How would you explain the difference between those two? Think about it.
(Your example sentences are going to lead down a different path than the difference between は and が. You're asking about the difference between です and あります).
In the first you describe 'that' and in the second you assert the existence of the chair, which I think is the difference between です and あります. We use は in the first because its talking about the chair, and が in the second because the chair is the one doing the action (exist)?
In the second we stress that this (the subject), and nothing else, is important. In the first we stress that the description, what it is, is important.
Which word did you stress in each? Now, imagine them with the wrong words stressed:
A. What is this?
B. THIS is a chair.
A. Which is a chair?
B. This is a CHAIR.
No words have changed. The word order hasn't changed. But if you only heard them, with the stress like that, you'd find them very jarring.
I bring this all up merely to illustrate that the two languages perform the same communicative task by using a very different set of tools. English uses stress markers while Japanese uses different particles.
これは何ですか?
それは椅子です。
どれが椅子ですか?
これが椅子です。
An easy way to remember the use and one that will help you MOST of the time is to remember that in alphabetical order, ga comes before ha (or wa, works both ways) and that ga usually stresses what comes before while ha usually stresses what comes afterwards.
It isn't 100% foolproof, but anything that will get you past the 50/50 random chance of picking the right one is a help.
All statements can serve as the answer to some question, even if none was asked. Sometimes it may help to ask yourself "What question would this statement be an answer to?" That will help you see what "missing" information you're providing, and thus which bit would be stressed, and which of が or は is appropriate.
I would say your examples are correct, but in the case of は and が a non-native is going out on a limb pretty much every time, so take my assessment with a grain of salt.
I say it works most of the time primarily because there is always some exception or contextual factor hiding in the shadows waiting to bite us on the butt.
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