The Chueca Method: "The Chess Lessons all players should learn depending on their rating.
CHESS LESSONS DURATION: 90 minutes. It's perfect to train well learning to the fullest without being heavy. (Adapted to 60 minutes if children are 6-7 years old or just starting out).
The structure of a chess lesson:
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Warm-up of tactic 20-30 minutes.
It helps to get concentration on the theoretical part. Especially useful for not very active players.
30-40 minutes of Theory.
Learning a different concept in each lesson adapted to the rating of the student. Structured training.
20-30 minutes of Practice
Playing with other students or against the coach the positions and concepts worked during the lesson.
The theory:
What concepts should we study in the theoretical part? We have designed a list with many of the concepts that each chess player should know in each phase depending on the rating of the student. It's recommended to study 1 concept per lesson. You can check the concepts to learn here:
BEGINNER
RATING: 0-1200
Chess Lessons in group
THE KEY: Many tactical patterns. Chess puzzles. Tactic.
1. Tactic
Many easy chess puzzles to get tactical patterns.
- Pins, double-attack, clearance, blockade, deflection, backward rank.
2. Openings
- The centre
- The initiative
- The development
- The dynamic in chess
- The squares
3. Middlegame
- The squares
- The rule of the 2 weaknesses
- The Zugzwang
- King safety
- 1 move, 1 piece
- The bishop
- The knight
- Good bishop vs bad knight
- Good knight vs bad bishop
- Two bishops vs knight pair
- Domination
- Broadening
- The fortress
- Stalemate
- Classic Chess Games
4. Endgames
- Basic pawn endgames
- Advanced pawn endgames
- The opposition
- The triangulation
- The rule of the box
- Basic checkmates (Queen, Rook…)
- Basic Rook Endgames
- Classic Endgames
INTERMEDIATE
RATING: 1201-1800
Chess Lessons in group
THE KEY: Control advanced topics in chess. Strategy + Technique
1. Tactic
Few and complicated puzzles to improve spatial vision.
- Advanced and unusual tactical patterns. 4-5 moves combinations
2. Openings
- Schemes
- Simple repertoire for
- W&B
- Unusual openings
- Secundary lines and gambits
- Traps in the openigs
3. Middlegame
- Double pawns
- The dynamic in chess
- Attack on the king
- Do not hurry
- Schematic thinking
- Gruenfeld pawn structure
- Isolated pawn (in depth)
- Passed pawns
- Backward pawn
- Hanging pawns
- Stonewall pawn structure
- Simmetrical pawn structure
- Minority attack
- The island pawns
- Attack in opposite sides
4. Endgames
- Checkmate: knight and bishop
- Philidor, Lucena positions
- Levenfish positions
- Different color bishops
- Same color bishops
- Knight vs pawn
- Knight endgames
- Queen endgames
- Classic Endgames
ADVANCED
RATING: >1800
1 on 1 chess lessons
THE KEY: Perfection your style. Flexibility. Openings theory.
1. Tactic
Mixed exercises to stay active and ready for the tournaments.
- Calculation depth: Exercises with several variations and 6-10 moves.
2. Openings
- Flexibility in the style
- Advanced repertoire for W&B
- Perfection the repertoire
- Several lines in the same opening
- Change to the main lines
3. Middlegame:
- The preparation of a game
- The classical players
- The defense
- The positional sacrifice of pawn
- The exchange sacrifice
- Thinking in the endgame
- Eagerness to win material
- Eagerness to get draw
- The liquidations
- Enthusiasm to attack the king
- Enthusiasm to exchange pieces
- Changes of pieces in the defense
- Changes in the opening
- Creative studies
- The psychology in chess
4. Endgames
- Creative endgames
- Rook and bishop vs rook
- Two minor pieces vs rook
- Rook vs bishop and pawns
- Many pieces endgames
- Typical endgames of openings
- How to put the pawn structure
- Blindfold chess
This happens if you do it on your own!
You are not consistent
Lack of
motivation
Nobody
guides you
You will NOT
know your mistakes
You will improve slower
Lack of a
second opinion
Which chess lessons are appropriate for me according to my level?
As you are increasing your rating you will notice differences in the ways your rivals play. It all becomes a completely different panorama, you will need more tools, you will need to learn (and in some cases “unlearn”) chess concepts.
All because the same techniques you used to win against 1200 rated players will not work against a 2000 rated player. When the rating increases, the challenges increase too, so logically, the study must evolve.
There aren’t detailed guides about what you should exactly study at certain levels.
That’s what we will do here. Based on my experience at chess coaching and competitive chess, I have provided you a list of chess lessons you should know at different levels.
The player rated under the 1000 ELO must be a newbie, someone who doesn’t play too much or is just getting into chess. At this level, most players usually hang pieces or don’t see tactics, because they have not developed their tactical eye.
This can be improved by solving tactical puzzles, you will get familiar with tactical patterns and develop the tactical vision.
You will be less likely to hang pieces and overlook tactical tricks, it will surely help you lose fewer games.
Some tactical motives and patterns to win in chess are:
- Attacking the castled king.
- Basic checkmates.
- Decoy and deflection.
- Defense.
- Discovered attack.
- Double attack.
Knowing all of them will allow you to find the solution in key positions more quickly. This topics we worked them in our chess lessons.
The player rated under the 1000 ELO must be a newbie, someone who doesn’t play too much or is just getting into chess. At this level, most players usually hang pieces or don’t see tactics, because they have not developed their tactical eye.
This can be improved by solving tactical puzzles, you will get familiar with tactical patterns and develop the tactical vision.
You will be less likely to hang pieces and overlook tactical tricks, it will surely help you lose fewer games.
Some tactical motives and patterns to win in chess are:
- Attacking the castled king.
- Basic checkmates.
- Decoy and deflection.
- Defense.
- Discovered attack.
- Double attack.
Knowing all of them will allow you to find the solution in key positions more quickly. This topics we worked them in our chess lessons.
When you reach around 1200 rating you will need something more than just tactics to beat your rivals! Normally, at this rate, most of the players are familiar with the different chess tactical motives, and won’t be easy to trick them.
There are many strategical concepts in chess, again, just one chess lesson won’t be enough for all. Some of them are:
- Central control.
- Space advantage.
- Material advantage.
- Castle and king’s safety.
- Pieces activity.
- Pawn structures.
Many other chess concepts are also important, but each of them should have its own chess lesson. You should study each principle separately to ensure they stick in your head. And remember that is not all about tactical problems, there are strategical problems too!
At 1400 or 1600 rating things become a little more complex. Apart from studying the strategical principles, you should incorporate openings study and endgames. Studying the endgames is extremely important, one may think that is not, but it really is important.
They can give you the possibility to get a game in which you can simply win theoretically. Knowing the endgame, you are playing can give you an extra advantage of confidence, and can save you precious time on the clock.
Just by studying the theory correctly, you avoid losing technically won games, that you let slip through your fingers. It may also be handy to know the endgame theory if you want to draw a game, or you can know if your endgame is winning before going into it.
Masters normally go into endgames that they know they can win, and in 99% of cases, they will win it. Of course, there are many different endgames you have to know and is not enough by simply looking at them in the book.
You should try to practice them on a real board, or against the machine. Just to make sure that you are and always will be able, to win that endgame.
Some of the most common endgames you should take chess lessons of are:
- Rook and pawn against rook: There are many figures that you have to know, like the Lucena position for example. It may seem like an easy thing to win a game with a rook and pawn against rook, but it’s not.
- Two rooks against two rooks: With pawns, the endgames are really complicated.
- Rook against knight: This is a draw in most cases, but you can’t relax, there are some positions in which the side with the rook can win!
- Basic and advanced pawn endgames: And of course, do you really know how to win a game if you have just a pawn of advantage? What if is the knight pawn? What if is the rook pawn? Is it all the same? Of course not!
Knowing how to play the endgame is definitely a duty for chess players, knowing at least the basic endgames will surely increase your rating.
When the players reach this level they normally have already studied some openings, but here is when the real work comes. The players above 1800 ELO rating should start to prepare their openings more carefully, at this level this becomes really important.
Because it will be about perfectly knowing the opening, is not about just simply knowing the ideas. You have to be prepared for all possible lines of the opening you usually play, or at least the most common.
This happens because at this level people already know how to maintain a strong grip on the advantage. Then, if you allow your opponent to take a considerable advantage in the opening you will have a hard time thinking.
First, you go into your opening, start the first moves, reach key position, build a variations tree to study, and start studying one by one. There are many ways to learn openings, and we will talk about it later, just let me tell you this: It’s not about learning all the moves robotically!
This should be combined with the analysis of your own games to polish your technique, spot mistakes, and eradicate them!
You should develop an advanced repertoire to play on the black or white side, and the best way to do it is with an engine or a computer. For example, as we subdivide the variations of the openings one by one, knowing which you like to play and which you don’t.
What the assessment of the position you reach is and develop plans for the middle-game and how you should play. This will save you ages of time in the clock, and you will be more confident with your positions, both important advantages.
Remember that you have to study your repertoire, but you should also be prepared for your opponents’ openings!
Chess books to study different topics
Now that we have stimulated the main chess lessons the player should focus according to their level, we will give you some material to study. Once again, chess books according to the level of each player. Remember that the best way to progress is with a coach.
Some books will provide you with all the content you need to improve your chess respectively:
RATING 0-1200:
- Winning chess tactics: An amazing chess book written by GM Yasser Seirawan, a proficient chess player who is a specialist in coaching. The book contains chess puzzles and tactical patterns to train your eye, but they are also brilliantly explained by the writer.
- Bobby Fischer teaches chess: One of the classics, this is one of those books that every chess player should read. Here you will familiarize yourself with chess by the chess lessons that the ex-world chess champion Bobby Fischer left for us!
- My system: Another classic written by Aron Nimzowitsch, this book will teach you the basic principles. The good thing is that they are incredibly well-explained, no matter your level, this book is dummies-proof!
RATING 1201-1800:
- Grandmaster chess move by move: A masterpiece was written by John Nunn, this will give you an approach to positional and tactical chess at the top level. Also gives you an excellent picture of the thought of a chess master in-game. A was doubtful about recommending this book at this level, but I think it will be a good challenge for you!
- My great predecessors: A classic chess book written by Garry Kasparov, here you will have a deep analysis by the chess champion. The analysis by Garry is simply excellent, and his commentary is impossible to improve, it is all about the chess classics.
- Any tactical book: Remember that chess players must always be training their tactics, so get any book on puzzles to solve. You can also do this online, many chess sites will allow you to train your tactical vision.
- Think like a grandmaster: By Alexander Kotov, one of the best books in chess psychology I’ve ever read, simply a very powerful practical tool. Here you will get familiarized with tactics, strategy, chess mistakes, and how to avoid them. It’s all-in-one!
- Karpov’s strategic wins: A pretty good positional book, considered as a classic too! Here you will learn positional chess with chess lessons from the king of strategy in chess Anatoly Karpov!
- 100 endgames you must know: It will sound cliché, but this book will explain to you the chess endgames like nobody else in the world can. The book is really well-explained, and it doesn’t forget the important details on endgames. This, in my opinion, makes it the best to study endgames.
RATING >1800:
- Secrets of chess tactics: When you feel you are ready for a great challenge, there isn’t anything better than Mark Dvoretsky’s books. These are not intended for everyone; they are really advanced! This book will definitely change your perception of chess, strongly recommended.
- Attack and defense: This is another masterpiece from IM Mark Dvoretsky, here you will see a top-level display of chess tactics. We could define this book as an in-depth chess guide for top-level tactics.
- The Opening encyclopedia updated: To study your openings you will require a computer or the engine; an opening book is not that important. However, is never bad to have one as a reference, or if you don’t know how to use your chess computer to prepare openings. BUT YOU NEED TO MAKE SURE IS A RECENT OPENING BOOK, otherwise, you may study old openings, or miss important lines.
And in general, I like the books of Mark Dvoretsky and Jacob Aagard.
The most frequent questions and answers
Absolutely not. You will find a family of chess players… and there are many training programs! Those who have just started practicing, those who are barely competing, and those who will be known as the most talented young players in the world.
And, of course, there will be those who want to enjoy and make progress in his favorite hobby. The whole point is that the most advanced players push the least capable upwards, through inspiration and constant help.
We all have been rookies at some point. As soon as you connect with those who have accomplished their goals, the sooner you’ll reach your own goal. It is that simple.
You shouldn't. If you want to run first you need to learn to walk. I don’t recommend it. I have seen many people who are studying thousand of hours openings or advanced themes without know perfectly the basic concepts of the middlegame.
The problem is that they don’t progress and have got the same rating because aren’t solving the main problems of their games.
We have designed a list with the concepts that we will work and you must know perfectly in each phase. And in every phase we add specific themes for you depending on what you need.
No, I DO NOT want you to do that. I don’t mean to overwhelm you; on the contrary.
All of my videos are labeled according to specific stages of your evolution as a chess player.
This way you can strengthen the foundations of your knowledge as a chess player and move upwards, step by step. As you make steady progress, you will be able to enter the most advanced classes, after a confirmation test.
Everything you can. And more. There is no doubt about it because nothing will come without effort.
Taking chess lessons allow you:
- You can see live examples, as many as you like. It has been shown that if we see how things are done we have a better understanding. And a better chance of seeing it in our memory.
- If there is something specific you want to know you can ask to get out of the doubt.
- You save a lot of time.
- Children who have chess lessons are opened up to a world of opportunities and can be prepared for chess tournaments.
- You can have a preparation that is based on what you want: If you want nothing more than to know how to play and the basics or to gather enough capacity to challenge someone who knows a lot about the game.
- Those who teach chess lessons have the experience that will help you a lot.
- Exercises, practice and discipline that will raise your progress a lot.
- Sometimes you may not understand something in a book, the chess coach will explain it to you in another way that you can understand.
Analyzing complex situations and finding solutions quickly and effectively, whether at work, school or at some point, can make chess easier.
Believe it or not, this sport develops areas of the brain such as problem solving and creativity.
It also influences the self-control and management of the resources you count. If you have a son or daughter, start their chess lessons now!
Another benefit of the online chess lessons is that you can decide when you want to begin because nobody can force you. This freedom diminishes pressure and makes your learning experience more fun and pleasant.
Your learning is exclusively up to you. Your mind will be relaxed and at peace, so you’ll understand faster and learn better.
Learning is frequently considered a normal part of our professional life but also of our personal life. This is why learning, indistinctly of the type, shouldn’t be careless- including the learning of chess. In this article, I will explain the main benefits of online chess lessons.
The internet world is constantly changing and online chess lessons are a great way to learn how to play chess or improve our level. It’s important to know about all the possible ways of learning we have and pick the one that adapts better to our style.
Now a day, online learning is much more practical for the majority of people. For example, many universities and traditional institutes have started to share online their chess courses for free. This is a very simple and comfortable method to learn. In chess, it’s the same. The online world is changing all!
The online chess lessons are a great alternative to conventional lessons, especially for those people who can’t afford them or don’t have the time needed because they’re very busy.
Private chess classes:
– In this type of classes, you will have the opportunity to be in front of a coach who will dedicate the necessary time you require. He’ll make sure you learn the basics as far as you want to go.
– When any doubt arises you can ask, thus getting a quick answer which you will record immediately.
– In the private classes, you will save time searching through books, pages or forums because you will have a methodology made by the trainer that will be the best way to advance.
– The tips are very important, they will be very useful to you.
– We learn more visually than otherwise, by observing the live plays you will ensure your knowledge
– Not only you can live the experience firsthand, but you can also count on your PC or mobile to take classes with a trainer.
– Private chess lessons have the advantage that your coach will be able to mold himself to you so that you can take advantage of 100% of your capacity.
Group classes:
-As in all groups, one of the positive aspects is that you will be able to socialize with different people, opening up many opportunities to learn of them and with them.
-The classes are cheaper. It’s a big benefit.
-You will be able to develop games with different people besides your coach.
-Sometimes it is hard for us to ask a question that we have in mind either because we think it is superficial or for another reason and in the end we let the opportunity pass us by, leaving us with a question that can solve many things. In a group, one or more people may have the same doubt and someone will dare to ask, so you will solve your doubts even though you did not formulate it.
-Here we can also watch other people’s games. Watching other people play and positioning yourself to see if you made the best move helps a lot in this sport. It’s like watching someone who always gives a good hit, you’ll find a way to copy the positive and adapt it to your game.
It should be noted that by taking so many private or group chess classes you will have the opportunity to learn terms that you may have read at some point but due to their weird names, you have not stopped to devote a little of your time to them.
The chess coach who will teach you the classes already has what you need to know and will not hesitate to teach you, making a great effort to be reduced to a few words.
Basically, all the training programs of The Rebel Alliance go deeper and are easy to understand and later implementation in your chess games.
I present you the techniques in their context. A post is too short to describe everything correctly. Plus, I take on much more advanced topics that have barely received any treatment on my personal blog at the moment.
Yes, but prices will be going up pretty soon. So you have been warned!
If you want to improve seriously in chess, you will find the best community to do it!
Actually, they are complementary.
My chess lessons are intensive and they allow you to speed up your chess level according to your current #1 need.
For me, a chess player is very much like a decathlete: each level is a different sports discipline in which you need to work on certain abilities, in a specific way. One by one.
The Academy represents the global training that prepares you to compete in the 10 disciplines of a decathlon, without getting hurt, nor having weaknesses that prevent you from getting on to the podium of the big competitions.
Plus, it is your personal chess coach who helps you overcome your limits and motivates you day after day.
Before anyone else, me. The Rebel Alliance is my latest creation. It is the best way to interact with me.
As the community grows, I might add a few people to help me with the technical support, but rest easy, I will always be there.
Yes, there is an unconditional seven-days warranty.
If before finishing the trial period, you feel like The Academy is not what you are looking for at the moment, you will definitely get your money back.
In order to learn you need someone to instruct you correctly, you need chess lessons.
Professional players have chess coaches who teach them lessons that make them progress even further, why wouldn't you have one?
Unless you're like Bobby Fischer, who read entire chess books at 14 and played with elite Russian players from an early age.
It's better to have a chess coach who saves you from reading a lot of books that you may not understand at first but you might understand later.
If you have any doubts, I'll leave you with some reasons to start your lessons as soon as possible.
Chess teaches you how to use your potential and develops mental skills.
It also opens up new worlds for you; meeting new people and of course thousands of interesting games no one like the other.
One of the most important advantages of having online chess lessons is that it gives you a lot more freedom. You will save time because you will not need to go and go back to any club and you won’t spend money on transport.
In addition, having online chess lessons allows you to watch the lesson anywhere you want whenever you want. As long as you have a good internet connection, you will be ready to learn chess. Not even a face-to-face lesson gives you the freedom of online lessons do. In summary, being part of an online chess community implies fewer rules to follow.
Having online chess lessons will give you the chance of meeting people from all over the world. People from different countries could be taking the same lesson as you, so you can communicate with them in a friendly environment. It will allow you to share tactical ideas and even practice another language.
In some groups where online chess lessons are taught, you can even talk to the teacher and other students. Voice notes, videos or photos are some of the ways we can communicate with them. Isn’t it interesting to have the opportunity to see lessons with people that may or may not talk the same language as you?
there are people who are qualified to teach you about this sport, who have been playing and learning for a long time and now want to share their knowledge with you who came to be a good chess player. There are two methods that I used to teach: private classes and group classes.
If you are unsure which one to choose, I will explain in detail the advantages that each one offers and the characteristics. Then you will be able to choose according to your personality, the way of learning and time available, and you will find the best chess classes you can get.
With the knowledge you acquire in chess classes you will feel great confidence in yourself, thought the preparation by someone who has a solid understanding of this sport.