Base your plan on an imbalance. Imbalances include: 1) Superior minor piece 2) Pawn structure 3) Space 4) Material 5) Control of a key file or squares 6) Lead in development 7) Initiative (tempo)

Find the imbalances for both sides. Figure out the side of the board you want to play on – where a favorable balance exists, or where you can create one. Dream up fantasy positions, then figure out if you can reach it. Decide the candidate moves.

A combination (tactic) relies on either: 1) An open or weakened king 2) Undefended pieces 3) Inadequately defended pieces (overloaded defenders) If you see any of these, only then do you look for a tactical combination

Bishops: 1) Trade it for an enemy piece of equal or greater value 2) Make it good by getting your central pawns off its color 3) Make it active by getting it outside of the pawn chain

General: Every move should strengthen your position. All calculation is done with a goal in mind. Open positions require gains in tempo, where open lines and quick reactions are necessary; closed positions allow for slower maneuvering, and attacks are initiated by pawn breaks. First verbalize, then analyze.

Knights: 1) Need advanced support points to be effective 2) Useful in closed positions 3) Best blockaders of passed pawns 4) Knights superior to bishops in endgames with pawns on only one side of the board (can reach both colors), whereas bishops are better with passed pawns on both sides of the board Protect posts for your knights; take away squares for his knights (usually through pawns)

Steinitz’s anti-knight technique (and when should you trade): 1) Is the position open or closed? (Do I want knights or bishops?) 2) Are there support points for his knights? Can the knights get to them? Does it matter if they do? Can bishops reach similar superior squares?

General: If you have less space than the opponent you should initiate exchanges so that you have more room to work with, whereas the player with more space should avoid exchanges. In a position with black’s pawns on e6 and f5 and white’s pawns on e3 and f4, whoever gets their g pawn to the 4th rank (g4 for white, g5 for black) will usually take the advantage on the kingside. Never exchange pieces for the sake of exchanging pieces. Ask why it would benefit you to trade or not trade. Defend before you go for an attack. Limit the opponent’s counterplay as much as possible.

Space: Take as much as you can without over-extending yourself.
Pawns lose potential as they move up the board, creating holes for knights

Center: If you own the center, make it indestructible. If your opponent owns the center, apply constant pressure to it until it turns into a weakness for him. The center is only good because owning it will restrict the opponent’s pieces. If your opponent’s central pawns are forced to advance or are taken (by you attacking it with pawns on the 3rd or 4th rank), it opens up good squares for your pieces and the center is no longer doing what it was meant to do.

Pawns: Doubled pawns are acceptable if it gives you dynamic use of a rook on an open file and adds to center control without creating weaknesses (isolated a and h pawns is common – make sure they won’t be a burden to defend). Can you target certain pawns in your opponents’ structure? A pawn is only weak if your opponent’s pieces can get to it. Isolated pawns are usually best advanced and then traded off, eliminating this weakness/target. If you have an isolated pawn, keep as many pieces on the board as you can. You have an advantage in activity, but even the slightest slip up or a single passive move can put you in a very bad position. In general, most bad pawns can be compensated for by having active pieces. Only attack an enemy piece if you can succeed in chasing it to an inferior square.

Kingscrusher’s tips

1. Maintaining the tension in the position may have some benefits sometimes

2. "Simple chess" and avoiding complications may have some benefits sometimes rather than try and win with a combination that could be risky

3. "Strategic crush" in terms of trying to get good knights and pieces and making the position easier to play is often beneficial

4. Appreciating the significance of the seemingly insignificant details of the position - especially if they turn out to be strategically important e.g. creating a passed pawn - is often handy

5. Rooks on the 7th are often very dangerous and maybe worth even sacking a pawn for

6. The King in the endgame is often more useful as an attacking piece

7. Opposite colored bishops can really help the attacking player in the middlegame sometimes - like having an extra bishop

8. Keeping pieces protecting each other is often a good idea because "loose pieces tend to fall off" (Nunn quotation)

9. Keeping a good central control is often good because the center is like the metaphorical hill on a real life battle

10. In closed positions, maneuvering should often be given higher priority than concrete calculations

11. In closed positions often building up pressure behind a pawn breakthrough is often a good idea - to help prepare for when the position does open up

12. In the Opening the Tarrasch dictums are often useful like "Knights before bishops"... "Don't move a piece twice" "Try and castle early" etc

13. Overprotection is often best as White on the e5 point - it often prevents liberation from black with moves like f6, and if Black has castled K-side, it is easier to get an attack with a pawn on e5 quite often.

14. "Prophylaxis" in simple form is often a move like Kh1 in the Sicilian defense - tucking one's king away is a simple form of prophylaxis - which is essentially trying to safeguard one's position in the wider sense - a bit like locking your car after getting out of it.

15. Capturing is sometimes a mistake if it helps for example develop the opponent's pieces or releases some pressure from the opponent or untangles their pieces

16. Watch all of my videos at www.youtube.com/kingscrusher - especially the evolution of style series Haha

17. Don't just be content with the concept of "weakness" in a theoretical sense - e.g. "doubled pawns" or "isolated pawns" but try instead to determine truly "exploitable weaknesses" and even conversely gladly accept apparent theoretical weaknesses if they offer sufficient dynamic compensation. The qualification "exploitable" puts the feature more in the whole context of the position - more holistically.

18. "Pin and win" actually often does what it says on the box

19. Celebrating the pin by timing the exploitation of the pin often gains much more than immediately exploiting a pin.

20. Taking notes of "soft spots" and their importance around a King position often is very interesting and useful and can encourage sacrificial Tal-like blows.

21. If you are playing 5 minute chess on the ICC autopairing and the opponent has a rating over 2400 and is spending 5 seconds a move like a Metronome in the opening - be afraid - be very very afraid. Perhaps try and keep the position as solid as possible and aim to win on time.

22. Simplification is often a good idea if you are ahead on material but be wary of any compromises in trying for exchanges - like improving the opponent's position etc.

23. In OTB chess try and do post-mortem analysis with the opponent even if you are completely gutted - to help gain some insights for your future chess battles.

24. The Chessgames.com opening explorer often shows dynamic lines which are good statistically - even though many of the games are quite historical in nature. E.g. The Alekhine Chatard Gambit line against the french defence classical scores well. Making sure you are aware of the forcing variations of the position is often helpful and can lead to a forced win quite often. Also even unsound forcing variations gives insight into tactical liabilities.

25. Passed pawns tend to increase in strength as the position simplifies.

26. Looking out for the creation of passed pawns and their promotion becomes therefore increasingly important as the position simplifies.

27. A knight on the rim is often dim!

Chessmaster Grandmaster Edition

-Find weak squares in the opponent’s position and formulate a long-term plan around that -Generally, you should trade pieces when, first, you're ahead in material, second, you have a spatial disadvantage, third, an exchange will make one of your surviving pieces more powerful, and fourth, you'll be getting rid of a very powerful piece of the opponent. -Create two weaknesses for the opponent; their defenders will become overburdened -Create pawn islands for the opponent -Always look for ways to shore up your weaknesses when you have the chance to change your pawn structure. -Watch if you can keep them from castling -Try reversing your move order and see if that works better than your original plan. -Look for a quiet move in your calculation to see if that can throw a wrench in their plan -The threat can be stronger than the execution, tying up defenders and keeping constant pressure. -Expanding on the flank can help undermine the center -Weakness of the last move: what did they leave undefended after their last move? A piece? A good square?

Create Date : 22 กุมภาพันธ์ 2561
Last Update : 22 กุมภาพันธ์ 2561 16:25:00 น.		0 comments
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