Doing Tactics Reminds me that Greenpawn is right.
The last puzzle I got right was because I remembered greenpawn telling me that the queen is a terrible defender. I attacked the queen, drove it off, took the bishop.
The other piece of advice is to learn mating patterns.
Do not know the name of this pattern, but have learned to look for this one now.
Have not been playing but when I do I need to learn to treat a game board like a tactics puzzle...
Look for mating pattern then look for material. If I fail to see either of those how can I improve my position? If nothing else , that should make me move slower.
Hi Eladar,
"Look for mating pattern..."
Funny at it may sound, but I sometimes think the mating pattern is looking for you.
You are looking at a position from a game and the pattern just pops in there.
Then you work out how to get the mate on the board using the pattern as a map.
It helps solving a puzzle when you know there is something there to spot.
It's harder to get it in a game. There you hope a friendly face in a crowd, and it
must be a face you have seen and met before, stands out and starts waving at you.
Strategy creates the tactics.
You have to know what the position is telling you to do.
How to get a knight outpost.
Bad bishop vs Good bishop.
How to attack the center or hold the center.
Ranks and files. Etc. Etc.
Just moving pieces and hoping for tactics will only get you so far and not very far either.
I am only 1700 though so maybe I should be quiet.
@e4e5f4d5
Strategy improves your position. Knowing what to do with an improved position is another story.
At the moment I can only look for mates or tactics after my opponent makes a bad move.
The more mating patterns you know, the more tactics you know, the better your chance of seeing it when it presents itself.