Experts

A minority attack is where you advance pawns on the wing where you have fewer pawns. This works if your opponent’s extra pawn on that side is backward on a half-open file. The furthest square on a half-open file is an outpost for you, and if your opponent attacks your piece on that square with…

If an enemy piece is stranded on one wing, finding it difficult or impossible to get across the board, then start a fight on the other wing. There you will be a piece ahead. (Winter-Capablanca) Click […] to see list of games

We are often told to get at least a stake in the centre in the opening. Without this, you might get pushed off the board (Boleslavsky-Scitov, Hage-Nimzowitsch) With less space, swap pieces if you can. You might find the home of your pawn structure now fits. If you have more space, it might not be…

The ability to move If your pieces lose mobility, they will find it hard to organise a defence to new threats. Pieces can lack space or just find themselves in each other’s way with nothing much they can do . Pawns can also show notable power when mobile (Korchnoi-Szabo, Bronstein-Rojahn), and appear as weak targets…

Zugzwang in German means ‘forced move’. It refers to a situation where you might be OK right now but if you move you lose — and you have to move. Lots of endgame examples In the Bronstein game, White will run out of pawn moves, then will have to move King or Rook — then…

You can sometimes give up material and come out with an advantage. You often see a sacrifice as part of a combination — a sacrificial combination, in Botvinnik’s language. Spielmann didn’t think these were real sacrifices. The advantage you get from sacrificing might be a mating attack (like the Greek gift) or just a very…

Any attack on the Queen’s-side would count, of course, but we normally expect the target to be the Queen’s-side itself, and not a King that has castled on that wing. The usual ingredients for an attack are required: more space, better mobility, and/or a bigger gang. (Janowsky-Capablanca, Capablanca-Alekhin) The minority attack is an example of…

A tempo is a move, more or less — the turn used to make a move. You can gain or lose (or save) a tempo by your choices, especially in the opening. In the Modern Attack against the Two Knights’ Defence, White paradoxically can gain a tempo by playing, not f2-f4, but f2-f3 (Ng5) then…

“First restrain — then blockade — lastly, destroy!” — Aron NIMZOWITSCH A blockade is just that: a block, stopping the enemy getting past a point or a line. Fischer used it as a tactical idea against Benko Locked pawn chains are a common blockade, usually stopping both players from moving freely If there is a…

“First restrain — then blockade — lastly, destroy!” — Aron NIMZOWITSCH A blockade is just that: a block, stopping the enemy getting past a point or a line. Fischer used it as a tactical idea against Benko Locked pawn chains are a common blockade, usually stopping both players from moving freely If there is a…