PHIL WARREN

'Keep your pupil inspired ...and you will keep your pupil.'

I have been a private tutor for over 20 years. During this time I have learnt how important it is to inspire my pupils. I began my teaching career as a music tutor, teaching Rock & Pop. I have always found that pupils who are inspired work hard, practise & this leads to superior results.

Chess has a remarkable history stretching back almost 1500 years. Some of the key insights and theory developed over the past 300 years and chess theory has evolved with great pace since the introduction of hypermodern theories of chess.

I teach beginners the fundamentals of chess playing: basic methods of delivering mate using combinations of your pieces. You will also learn how to develop your pieces as fast as possible and swarm your opponent’s king.

Should you wish to challenge players with an Elo rating of over 1500, you will need to begin to study the vast array of CHESS OPENINGS. I follow the approach of master chess tutor (and key developer of hypermodern theory) Richard Reti. You will learn about the history of openings in the order that they were developed, from the 1800s onwards.

The fundamental tool of the successful chess player is the capacity to develop classic chess ‘combinations’, by executing two or more of the chess players basic artillery of ‘tactics’: double attacks, fixations, obstructions etc. Whilst some may assert that the ability to set up and deploy such intricate methods are surely the result of pure talent, Reti maintains that "It is a mistake to think that combination is solely a question of talent, and that it cannot be acquired.” He further counsels that “the more one sees them, the easier it becomes to conceive and follow through such combinations themselves.” Following Reit’s masterful advice, we will study some of the greatest games in chess history, with the aim of carefully observing how the never changing stock of chess tactics have been ever combined in more stunning and masterful combinations.