Alexandra Kosteniuk’s Guide on How to Improve at Chess in the 21st Century

Level 5. Rating: 1400 – 1600

Knowledge needed to graduate to next level

Finding medium difficulty decoy, distraction and interference combinations. Spotting and calculating complex mates in 2 moves. Defending against mate and other threats. “Good” and “bad” pieces. Favorable and unfavorable exchange. Strong and weak squares. Aims and basic theory of common openings. Basic principles of pawn and rook endings (opposition, rook behind passed pawns etc)

Improvement Guide Articles

Here are some articles by GM Alexandra Kosteniuk and chess guru Steve Lopez on how best to improve at chess from different levels. You can come back to this main page anytime.

Recommendations Playing – Analysis – Database Software

Chess King Software (for players 200 to 1600 ELO)

Chess King is a complete chess package and very easy to use, suitable for a wide range of players, from beginners to intermediate players. There are lots of modes, from solving puzzles and quest games, playing Classical Chess, Analyzing games with the engine Houdini, a huge GigaKing game database, and complete Chess Opening Tree.

From $39.95 to $109.95, 4 activations for PC and Mac, suitable for players 200-1600 ELO

Recommendations Peshka Interactive Courses Software

Chess Tactics Art for Beginners;
Chess Combinations Encyclopedia;
Advanced Defense;
CT-ART. Mating Combinations;
Complete Chess Course;
Chess Tactics Level 3;
Attack on the King II;
How to Win Miniatures at Chess;
Combinations for Club players;
CT-ART 4.0;
Chess: From Beginners to Club;
Complete Chess Course;
Opening Lab;
Encyclopedia of Opening Blunders;

Recommendations Video Instruction

It would be a good review to watch the Complete Chess Course 3 DVD combo and the Chess Opening Ideas video DVD’s.

Chess King Guide to Opening Ideas (for players Rated 200 to 1600 ELO)

Don’t be surprised in the opening! Chess King’s Opening Ideas DVD Course is the quickest way to learn the ideas, plans and goals behind the major chess openings. Just watch the moves and listen to their explanations. Over 8 hours of instruction in over 90 chapters in this amazing openings video encyclopedia! Recommended for players Unrated to 1700 Elo. There are 3 volumes in the series: Volume 1: Open Games 1.e4 e5. King’s Gambit, Italian, Evans, Scotch, Two Knight’s, Philidor, Petroff, Ruy Lopez, Marshall and many more. 32 chapters, 145 minutes. Volume 2: Semi-Open Games 1. e4 others. French, Caro-Cann, Pirc, Scandinaviam Alekhine, Sicilian defense (Dragon, Sveshnikov, Najdorf, Closed, Alapin, Smit-Morra), etc. 27 chapters, 160 minutes. Volume 3: Closed Games 1.d4 or 1.Nf3. Queen’s Gambit, Reti, Benko, Grünfeld, Dutch, Slav, English Opening and several Indian Defenses (Bogo-Indian, Nimzo-Indian, King’s Indian). 33 chapters, 170 minutes. Over 8 hours of instruction in this amazing video chess openings encyclopedia. The course is masterfully presented by chess computer guru Steve Lopez. Features Chess QueenTM Alexandra Kosteniuk.

$49.95, zone-free video DVD for PC or Mac or video DVD, suitable for players Rated 200 – 1600 ELO

Alexandra Kosteniuk Commented Games Videos (for players Rated 800 to 2200 ELO)

CHESS BLITZ FEVER by Alexandra Kosteniuk

The DVD from Women’s World Chess Champion and Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk about Blitz Chess. Alexandra gives many tips on how to play better blitz chess and shows 8 of her sensational wins from the 2009 World Blitz Championship, where she beat World #1 Rated Magnus Carlsen, World Champion Vishy Anand, and super Grandmasters Gashimov, Aronian, Morozevich, Grischuk, Judith Polgar, and Naiditsch. All games are fully commented with simultaneous live screens and and 2D boards.

KOSTENIUK WOMEN’S WORLD CHESS CHAMPION

Exclusive DVD with over 3 hours of commented games and movies by the 12th World Chess Champion in the history of Chess Alexandra Kosteniuk. Every single game she played in Nalchik to win the World Title commented in detail in her own voice. Includes an exclusive full-length documentary of the 2008 Women’s World Championship narrated by Alexandra.

ALEXANDRA KOSTENIUK BEST GAMES

Alexandra comments in detail the 10 best games of her career, and mentions why she thinks they were important for her development as a chess player.

$49.95, zone-free video DVD for PC or Mac or video DVD, suitable for players Rated 800 – 2200 ELO

Recommendations Android apps

Check out our Chess King Android Apps on the Play Store.
We have more than 20 Android Chess apps and more come out every week. Already more than 1 million downloads. All courses are free downloads and provide sample theory and exercises. If you like the course, you can buy the full course.

Chess Tactics Art (1400-1600)

A fundamental course on chess tactics for Beginners. The course contains 150 teaching examples and 1500 new exercises useful for consolidation of acquired knowledge. The exercises are classified according to more than 30 tactical methods and motifs. The program allows you to study the theoretical material and test your knowledge, see changes in your rating and keep track of your progress.

Free download, in-app purchases, suitable for players 1400-1600 ELO

Chess: From Beginners to Club (200-1600)

This teaching program is a kind of guide. It will introduce you to the rules and laws of chess and let you work your way of improvement from the level of Beginner to the one of Club Player. In the course 100 chess topics are considered including rules of chess game; methods of playing in opening, middle game and ending; combinational techniques and basic elements of strategy. All in all, the course contains 500 teaching examples and 700 exercises useful for consolidation of acquired knowledge.

Free download, in-app purchases, suitable for players 200-1600 ELO

Chess Tactics Art: Mate Theory (1200-1800)

CT-ART Mating Combinations program is the unique due to two causes: the high quality of the theoretical material and a new technology of giving the studying material, the iBook technology that uses hyperlinks and additional windows for comfortable usage of the studying material. The course is prepared by the famous coach Victor Khenkin and includes 1200 instructive examples on 14 themes, each of them illustrates the peculiarities of using certain pieces for mating combinations and 700 exercises for you to solve.

Free download, in-app purchases, suitable for players 1200-1800 ELO

Chess Combinations Vol. 1 (1200-2000)

The fundamental chess program for club players. The first part includes more than 1300 exercises (more than 200 examples to explore and 1100 to solve), classified in 40 tactical methods and motifs. The program allows you to study the theoretical material and test your knowledge, see changes in your rating and keep track of your progress.

Free download, in-app purchases, suitable for players 1200-2000 ELO

Chess Combinations Vol. 2 (1200-2000)

The fundamental chess program for club players. The second part includes more than 2600 exercises (more than 400 examples to explore and 2200 to solve), classified in 60 tactical methods and motifs. The program allows you to study the theoretical material and test your knowledge, see changes in your rating and keep track of your progress.

Free download, in-app purchases, suitable for players 1200-2000 ELO

Chess Opening Lab (1400-2000)

This is a perfect opening manual. It features a theoretical review of all the chess openings, which are illustrated by instructive games of the greatest chess players. This compact opening manual contains a detailed classification, which makes it useful to players of any level – beginners, intermediate and advanced players. Each opening variation is supplied with evaluations and characteristics of key moves.

Free download, in-app purchases, suitable for players 1400-2000 ELO

Manual of Chess Combinations (1400-2000)

The material used in the program is based on a textbook by a renowned chess trainer Sergey Ivashchenko – Manual of Chess Combinations vol 2. You have to find the most important moves. Once you’re solving a problem and proposing a wrong move, the program helps you with various visual hints (such as arrows showing key lines of attack), and eventually shows the piece which is to move.

Free download, in-app purchases, suitable for players 1400-2000 ELO

Chess Opening Blunders (1400-2000)

Encyclopedia of Opening Blunders – learn to play chess by learning the opening mistakes and traps that have been discovered over time. The program designed for studying the blunders in more than 40 openings and contains over 1,250 instructive exercises of varying difficulty from practical games. The program allows you to study the theoretical material and test your knowledge, see changes in your rating and keep track of your progress.

Free download, in-app purchases, suitable for players 1400-2000 ELO

Mate in 3-4. Chess Puzzles (1400-1600)

This course includes more than 2500 exercises for mating in 3 or 4 moves. You will have to use your fantasy and precise calculation in order to find a correct way of attacking the king. After going through this course you are sure to improve your skills and abilities considerably and will not miss an opportunity to employ a nice little combination in a practical game of your own. The program is intended both for club players and intermediate players. All the exercises are taken from practical games and arranged according to the names of pieces and difficulty levels.

Free download, in-app purchases, suitable for players 1400-1600 ELO

Complete Chess Course (1000-1600)

This course is an interactive tutorial for those unexperienced players, both children and adults, who have already learnt the rules of chess and now wish to become players of intermediate strength. This course covers a wide range of opening, middlegame and endgame subjects. It starts off by teaching you how to checkmate the lone king and proceeds to more advanced topics, such as utilizing a material or positional advantage. This program includes 55 lessons with more than 1200 instructive examples and exercises.

Free download, in-app purchases, suitable for players 1000-1600 ELO

CT-ART 4.0 (Chess Tactics) (1200-2400)

The legendary tactics course that has been voted more than once by chess experts as the best chess training program in the world. This version includes 2,200 basic exercises and 1,800 auxiliary exercises, divided into 50 topics. The course is based on the bestselling book Combination Motifs by a renowned trainer grandmaster Maxim Blokh. All positions have been hand-picked over the course of 20 years of training practice and come in the order that ensures most efficient learning.

Free download, in-app purchases, suitable for players 1200-2400 ELO

Recommendations Chess King Learn

For a limited time all Chess King Learn web-based Courses are free!
Check out our courses. We are adding more every week. Select the language you want and the course.

SPECIAL COMBOS FOR LEVEL 5

Chess King Gold + 8 Peshka Courses Level 5

– Chess King Platinum Pro (new for 2017)
– From Beginner to Club Player
– Attack on the King II
– Advanced Defense
– Complete Chess Course
– CT-ART. Mating Combinations
– CT-ART 4.0
– Opening Lab
– Chess Combinations for club players

Price: $199.99 buy now

Chess King Guide to Opening Ideas + Kosteniuk Combo (6 DVD)

– Chess Opening Ideas 3 DVD
– Kosteniuk 3 Video DVD COMBO

Price: $79.99 buy now