Chess Tip Of The Day

As a lifelong king's pawn player, I have long held the view that White's best option against this robust defence (1...e5) is to have a variety of weapons at his disposal, which is why, at various times, I have employed the Italian Game, the Four Knights, the Vienna and the King's Gambit. Nigel Short, Play The Ruy Lopez

Spend half your study time analysing your own games. Identify and correct the faults. It's the most productive form of chess study. Rolf Wetzell, Chess Master ... At Any Age

In same-colour bishop endings, don't get pawns stuck on squares of the same colour as the bishops without very good reason. Jon Speelman, Endgame Preparation

The current generation of super-GMs tend to use far more different openings than their predecessors. Steve Giddins, How To Build Your Chess Opening Repertoire

A chessplayer who has acquired the capacity for prophylactic thinking will significantly raise his class - he will dramatically improve in positional play, in the technique of exploiting an advantage, and in other areas. Mark Dvoretsky, Opening Preparation

Younger players are usually well genned up on current opening theory (though not the theory of 10 years ago), and good at analysing tactical lines, but frequently lack technique in simple positions and endings. Simon Webb, Chess For Tigers