* Good positions don’t win games – good moves do. Silman says, “Make good things happen”. Play with a positive plan (although part of your plan might be prevention). The initiative goes to the side than can devise and (at least threaten to) put into action a realistic plan.
But don’t dither – decide what your basic choices are at the start – narrow it down to the two or three most likely – and decide. [If you know which plan you are following the moves can come fairly easily.] If you get it down to two moves which look equally good, find some other way of deciding between them (most centralising, least forcing for your opponent…). [You know the story of Buridan’s ass, which died of starvation between two equal-sized piles of hay because it never could choose which one to start on].
An endgame puzzle with a long solution is usually called a study. Here’s the most famous of them all. White can’t catch the h-pawn nor force through their own passed pawn. But it’s White to play and draw: Here’s a really neat one with the same limited material. White to play and win, but I…
(Fine) 1. In the initial position White, because of the extra move, has a slight advantage. Consequently…
* Don’t allow counterplay, e.g. a Pawn race, a counterattack against the other wing, if you don’t have to. Defensive play is difficult, and playing the downside of a position without active chances of your own is doubly so. [Many of the best players are masters at snuffing out the opponent’s plans.]
“Some part of a mistake is always correct” Xsawery (Saveilly) Tartakower
* BISHOP: like the Rook, also needs open lines. The long diagonals a1-h8 and h1-a8 are useful, but often it is more important to point them at your opponent’s King’s-side , for example, by putting them on c4 and e3. Two bishops side by side can be very powerful in attacking from a distance, for example on b2 and c2.
