The first three things to get good at

Before tactics, before openings, before anything with a name: can you see a mate in one, and can you see a piece you can take for nothing?

• 3 motifs
• 360 positions
• Section First Moves

Almost every game under 1000 is decided by one of two events. Somebody left a piece where it could be taken, or somebody missed a checkmate that was available in one move. Nothing else comes close, and no amount of opening study changes it.

So this section is short on theory. It is three skills, each drilled until it is instant, because instant is the point: a free rook you find after ninety seconds of thought is a free rook you will miss in a five-minute game.

Every motif in First Moves

• Getting StartedThe very first positions
• Mate in OneFinish it in a single move
• Free PiecesTake what is left undefended

Other sections

• TacticsForks, pins, skewers, traps
• Checkmate PatternsBack rank, smothered, mate in two
• Sharper TacticsDiscovered attacks, deflection, x-ray
• Sacrifices and Quiet MovesSacrifices, zwischenzug, zugzwang
• EndgamesPawn, rook, queen, minor piece
• AttackingKingside, queenside, mating attacks
• OpeningsTactics from real openings
• Blind SpotsNo hint, and the rule nobody sees
• The Ladder1200 to 2400, four rungs
• Open Games1.e4 e5, and the argument over f7
• Ruy Lopez LinesMorphy, Exchange, Berlin
• Sicilian SystemsAnti-Sicilians and main lines
• French VariationsAdvance, Exchange, Tarrasch, Winawer
• Caro-Kann VariationsExchange, Advance, Classical
• Sidelines and SurprisesGambits that should not work