The Chess Blog

Lessons from the champion

Openings, tactics, strategy and endgames — practical chess guidance from championship play, written to help you improve faster.

A hand writing notes in an open notebook with a pen, suggesting analysing and annotating a chess game.
LatestStrategy

Analysing Your Own Games: Your Personal Syllabus

Your own games are the most personalised study material in the world — and almost nobody uses them properly. Here's how to analyse them well.

10 June 2026 · 4 min read

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An open book in a library, representing a structured chess study plan and reading.
Improvement

A Balanced Study Plan for Club Players

Most club players study chess inefficiently — too much opening theory, too little of what wins games. Here's a balanced plan that actually improves your rating.

3 June 2026 · 4 min read

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Tournaments

Inside the Jamaican and Caribbean Chess Scene

Jamaica is a small island with a chess culture that punches above its weight. Here's what makes our scene special — and how young players climb it.

20 May 2026 · 4 min read

Two players facing each other across a chessboard in a focused, competitive tournament setting.
Tournaments

Tournament Preparation and Managing Your Nerves

Your result is decided as much away from the board as on it. Here's the off-the-board routine I give students before an event.

6 May 2026 · 4 min read

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Strategy

Pawn Structures and the Bishop Pair: A Strategic Compass

Strong players think in structures, not single moves. Learn to read the pawn skeleton and judge when the two bishops are worth having.

22 April 2026 · 4 min read

A chess clock beside the pieces on a board, capturing the time pressure of tournament play.
Strategy

Managing Your Clock: Time Management for Tournament Chess

You can play the best moves in the world, but if your flag falls first you lose. Here's how to spend your clock where it actually matters.

8 April 2026 · 4 min read

Chess pieces poised on the board, evoking deep calculation and visualisation during a game.
Improvement

Calculation and Visualisation: How to Train Both

Calculation and visualisation are trainable skills, not fixed talents. Here are the candidate-move habits and drills I use with my students.

25 March 2026 · 4 min read

A black chess rook beside a knight and bishop on the board, highlighting the rook in the endgame.
Endgames

Winning Rook Endgames: Lucena, Philidor and Active Rooks

Rook endgames are the most common ending in chess — and decided wrong constantly. Master the Lucena, the Philidor, and the power of an active rook.

11 March 2026 · 4 min read

A chess king and pawns on a wooden board in warm light, suggesting a quiet king-and-pawn endgame.
Endgames

King and Pawn Endgames: The Essentials

King and pawn endings are pure calculation — and the foundation of all endgame play. Master the opposition, key squares and a few core ideas.

25 February 2026 · 4 min read

A tight close-up of brown wooden chess pieces on the board, evoking tactical combinations.
Tactics

Tactical Motifs: Forks, Pins, Skewers and Discovered Attacks

Almost every decisive club game turns on a tactic. Learn the core motifs and the simple scanning habit that helps you spot them on sight.

11 February 2026 · 4 min read

Close-up of wooden chess pieces, including the queen, on a board mid-game in warm light.
Openings

Understanding the Sicilian Defence: Ideas, Not Just Moves

The Sicilian is the most combative answer to 1.e4. Here are the ideas behind the jargon — and how to study it without drowning in theory.

28 January 2026 · 3 min read

A wooden chessboard set up with the pieces in their starting position, ready for the opening moves.
Openings

Opening Principles Every Club Player Should Master

Skip the memorisation. Master the handful of opening principles that quietly decide most club games long before any theory matters.

14 January 2026 · 4 min read