Explicit statements in the provided text are:"Becoming an expert in chess, defined by the United States Chess Federation $($USCF$)$ as having a rating of $2000,$ and by the International Chess Federation $($FIDE$)$ as having a rating of $1800-2000,$ requires a significant amount of study, practice, and competitive play.""Learn the Basics: The game of chess has $6$ different types of pieces $($pawn$,$ rook, knight, bishop, queen, king$),$ each with its own movement rules. The World Chess Federation $($FIDE$)$ provides a comprehensive guide to the rules of chess.""Study Opening Principles: Recognized openings have been studied extensively and categorized into 'open', 'semi$-$open', 'closed' and 'semi$-$closed' games. The Encyclopedia of Chess Openings $($ECO$)$ is a significant resource containing around $1000$ different opening variations.""Master Tactics and Middle Game Strategies: Tactics involve short$-$term attacks or defenses, while strategies involve longer$-$term plans. A survey by Chess.com analyzed $2$ million games and found that the most common tactical themes were forks and pins.""Endgame Knowledge: The endgame is when there are few pieces left on the board. According to GM Dejan Bojkov, the ability to convert a pawn into a queen $($pawn promotion$)$ is one of the critical skills in the endgame.""Play and Practice: Regular play helps put learning into practice. According to a study published in Acta Psychologica in $2007,$ more experienced chess players can recall significantly more pieces from a game position than novices."These statements provide clear and direct information about various aspects of becoming proficient in chess.