Mount Pleasant Chess Club
Spring 2024 Tournament Registration
Study Chess
Below you will find ways to better your skills at chess. Chess puzzles, books, and videos can help you become a good chess player. In the words of Capablanca, "The game might be divided into three parts, the opening, the middle-game and the end-game. There is one thing you must strive for, to be equally efficient in the three parts." However, if you are new to chess, there is a video below to go over the very basics of chess.
Chess Basics
On the left there is a video that goes over the very basics of chess. The video comes from the channel of OnlineChessLessons.NET, which is dedicated to the study of chess. The person giving this particular lesson is Susan Polgar, and it is highly recommended that you watch her lessons.
Openings
There are many different openings in chess. However, many of them are based around certain concepts: develop pieces quickly, work to gain control of the center, and set the tone for the match.
The following website contains basic chess openings that can help give you an advantage from the very start of the game:
Middle-Game
This is where all the action takes place! The middle-game is probably the most important part because a few moves can make the difference between a won or a lost match. Chess puzzles, like the ones below, can be a great way to practice the middle-game.
The following link will provide an online PDF document that will cover basic chess tactics and strategy that may help out during the middle-game:
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End-Game
This is the home stretch in chess, when you finally turn your critical thinking into a won game. Mastering the end-game can prevent matches from lasting longer than what they need to be.
The following website has good simulators for different types of situations that are common at this point in the game:
Daily Chess Puzzles
On the right you will see chess puzzles from Shredder Chess. If you come to a puzzle that you don't understand, simply take a screenshot of it and save it to your computer. You can print it out or upload it to Google to share. Present the puzzle at the chess club and it can be discussed.
On Windows computers, there is a "snipping tool" that can capture and save certain parts of the screen. On Mac computers, you can hit Command-Shift-4, which allows you to select an area and save it to the desktop.