The Stage 1 academy program is designed for players between 600 and 900 rating points.
By the end of the "Stage 1" program you should expect to have learned:
Foundation Principles
Understand and implement foundation principles for the whole game, the opening, middlegame and the endgame.
- Platinum Rules
- Golden Rules
- Silver Rules
- Bronze Rules
Openings & Middle-Game
Understand and implement typical middle-game plans and the key strategies for both White and Black in the following openings:
- Four Knights Game
- Italian Game
- Scotch Opening
Tactical Motifs
Understand the following tactical motifs and use them in their own games to win pieces and checkmate their opponent:
- Double Attack
- Knight Fork
- Decoy
- Deflection
- Discovered Attack
- Discovered Check
- Double Check
- Pin
- Skewer
- Clearance
- Overloading
- Back Rank
- Queen Sacrifice
- King Hunt
- Destroying the Defences
- Mate in the endgame
- Lethal Long Diagonal
- Pawn Promotion mates
- Deadly Doubled Rooks
- The Zwischenzug
- Stalemates
Endgames
Have a good general understanding of endgames and have a thorough practical undertstanding of:
Chess Heroes
To learn about the greatest players in Chess History:
- Know your opponent - Lasker
- Chess made easy - Capablanca
- Attack with - Alekhine
- Prepare with - Botvinnik
- Complications - Tal
- Defend - Petrosian
- Total Chess - Fischer, Karpov, Kasparov, Carlsen
