ImperialResearch

Read the chart like a chess problem.

Learn to read the market, from your first chart to advanced setups. Every study shows one diagram and asks one question. Solve it, then read the rule and the level where the idea is cancelled.

Checked 3 November 2026

Study 10 Three identical shooting stars. Which one is the strongest?
Uptrend with three shooting star candles marked A, B and C; B pokes above two equal highs and closes back belowabcdefgh12345equal highscancelABC
Pick one, then read the solution.
Show the solution

Solution: B. Only B took liquidity: its wick ran the orders resting above the two equal highs and the candle closed back below them, and the next candle broke the last swing low. A formed mid-trend with nothing above it; C was taken out by the next candle. The full study.

Cancelled if a candle closes above B's high.

Illustrative diagram, not market data.

The collection

Twelve studies in five chapters, from what liquidity is to entries with confirmation. Each one stands alone, but they build in this order.

How a study works

  1. Read the board. Hollow candles closed up, solid candles closed down. Letters mark the candidates; dotted lines mark liquidity.
  2. Answer. Pick A, B or C before you read on. Committing to an answer is the point.
  3. Check the solution. The right candle is ringed and the cancel level is drawn: the price where the idea would be wrong.
  4. Practise. Mark the same setup on your own charts, on a demo or inside a challenge.

Tools

Where to practise

A broker account to trade the setups with your own money, a prop firm challenge to trade a firm's capital under strict loss limits, or an exchange to fund a challenge in crypto. Read the notes on each card: who it suits and who it does not.

FxPro

Broker

For trading the gold, Nasdaq and forex setups in these studies on MetaTrader or cTrader.

  • MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader and the FxPro app
  • Group companies regulated by the FCA (UK) and CySEC; international clients served by FxPro Global Markets, SCB licence SIA-F184
  • Not offered to residents of the United States, Canada or Iran

Affiliate link. CFDs are leveraged: 75% of retail CFD accounts at FxPro UK lose money (fxpro.com, 1 Nov 2026).

SabioTrade

Prop firm

One-step challenge for patient swing and day traders who keep a daily stop.

  • 10% target, 5% daily loss, 6% trailing drawdown, no time limit
  • $20,000 account for $119; up to 90% profit split
  • Weekly payouts: crypto wallet from $1, bank transfer from $15

Affiliate link. Facts from sabiotrade.com, 31 Oct 2026. Fees are not refunded and most challenges are failed. Not open to US citizens.

BrightFunded

Prop firm

Pay for the challenge and receive payouts in crypto; trade on MT5, cTrader or DXtrade.

  • 1-Step and 2-Step evaluations from $5,000 to $200,000, no time limit
  • 80% profit split, up to 100% with scaling; payouts in USDC or euros
  • A free $1,000 challenge to learn the rules first

Affiliate link. Facts from BrightFunded, 31 Oct 2026. Not available in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Vietnam or Pakistan.

Bybit

Crypto exchange

For buying USDT to pay a prop challenge in crypto and for receiving crypto payouts.

  • Spot and P2P markets for USDT and other coins
  • BrightFunded accepts USDT on TRON; SabioTrade pays out to crypto wallets
  • Not available in the US, mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada and other listed countries

Referral link. Check that Bybit serves your country before you sign up (Bybit help centre, October 2026).

Questions

Is this financial advice?

No. Imperial Research is education: how to read a chart and plan a trade with a clear cancel level. Diagrams are illustrative. What you trade and how much you risk is your decision.

What are SMC and ICT?

Smart Money Concepts and the ICT method describe price through liquidity, fair value gaps, order blocks and market structure. The studies use their vocabulary and test every idea with a plain question: does price respect it, and where is the idea wrong?

Which markets do the studies fit?

Any liquid market with clean candles. Our examples are written with gold, the Nasdaq 100 and EUR/USD in mind, the instruments most beginners trade.

Why chess?

A chess problem gives you one position and one question, and the answer teaches a principle. Chart reading works the same way: one setup, one decision, one rule you can reuse.

Do I need to pay for anything?

No. The studies, the tools and the checklist are free. Where to trade lists brokers and prop firms through affiliate links, for when you are ready to practise.