There are only two rules for this exercise. 

      First, and most importantly.NO BOARDS or  chess visual aids! Second, when  entering the move, you will simply denote moves by  short algebraic  (e.g., e4, c5, Nf3 etc.). If there is a piece capture, you will use a  small "x" instead of any other symbol.  There is no time limit for this exercise. Enjoy!

		Top of Form 1. After the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Qh5 Ke7, what is white's best move here?      2. After the moves 1.c3 e6 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Nd4 Ne5 4.e4 c6 5.Nde2, what should black play here?      3. After the moves 1.e4 f5 2.exf5 Nc6 3.Qh5+ g6 4.fxg6 Nf6, what is white's best move?      4. After the moves 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 f5 3.exf5 Kf7 4.Nxe5+ Kf6 5.d4 Kxf5 6.Qg4+ Kf6, what should white play here?      5. After the moves 1.g4 d5 2.Bg2 Bxg4 3.c4 c6 4.Qb3 Qc8 5.cxd5 cxd5 6.Bxd5, what should black play here?      6. After the moves 1.e4 Nf6 2.e5 Nd5 3.c4 Nb6 4.d4 Nc6 5.d5 Nb4, what should white play here?      7. After the moves 1.g3 g6 2.Bg2 Bg7 3.e4 c5 4.d3 Nc6 5.c3 d6 6.Be3 Qb6 7.Qd2 Ne5 8.Na3, what should black play here?      8. After the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e5 3.dxe5 Ng4 4.Nf3 Qe7 5.Bf4 Qb4+ 6.Bd2 Qxb2 7.Bc3,  what should black play here?      9. After the moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 d6 6.Bc4 g6 7.Nxc6 bxc6 8.e5 dxe5, what should white play here?      10. After the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.Nc3 axb5 6.e4 b4 7.Nb5 Nxe4, what should white play here?      11. After the moves 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e5 5.Nb5 d6 6.c4 Nf6 7.N1c3 a6 8.Na3,  white is holding the d5 square how many times? (type the number)      12. After the moves 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.f3 e6 6.e4 c4, white can capture how many different pawns? (type the number)      13. White has a pawn on e6 and a king on d5. Black has a pawn on d6 and a king on c8. It's white to move, so what should he/she play?      14. White has a king on h2 and a knight e1. Black has a king on d5, a knight on e5, and a pawn on c3. It's black to move, so what should he/she play?      15. White has a king on a8, a queen on b2, and a pawn on b7 - threatening to queen. Black has a king on c7 and a queen on h1 - pinning the pawn. It's white to move, so what should he/she play?      Bottom of Form

Becoming a Chess Grand Master- set your goal

For most of the chess players, the best day of their life is the day when the player gets the title of a 'GRANDMASTER'. Achieving this is only possible with a combination of a passionate coach, supporting family and the interest of the player. A five point summary is given below for people who aspire for future GMs.

1. Start young.

Learning the game of chess at an early age has many advantages. Children who are exposed to languages, music, and other disciplines at an early age can experience an easier time becoming fluent. Like languages and music, the complexities of chess take years to master, and a child that starts the game somewhere between the ages of five to eight on average have a head start. At this age, the child's brain is ready to absorb all the new lessons, tactics, and ideas which are fundamental to becoming a strong player.

2. Hard Work

Even the most talented players that become grandmasters, such as the 13th World Champion Viswanathan Anand, work hard and make sacrifices to achieve their goal. Having a daily study routine that covers intensely all three phases of the game, the opening, middle-game, and endgame is necessary to strengthen your chess skills. A coach can help a developing player by pointing out weaknesses and strengths, as well as make the learning more efficient

3. Play tournaments.

A chess player has to lose thousands of games, study those losses, learn from those losses, and come out a stronger player. Playing in tournaments gives you the opportunity to put your new knowledge to the test, learn about the psychology of competition, practice time management, and gain the experience necessary to become a strong player.

4. Mandatory Norms

To score the necessary three norms on the way to becoming a grandmaster a chess player has to play in norm tournaments. Norm tournaments meet the criteria of having at least three grandmasters from different countries, nine rounds, and a time control that is at least 120 minutes. In addition, an international arbiter must be present to make the rulings during the event. Lastly, the chess player seeking to score a norm must have a 2600 Elo performance for that tournament.

5. Earn a 2500 FIDE

In addition to the three norm requirements mentioned above, a chess player still must cross the 2500 rating requirement to be awarded the title of grandmaster.

FIDE Titles:

·         Candidate Master (CM) - Elo rating of 2200

·         FIDE Master (FM) - Elo rating of 2300

·         International Master (IM) - three norms and an Elo of 2400

·         Grandmaster (GM) - three norms and an Elo of 2500

Women's Titles:

·         Woman Candidate Master (WCM) - Elo rating of 2000

·         Woman FIDE Master (WFM) - Elo rating of 2100

·         Woman International Master (WIM) - Elo rating of 2200

·         Woman Grandmaster (WGM) - Elo rating of 2300

Some best practices which I recommend

1.       One tournament for every 2 months [ minimum]

2.       Practice chess for one hour daily

3.       Solve puzzles for best maneuver , advantage, win a material, minimum moves to win, 4-5 steps to check mate etc

4.       Solve end games

5.       Analyse your game with the coach for every game you play

White to move mate in 2

White to Move Mate in 2 Moves