The book summarizes the experience of the Soviet chess school, sets out a system of methods for preparing for competitions, discusses the strategy and tactics of a chess game. It sets out the scientific, pedagogical and practical recommendations of world champions M. Botvinnik, V. Smyslov, M. Tal, T. Petrosyan, A. Karpov and G. Kasparov, and also includes materials from the classical heritage belonging to outstanding chess players of the past.