raymondchouplayschess

[raymondchouplayschess]

Square Theory: Checkmating Attacks

To go over:

1. Square control 2. Forced mate sequences and “maneuvering” (moving the pieces into the right position without the king escaping) 3. Explanation of mating patterns

So I’ve been thinking about when it would be good to sacrifice everything to achieve checkmate - and my conclusion is that it’s when I control a lot of squares near my opponent’s king, and my opponent cannot easily defend these squares. So here are a few examples (stuff I made up):

I tried to create one where the squares near black’s king were very easily targetable, and very difficult to defend. It immediately gives a plus score for white...and the score keeps going up the longer I let it calculate.

It says the best move is to hide in the corner...

If black captures, they must come out, or else it’s forced mate. This is a really cool checkmate. A few things I learned from this debacle: 1. Don’t be afraid to repeat a bit if it means moving the king to where you need it to be. 2. It’s really good when their king occupies the squares that their pieces need, or when the pieces block each other.

This particular checkmate: 1. Qh5. This threatens Qh7#, and there’s no defense against it really, except Re8. 1...Re8, trying to prolong the game. Now h8 and g8 are both unguarded, so there’s only one piece arrangement that lets me attack both of those squares - the queen must be on e8. Notice e8 is a good square to work with because none of his pieces guard that square.

If Qh7+ immediately, then after Kf8, if Qh8+, then he can block with the knight, since the king isn’t occupying it. So

2. Qxf7+, denying the king access to f8. He must play 2...Kh8. Now, if I play Qxe8+ immediately, there’s Ng8. So I must first force the king back to g8 with

3. Qh5+ Kg8 4. Qxe8#

This is very telling - the move g6 stops mate because it controls key entry squares that I need - h5. My queen can only enter the fray because the h5 square is available to me, otherwise it just gets stuck.

Man, Stockfish is REALLY good at defending.

It found Ng8, which I like even better because it enables Nh6, which essentially sucks the life out of white’s attack, since all of the important squares are controlled, and black can block any checks down the h-file.

Here’s a really exaggerated example:

Yeah, there are just soooo many squares attacked that it’s hopeless for black.

Here’s another example.

White controls the shit out of the h5 square (he has sooo many available moves to control it even more), and black doesn’t have any moves that can contest h5 or g4. Furthermore, black does not have any moves that guard h7...so an attack is coming soon! Now Stockfish is giving +7.5, instead of +6.6.

g7: White can attack g7 is Nh5, Qg4, and if the knight on g3 moves, Rg3, and Bh6. Four moves. Black can only guard with Nf5. h7: White is currently attacking it with the c2 bishop, also Qh4 is possible. Black has no moves that can protect h7.

There are just soooo many ideas here. Interesting...

I’ll think about maneuvering later.

[raymondchouplayschess]

Theory: Square Control (Positional)

I realized my tactics are not as sharp as I’d like them to be, especially in fast games. Well, they are, I have the basics down, but more advanced things. And I’d like to be better at checkmating attacks; the young guns have me beat in that department. Only in longer games can I suffocate them with my positional play, since I have time to think about all of their counterplay...

So I’ve been thinking about chess in general, and I made a huge realization during one of my night walks the other day - 

Checkmating attacks can only happen if your opponent cannot defend the necessary squares. What this means is that you must attack on squares where your opponents cannot place their pieces! (Otherwise they’d capture them)

Also, when I play through opening theory, I don’t know what it is, but it just feels like all of my pieces fall into the right place at the right time, and I decided to think about it. How come everything defends everything else, and it’s perfect?

Well, my hypothesis for this is the well-known idea of “Square Control.” One should control squares, to place their pieces on, in order to control more squares, and so on and so forth. When one does not control many squares near their king, that is a sign of trouble. So it’s kind of like war - one must set up supply chains to move forward. (Douglas MacArthur!) 

So I played a game today where I found a weakness in my opponent’s camp (the f5 square, in a Ruy Lopez), and I realized that he could not move to defend it, so I just hammered the shit out of it and broke through, and then checkmated the dude. This got me thinking...and I ended up writing a few questions down that I want to answer regarding square control:

1. Which squares do I want to control, and why? (One that is or attacks a key weakness, perhaps?) 2. Which squares do I get if I control these squares? 3. How do I harmoniously move my pieces to control these squares? (So they don’t block each other, get in each other’s way, etc. 4. How do I deter my opponent from controlling these squares? 5. What moves can my opponent make to challenge my control of these squares? ----5a. What squares does he need to challenge these squares? ----5b. How can I disrupt his harmonious motion towards said squares? 6. What squares does my opponent want? (^Ask same questions but reversed)

So the first thing that came to mind was, well, Sun Tzu. I cannot control every square, or else I will be weak everywhere. So I suppose I need only to control important ones, and only fight him when he threatens a weakness that I may need to fortify, or something. 

Okay, let’s look at some examples here, so maybe we can see what’s going on. I’m going to take a random game played by Garry Kasparov, and try to make sense of it...

So here’s a position from Kasparov-Karpov, from their world championship match in 1990. Let’s look at what’s happening:

e4: White currently occupies this square, and it’s defended 3 times, by the b1 bishop, the e1 rook, and the d2 knight. If necessary, Kasparov can play Rae3 to defend it once more. The bishop on b7 cannot reasonably attack e4, so currently it is attacked only by the e8 rook. Karpov can play f5 to attack it, also Qc7, and Re7, and then Rae8 to get another attacker, or the faster Nf6, which also discovers a defense on the d6 pawn, his only weakness. Kasparov, on the other hand, can move his f3 knight and play f3 (but then Qb6 ideas?) and also, Nh2-f1-g3 to defend e4 one more time. The e4 pawn controls d5 and f5, and gives our knight use of the f5 square (They cannot play g6, because then Bb2 looks absolutely crushing)

e5: Kasparov currently controls the e5 square with his knight. Perhaps this is why he didn’t want to move his f3 knight - because then Karpov can play Ne5, which is a good square for the knight, and f4 might be weakening for Kasparov. Karpov controls e5 three times, with his knight, his pawn, and his rook. He could potentially fianchetto his bishop, but I think it’s risky, since it loses a defender of the d6 pawn.

d4: Kasparov controls this square only once, with his f3 knight. Though if necessary, he could play Nb3, and hten his queen and knight would join in the defense of d4. If he really wants, he can also play b3 (after the rook moves, of course) and put his bishop behind it to get another defender. Karpov controls the square with 1 pawn only. He does not have a move from which to add any more attackers to that square. Kasparov controls every possible square for a knight to advance to d4.

d5: This square is fortified by a pawn, own my Kasparov, and Karpov can never play a pawn move to disrupt it. (Though he can play f5 and undermine) If the knight on b4 isn’t present, Kasparov can play Ba2 to further support the pawn, but the response c4 seems obnoxious. But is it really? c4 cedes the d4 square for white’s use...Karpov is attacking d5 twice, but cannot capture lest he lose material. Also, it is good that e5 is controlled, so Karpov cannot play Re5 for whatever reason.

Let’s look at the squares near black’s king. h6 is quite fortified, it’s defended by the g7 pawn, as well as the f8 bishop. (Always play Bf8) Karpov has Qf6 to further support this square. g7 is defended twice, by the king and the bishop. f7 looks weak though - it is protected only by the king. g6 also looks rather weak - it’s protected only by the f7 pawn, which we might be able to pin. The c1 bishop x-ray’s the h6 pawn, the b1 bishop attacks the h7 square.

Easily Controlled Squares on the King Side for White:

It looks like the f5 square is the best entry point for white into black’s camp. Nh4-f5 looks like a great way to get in there, the square is defended twice already, and easily defendable after Qf3. Though we might want to play Rg3 before playing Qf3. Though I’m not sure how our d2 knight would feel about this plan...but it can go to f1-g3, further supporting e4. If we’re feeling really crazy, we can also play g4 and further shore up the f5 square.

There is the threat of g6 though...but aside from that, black has a hard time controlling the f5 square. Maybe Bc8? And then moving the knight somewhere else?

The g6 square itself looks relatively weak though. Given black’s current piece arrangement, it would be very hard to defend that square, especially if the f7 pawn is pinned or traded.

h4 and g5 are not good for white, since the f8 bishop can move to e7 to help the queen guard those squares. h5 and g4 and be fortified for black by Nf6. So it follows that we should attack via f5 and g6. Control of these squares allows us control of g7 and h6, which are already somewhat weak for black.

Let’s go a few moves in...(iirc, Kasparov goes for this insane attack)

More on this later, but so far this theory seems promising!

[raymondchouplayschess]

Pawns and Rooks

ROOKS NEED OPEN FILES. They need them. The ultimate goal is to get the rooks to the 7th, or even the 8th rank.

More space = easier to seize a file. Pawns are often sacrificed in order to open files for the rooks.

The enumeration of pawn islands almost always leads to a rapid and frequently very reliable evaluation of the pawn structure. Less islands = better.

It’s about fighting for the open files. More space = more room to maneuver. For example, in the KID, white can double on the c-file...but black cannot before the exchange on d6.

You know...doubled pawns aren’t always bad, especially if thy’re not isolated, and they’re in the centre. You can get some really solid pawn chains going like that, where there are literally no weaknesses!

If you have more space, launch that pawn down the board and open the file for your rooks! Also, avoid exchanges - the space advantage benefits the person with more space.

Rooks cannot win the game on their own - find ways to get the other guys into the mix! After penetrating the opponent’s camp, back it up! Double on that file!

Semi-open file: One of the pawns is missing. Good if it’s yours; pile up on that file. If they have a weak pawn on that file, we are happy. (Some Maroczy bind positions)

If we have extra space, sometimes the rooks can swing left and right on the third ranks as well. You can create pawn weaknesses by baiting him into kicking our pieces!

THE SEVENTH AND EIGHTH RANKS

Take away squares from the opponent’s pieces!

[raymondchouplayschess]

The King’s Indian Defense

Fianchetto Variation

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O

Both players are comfortably nestled behinds their fortresses. Many times, lines transpose into this position.

=========Naumann - Naiditsch 2016 ==========

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nf3 Bg7 4. g3 O-O 5. Bg2 d6 6. O-O Nc6

If white tries to play d5...that’s in our advantage, as that will weaken their structure, and loses flexibility. This also opens the diagonal for the bishop on g7. The knight on c6 also serves to support the e5 push. If white attempts to kick the knight, a5 is also a good square for it.

7. Nc3

(If 7. d5 Na5, two options: 8. Nfd2 c6 9. Nc3 or 8. Qa4 c5)

7...e5 (the thematic move of the King’s indian - black fights for control of the centre dark squares.)

8. d5 (we pray they don’t play dxe5...it’s kind of obnoxious, but black has responses for it)

8...Nb8!? (the plan is a5, Na6, Nfd7, but ya know...this is the new hype right now, and black aims to put a knight on c5. A more common move is 8...d5. Yes, we’ve invested two tempi, but remember that white defined their pawn structure, and will play on the queenside - black will play on the kingside.

Otherplans include: 1. Nbd7, e5, e5xd4 lines classic stuff 2. Panno System: 7...a6 8. d5 Na5 9. Nd2 c5 3. Gallagher Variation, based on Nbd7, e5, e5xd4, a6, place rooks on e8 and b8, create chaos by playing c5 and b5, usually sacrificing the d6 pawn.

9. e4 (if b4, then a5)

[raymondchouplayschess]

Ruy Lopez; d2-d4

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3

The difference here is that all of pawns of white can be used to pressure black...and black has a lot of pressure of his own.

THE CHIGORIN VARIATION

9...Na5 10. Bc2 c5 (10...d5 the Marshall Gambit is also playable)

Typically,

11. d4 Qc7 12. Nbd2

We’ve now reached a crossroads...open c-file with cxd4? Or maintain tension, and allow white to play d5 (closing queenside)?

Topalov - Ivanchuk, 2011

...... 5...Be7. Black should delay playing b5 until it is necessary, otherwise we target the shit out of those pawns.

6. Re1 b5 (black can also play 6...d6 but it’s not as good; we just play d4! If they then play Bg4, we should play d3 at some point.

7. Bb3 d6 (freeing the bishop, supporting the e5 pawn...but the e7 bishop is stuck in the pawn chain)

8. c3 O-O 9. h3 (because the position is so quiet, we must attend to all of the subtleties. We play this move to prevent Bg4.)

9...Na5 10. Bc2 (this is essential - if we allow balck to take our bishop, then we will be sad after Bb7)

10...c5 (better than c6 because now the knight on a5 has somewhere to go) The only way for black to gain counterplay is to attack the white pawn on d4. Loosening d6 and b5 is the price you have to pay.

11. d4 (wow, this pawn is under a LOT of pressure.)

11...Qc7 (propping up e5...also possible is 11...Nd7 12. Nbd2 cxd4 or 12...exd4)

12. Nbd2 cxd4 (first Chigorin scenario)

13. cxd4 Nc6 (13...Bb7 is met by 13...d5, which sucks for black)

14. Nb3 (propping up d4 twice by adding both the knight and queen as defenders, buys time for Be3)

14...a5 (threatening ...a4, gaining space)

15. Be3 a4 16. Nbd2 Bd7 17. Rc1 Qb7

Here....black has a decent position. White’s plans are to break down the e5 and b5 pawns...or play d5 himself. 

Topalov’s plan: 1. Get the bishop off c2 so that Nb4 does nothing 2. Retreat knight to f1 so Qd2 is possible 3. Play d5 4. If Na5 looking for Nc4 (as an answer to Qd2), then b3.

[raymondchouplayschess]

Pirc Defense, Austrian Attack (6. Bd3, 9. Kh1 and 9. Bc4)

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Bd3 Na6 7. O-O c5 8. d5 Bg4 9. Kh1

What is the purpose of Kh1? The idea is to play a waiting move - see what black wants to do, and then commits his pieces accordingly. Also, gets out of any Qb6 x-ray threats. For example, if 9...Nc7, then white need not play a3 for his d3 bishop. Also, Kh1 is just useful in general.

9...Rb8 (supports b5 in the future, and also keeps the option of Nb4 open)

10. a3 Nc7 11. Qe1 b5 12. Qh4 c4 (kick that bishop back! Also, 12...Bxf3 13. Rxf3 a5 is playable)

13. Be2 e6?! (a5 is playable here too)

14. dxe6 fxe6 15. f5?! (looks it drops a pawn, but allows the c1 bishop to pin the knight. But perhaps 15. Be3 was better)

15...exf5 

16. Bg5?!

16...h6! (put the question to the bishop!)

17. Bxh6 Nxe4! (Black wants the queens off the board.)

18. Ng5? (18. Bg5 doesn’t work either)

18...Bxc3!

And then Peralta destroys Larrea.

========= 9. Bc4 =============

......

9. Bc4

What is the point of this move? It helps shut down black’s most important pawn moves - b5, c4, and e6, and slowly improves his position. Less likely to appear at hte club level, where Qe1 is much, much more likely.

9...Nc7 (no more bishop on d3 to attack) 10. h3 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 Nd7 (preparing to capture on b6 in case of axb6 e.p. if we play b5) 12. Be3

(12. a4 a6 13. a5 b5 14. axb6 Nxb6 15. Bd3 c4 16. Be2 Nb5 17. Be3 Nxc3 18. bxc3 Bxc3 is also possible)

12...a6 13. a4 b6 (b5 is also playable) Remember that the g7 bishop is a scary scary piece...aimed at the knight on c3!

14. Rad1 (white aims to gang up on the a6 pawn with Qe2, black aims to play b5 with Qb8, Qb7, Rab8, b5)

14...Rb8

15. e5 b5 16. Be2 dxe5

[raymondchouplayschess]

Pirc Defense, Austrian Attack (6. Bd3, 9. h3)

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Bd3 Na6 7. O-O c5 8. d5 Bg4 9. h3 (attacking the pinned piece! But this blocks the rook’s square on h3, so white is saying that hey I’m not attacking anymore. Instead, he wants to play positionally, win the bishop pair, and play in the centre.

9...Bxf3 10. Rxf3 Nc7 (why playing this without white playing a3? Well, black’s gearing up to play e6, and since no Qe1, there’s no real point attempting to go after that c2 pawn.)

11. Bc4 (well, isn’t ...b5 just really tempting right now? 11. a4, Qe1 are all things to consider)

11...a6. (11...b5 is really playable)

12. a4 b6 (once again, b5 is playable here, but black wanted to keep the tension to maximize his winning chances)

13. Qd3 Qc8 (protecting the a6 pawn, preparing Rb8 and b5)

14. Rb1 Rb8 15. Be3 Nd7

16. b4?! (Bf2 was better...typical counter to black’s queenside explosion, but not so good in this case.)

16...cxb4 (perhaps b5 was stronger)

17. Rxb4 Nc5 18. Bxc5 bxc5 19. Rb3 Qd7

And then black crushes white.

[raymondchouplayschess]

Pirc Defense, Austrian Attack (6. Bd3...9.a3)

1. e4 d6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 g6 4. f4 Bg7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Bd3 Na6 7. O-O c5 8. d5 Bg4 9. a3 Nc7 10. Qe1 Bxf3 (now that the knight isn’t pinned anymore...get rid of it!)

The key here is to play the key pawn breaks b5 and e6...Nd7 is great because the knight on c7 can recapture on the e6 square.

11. Rxf3 (gxf3 is a blunder) e6 12. dxe6 Nxe6 (get our knights into the attack! Look how beautiful that d4 square looks for our knight!)

13. h3 (to prevent Ng4? here white can also play Rh3)

13...Nd4 (the promised land!) 14. Rf2 Re8 (they get their rook out the way, we x-ray their queen...15. Be3 Qb6 16. b3 Re7 is fine too) 15. Qf1

15...b5 (the key pawn break! ...c4 was interesting too)

And then things happen...

16. Be3 a6 17. Rd1 Nf5 18. exf5 Rxe3 19. fxg6 hxg6

20. Re2

and then stuff blows up

FAIZULAEV-PETROSIAN 2015

9. a3 Nc7 10. h3 Bxf3 11. Qf3 a6 (preparing b5)

12. Ne2 b5 (12. a4 is a mistake...it’s met by Nd7) 13. c3 e6

14. dxe6 fxd6 15. Be3 Qe7 16. Ng3 Nd7 17. Qg4 Kh8 (get out the way!) 18. Rae1 Rf7 19. h4

19...Rg8 (anticipating h3, and then after the g-file is open, the rook will be on it)

etc etc...just hold on to your position and kill them later

[raymondchouplayschess]

Plans in the Middlegame

Questions to ask yourself: What’s your worst piece?

What are my weaknesses?

Housekeeping moves - making sure everything is neat, tidy, defended, and removes their threats. Moves that take your king out of a pin, defends loose pieces, etc. When you’re not in a hurry, or don’t have any good attacking moves to make

Think - what’s the dream position? Then maneuvre to get it. See if you can get there whilst avoiding all of the possible bad stuff that could happen. Take your time if they have nothing to do! Especially if they have no threats. Only play as fast as you need to.

Nice thing about plans - can play quick and save time, especially if their move is harmless

RESTRICTING PIECES/PLANS

Two ways to restrict opponent - take away their squares, or tie them to the defense of other things

[raymondchouplayschess]

Ruy Lopez...Restrained Centre vs Steinitz Deferred (5. d3 d6)

1876 Steinitz-Blackburne

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3! (restrained centre)

5...d6 (Deferred Steinitz)

6. c3 (complete the Barricade!) Be7?! (in this case, 6...g6 followed by 7...Bg7 was much more promising)

7. h3?! (Modern chess has shown that this kingside attack isn’t that effective)

7...O-O

8. Qe2 (a more modern approach is O-O or Nbd2)

8...Ne8

9. g4! b5 10. Bc2 (remove the threat of Na5 altogether - where’s that knight gonna go? it’s out of squares...also if the knight isn’t on a5, then he can’t play c5!) Bb7

11. Nbd2! (Bb7 removes a defender of the f5 square, so rush the knight over there!) Qd7 12. Nf1 Nd8 13. Ne3 Ne6 (e3 is slightly more active than g3) 14. Nf5 g6

15. Nxe7+ Qxe7 (it’s okay to exchange a developed piece for an undeveloped one...because it is a key defender of the enemy king) 16. Be3 N8g7 17. O-O-O c5 18. d4

White’s attack in the centre opens lines for his dark squared bishop - which will help in the ensuing attack. THen Steinitz destroys the guy.

=====

ARESHCHENKO - MATTA Gurgon 2009

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 d6

6. c3 g6! (Fianchetto in the Steinitz Deferred...g6 guards the f5 square against the white knight) 7. O-O Bg7 (bishop is better on g7, as it’s too passive on e7, and too risky on c5)

8. Re1 O-O 9. Nbd2 Nd7 (the knight’s plans are d7-c5-e6, to attack the d5 square. Also, f5 becomes an option.)

10. Nf1 Nc5 11. Bc2 Ne6

12. Ng3 Bd7 (if white plays Be3, then black can play 12...Qf6 or 12...f5!? and so 13. d4? f4, which wins a pawn)

13. h3!? Kh8 (removes the threat of Bg4 pinning the knight to the queen...black doesn’t play f5 or Qf6 because it’s premature; white needs to show that he’s committing to d4 before this happens)

14. Ne2! (gearing up for d4, adds a defender to stop Nf4...if 14...Qf6, we can immediately play 15. Be3 16. d4 or 15. Be3 16. Qd2 17. Rad1...if 14...f5 then we play 15. d4) Ne7

15. d4 (the time is right!) c5!? (the game now becomes complicated)

16. Be3 f5 17. dxe5 dxe5 18. exf5 Nxf5

19. Ng3 Nxe3 (perhaps a mistake by black - the knight was his main source of counterplay, and he traded it for an inactive bishop...perhaps 19...Qc7! was better)

20. Rxe3 Bc6

21. Be4 (exchange the light square bishops - and black has completely lost control of the light squares!)

21...Qc7 22. Qc4 Nf4 23. Bxc6 Qxc6 24. Qe4 Qxe4 (unwise exchange of queens)

25. Nxe4 b6

26. g3! (if Rad1, then they play Rad8...Nd5 is forced, since Nxh3+ and Kg2 traps the knight)

26...Nd5 27. Rd3 Nf6 28. Nfg5

And Areshchenko destroys him later

[raymondchouplayschess]

Ruy Lopez (5. d3)- Archangelsk Setup (Bb7)

Carlsen vs Beliavsky

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 b5 6. Bb3 Bb7

This usually happens after 5. O-O b5 6. Bb3 Bb7 7. d3...but ya know

7. O-O Bc5 (against Be7, go for the usual a4, knight d2 f1 g3, etc)

8. Nc3 (we can get the knight to g3 faster if we skip Re1...this is particularly attractive because the bishop is on b7, and so is not helping defend f5) 

8...d6 (or O-O 9. a4 Na5...come back and learn endgame scenarios)

9. a4 (create retreat square for bishop!) Na5

10. Ba2 b4 (Bb7 is funny because it doesn’t allow for Rb8 to defend the pawn)

11. Ne2 Bc8 (lol nice repeat...thanks for pushing our knight where it wanted to go

12. c3! (the restrained centre is complete)

12...bxc3 13. bxc3 Bb6 (bishop retreats to avoid losing a pawn)

14. Ng3 Be6 15. d4 Bxa2 16. Rxa2 O-O

17. Bg5! (dxe5 wins a pawn...but we got bigger fish to fry) exd4 (if 17...h6 then 18. Bh4 g5 19. Nxg5! hxg5 20. Bxg5 followed by 21. Nh5 and or 22. Qf3)

18. Nh5! (Carlsen sacrifices a second pawn) dxc3

19. Nh4 Kh8 20. Nf5 1-0

[raymondchouplayschess]

Pawns and Knights

=Make outposts for your knights! They need outposts. It should be a square that is well supported, and the knight cannot easily be chased away. Usually, if they push their pawns past, it’s a good square for said outpost.

Candidate moves! Calculate each one. DO NOT GET TUNNEL VISION. Calculate every move. (Assuming we’re not playing speed chess).

=If we can, our knight should stop their pawn from advancing...preferably if it locks in their bishop.

=Knights are great for blockading; place them in front of a pawn, and that pawn ain’t going anywhere! However, the activity of our knight is not limited by this action. 

=If they have a passed pawn, it is critical that we block the damn thing. “The passed pawn is a criminal which belongs under lock and key.” - Aron Nimzowitsch

=Knights need outposts and targets - in the late game, knights can become a liability, especially when they are near the edge of the board.

Ask yourself:

1. What could be achieved if my opponent did not make a move and I was allowed several moves in a row? Opening a file for a rook, pawn weaknesses, setting things in motion for a tactical motif, improving positions of pieces, etc

2. Can I achieve this or can the opponent prevent it without any problem?

[raymondchouplayschess]

Things to Consider on Every Move

MY TURN: Calculation: Checks, captures, forcing moves, fortifying moves, prophylactic moves, positional moves in that order 0. What are his threats, and how should I respond to them? 1. Do I have any undefended/weakly defended pieces I need to take care of? 2. Will my move cause something to be undefended/the move is undefended itself? 3. Does my ply contribute to better placement of my pieces? 4. Can he easily kick me back with a pawn? (Piece moves) 5. What are his ideas, and will my move contribute to shutting them down? 6. More positional ideas THEIR TURN: What are they up to? What would I do if I were them? How do I stop it? Do they have any weaknesses I can capitalize on?

[raymondchouplayschess]

Pawns

And bishops - a bad bishop is a bishop without much activity.

If we have a bad bishop: exchange, alter pawn structure (pawn breaks), or maneuver it out (think bishop wiggle)

If they have a bad bishop, attack pieces on the other color

Bishops are evaluated based on how active they are, and how free their diagonals are. Consider this when making moves - also, look at the current climate of things - is my bishop going to have nice open diagonals? Or is it going to get trapped?

Rule 1: Arrange the pawns to support our own bishop Rule 2: Limit the radius of the opposing bishop...but rule 1 has precedence over rule 2!

=Consider the ramifications of your moves. Can you have an exchange which ends up locking in your opponent’s bishop? Remember, we want to maximize our piece activity and limit theirs.

=Defend your pieces - maneuver to get a protected advance.

=Think about what our opponents want to do - stuff their ideas. Deny them of what they want. ******THIS IS KEY

=There are a few ways to derail an attack - blockade, overprotect, interfere with defense, and capture.

[raymondchouplayschess]

The Ruy Lopez

d3 Lines

The first game is going to be Carlsen vs Topalov in 2010.

The idea is to play c3 and d3, and develop modestly but strongly, and not have tactics explosions everywhere. We’re being a little more positional.

d3 can be played when: 3...Nf6 4. d3 avoiding the Berlin defense 3...a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 avoids the open Ruy Lopez Or even 3...a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. d3, side stepping the open variation. Alternatively, 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 O-O 8. d3 works as well

=d3 informs our opponent of the pawn structure we wish - and they can develop accordingly. Black may aim to fianchetto the king side bishop if we play d3, which stops d4. =If 5. O-O Be7 6. d3 is powerful because black loses the ability to fianchetto. But...black may not play Be7, and opt for b5 instead, or even Nxe4.

CARLSEN-TOPALOV

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 (standard so far...avoid 4...b5 because the queenside pawns get too loose without any development for black, but it’s still playable. If 4...b5, white develops as best he can, and after the bishop is traded, plays 14. f4, opening black up for an attack) 5. d3 (rules out Nxe4) 5...b5 (guards against Bxc6 and winning the e5 pawn) 6. Bb3 Be7 (why not fianchetto? Because it would take too long in this current situation) 7. O-O d6 (when opponent plays d6, prepare to tuck knight away) 8. a4! (8. c3 is also playable, but a4 is more modern, threatens axb5, winning a pawn. Also, the a2 square is free for the bishop - where it can stay attacking the king) 8...Rb8 (getting out of the pin) 9. axb5 axb5 (white gets the open a-file) 10. Nbd2 (knight starts to make its way over to f1 and eventually g3 or e3) 10...O-O 11. Re1 Bd7 (Topalov playing too passive...perhaps Be6 was better? Re1 deters d5 from black) 12. c3 (preparing d4...this is great, because the knight on c6 is stopping the c7 pawn from advancing) 12...Ra8 (Topalov is falling apart!) 13. Rxa8 Qxa8 14. d4 (interesting that Magnus didn’t play h3 first)

...and then Magnus tears him apart.

MCDONALD - SAVAGE

8...b4 (last time they played Rb8)

9. a5!? (prevents black from playing a5 and supporting the b4 pawn, stops Na5 [which in turn stops c5], Ba4 is once again possible). 9...O-O 10. Nbd2 Be6 (putting the challenge to our bishop, we do the standard Ruy Lopez development) [If 10...Bg4, we play 11. h3! 11...Bh5 12. g4! Bg6 13. Nc4]

Then black’s bishop sucks.

11. Nc4 [why not f1?] [threaten capture on e5 if the opponent plays d5, defends a5] 11...Rb8 12. Re1 Nd7 13. Be3 [stopping Nc5]

Make moves that alter how the exchanges would pan out, and try to do it in your favor.

MOLLER SETUP (Berg-Rudd 2007)

3...a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. d3 b4 6. Bb3 Bc5 (get that bishop OUTSIDE the pawn chain! :D)

7. O-O d6 8. c3 [8. a4 Bb7 9. Nc3 could transpose us to the other setup]

8...Bg4 [supposedly to prevent d4...but we’re not going to play d4 quite yet... 8...Bg4 is good when white plays 8. a4 because it prevents 9. axb5, but here since Berg’s plan is a strong kingside attack, so the bishop is badly placed there. A better move was 8...O-O 9. Nbd2 Bb7 or 9...Bb6, and Ne7 - g6]

9. Re1 [we intend Bg5...but wait for them to castle first] 9...O-O 10. h3 [kick that mutahfucka] Bh5 [perhaps Be6 or Bd7 are better]

11. Bg5 [if 11...h6 12. Bxf6 black must play gxf6, as 12...Qxf6 is met by Bd5

11...Rb8 12. g4 [white going in there...and setting up the f5 square for the knight on b1. Only possible because of our strong centre]

[and then things happen]

[raymondchouplayschess]

Colors

Occupy one color, attack the other Think about which way your pawn lines point toward - should point toward their king

Think about the triangles (and their weaknesses) that the squares in the centre hold

[raymondchouplayschess]

Theorizing About Calculating Once More

The biggest problem before was that the system I had been using before didn’t work. So let’s try to calculate using an idea I’ve been thinking about - “spheres of influence.”

So it’s white to move here:

Very obvious what we should do - white should take the bishop on e7, and then go about his business. In this scenario, we are occupying the d4 and d5 squares with a bishop and knight respectively; the d5 square is attacked with by the knight on f6. The opponent is occupying the e7 and f6 squares, and the knight is attacked twice by our bishop and knight, and our knight is attacking their bishop, but their bishop is defending their knight.

Nxe7 is a great move because it removes the threat of their knight taking on d5, and it also removes the defender of f6.

If it were black to move, Nxd5 is great because it simultaneously removes the threats on e7 and f6, as well as the bishop’s threat of taking on f6 (and defends the bishop on e7!)

My goal is to find a way to calculate many lines in advance, simply by looking at a position. Unfortunately, this is probably going to be very difficult, if not impossible. In fact, I would like it if someone were to prove that such a method of “pre-calculation” was impossible, as I am about to sink quite a bit of time into it and would like to know beforehand if it is or not.

So some opening ideas: we can think about it this way (assuming white to move). 

So let’s talk about the “spheres of influence” of pieces; aka all of the squares that is being affected by that piece. Later, we’ll need to augment the theory to deal with pins and checks, and possibly forks as well.

So let’s look at the black knight on f6 - it’s “vulnerability” is on f6 (each piece, by default, has 1 square of vulnerability - the one it’s on!), and a vulnerability of -3 (the value of the piece). The knight influences e4, d5, d7, e8, g8, h7, h5, and g4. The knight’s secondary influences are the squares it can reach in 2 moves. There are quite a few, so I won’t list them. The bishop on e7 has a very obvious square of influence - the x it’s on of dark squares. 

So still supposing white to move: 

d5: our knight, attacked once d4: our bishop, not attacked

f6: their knight, we’re attacking twice, they’re defending once e7: their bishop, we’re attacking once

Nxf6 will exchange an attacker for the material (+3). they exchange an attacker for our material (-3), and we once again exchange the attacker for their material for a net gain of (+3). (Gross: +6, -3)

Of course, black doesn’t have to take, particularly if he doesn’t want to lose the bishop, as the long range capabilities are nice.

Nxe7 outright wins the bishop, as we exchanged our attacker on d5 for the material.

I think to understand tactics/exchanges, we need to understand how a capture works in chess. (In fact, we need to understand captures, defending, interference of defense, spheres of influence, blockading, checks, and pins...but we’ll get to that later)

In a capture, the following things happen:

1. Their piece is removed from the square that they are currently on, and out of play 2. Your piece replaces their piece on that square

This is precisely what makes chess complicated, is that all of the pieces behave differently, and have different spheres of influence on different squares. The pawns, for example, are very predictable, because they can only capture 2 ways. 

Let’s look at a few implications of that:

1. Your piece is no longer a vulnerability on the square it was before - instead, it’s a vulnerability on the new square.  2. The sphere of influence of your piece moves to the new square.  3. The square your piece was on is now vacant, so perhaps the sphere of influence of a piece whose attack path traverses through that square is now extended?

The trickiest bit is that secondary spheres of influence only come true if a certain capture were to occur. And that is tricky.