White to Black, one rank at a time.
Eight ranks, White to Black, in four tiers: Foundation, Builder, Competitor and Master. One cycle in each of the first four ranks; two in each of the last four. No rank is skipped, except by the placement rule at entry.
White Rank
The board, the center and the Italian Game · check, checkmate, the fork and counting · squares, trades and notation · the Safety Check · the square of the pawn.
A lab to try: W1.1 The Board Is a Grid · Exhibit: none at this rank · Time in rank: 1 cycle
Yellow Rank
The special moves · pins, skewers and mate in two · stalemate and luft · the clock and two algorithms · the queen mate and the pawn race.
A lab to try: Y2.1 Two-Step Machines · Exhibit: none at this rank · Time in rank: 1 cycle
Orange Rank
Tempo and a first repertoire · discovered attacks and the calculation tree · pawn structure and outposts · the Blunder Log · the opposition and the rook mate.
A lab to try: O2.1 The Calculation Tree · Exhibit: My Game Collection · Time in rank: 1 cycle
Green Rank
The development score · three deep, with pruning · surveying your own structures · measuring the change · key squares and the knight’s parity.
A lab to try: G2.1 Three Deep, With Pruning · Exhibit: Design a Trap · Time in rank: 1 cycle
Blue Rank
A repertoire from statistics · the exchange ledger and the sacrifice · building an evaluation function · the time budget · Lucena, Philidor and the tablebase.
A lab to try: B3.1 Build an Evaluation Function · Exhibit: Human vs Engine Report · Time in rank: 2 cycles
Purple Rank
Preparation by structure · the windmill and the Greek gift · the plan as a hypothesis · routine versus no routine · plan versus tablebase.
A lab to try: P3.1 Test the Model · Exhibit: Club Service Record · Time in rank: 2 cycles
Brown Rank
The repertoire tree · how engines think · the structure study · the performance experiment · the rook mate as an algorithm.
A lab to try: Br2.1 How Engines Think · Exhibit: Teach a Lesson · Time in rank: 2 cycles
Black Rank
Defending the tree · alpha-beta by hand · the written study · the replicated report · the queen mate as an algorithm.
A lab to try: Bl2.1 Alpha-Beta by Hand · Exhibit: Capstone Study with Season Self-Assessment · Time in rank: 2 cycles
Start with White, unless the learner already plays well; a licensed site can place a strong learner higher by the placement rule at entry. There are nine learner certificates: one to begin at White and one for each of the eight ranks.
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