How to win any chess game in 4 moves.

I started playing chess as a young boy. I was inspired by the story of Knights, Kings and Queens trying to capture the throne. A battle of giants, where a small pawn could be the one to slay the King and win the game. 

Chess has been around for hundreds of years but still manages to attract thousands of new players every year. After seeing the Netflix show “The Queen’s Gambit” I picked up playing chess again, this time with the ambition to gain a deeper knowledge of the game.

At the ‘beginner’ level there is a strategy you can apply to win games against other beginners (ELO 500-600) in just 4 moves. 

It is interesting to know these moves, because they illustrate some basic tactics you need to know to be successful in more advanced games. 

Move 1 : Control the center. 

Open to the center square. Pawn to E4.

This is a classical opening. As a best practice, in the opening phase you will try to gain control over the central squares with your pawns or Knights. The player that succeeds in controlling the center, has a key advantage in any chess game.

Move 2: Find the weak spot and activate your pieces.

Bishop to C4.

To determine your strategy, you will be looking for the weak point in the defense of your opponent and put pressure on it. 

When playing against black, F7, the square in front of the King to the right, is the weak spot. Get to it while it’s hot!

Bishops are very powerful attackers to put pressure on the diagonals. They can be far away from danger themselves and still put pressure on the attack at the same time.

This move also opens the space next to your own King, allowing him to ‘castle’ to safety later in the game. (‘castling’ is awesome, but that’s a different topic)

 Move 3: Position a killer duo. 

Queen to F3.

Queens are the most powerful and precious pieces, to be handled with care. You always need two pieces for a controlled win. In any killer duo, the Queen is the favourite assassin. 

Thanks to this position, Queen and Bishop both put pressure on the weak F7 spot. 

Moving your Queen to the H5 square is also an option. It becomes more obvious you are going for checkmate but you do have better follow-up options when the opponent starts defending.  

Move 4: Checkmate! If you don’t get killed first.

Queen to F7.

If your opponent has missed your dangerous setup, you are ready to strike.  It’s easy to get blinded by your own strategy and therefore miss what your opponent is about to do. 

If your opponent is not a beginner. He will see through your plans and strike back where it hurts. So try it out, but be careful. A single pawn can be lethal. 

Chess.com has a great website where you can play against other people of your level, do puzzles and even take lessons. Try these moves and see how many battles you can win. 

See you in the arena! 

Maarten Verschuere

 P.S. Feel free to connect, my username is ‘maartenforsure’ on all platforms (including chess.com and lichess.com) .  

https://www.maartenforsure.com

#chess #strategy #boardgames