Download Reminder: The accompanying “How To Study Chess On Your Own PDF” contains a checklist of these tools with direct download links.
If you’ve ever felt stuck at a rating plateau, unsure what to study next, or overwhelmed by the sheer volume of chess information available, Grandmaster Davorin Kuljasevic’s How to Study Chess on Your Own is one of the most valuable books published in recent years.
While owning the physical book is great, many players seek a PDF version for convenience, searchability, and portability. This post explains why the book is so effective, how to use it, and where to legitimately access the content.
Knowledge without review is water in a sieve. You must build a Weekly Review Session into your schedule.
Every Sunday, answer these five questions in a journal: How To Study Chess On Your Own Pdf
Why this works: You are creating meta-cognition (thinking about your thinking). This is the hallmark of every self-taught grandmaster, from Philidor to Bobby Fischer.
The final page of the “How To Study Chess On Your Own PDF” is a 6-month journal template with these exact prompts for 26 weeks.
You have the theory. Now, here is exactly how to build your PDF—or you can use the template described below.
What the PDF Contains (25 pages):
How to get it: You can create this PDF yourself using a word processor and the outline above. Alternatively, search for "self-study chess PDF template" on sites like Teachers Pay Teachers or Etsy—many coaches sell these for $5–10. Or, for a free DIY version, copy the headings from this article into a Google Doc, format as a table, and export as PDF.
Immediate Action Step: Open a new document. Title it "My Chess Study Plan – [Current Month]." Copy the weekly schedule from Part 3. You now have the first page of your PDF.
If you only master one skill from this article, let it be self-annotation. Here is the step-by-step method to analyze a single game on your own.
Phase 1: Silent Reflection (No engine, no book) Download Reminder: The accompanying “How To Study Chess
Phase 2: The “Why Did I Lose?” Tree
Phase 3: Engine Validation
Pro Tip: The included “How To Study Chess On Your Own PDF” contains a printable “Game Analysis Worksheet” with these three phases laid out visually.