Phase 5: Intermediate Play

Rating Range: 1700-1800

Recommended duration: 36 months

The biggest difference between intermediate play and beginner play is that not all games are (or could be) won on tactics. Sure, if you are a better tactical player you are likely going to win no matter what your rating, but there are many games played at the 1600+ level where the winner actually wins the game without the losing player just making a bad tactical mistake. Note I did not say “most” or “all”!

Tactics still predominate, so don’t forget to keep studying them. So first let me recommend an excellent tactical text: The Art of Attack by Vukovic. This is a classic work about how to probe for weak points, the idea behind the classical bishop sacrifice, etc. Highly recommended.

Need some advanced tactical puzzles? First go through How to Become a Deadly Chess Tactician by David LeMoir at least twice and then finally try John Emm's The Ultimate Chess Puzzle Book.

Again, if you enjoy computer-based chess puzzles, you can try the excellent CT-ART 4.0.

If you started as I suggested and have done all of this then, with a firm foundation on the basic motifs, you should be doing tactics at around the 2000 level. All of this board vision cannot be absorbed and assimilated in 6 months but, in conjunction with playing lots of slow games, you can get there in 2-5 years.

Another overlooked point is that while many books are on offense, just as often you are on the other side playing defense, so How to Defend in Chess by Colin Crouch is a worthwhile text.

If you need advanced an general endgame manual, Understanding Chess Endgames by John Nunn is a comprehensive read.

A step up from the Fundamental Chess Openings, is Mastering the Chess Openings, volume 1, volume 2, volume 3 and volume 4 by Watson.

Game books at this level could include My 60 Memorable Games by Bobby Fischer, the Life and Games of Mikhail Tal by Tal or Botvinnik’s One Hundred Selected Games by Mikhail Botvinnik.

Next page: Phase 6: Becoming an Expert