Temposchlucker

Tactical prowess on the rise I think that it is safe to say that my tactical prowess is on the rise again. Yet it is difficult to convert that into a win. I score much better against lower rated players than I used to. But my positional approach is still below any standards. Poor opening and middlegame play There are two main reasons for that. The first is that my opening play is poor. The reason for that is that I adopted three new openings not so long ago, and events in life lately caused me to forget most of the essentials. Addressing poor opening play I try to address this by a threefold approach.  I register and analyse my games with the aid of a mind mapping program. The goal is to identify the problems I try to find ways to solve these problems with the aid of literature, Stockfish and opening databases I bought Chess Opening Wizard professional (former Bookup) to train these solutions. All this is new to me. I never had a clue how to analyze my games. It will be a matter of...

  Pattern recognition in chess is a critical skill that allows players to quickly identify common positions, tactical motifs, and strategic ideas based on their previous experience and knowledge. By recognizing patterns, players can make better decisions, calculate variations more efficiently, and anticipate their opponents' moves. This skill is developed through practice, study, and experience. Here are some aspects of pattern recognition in chess: Tactical motifs: These are recurring patterns in which specific pieces interact to create threats, such as forks, pins, skewers, discovered attacks, and double attacks. Recognizing these motifs helps players spot tactical opportunities and avoid falling into tactical traps set by their opponents. Opening patterns: Chess openings often lead to familiar pawn structures and piece placements. Recognizing these patterns allows players to recall the principles and typical plans associated with specific openings, which helps them find good mov...

If white waits with castling, but black does not, we might get the following position after 1.Nc3 O-O 2.Nd5 g5 3.Nxg5 Nxd5 4.Qh5 Black to move r1bq1rk1/ppp2p2/2np3p/2bnp1NQ/2B1P2B/3P4/PPP2PPP/R3K2R b KQ - 1 4  GM Simon Williams, who comments on The Art of Attack, goes astray here, since he judges this as being a devastating attack for white. But black can save himself here by 4. ... Qf6 So it is easy to become over-optimistic while you are attacking. Even grandmasters like Williams and Vukovic can be wrong. If they play against mister Stockfish.

 This is the position of the previous post after 1.O-O g5 2.Bg3 h5 White to move r1bqk2r/ppp2p2/2np1n2/2b1p1pp/2B1P3/3P1NB1/PPP2PPP/RN1Q1RK1 w kq - 0 3  Now white has only one move to save the day. Stockfish has no trouble to find it. But can your opponent? The point being that white must find a series of only moves, while the black pieces are much easier to handle. Black has simply more potential threats than white, hence white has more possibilities to go astray. If whites counter attack doesn't follow through, he must defend. But his pieces are not ideally placed for defence. Bishop c4 can attack, but not defend, for instance. When Stockfish smells a rat, your opponent is already too late. Stockfish isn't the right tool to find potential rats.

 For attacking play, we must develop a new way of looking at a position. We must develop a sense for what pieces might be able to do in the long run. We must be able to smell a rat long before Stockfish does. Since Stockfish might see a defense which your opponents will overlook, since they are not a computer. So Stockfish will not ring the alarm bells. It only will do so when something already is irreversibly wrong. Have a look at the following position. White to move r1bqk2r/ppp2pp1/2np1n1p/2b1p3/2B1P2B/3P1N2/PPP2PPP/RN1QK2R w KQkq - 0 1  This diagram is a bit unusual for this blog. First of all, it is our opponent to move. Second, there is nothing forcingly in the position. Please bear with me, I'm on terra incognita. White played 1. O-O here. And that is a perfectly reasonably move. Stockfish judges the position still as equal after searching 34 ply deep. But that is because Stockfish sees the perfect defense for every situation. The position is equal, because both sides h...

 Let us think about which areas we need to investigate when we talk about an attack. Vukovic describes several situations. The king in the middle which has still the right to castle The king in the middle which has lost the right to castle The king which has castled kingside The king that has castled queenside When to make committal moves When the king is in the middle but hasn't lost the right to castle, it is not the right time to make committal moves. Since when you commit your pieces to an attack and the king simply castles into safety, your pieces will look silly. Instead you must make flexible moves. Which attack the king in the middle, but are useful for an attack on the castled king position too. Keeping the king in the middle There are several ways to keep the king in the middle. Putting pressure along the e-file so the king is forced to protect a pinned piece Forcing the king to move A pawn storm along the flanks, so the king will castle into trouble Piece sac on f7 As yo...