IChessU: The Best Place to Learn Online Chess

Whether you are a beginner who finally has time for chess lessons or an experienced player who is looking forward to upgrade your skills, IChessU is the best place to learn online chess. Not only will you be tutored by the best coaches and mentors in the field—you will be coached live online and will get to choose between one-on-one classes and interactive lessons with other students in a virtual classroom. Concerned about your age? Don’t worry. IChessU is an international professional chess school with coaches for every age group and skill level.

Chess lessons are known to be expensive, but this is not the case with IChessU. You'll be glad to know that this online chess academy allows you to get affordable but quality chess lessons from the comfort of your home. By choosing IChessU, get the same quality coaching and instruction without the stress and the expense associated with physically attending chess lessons outside your home.

IChessU is the best place for chess enthusiasts as well as those who simply want to learn a new skill. Not only are we upholding the highest standards in chess coaching—we are also apassionate community of chess players of all levels. Are you a parent looking to show your child the joy of playing chess? Are you interested in learning chess yourself? We are more than happy to accommodate you. The cognitive skills honed in our chess classes are beneficial in real life decision making and everyday living.

Our school's huge success has been proven by countless testimonies from the world over, from children and adult learners. We are also proud of the IChessU students who have entered chess tournaments and bagged awards. Join us for your first online assessment lesson! Contact us for more details.

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Advanced Chess Strategies That Will Help You Conquer the Game Easily

Becoming good at chess is no easy feat—and this is one of the reasons why this game is not everyone’s cup of tea. It takes many years of developing and mastering tried and tested strategies to become a good chess player, and even more work to become a league champion. Ready to take the first step?It’s time to learn advanced chess strategies that can help you conquer your opponent. These strategies include the following:

1.            Learning to be mentally calm

Just as poker players have ‘poker faces’, chess players also have to develop a relaxed and calm composure. Be very careful about the signalsyour facial expression might give your opponent as you makeyour moves. Having a ‘chess face’ can help you think better and might even throw off your opponent.

2.            Learning when to trade and when to keep

This is a very good advanced chess strategy, learning the trade play can be tricky and proper timing is essential. If you truly want to be a good chess player, you have to learn the role of each chess piece and their respective values so as not make mistakes when trading them. Online chess coaching websites offer basic tutorials for beginners if you want to learn more about these. It would be a good thing to check these basics off your learning list.

3.            The first move always counts big

The basis of a winning chess strategy is to take control of the board's center squaresin the opening phase. The e-pawn or d-pawn is a popular tactic, triggering a fight to advance the back rank and advance the chess army.

For more tips, seek an online chess coaching site that have coaches for every age group and skill level to assist you with more of your questions. 

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Learn the Right Moves to Play Chess Efficiently

Knowing the basic moves is key to playing chess efficiently, but if you want to truly improve your game, you need to learn moves that can improve your chess strategy. With strategy, you can be confident in formulating a plan and arranging the chess pieces efficiently to accomplish it as easily as possible. You need to master the basic moves before you learn advanced moves for effective chess strategy. That way, it will be easier to understand the impact of certain moves on your plan and on your opponent. Here are some of the things you should know:

• Study your opponent’s move – Observe and determine why your opponent moved a particular piece. That way, you can be aware of threats and be able to grasp your opponent’s plan. Doing so will help increase your defense against those threats and conduct your strategies successfully.
  
  
• Gain control of the center – The player who is able to control the four center squares on the board usually has the upper hand. For example, if you place a knight on the center square, it should be able to move in eight different ways, compared to if you place it on a corner square where its chess moves are limited to two (and where it is at a higher risk of being cornered). Gaining control of the center also makes it easy for your pieces to travel from one point of the board to another.
  
  
• Aim to make the best move possible – Certain decisions must be made before you can ensure the best possible move. For instance, will moving a certain piece to another square truly be more beneficial than leaving it where it is at the moment? And do you think you can improve your position by boosting the efficacy of another piece? You need to reflect on how the move can defend against threats from your opponent, too. Sometimes, even if an intended move has nice points, it may not be the best time to do it. Hence, be sure to think twice, wait, and look for another opportunity before you proceed.

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5 Best Advanced Chess Strategy

Chess is a strategy game, and the more strategies you know and understand, the better your chances at outsmarting your opponent. When combined with good playing tactics, advanced chess strategies can help you gain an edge and win the game. Chess strategy involves setting and achieving long-term goals in the game, and tactics require you to focus on the immediate move. They always go together, since strategic goals are typically achieved with good tactics, and tactical opportunities are based on a previous strategy of play. Chess lessons can be a great way to develop advanced chess strategies and improve your tactics. Here are the five best advanced stress strategies you are likely to learn by taking up chess lessons:

1. By not moving a chess piece a lot of times during opening, you are developing that piece, and you should not move it until after developing the other pieces. Remember to develop pieces that can coordinate properly with one another. Otherwise, your attack may not be strong enough and cause you to fail.
   
   
2. Fight the urge to make premature attacks on your opponent. Beginners typically lose because they disregard that principle. Keep in mind that an attack must never be done until you have enough force in your field to ensure its success. Attacking prematurely usually results in the move backfiring.
   
   
3. Stay grounded and do not be selfish. There are times when you may encounter an easy pawn, but it could be a poisoned pawn or a trap, which could give your opponent the opportunity to make a powerful attack. To neutralize the attack, return the material instead of holding on.
   
   
4. Look for a weak spot in the position of your opponent. This is one of the most important abilities you must learn in advanced chess strategy.
   
   
5. Do not make exchanges that can lead to your opponent developing another piece. Instead, exchange an inactive piece with the same but active piece from your opponent.

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How Chess Can Make Your Child a Genius

Good parents will make sure that their child is not only physically healthy but mentally fit, too. There are many ways to develop a child’s mind, and playing certain games like chess is one of them. In fact, chess is known to make geniuses out of children. Chess has always been associated with people who excel in critical thinking, but it can be played and enjoyed by anyone, regardless of age or mindset.

Many studies show that chess can improve a child or an adult’s critical thinking abilities and memory because it helps stimulate the prefrontal cortex and dendrites that are in charge of coordinating self-control, planning, and judgment as well as conducting brain signals. Students in an NYC chess program were found to have better reading scores compared to non-chess playing students, and another study showed that 4,000 students in Venezuela showed a marked improvement in their IQ scores after four months of being taught how to play chess.

The brain is like a muscle that requires exercise to prevent degradation and injury, and chess is a way to keep the brain active and stimulated. By introducing your child to chess at a young age, he or she is likely to do better in school and become a better team player way into adulthood. Research also showed that chess could boost a child’s problem-solving, math, reading, and critical thinking abilities.

Chess experts and coaches typically recommend getting your child started at chess by second grade, but some kids may be ready to play by the time they are four or five. Chess may help turn your child into a creative genius, too, since it keeps the right brain active. Apart from turning your child into a genius, chess may help build his self-confidence, as well, especially if he gets to play with like-minded kids and older children of different skill levels.

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Advanced Chess Strategies

Learning chess is like learning a new language. You need to play it regularly so you can improve and grasp the skills and strategies needed to win. Chess ‘strategies’ involve setting long-term goals in every game and achieving them, while ‘tactics’ focus on immediate moves. Both aspects go together, since a strategic goal can typically be achieved with the right tactics, and a tactical opportunity is based on the strategy of play you used previously. Signing up for online chess classes can help you understand advanced chess strategies and learn how to use them well. Here are some of the advanced chess strategies you should know about:

• Do not let your opponent open a file on your king if you castled.

• Once you have developed a piece, try not to move it again until you have developed other pieces.

• Develop pieces with the goal of making them coordinate properly with one another. Otherwise, you may find your attacks weak, and you could end up in a losing situation.

• Eliminate communication between the pieces of your opponent.

• Seize the center for control, so you can attack better and gain more play.

• Find a weak spot in the position of your opponent. Knowing and taking advantage of your opponent’s weakness is crucial in chess.

• Avoid any premature attacks on your opponent. Do not attack unless you have enough force in the field to make it successful. Premature attacks typically cause the player to lose.

• Avoid making exchanges that can develop another piece for your opponent.

• Exchange an active piece with an active and similar piece from your opponent.

• Do not be greedy. There are times when you may find it easy to take your opponent’s pawn, but beware—it could be a trap designed to give your opponent the opportunity to become more powerful.

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Chess Glossary – 10 Chess Terms

Part of learning and improving in chess is familiarizing yourself with the most common terms used by players. Referring to a chess glossary is a good start, but you might be surprised to find that there are more than 250 terms to learn. The good news is that you do not have to memorize all them. You can learn them as you play, or you can start by learning the most commonly used chess terms. Whether you are a beginner or an average player, it may help you master the game better by knowing the 10 most commonly used chess terms:

1.  Tiebreak – The method for differentiating the places between two players who have the same score. It is typically based on how well opponents did in the event.

2.  Sudden death – This is the time control period where all moves must be played within a given amount of time on a player’s clock.

3.  Pin – The attack of a Queen, Bishop, or Rook on a piece that should not or cannot move because a worthier piece behind it is along the line of attack.

4.  Touch Chess move – This is a rule that states three points: (1) You touch a piece, you move it, (2) you let go of that piece, you leave it, and (3) you displace the opponent’s piece, you take it.

5.  Doubled pawns – Two pawns in the same color in one file as a result of capture.

6.  Annotation – To show the moves of the game and provide extra moves and text describing the detail of what could have or what has happened.

7.  Attack – Moving a piece to the square to capture the opponent’s piece next move. It may describe having the initiative and placing pressure on a specific square, such as when you intend to attack the kingside.

8.  Blitz – Fast chess, which is typically five minutes per player in the entire game.

9.  Desperado – A piece that will be captured anyway, so it can be sacrificed at a high cost.

10.  Double attack – Attacking two or more pieces with a single move.

Once you familiarize yourself with these 10 chess terms, you can visualize better and imagine your sequences of actions before executing them. Likewise, knowing the terms from a reliable chess glossary may help increase your cognitive skills, boost your memory, and enable you to communicate better with teammates, coaches, and rivals.

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