Chess Tips, Articles and Guides to Help You Win Chess Games

“I am planning to play in the Open section of the Las Vegas International next month, what should I do?” Replace Vegas International and there is a question that as a professional trainer I get asked a lot. How to prepare for a tournament? Generally, those who ask me this are not dedicating plenty of time to chess. They practice and study in their spare time but when the tournament is approaching they look for a magical potion that will turn them into competitive mode quickly. Of course, there is no magic formula and only hard work pays off in the end. Sadly, I must add. Ideally, the best for an active chess player is to make training a part of your everyday life; it’s easier to memorize and practice one opening at a time than having to prepare 2 or 3 in 15 days before being tested over the board.

Many chess players are asking what they should do right before an important game to help their performance. There are many different things to take into consideration but I’m focusing only on the most important ones. I’m giving you an outline of 7 things you should do just few hours before the round to positively influence your game. Here we go!

Chess Tactics is a short operation, using forcing moves that aim for an immediate concrete gain (such as winning material or checkmate). Tactics are very important in chess because strategy is built upon tactics. Any successful strategy cannot succeed without the support of underlying tactics. Therefore, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the majority of chess games are decided by tactics. At the lower levels, tactics are especially prevalent and the quickest way to get better at chess is to improve our tactical ability.