How to Succeed at Chess

You know how the pieces move. So why do your games still fall apart?

Somewhere around 1200, chess stops rewarding what you already know. You have learned the rules, the basic tactics, a few opening moves. But now your attacks fizzle, your endgames slip away, and stronger players seem to understand something you don't.

They do. They understand the ideas behind the moves.

How to Succeed at Chess - The Intermediate is the bridge between knowing the rules and actually understanding the game. It picks up exactly where beginner books stop, and takes you to real positional understanding.

Inside this book

• 16 complete chapters covering openings, middlegame plans, pawn structures, imbalances, tactics, strategy, endgames, attacking play and calculation


• 229 board diagrams - every single one verified with a chess engine


• Over 110 practice questions with full answers, so you can test what you have absorbed


• Five complete annotated games from chess history, explained move by move


• A 62-term glossary of the vocabulary strong players actually use

What makes this book different

Every position has been checked by a chess engine. Not just for legality - for soundness. Each tactic was tested against the strongest defence to confirm the combination actually works. Nothing in these pages is a position that only looks convincing.

You will learn to think in structures and plans rather than single moves. To recognise when an attack is genuinely justified and when it is wishful thinking. To handle rook endgames with technique instead of hope. And to build a calculation method you can rely on when the clock is running.

Who this book is for

Club players, online players and improvers roughly in the 1200-1800 range who can play a full game but want to understand why the good moves are good. It follows directly from How to Succeed at Chess: A Complete Course for Beginners - if you are starting out, begin there.

Stop memorising moves. Start understanding chess.