The Fundamentals 3: Chess Evolution - GM Artur Yusupov

Strategy course by GM Artur Yusupov
Includes book, video and PGN

Language: English
Lectures: 26
Total Running Time: 16 hours 51 minutes

From the course:

Fix the Holes in Your Fundamentals and Watch Your Chess Evolve

Climbing from club player to master is a long grind. The key to building that bridge is systematically plugging your chess knowledge gaps with clear, consistent training.

Artur Yusupov’s award-winning 9-volume series is designed to do exactly that: close those gaps and guide you step by step toward master strength.

His structured training program has already helped thousands of students make major improvements, and is even used by coaches in their lessons.

This course concludes his first trilogy, the Fundamentals, where you tackle the most important concepts in all key areas of the game: tactics, strategy, openings and endgames.

Although it builds on the previous volumes, it also stands on its own: each concept is clearly explained, so earlier parts are helpful but not essential.

Many key fundamentals appear here, but one theme dominates this edition: attacking. You’ll sharpen your tactics and calculation with exercises that send you straight after the enemy king.

Focusing on attack naturally means focusing on tactics, which is a good focus to have, because it’s the biggest driver of improvement below master level.

But to actually find combinations like the one above in your own games, you also need to build your strategy accordingly.

An attack on the opposing king is the most natural of strategic plans. It is important to properly prepare an attack on the king, and then to conduct it energetically.


You’ll work on attacking ideas in all phases of the game. In the opening, you’ll focus on open and semi-open positions and the typical attacking chances they offer.

You’ll get plenty of exercises to train tactics and calculation, but you’ll also sharpen your positional play.

Learn how to make both material and positional advantages count, with topics such as:

? How to create a passed pawn
? How to force favorable exchanges and pawn structures
? How to regroup your pieces to better squares

This often requires finding quieter moves, which you’ll train with exercises like this one.

Last but not least, you’ll tackle important endgame topics, with chapters on:

♟️ Fortresses in bishop vs. pawn endgames
♟️ Knight barriers to save inferior endgames
♟️ Converting extra pawns
♟️ Typical winning and drawing situations in queen vs. rook endgames

You’ll also revisit themes from volumes 1 and 2, like zugzwang in the endgame.

The Structured Way to Serious Improvement: Your Coach Substitute

If you’ve studied the earlier parts of Yusupov’s series, you know his work is built like a comprehensive training program, not just another book. All lessons follow a clear structure:

✅ Each chapter introduces an essential chess concept with instructive examples
✅ 12 themed exercises per chapter reinforce what you’ve learned
✅ Self-scoring after each lesson shows you your strengths and weaknesses
✅ A final test chapter with mixed positions checks your overall progress

It works as a coach substitute: a systematic program to make sure you cover every important topic on your path to improvement.

And with 16+ hours of video by the author himself, it feels even more like he’s guiding you personally.

Your coach, Artur Yusupov is a three-time World Championship Candidate, with a peak rating of 2680 Elo and a peak world ranking of #3.

Now a FIDE Senior Trainer, he combines his huge practical experience with the training methods of his late mentor Mark Dvoretsky, often called the greatest chess trainer of all time.