nimzo.academy

Project approval after AI review on 2 November 2026. Human proofreading is still pending.

Chess strategy for adults: getting started

You know the rules and play a game now and then. Now you want to understand how good players plan. This path shows you the most important ideas of Aaron Nimzowitsch in a sensible order.

Step 1: Getting out of the opening well

  1. Lesson 7: All your pieces want to join in

    In the opening, you bring your pieces into play one after another.

  2. Lesson 8: Why the middle of the board matters

    You recognise the four squares in the middle and occupy one with a pawn.

  3. Lesson 9: A move can gain time

    You develop a piece and attack an opponent’s piece at the same time.

  4. Lesson 10: A safe king

    You bring your king to safety and develop a piece at the same time, ideally by castling.

Step 2: Files and passed pawns

  1. Lesson 11: Clear paths for rooks

    You recognise an open file and put a rook on it.

  2. Lesson 12: A rook breaks in

    You bring a rook along an open file to the seventh rank and attack pawns there.

  3. Lesson 16: The pawn with a clear path

    You recognise a passed pawn and can create one.

  4. Lesson 17: A knight stops the pawn

    You put a piece directly in front of an enemy pawn to stop it.

Step 3: Planning like Nimzowitsch

  1. Lesson 20: Pawns help each other

    You recognise the base and the tip of a pawn chain and attack the chain at its base.

  2. Lesson 21: What does your opponent want?

    Before you move, you ask what your opponent wants and prevent a dangerous plan.

  3. Lesson 22: Improve your worst piece

    You find the piece that is doing the least, bring it to a better square and plan the next step.

  4. Lesson 24: A plan over several moves

    You find a target square for a piece and bring it there in several moves, even if another piece has to make room first.

Games to play through

  • Nimzowitsch – Tarrasch, Breslau 1925

    Two great teachers of chess play each other. At the beginning, watch the time each side needs for its pieces, and in the endgame watch how White attacks a second weakness on the other side.

  • Sämisch – Nimzowitsch, Copenhagen 1923

    Here Nimzowitsch plans over several moves how to use a strong square. Then he ties White up so tightly that in the end every white move does harm. He himself compared the game with the famous “Immortal Game”.

How to learn best

  • Solve each exercise yourself before you reveal the solution.
  • Play through the games and stop at the decision points.
  • Look up unfamiliar words in the glossary.
  • Repeat exercises in the “Practise” section after a few days.