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Knightfall

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Lessons from the rules of the game to basic tactics, then drills of key positions against a bot that rates every move.

Lessons

0 of 18 lessons completed

Start: The chessboard

Beginner

  1. The chessboard

    Squares, files, ranks and how to name every square.

    5 steps

  2. The rook

    Straight lines along ranks and files.

    4 steps · after The chessboard

  3. The bishop

    Diagonals, and why each bishop stays on one colour.

    4 steps · after The chessboard

  4. The queen

    The most powerful piece: rook and bishop combined.

    3 steps · after The rook, The bishop

  5. The king

    One square at a time, and never into danger.

    3 steps · after The rook

  6. The knight

    The L-shaped jump.

    4 steps · after The chessboard

  7. The pawn

    Moving, capturing, promotion and en passant.

    6 steps · after The chessboard

  8. Capturing and piece values

    What pieces are worth and how to win material.

    4 steps · after The rook, The bishop, The queen, The knight, The pawn

  9. Check

    Attacking the king, and the three ways to escape.

    5 steps · after The king, Capturing and piece values

  10. Checkmate

    Check with no escape — the goal of the game.

    3 steps · after Check

  11. Castling

    The special king-and-rook move, and when it is not allowed.

    5 steps · after The king, The rook, Check

  12. Stalemate and draws

    How games end without a winner — and how not to throw away a win.

    5 steps · after Checkmate

  13. Opening principles

    Control the centre, develop pieces, castle early.

    5 steps · after Castling, Capturing and piece values

Advanced

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Expert

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Position drills

Basic checkmates

Queen checkmateWin

Drive the lone king to the edge with your queen, bring your king up, and deliver mate. Watch out for stalemate.

Rook checkmateWin

Use the rook to cut the king off rank by rank, using your own king for opposition.

Two bishops checkmateWin

Bishops side by side form a wall. Push the king into a corner with help from your king.

Endgame technique

King and pawn: key squaresWin

Your king stands in front of its pawn on the sixth rank. This is a win whoever moves — find the technique.

Outrun the kingWin

The black king is outside the square of your h-pawn. Push and promote.

Lucena positionWin

The classic winning rook endgame. Drive the enemy king away, then "build a bridge" with your rook to escape checks.

Philidor positionHold the draw

Defend a pawn-down rook endgame: hold your rook on the sixth rank until the pawn advances, then check from behind.

Middlegame structures

Quiet ItalianPlay it out

A slow Giuoco Piano structure. Plan around the d3–d4 break and kingside manoeuvres.

Dragon: opposite-side castlingPlay it out

Sharp Sicilian Dragon play: whoever attacks faster usually wins.

Carlsbad structurePlay it out

Queen's Gambit Exchange pawn structure. Try the minority attack with b4–b5 as White.

French Advance chainPlay it out

Pressure on d4 versus space on the kingside. Attack the base of the pawn chain.

King's Indian: closed centrePlay it out

Closed centre with play on opposite wings: White on the queenside, Black with ...f5.