s Opening & Nimzowitsch’s Attack

•  Irregular Openings

Section 10 – Positional Understanding

Lesson 24

• Restricting the Activity of your Opponent’s Pieces

• Restricting the Knight

• Restricting the Bishop

•  Paralyzing the Opponent’s Rooks

Lesson 25

•  Create Breathing Space for your Pieces!

•  The Temporary Pawn Sacrifice

•  The ‘Simulated’ Pawn Exchange

•  Creating a Permanent Outpost for a Piece

•  Blasting Open Outposts

Lesson 26

•  Techniques in the Fight for an Open File

•  Rubinstein’s Exchange

•  Queen Behind Rooks

•  Karpov’s File-Blocking

•  Blackburne’s Battering Ram

•  Avoiding the Opening of a File – the ‘Padlock’

Lesson 27

• Some Aspects of Piece Exchanges

•  Exchange Pieces that are Protecting Entry Squares

•  Exchanging Bishops to Weaken a Complex of Squares

•  The Bishop Zigzag: Neutralizing the Good Bishop

•  Capablanca’s set-up in the Carlsbad Structure

 • Leave the Opponent with Superfluous Pieces

Lesson 28

•  Working with the King

•  Artificial Castling

•  The Precautionary Evacuation of the King

•  A Hiding Place for the King on h2/h7

•  The Attack Down the h-file

Lesson 29

•  Strong & Weak Squares

•  Weak Complexes & Weak Diagonals

Lesson 30

•  Pawn Majorities on the Flanks

•  Queenside Pawn Majorities

•  Kingside Pawn Majorities

Lesson 31

•  Good Knight vs Bad Bishop

•  Good Bishop vs Bad Knight

Lesson 32

•  Bishop Pair

•  Advantage of the Bishop Pair in the Endgame

•  Advantage of the Bishop Pair in the Middlegame

Lesson 33

• Nimzowitsch

• Overprotection

•  Blockade

Lesson 34

•  Considering Multiple Strategical Ideas while Evaluating Positions

•  Material

•  Quality

•  Time

Section 11 – Imbalances

Lesson 35

•  What is a Plan? And what are Imbalances?

•  Formulating a Plan

 •  List of Imbalances

 •  Thinking Technique

Lesson 36

•  Weak Squares

•  The Creation of a Weakness

•  Making Use of a Weak Square

Lesson 37

•  Material Loss & Sacrifice

•  The Exchange Sacrifice

•  Positional Sacrifices

•  Exchanging Material for other Imbalances

•  Making use of Extra Material

Lesson 38

•  Temporary Imbalances – Development & Initiative

•  Slow Play vs Fast Play – Static vs Dynamic

•  A Lead in Development

•  Initiative

Lesson 39

•  Three Keys to Success

•  Mastering Positions with Many Types of Imbalances

•  Preventing Counterplay

•  Art of Fighting Back

Lesson 40

•  Using Imbalances in Every Phase of the Game

•  Imbalances in the Opening

•  Imbalances in the Middlegame

•  Imbalances in the Endgame

•  Opening Imbalances that Last till the Endgame

Section 12 – Analysis

Lesson 41

• Analysis of student games

•  Students will evaluate positions & formulate plans throughout their games utilizing the knowledge learned from their lessons.

•  Afterwards, the teacher & student will analyze the games together.