Is it really important to have a strategy in chess? How can I improve it and develop it in my games?
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What comes
to your mind when you think of chess strategy? Perhaps tactics and combinations
immediately come to mind, or maybe you think of long calculations and boring
positional play. Or it’s quite possible that you have no clue about chess
strategy and how to implement it into your games. So what is it anyway? Is it really necessary
to playing good chess, and if so, how do I improve my ability in its
application? This website will hopefully answer these questions you may have
and provide an excellent resource for further study.
Click here to find out how you can dramatically improve your chess strategy!
What is chess strategy?
Chess strategy can be thought of as the opposite of tactics. While tactics, sacrifices and combinations are aggressive forms of play, strategy is much more passive and involves long term planning to achieve a superior position over your opponent. Strategy is what is required in the absence of attacking options such as tactics and sacrifices. While such options may not be available to you, strategy allows you to build up your position to the point that those options become possible. Chess strategy can be broken up into three main parts: opening strategy, middle game strategy, and end game strategy. Opening strategies include piece development, king safety, controlling the center and tempo. Middle game strategies involve pawn structure optimization, gaining space, creating outposts for your pieces and the like. Finally, endgame strategies include queening pawns, getting the opposition and more. With a good grasp of chess strategy, you’ll have a sense of direction in any position you may encounter, whether it be in the opening, middle game, or endgame.
Why is chess strategy essential to winning games?
Strategy is an integral part of playing chess – and not just chess, but winning chess. Strategy helps you out when you are stuck and seemingly have nothing to do, and gives you a way to move forward. Even when you are neck and neck with your opponent, or if the position appears impossibly blocked and starved of any possible plan of action, strategy provides you with the opportunity to make good, well thought out moves. Knowing chess strategy is a must for anyone looking to win a serious game of chess. Knowing when to how to create and implement a plan of action based on the position, when to move a certain piece, when to attack, and when to defend will greatly enhance your chances of winning. You cannot expect your opponent to move as you’d like them to. They are trying just as hard to defeat you as you are trying to defeat them. The art of chess strategy is building up your position to force your opponent to weaken himself and have no other option but to play a bad move. You cannot expect to win by going all out against the enemy King without a plan. Sure, there will be times when you spot a good combination that will give you a substantial winning advantage. But most of the time, if you’re playing a decent opponent, that this won’t be the case. In order to beat them you’ll need think about the position as a whole, spot the imbalances such as pawn structure, material and space, and work those imbalances to your advantage. This is why chess strategy is important.
How can you improve your chess strategy?
So how can you improve your chess strategy? Hard work and commitment to the game is of utmost importance. You can start off by reading as many books or ebooks as you can about chess strategy. However, just reading about chess won’t improve your game; actually playing and trying to apply what you’ve learned will! Also, have a look at chess positions in which a strategy has to be undertaken, and try to find the correct one. Resources like the Chessmaster series have databases with hundreds of professional games that you can look over. But following previous games and browsing positions aren’t enough to improve your chess strategy. Imagine that you were sitting at the chess table. Try to think as the players themselves would have been thinking and try to ask the questions that they would have been asking when they came up with the correct strategy. This will help you to win games – by reproducing the thought processes of the masters. So if you’d like to improve your grasp of chess strategy, find good resources such as the one below. Have fun, work hard, keep at it, and you’ll be winning in no time!
Improve your chess strategy and start winning games TODAY!
Click here to find out how you can dramatically improve your chess strategy!
What is chess strategy?
Chess strategy can be thought of as the opposite of tactics. While tactics, sacrifices and combinations are aggressive forms of play, strategy is much more passive and involves long term planning to achieve a superior position over your opponent. Strategy is what is required in the absence of attacking options such as tactics and sacrifices. While such options may not be available to you, strategy allows you to build up your position to the point that those options become possible. Chess strategy can be broken up into three main parts: opening strategy, middle game strategy, and end game strategy. Opening strategies include piece development, king safety, controlling the center and tempo. Middle game strategies involve pawn structure optimization, gaining space, creating outposts for your pieces and the like. Finally, endgame strategies include queening pawns, getting the opposition and more. With a good grasp of chess strategy, you’ll have a sense of direction in any position you may encounter, whether it be in the opening, middle game, or endgame.
Why is chess strategy essential to winning games?
Strategy is an integral part of playing chess – and not just chess, but winning chess. Strategy helps you out when you are stuck and seemingly have nothing to do, and gives you a way to move forward. Even when you are neck and neck with your opponent, or if the position appears impossibly blocked and starved of any possible plan of action, strategy provides you with the opportunity to make good, well thought out moves. Knowing chess strategy is a must for anyone looking to win a serious game of chess. Knowing when to how to create and implement a plan of action based on the position, when to move a certain piece, when to attack, and when to defend will greatly enhance your chances of winning. You cannot expect your opponent to move as you’d like them to. They are trying just as hard to defeat you as you are trying to defeat them. The art of chess strategy is building up your position to force your opponent to weaken himself and have no other option but to play a bad move. You cannot expect to win by going all out against the enemy King without a plan. Sure, there will be times when you spot a good combination that will give you a substantial winning advantage. But most of the time, if you’re playing a decent opponent, that this won’t be the case. In order to beat them you’ll need think about the position as a whole, spot the imbalances such as pawn structure, material and space, and work those imbalances to your advantage. This is why chess strategy is important.
How can you improve your chess strategy?
So how can you improve your chess strategy? Hard work and commitment to the game is of utmost importance. You can start off by reading as many books or ebooks as you can about chess strategy. However, just reading about chess won’t improve your game; actually playing and trying to apply what you’ve learned will! Also, have a look at chess positions in which a strategy has to be undertaken, and try to find the correct one. Resources like the Chessmaster series have databases with hundreds of professional games that you can look over. But following previous games and browsing positions aren’t enough to improve your chess strategy. Imagine that you were sitting at the chess table. Try to think as the players themselves would have been thinking and try to ask the questions that they would have been asking when they came up with the correct strategy. This will help you to win games – by reproducing the thought processes of the masters. So if you’d like to improve your grasp of chess strategy, find good resources such as the one below. Have fun, work hard, keep at it, and you’ll be winning in no time!
Improve your chess strategy and start winning games TODAY!