International Chess School ICS Grandmaster Package GM Pack Month 1-3 / International Chess School ICS Уроки Гроссмейстера 1-3 месяц обучения [L] [ENG / ENG] (2013)

Month 1 - Think Like a Strong Player

From the very first month, we present to you the correct way of thinking in chess. You will learn about the TO DO list, consequences of the moves, recognizing real threats, and what you have to do after your opponent's moves. The correct thinking method you learn here is of first importance in improving your chess. Then, throughout the entire 13-month course, we make use of this way of thinking when annotating games and giving explanations. Consequently you too will start to think like a strong player.
You will learn how to correctly evaluate a position when the material is the same and how to evaluate positions with material imbalances. "Making decisions in chess" is a simple yet practical guide for choosing the best moves. This lesson will tell you what you should look for in every position the plan of play.
Before starting our course, you can go through a test that is meant to measure players' strength up to 2300 rating. The test is extremely hard and very few students are likely to find more than 50% of the solutions. This should not discourage students as they already know that their chess should be perfected. But the student will be able to compare this result with the tests given at the end of the course.
Tactics: The first lesson of tactics will stress its importance to the entire career of the player. The essential elements include board visualization and the forms of tactical interactions between pieces.

Month 2 - The Two Centers

In this month we study the two “centers” in chess: the real center of the board and the central figure in chess, the king.
You will learn to correctly evaluate the king’s safety, one of the most important criteria of general positional assessment. We present the pluses and inuses of all the possible pawn structures in front of the king so you’ll know where and how to attack or if the attack has any chance of success. You will learn how to evaluate the role of pieces that attack and defend, correct placements, recognize defects that can be exploited, and find direct and tricky routes to bring pieces into attack or defend.
The central pawn structure is the most important element when deciding on the plan of play. We present the 5 types of center structures with the specific middlegame strategy for each and for both players. The large number of examples will help you spot the similarities and main strategies of positions characterized by the same kind of center.
Tactics: A good player must see the board, pieces and correct moves in his mind’s eye, so we start board visualization training.