Every guide, opening, endgame and strategy article, newest first.
Chess vs Xiangqi: a fair comparison of the boards, pieces, and rules — squares versus intersections, the river and palace, cannons, and why stalemate differs.
Chess and Xiangqi share a common ancestor and a common soul: king safety, development, tactics, and calculation. Discover the similarities and transferable skills.
The Pirc Defense lets Black cede the center to White, then strike back. Learn the hypermodern ideas, main lines, and plans behind this combative 1.e4 reply.
Master the chess opening principles that guide strong play: control the center, develop your pieces, and castle early. A practical guide for improving players.
Wondering how to choose a chess opening that fits you? Match tactical or positional preferences to the right repertoire and stop drifting between random systems.
Explore the best openings for White, from the Ruy Lopez and Italian to the Queen's Gambit and London System, and pick a first move that fits your playing style.
Discover the best openings for Black against 1.e4 and 1.d4, from the Sicilian and Caro-Kann to the Nimzo-Indian and King's Indian, for a repertoire that fits you.
Chess gambits sacrifice a pawn for speed, space, and attacking chances. Learn how the King's Gambit, Evans, and Smith-Morra trade material for the initiative.
Women in chess have reshaped the game from Vera Menchik to Judit Polgar and the Gothenburg-trained Hou Yifan. A guide to the players, history, and rising stars.
Becoming a chess grandmaster demands norms, a 2500 rating, and years of disciplined study. Here is exactly how the GM title works and the realistic path to it.
The history of chess runs from the Indian game chaturanga through Persia and the Islamic world to Europe, where the queen and modern rules gave us the game we know.
The world chess championship history runs from Steinitz in 1886 through Fischer, Kasparov, and Carlsen. A guide to every era of the game's ultimate title.
The greatest chess games ever played, from Morphy's Opera Game to Kasparov's Immortal and Byrne vs Fischer, and what each masterpiece can teach your own play.
Your chess elo rating predicts results from rating gaps. Learn how Elo math, K-factors, FIDE and online ratings work, and how to actually raise your number.
A chess player learning Xiangqi already knows more than they think. This guide maps rooks to chariots, knights to horses, and points out the traps to avoid.
Is chess harder than Xiangqi? We compare board size, branching factor, draw rates, and endgame depth to give an honest, evidence-based answer for both games.
Chess variants span the globe, from Xiangqi and Shogi to Chess960 and king of the hill. Here is an accurate tour of the most important chess variants worldwide.
Looking for games like chess? From Xiangqi and Shogi to checkers and Chess960, here is an accurate guide to the best board games like chess worth learning next.
