Study advanced strategy and analyze games.

174 Imbalances Teaching 65 min · 8 positions

the imbalance list

Read out the five-item imbalance list for any quiet position, name who owns each item, and choose a move that uses the item you own.

taught after 104 · 147 · 173

175 Dynamic vs Static Advantages Teaching 65 min · 8 positions

dynamic vs static advantages

Sort the edges in a quiet position into the static column and the dynamic column, decide whether the dynamic edge can be turned into something permanent right now, and either spend it this move or convert it into a lasting one.

taught after 100 · 112 · 174

176 Prophylactic Thinking Teaching 65 min · 8 positions

prophylactic thinking

Consistently include the opponent’s plan in your own decision-making: name his single sharpest idea in one sentence, then remove it with a quiet move that keeps every edge you already own.

taught after 97 · 144 · 174 · 175

177 Maneuvering in Closed Positions Teaching 65 min · 8 positions

maneuvering in closed positions

Improve pieces by maneuvering when the position is closed: prove the pawns are locked, find the worst piece by counting its squares, name the address it belongs on.

taught after 100 · 102 · 103 · 148 · 176

178 Two Weaknesses (Advanced) Teaching 65 min · 8 positions

two weaknesses

Understand why a single weakness rarely wins a game, and practise the two-front method: count the opponent’s weak pawns wing by wing, check whether his defenders already match your attackers there, and.

taught after 92 · 93 · 94 · 100 · 177

179 Unit Review: Deep Strategy Review 60 min · 8 positions

Interleaved review of advanced strategic themes: the unit’s five ways of thinking — imbalances, static versus dynamic advantages, prophylaxis, maneuvering in closed positions and the two-weaknesses method — are met again in mixed order and without labels, so the pupil has to decide which one the position is asking for. The single routine that makes the choice is THE EVALUATE: list what each side owns, ask which items are permanent and which expire, choose the plan the list points at, and check the opponent’s best answer before committing.

Form a deep strategic plan in a mixed position by running one routine end to end: list what each side owns.

taught after 174 · 175 · 176 · 177 · 178

180 Complex Rook Endgames Teaching 65 min · 8 positions

practical rook endgames

Apply the practical principles of rook endgames.

taught after 122 · 123 · 127 · 157 · 179

181 Bishop vs Knight (Deep) Teaching 65 min · 8 positions

deep bishop-versus-knight judgement

Judge a bishop-versus-knight endgame from the pawn structure alone.

taught after 103 · 104 · 155 · 157 · 180

182 Queen & Pawn Endgames Teaching 65 min · 8 positions

queen-and-pawn endgame technique

Handle a queen-and-pawn endgame by applying one rule before calculating.

taught after 73 · 156 · 157 · 180 · 181

183 Fortresses & Theoretical Draws Teaching 65 min · 8 positions

fortress

Run the door test on a worse endgame — count what the stronger side needs, name which of the four doors his win must come through, shut it with one move, and say honestly when no door exists.

taught after 73 · 104 · 156 · 157 · 182

184 Endgame Technique Lab (Guided Practice) Guided practice 65 min · 6 positions

Advanced endgame technique starts with a judgement, not a move: name the ending, decide whether the position is one to convert or one to hold, and only then choose the move — because the converting move and the holding move are frequently different moves on the same board.

Practise converting AND defending advanced endgames accurately in guided play: for each unlabelled position the student names the ending.

taught after 180 · 181 · 182 · 183

185 Unit Review: Advanced Endgames Review 60 min · 8 positions

An advanced endgame is solved in one fixed order — name the ending, count what each side needs, state the verdict, then choose the move that verdict demands — and the review proves why the order matters: the same trade wins one card, strips a king on another and draws a third, so only the verdict distinguishes them.

Solve mixed advanced-endgame problems: given an unlabelled position, the student names which of the unit’s four endings is on the board.

taught after 180 · 181 · 182 · 183 · 184

186 Analyze Your Own Games (Deep) Teaching 70 min · 8 positions

self-analysis method

Analyse one of your own games deeply: put a price on every move, keep only the moves that cost more than half a pawn, sort those into four evidence-based types, name the cause behind each one, and turn the counts into a training plan.

taught after 140 · 141 · 163 · 170 · 185

187 Finding Critical Moments Teaching 70 min · 8 positions

critical moment

Find the moments that decided a finished game: write the verdict after every move using the one-and-a-half-pawn fence.

taught after 140 · 141 · 163 · 170 · 186

188 Using Engines Wisely Teaching 65 min · 8 positions

engine as a checking tool

Use an engine as a checking tool rather than a source of answers: measure a position at more than one depth.

taught after 140 · 141 · 163 · 186 · 187

189 Annotating a Game Teaching 65 min · 8 positions

annotation

Annotate a game so that every mark, every word and every variation is something the pupil can defend: award a symbol only when the evidence for it exists.

taught after 140 · 163 · 186 · 187 · 188

190 Group Analysis of a Classic Model game 70 min · 8 positions

group analysis

Contribute ideas and variations in a guided group analysis of a classic game, and settle every suggestion with a verdict the room can check: a second road, a refutation with a line, or an honest parking space.

taught after 163 · 186 · 187 · 188 · 189

191 Build Your Study Plan (Guided Practice) Guided practice 60 min · 6 positions

A study plan is honest when every slot is a measured weakness and the minutes follow the measurement: count your own priced mistakes, name each one, give the most minutes to the fault you make most often, and start the week with the fault that costs most each time.

Create a concrete weekly study plan that targets measured weaknesses rather than guessed ones: the student takes the census of their own priced mistakes from the four games analysed in this unit.

taught after 186 · 187 · 188 · 189 · 190

192 Unit Review: The Art of Analysis Review 60 min · 8 positions

The unit’s five instruments are five different questions about the same move, and they do not agree: across the 70 free moves of one fresh game, S186 can name a fault on 8, S187 calls 3 critical, S188 has something to teach on 9, S189 permits a mark on 18 and S190 finds 51 crossroads — so the first move of any analysis is deciding which question you are asking.

Apply the unit’s five analysis instruments to a fresh game: given a position from a game the class has never analysed, the student states WHICH question is being asked, then answers it by that instrument’s own rule.

taught after 186 · 187 · 188 · 189 · 190 · 191

194 Intuitive Sacrifices Teaching 65 min · 8 positions

intuitive sacrifice

Learn to judge a sacrifice that cannot be calculated to the end by naming its price first.

taught after 174 · 175 · 187 · 190 · 193

195 Creative Combinations from History Teaching 65 min · 8 positions

Combination: a forced sequence whose end you can see before you start it

Find the idea behind a famous creative combination by pricing what is handed over, proving the mate is forced against every defence, and naming which of the five ideas — DRAG, OPEN, VACATE, DEFLECT or BLOCK — is the one that makes the finish work.

taught after 120 · 187 · 189 · 193 · 194

196 Calculation vs Intuition Teaching 65 min · 8 positions

forced mate as a proof rather than an opinion

Decide between calculating and trusting your hand by testing every position for a short forced mate and counting the answers your opponent gets.

taught after 187 · 188 · 193 · 194 · 195

197 Risk Assessment in Complex Positions Teaching 65 min · 8 positions

practical risk

Assess practical risk in an unclear position by measuring two things — what the committal move gains over the quiet one, and how many follow-ups still keep it — and choose the sound, ambitious continuation on that basis.

taught after 175 · 187 · 194 · 195 · 196

198 Creative Play Challenges (Guided Practice) Guided practice 65 min · 6 positions

Creative play is not one skill but two, and the first move of every creative decision is choosing between them: if a forced finish exists the position is countable and calculation settles it completely, and if none exists the position can only be judged — by counting compensation against a bar, or by weighing what a bold move gains against how many good continuations survive it.

Practise finding imaginative resources in challenge positions and games: for each unlabelled position the student first decides whether a forced finish is available to calculate or whether the position can only be judged.

taught after 194 · 195 · 196 · 197

199 Unit Review: Creative Chess Review 60 min · 8 positions

Creative play is two instruments and one habit: if a forced finish exists the position is countable and only a proof will do, and if it does not then the resource can only be priced — so the first move of every creative decision is choosing the instrument, and this review proves the choice cannot be read off the difficulty, because every tier band contains both a countable card and a judgeable one.

Solve creative problems where the engine-perfect path is non-obvious: given an unlabelled position.

taught after 194 · 195 · 196 · 197 · 198

200 Attacking Players Teaching 65 min · 8 positions

the attacking style as a set of methods

Describe the attacking style as five named methods, and apply one of them by counting the men who can reach the enemy king against the men guarding it before choosing between a blow and a preparation.

taught after 188 · 194 · 195 · 196 · 197

201 Positional Players Teaching 65 min · 8 positions

the positional style as a set of methods

Describe the positional style as five named methods, and apply one of them by taking the ledger of the four questions before deciding between a move that takes something and a move that spends nothing.

taught after 175 · 176 · 177 · 178 · 200

202 Universal Players Teaching 65 min · 8 positions

the universal style

Read the two free signals in front of the enemy king, pick the instrument the position is asking for, and switch instruments when the position changes.

taught after 194 · 196 · 197 · 200 · 201

203 Finding Your Style Teaching 65 min · 8 positions

a playing style as a tie-breaker

Price the two roads of a position against the engine’s first choice.

taught after 196 · 197 · 200 · 201 · 202

204 A Game in Your Style (Model Game) Model game 70 min · 8 positions

a style read across a whole game

Explain how a model game reflects a particular style.

taught after 200 · 201 · 202 · 203

205 Unit Review: Style & Identity Review 60 min · 8 positions

A playing style is a preference exercised inside the board’s limits, never a plan applied to every position: the board decides which instrument has jurisdiction and whether it says go or stop, and only when both roads sit inside the forty-centipawn band that makes two moves worth the same does the choice come back to the player — which is why this review can alternate attacking and positional answers card by card, put both inside every tier band, and answer five of its eight cards with a refusal.

Match positions and plans to playing styles: given an unlabelled position.

taught after 200 · 201 · 202 · 203 · 204

206 Tournament Strategy Teaching 65 min · 8 positions

tournament strategy

Plan how to approach must-win, safe and recovery situations: count the slack your target leaves you, read what the position offers, and choose the road the scoreboard needs rather than the road the engine likes best.

taught after 186 · 193 · 197 · 203 · 204

207 Mental & Physical Preparation Confidence 60 min · 8 positions

mental and physical preparation

Students adopt three competition habits and see, in measured numbers from seven games this course has already analysed.

taught after 186 · 187 · 188 · 196 · 206

208 Building a Preparation File Tournament prep 60 min · 8 positions

building a preparation file

Students will begin a preparation file of their own.

taught after 186 · 188 · 196 · 206 · 207

209 Beyond the Curriculum — Self-Coaching Teaching 60 min · 8 positions

self-coaching

Route each of your own mistakes to the one kind of practice that repairs it, and set a long-term target whose horizon you have worked out rather than guessed.

taught after 186 · 188 · 191 · 196 · 208

210 Your Best Game (Game Review) Model game 70 min · 8 positions

Presenting your own best game: choose it with a five-test scorecard over the games you have actually analysed in full, then present it in 5 earned stops — turn, choice, plan, honest, finish — one of which must be your own worst move.

Choose your best game with a scorecard instead of a feeling, then present it in 5 earned stops.

taught after 186 · 187 · 189 · 192 · 209

211 Unit Review: Competition & Path Forward Review 60 min · 8 positions

Competition is chess with the world let back in: a standing, a body, a file, a record and an audience each get a vote that the position alone does not contain, and the discipline of Unit 6 is to name the voice, ask what it wants, and price it — which is why the same board can be a must-win and a safe board with two different right moves, why the only voice that asks you to give centipawns away on purpose asks for almost none of them, and why the review can put a 851-centipawn error on a Foundation card and a costless one on a Challenge card.

Demonstrate competition planning and a personal study roadmap: given an unlabelled position, the student names which voice from outside the position has a vote.

taught after 206 · 207 · 208 · 209 · 210

212 Grand Capstone Review Review 70 min · 8 positions

Interleaved review: sorting forcing from quiet before the search begins

Pupils learn to sort a position before they search it: to ask whether something here is forcing, meaning it finishes the game or wins a piece by force, or whether nothing is forced and the right move simply makes the position better.

taught after 42 · 84 · 128 · 173 · 211