Dear chess friends, 

In this article I'll show you the 3 main ways to play the King's Indian Attack (KIA for short) - and when it's best to use each setup! 

The King's Indian Attack was recommended by none other than the GOAT, Magnus Carlsen, as the best 'beginner' opening for White, due to how safe i...

So you want to know what makes an attack on the king successful? 

I got you covered. 

I'm GM Max Illingworth, and my students have been loving my framework 'The 4 Attacking Advantages' for over a decade. 

In fact, I cover it in my course 'Attacking The King' in case you want to master the important ski...

Did you know that you only need to remember one position to start playing the Benko Gambit as Black?

Here it is:



Where Our Pieces Belong In The Benko

This shows you where all of our pieces belong in the Benko Gambit: 

- King's Bishop - fianchettoes to g7, where it has a wide open diagonal thanks to Whit...

What exactly is the Pillsbury Plan?

It's when you have the following setup:



Here's how it looks with colours reversed:

This is quite a powerful attacking setup, as the knight is 'anchored' in place by pawns. Furthermore, these pawns provide valuable space to serve as the foundation for a strong enemy...

Growing Beyond Your Comfort Zone

Chess Improvement has its share of challenges and struggles, even when you know what to do. The diagram above has helped me through the toughest times in my chess journey, where I felt like quitting.

The key takeaway is that comfort is the enemy of growth. So, wh...

Can you crack this very tough endgame study?

Here it is for you. It is White to play and win, composed by Kalyagin and Mitrofanov in Galitzky MT Severocesky Denik 1993:

Share your answers in the comments below!

Would you like to improve your endgame play, so that you can convert advantages into win...

What are the best openings to play with White, when you are a beginner?

In truth, the openings are not the most important thing for players starting out, as the games are going to generally be decided by exploiting and avoiding blunders, and basic tactics. 

However, there are certainly openings that h...