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How To...? Guides

  • How To Win at Chess

A typical Game of Chess has 4 Key Stages :-
 

  1. ​The Opening.

  2. The Middlegame.

  3. The Endgame.

  4. The Final Outcome.

This Section deals with the last of those Stages, The Final Outcome.
Afterall, the aim of the game is to Win.
 

Chess Games are Won by :-
 

  • A Player Checkmates The Opponent's King.

  • The Opponent Resigns.

  • In Timed Matches, The Opponent runs out of time.

  • In Serious Matches, The Opponent commits an illegal Move / Act.

With the last point in mind, illegal acts for which the Player can claim forfeit such as incorrect moving of the Pieces, allowing mobile devices to disturb the game, obvious cheating etc.
In such occurrences, it is probably best to raise your hand and ask for an Adjudicator to resolve any disputes.

Another key rule to be aware of is "Touch Piece, Move Piece" where if a Player touches a Piece on their turn, they must move it.
If an Opponent's Piece is touched, the Player must make all endeavours to capture it. 
If multiple Pieces are touched, the Opponent chooses which Piece is Moved or Captured.
In Serious Games, Rules become brutally unforgiving so it makes best practice to get into the habit of thinking before picking up Pieces and only when a move is fully decided upon.

Common reasons leading to Won Games is where Players make blunders which can vary in severity. For example, making silly mistakes such leaving Pieces vulnerable to capture, miscalculating Exchanges that lose material in trade overall, moving Key pieces only to allow the Opponent execute a devastating tactic on the very next move, misreading, ignoring or forgetting the Opponent's plans allowing them to succeed etc.
More subtle errors which can lead to Won games include Strategic mistakes such as Not Castling in time, Exchanging Off the wrong Minor Piece, Making Threats when the key position is elsewhere on the Board, placing reliance on a defence which is actually vulnerable and so on.
Conversely, not taking advantage of a Blunder or Mistake is as just as disastrous.
Such obvious opportunities must not be squandered especially as some Chess games are won or lost by the tiniest of margins. 

Timed Games add another dimension of Challenge and Resource Management to the game of Chess, particularly in Serious Games.

These utilise Special Chess Clocks where each Player is allocated a set number of Minutes to complete all their Moves. 
 

Position after 8....Bc8-g4

Digital Chess Clock

These clocks can either be analogue or digital however modern digital clocks have the advantage of custom scenarios such as bonus times & tournament programs.

The idea is that the Player whose move it is has their clock ticking down. When that Player's move is complete, they press the button on their side of the Clock which stops the timer on their Clock and starts the timer on their Opponent's Clock. Whichever Player runs out of time loses.

Playing against the Clock adds an additional challenge of resource management and helps to ensure matches are successfully completed within an allotted session as well as making sure players are aware whose turn it is to play. Having to deal with Time Control can be a great leveler and an extra requirement for entry as even some proficient players struggle and cannot deal with playing against the Clock.

Given practice and experience, the Player can learn which moves only need a few seconds versus which moves need a dedicated allocated of focused thinking time.
 

Tips on how to deal with Time Control include :-
 

  • Don't forget to press your Clock otherwise you are losing time. Your Opponent does not have to tell you and it is a mistake all Players of any ability makes. So get into the habit of making every move with the Same Hand in 3 parts :​

    • Pickup the Intended Piece and Make Your Move.​

    • PRESS YOUR CLOCK BUTTON!

    • Write down the move made.

  • Similarly, it is up to the Opponent to notice whether you have run out of time and declare Victory, otherwise you can keep playing and in a longshot, win the game yourself.

  • Don't Panic! It is tempting to think that just because a clock is running you have to move instantly or as fast as possible as frequently seen in the media. The truth is, especially in long play games, the Player has a decent amount of time to make a reasonable deductive move along with detailed analysis.

  • Most Chess games should be completed in about 60 Moves so allocate an approximate budget of an amount of time as a proportion of the total time given to each Player.

    • So for a longplay match of about 65 minutes, allocate 60 to 90 seconds per move.​

    • For a Rapidplay game of 25 minutes, allocate 30 to 45 seconds per move.

  • Some Moves don't require the full original time budget allocated :-

    • In the Opening, the first moves only require a few seconds and if the Player is familiar with the Opening moves, several minutes of moves can be made but only spending a few seconds. This allows a bank reserve of time to be accumulated providing the option for longer thinking time on critical moves which would normally exceed the original time budget.​

    • In forced situations where the only next move is obvious such as in Check or a capture has occurred, the Player can quickly respond and save time; assuming that an alternative escape, in-between move or recapture is not available. This time is better spent on thinking from the next position after the Opponent's response to this rather than wasting more time and thought power trying to visualise the Opponent's next move.

  • Conversely, the Player has to ensure that enough time has been spent on a particular move. The danger is if too little time has been spent, the Player can get into trouble and spend even more time trying to dig out of the hole in a bad position when that time should have been better spent earlier in a stronger position in the 1st place.

  • If you are running short on time, simplifying the position by exchanging away the pieces might help but this has to be inline with the overall gameplay and whether this will benefit the player. 

  • Keep an eye on the Opponent's time as well as your own. Not just to see whether their flag has fallen but also as a measure on how much time you are spending and have spent versus on how much the Opponent has spent. Analysts often describe certain Players as being ahead on time, under time pressure etc. so the balance of time should be an indication on whether you need to speed up your moves or can use more time in analysing the overall game.

  • If your Opponent is taking a long time over a move, be sure to use their time to perform your own thinking and analysis as well. Avoid the temptation to drift off and allowing the mind to wonder.

  • If your Opponent is desperately short on time, avoid the temptation of quickly moving just to force your Opponent's time to keep falling as you can easily blunder and proficient players can use what little time they have to force a winning position even from against the ropes. Digital clocks can also be set to provide a few seconds bonus of time per move so trying to pressure the Opponent this way only allows them to build up a bank of time.

©2025 by Worthing Chess Club.

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