27 Jul '11 22:00>3 edits
At my level I often have to play against opponents who seek an easy win by a queen strike in the opening. I know it's bad for you, so I don't do this, but I experience a lot of trouble handling this situation as a defender, especially in blitz and bullet, but also here. (Yes, I am playing some games with this happening, but I'm not asking for any comments on them, nor am I going to mention them here again until they're finished.)
My general question is: how can I improve this element? More particularly, are there any collections of patterns arising in these situations anywhere on the web? Any collections of (solved or not) problems? Do you have any general remarks on this?
My main problem is that the queen is very mobile, so it's difficult to actually trap her. When I analyze some situations, I see that there is no way to do that. She often has ways to find a safe spot somewhere on her third row. (And threaten my pawns or even the king.) How can I capitalize then? Another problem with this is that very careful play is often necessary in order not to get punished. It's impossible to be very careful in a bullet game, so I think the only way is to internalize as many patterns as possible. Am I right?
My general question is: how can I improve this element? More particularly, are there any collections of patterns arising in these situations anywhere on the web? Any collections of (solved or not) problems? Do you have any general remarks on this?
My main problem is that the queen is very mobile, so it's difficult to actually trap her. When I analyze some situations, I see that there is no way to do that. She often has ways to find a safe spot somewhere on her third row. (And threaten my pawns or even the king.) How can I capitalize then? Another problem with this is that very careful play is often necessary in order not to get punished. It's impossible to be very careful in a bullet game, so I think the only way is to internalize as many patterns as possible. Am I right?