Does tactics help with strategy?

Does tactics help with strategy?

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l

Milton Keynes, UK

Joined
28 Jul 04
Moves
80236
17 Jan 12

After doing more tactical puzzles I find that with more games, after having left standard openings and databases, I seem to be more successful with moves that "feels" right. Even though I still do not yet see any direct tactical opportunities.

It is fair to say that practising tactics help with strategical play?

chemist

Linkenheim

Joined
22 Apr 05
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656210
17 Jan 12

Originally posted by lausey
After doing more tactical puzzles I find that with more games, after having left standard openings and databases, I seem to be more successful with moves that "feels" right. Even though I still do not yet see any direct tactical opportunities.

It is fair to say that practising tactics help with strategical play?
I think it's fair to say that parctising tactics helps in finding situatiions where a tactic can follow 🙂

w
If Theres Hell Below

We're All Gonna Go!

Joined
10 Sep 05
Moves
10228
17 Jan 12

I don't know about strategy, but you'll get more alert to possibilities for sure. and your 'sense of danger' improves. - I guess if you start letting your 'nontactical' moves to be guided more by those tactical aspects, you could say that it also improves your strategic eye. in a way.

The Near Genius

Fort Gordon

Joined
24 Jan 11
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13644
17 Jan 12

Originally posted by lausey
After doing more tactical puzzles I find that with more games, after having left standard openings and databases, I seem to be more successful with moves that "feels" right. Even though I still do not yet see any direct tactical opportunities.

It is fair to say that practising tactics help with strategical play?
I believe good tactics is more important for the average person like us.
A grandmaster playing against another grandmaster must also have good
strategy. Learning strategy seems must harder to understand than tactics,
even though certain tactics seem hard to see in a game.

T
I am become Death

Joined
23 Apr 10
Moves
6343
17 Jan 12
2 edits

Tactics are absolutely necessary to even begin to use strategy. There was a very weak chess player at my club who read Silman, a lot.

I beat him with Queen odds, because he just didn't pay attention to what was attacking what.

So we played a game together, but I made him talk about the position before he made a move.


Him: "Well, let's see. I have an active dark square bishop, and my pawns are controlling the light squares. I'd say I have a positional advantage here. Now I'm going to control the center!" (Moves pawn)

Me: "Huh? Dude, I just attacked your knight with my pawn on the last move and you didn't move it. Lolz."


Fischer said that tactics flow from a superior position, but the irony is that you can't get a superior position without taking tactics into account.


Here's a game I played recently that I think illustrates why tactics are of more immediate importance than strategy.

TacticsTime.com

Colorado Springs, CO

Joined
26 Mar 07
Moves
30333
25 Jan 12

lol - I love this little story!

I write an e-mail newsletter on chess improvement and chess tactics. Would you mind if I reprinted it there, giving you credit of course?

I think it makes a great point, and I found it very amusing!

Cheers,
Tim
http://tacticstime.com

n
Ronin

Hereford Boathouse

Joined
08 Oct 09
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29575
26 Jan 12

The simple answer is improving your ability to "See" via tactics or w/e will greatly help your ability to carry out your strategic plans.

c

USA

Joined
22 Dec 05
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13780
26 Jan 12

Strategy is simply a long term plan to improve favorable tactical opportunities. So yes, tactics does indirectly aid in strategy and vice-versa, though obviously not as much as studying strategy directly.

T
I am become Death

Joined
23 Apr 10
Moves
6343
26 Jan 12

Originally posted by TimmyBx
lol - I love this little story!

I write an e-mail newsletter on chess improvement and chess tactics. Would you mind if I reprinted it there, giving you credit of course?

I think it makes a great point, and I found it very amusing!

Cheers,
Tim
http://tacticstime.com
If you're talking about my post, go ahead.

M

Joined
16 Oct 09
Moves
2448
26 Jan 12

Of course, with strategy you wish to visualize an ideal position and seek ways to exploit weaknesses, then you use tactics to achieve those objectives. Tactics serve not only to win material, but you also need to use combos to get strategic advantages.

t

Joined
28 Dec 11
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16268
26 Jan 12
1 edit

t

Joined
28 Dec 11
Moves
16268
26 Jan 12

Originally posted by RJHinds
I believe good tactics is more important for the average person like us.
A grandmaster playing against another grandmaster must also have good
strategy. Learning strategy seems must harder to understand than tactics,
even though certain tactics seem hard to see in a game.
2250 - i wouldn't call you average.

P

The Ghost Bishop

Joined
11 Oct 11
Moves
877
26 Jan 12

Originally posted by tim88
2250 - i wouldn't call you average.
On a good day I've bested some of those thinner air breathers. On bad days I've been swindled by the lowliest teenhundreds. I'm still average.

RJ isn't anything.

and tactics+strategy are a yin and yang. Everyone here covered it well. Its an impossible essence to fully understand.

Q

E

Joined
12 Jul 08
Moves
13814
26 Jan 12

Originally posted by PhySiQ

and tactics+strategy are a yin and yang. Everyone here covered it well. Its an impossible essence to fully understand.

Q[/b]
I don't know. I think it is easy enough to understand. If you don't understand why the strategical move is good, then you won't be able to exploit your advantage.

Once you understand the position, then you will understand what to do.

Most of us don't understand the position. We don't understand all the tactical intricacies, therefore there is no chance that we will see what to do.

Then again, it doesn't really matter because our opponents don't understand it either.

Joined
16 Feb 07
Moves
27653
26 Jan 12

I'd put it this way - tactics are indespensible for executing a strategy correctly.

Basically, if you mess up the tactics, no strategy is good enough, and virtually all winning strategies have tactical elements necessary to take the full point home.