Chess Lessons

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Chess Basics: Legal's Mate

Chess Basics: Legal's Mate

Learn how to checkmate an opponent in fewer than 10 moves by sacrificing a major piece. 
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Chess Basics: Pin and Defend

Chess Basics: Pin and Defend

Learn how to defend your material when an opponent pins one of your pieces.
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Chess Basics: Pin and Win

Chess Basics: Pin and Win

Learn how pins can be used to win material in a chess game.
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Classic Chess Games: Paulsen-Morphy

Classic Chess Games: Paulsen-Morphy

See how unofficial world chess champion Paul Morphy used a brilliant queen sacrifice to bring down one of his rivals, German master Louis Paulsen.
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Classic Chess Games: Adams-Torre Back Rank Mate

Classic Chess Games: Adams-Torre Back Rank Mate

See how an amateur player pulled off a win against a grandmaster in this classic 1920 game between Edwin Z. Adams and GM Carlos Torre.
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Classic Chess Games: McConnell-Morphy

Classic Chess Games: McConnell-Morphy

See how unofficial world chess champion Paul Morphy showed promise as a player from an early age in this matchup against local attorney James McConnell.
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Classic Chess Games: Morphy-Dominguez

Classic Chess Games: Morphy-Dominguez

Blindfolded simuls were a favored format of chess master Paul Morphy, who played several throughout his career. In this lesson, we’ll look at one of the three games from his 1864...
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Classic Chess Games: The Opera Box Game

Classic Chess Games: The Opera Box Game

See how Paul Morphy scored the most famous chess victory of all time in his classic Opera Box game.
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Paul Morphy: The First American Chess Superstar

Paul Morphy: The First American Chess Superstar

Before GM Bobby Fischer–America’s first and only World Chess Champion–there was Paul Morphy, a young chess prodigy turned international player whom numerous greats like Fischer and multi-time World Champion GM...
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Chess Basics: King and Rook Checkmate

Chess Basics: King and Rook Checkmate

Learn how to win a chess game using just a king and rook. 
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Chess Basics: En Passant

Chess Basics: En Passant

Learn the ins and outs of en passant, a special capturing move pawns can make. 
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Chess Basics: Opening Principles

Chess Basics: Opening Principles

The opening principles are a set of three goals chess players aim to accomplish at the start of a chess game. Following the opening principles helps players set up a...
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