Tips For ChessKids From The World Championship

 

It's easy to think that the world championship match between former ChessKids Magnus Carlsen and Sergey Karjakin has little to teach ChessKids, but nothing could be further from the truth Here are three useful lessons ChessKids can learn just from game five!

1: When the kings are on opposite sides, you can attack with your pawns!

Would you push the g5-pawn here ChessKids?

I hope not! It's very dangerous to push the pawns around the king! Those pawns are bodyguards, and they should protect the king.

However, if the black king were on the opposite side of the board, it would be brilliant to play ...g5! and start an attack. Therefore Karjakin brilliantly marches his king to the queenside and then attacks with the pawns!

2: Opposite-color bishops are great attackers.

If you've seen our video on opposite-color bishops, you know they make a lot of draws in the endgame  That's not true in the middlegame though! Opposite-color bishops can be great attackers since the opponent has one less defender on the color of your bishop.

In game five, Carlsen forgot that opposite-colored bishops can be fearsome attackers. Can you find the key move that Karjakin played here to get his bishop on e6 to an incredible attacking post?

3: Rooks belong on open files!

Although Karjakin has just played a brilliant move to put his bishop on d5, he might have won this game if he had used a new strategy here. ChessKids surely know that rooks belong on open files. What move should Karjakin have played here ChessKids?

I know you saw it, ChessKids, but Karjakin missed it  Black still has an attack, but it's never easy to beat the world champion. Carlsen wriggled out of Karjakin's attack and got a draw.

Magnus Carlsen vs Sergey Karjakin, Game 5 World Championship Match