Improve at Chess by Analyzing Your Openings
Simple steps to take your chess game to the next level.
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Introduction
Chess is experiencing a resurgence in popularity, with more and more people discovering (or rediscovering) their passion for the game. The goal to improve is shared among chess enthusiasts, regardless of whether they are just starting out or have been playing for a while. With the rise of online chess platforms and the increasing availability of resources, it’s easier than ever to take your game to the next level. In this article, we’ll look at a simple and widely adopted recipe that has proven to be useful to improve your game consistently.
This recipe for improvement focuses on analyzing your chess games, openings and your mistakes to better understand the key elements of the game. By studying and understanding your mistakes and also your successes in the opening phase, you can avoid making the same mistakes again and again. Of course, this approach takes time, but with consistent effort, you will see steady progress and will become a stronger player over time.
Ok, then let’s get started by looking at a simple examples that beginners face a lot and which shows you the basic idea of this approach.
Example: Wayward Queen Attack
Let’s assume you’re black and white has played e4, also known as the King’s Pawn opening. You respond with e5, Double King’s Pawn opening and next white plays Qa5. This is the Wayward Queen Attack. A common quick reaction of beginners is to play g6 (see screenshot below) to attack the queen.
But now black is in trouble. White can now play Qxe5 to take the unprotected pawn on e5, give check and threatening you rook on h8. Black has to move either the knight, bishop or queen and all these moves leave the rook unprotected so that white can capture it with the next move.
