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How do you find a tactic?

How do you find a tactic?

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I used a tactic today that I learned from the chess tactics server. Perhaps there's a greater truth here, but the rule that I've found is that if my knight can attack a king and the only piece defending the square is my opponent's knight, then the knight is a target.

Today I took my opponent's knight with my queen, which was then taken by my opponent's queen, which I then won back with the royal fork. The guy I was playing and another guy watching the game were very surprised and thought I had just blundered away my queen.

If I had not come up with that rule while doing the CTS, I would never have seen the tactic. Are there rules that you use to find tactics? If so, I'd love to know them.

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Originally posted by Eladar
I used a tactic today that I learned from the chess tactics server. Perhaps there's a greater truth here, but the rule that I've found is that if my knight can attack a king and the only piece defending the square is my opponent's knight, then the knight is a target.

Today I took my opponent's knight with my queen, which was then taken by my opponent's qu ...[text shortened]... the tactic. Are there rules that you use to find tactics? If so, I'd love to know them.
Well, you just figured out a good rule on your own. It's not just limited to Knights, either. It could be any enemy piece that is the sole defender of an important square.

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Originally posted by Eladar
I used a tactic today that I learned from the chess tactics server. Perhaps there's a greater truth here, but the rule that I've found is that if my knight can attack a king and the only piece defending the square is my opponent's knight, then the knight is a target.

Today I took my opponent's knight with my queen, which was then taken by my opponent's qu ...[text shortened]... the tactic. Are there rules that you use to find tactics? If so, I'd love to know them.
The rule that you learned is correct.

You can win when you can exploit the weaknesses of your opponent through tactics, sure thing๐Ÿ™‚

In the opening the weaknesses are related to lost tempi and poor development of the pieces.

In the middlegame we have to spot open lines, weak squares, underprotected pieces, overworked pieces, disharmony of pieces, lack of communication of the pieces, outposts, restraining support points and bad pawn structure. So, which exactly was your evaluation of that enemy Knight that urged you to sac your Queen? What was the quality of that Knight? What was the quality of the square on which that Knight was landed? Give names to the aspects of your evaluation, at least until their essence is known to you seemingly automatically!

In the ending we spot pawn majorities, king placement, piece activity and tempi.


I use tactics when the position becomes quite similar to a pattern that I already know. Until that time, I struggle to transform the current "meaningless" thesis into a position that is favorable for me, and during this stage I am guided by my strategy, which I try to establish through tactics๐Ÿ˜ต

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Generally, when there is a piece performing a defending task, then that piece is becoming a target for all kinds of tactical ooh-aah. For example, if a Knight is defending a Rook, then you should not focus your attention on the Rook by attacking it a second time, but in the majority of the cases you should somehow harrass that defending Knight.

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Originally posted by Eladar
I used a tactic today that I learned from the chess tactics server. Perhaps there's a greater truth here, but the rule that I've found is that if my knight can attack a king and the only piece defending the square is my opponent's knight, then the knight is a target.

Today I took my opponent's knight with my queen, which was then taken by my opponent's qu ...[text shortened]... the tactic. Are there rules that you use to find tactics? If so, I'd love to know them.
I hate it when people talk about a game in great detail but never give it.
A diagram is worth a thousand words.

Please post the game.

The more of these tests you try and instructive games you play over
the more ideas you get and suddenly you are using them in your own games.

Here is one of the test positions from Bates Motel.

The last two moves of the combination come straight from
Morphy at the opera. (clue 1)

White to play.



Clue 2:
If the Knight on g7 was not there then Rf8 would be mate


Solution:
1.Bc4+ Qxc4 2.Qe8+ Nxe8 3.Rf8 Mate
[/b]

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I've seen that game greenpawn, and remembered the actual checkmate. I had to do a little thinking on how to get there. The bishop sac was the key.

Here's the solution:


1.Bc4+ Qxc4
2.Qe8+ Nxe8
3.Rf8#

When I get home, I'll try to recreate the position the best I can from memory on Winboard and cut and paste using FEN.

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I've been taught to check three things:
-are there unprotected pieces
-are there pieces with inadequate defence (protected once but also already attacked once)
-is the king weak
When one of these occur in my enemies camp I look for a way to take advantage of it.
When it occurs in my own camp I look for a way to remedy it.

That last bit is important,many players use it in offense but it never enters their mind of using it in defense.

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Originally posted by Eladar
I used a tactic today that I learned from the chess tactics server. Perhaps there's a greater truth here, but the rule that I've found is that if my knight can attack a king and the only piece defending the square is my opponent's knight, then the knight is a target.

Today I took my opponent's knight with my queen, which was then taken by my opponent's qu ...[text shortened]... the tactic. Are there rules that you use to find tactics? If so, I'd love to know them.
Buy CT-Art 3.0 ๐Ÿ™‚

Also, removing the guard is probably the most under-rated tactic in chess IMO.

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Get the book Understanding Chess Tactics. It teaches you EVERYTHING you need to know. Tactics will be easy!

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Originally posted by moteutsch
Get the book [b]Understanding Chess Tactics. It teaches you EVERYTHING you need to know. Tactics will be easy![/b]
I would recommend you to leave ct art and other tactics books (or software) alone, just type www.chesstempo.com, use the "standard" training and you won't have to remember games of morphy anymore ๐Ÿ™‚

and remember, tactics is all about analyzing positions in the language of variations, not describing them.

and make sure you have a GUI and a good engine to analyze the positions you've already analyzed yourself, so you can check your calculations (with sidelines and all). I think that part of tactical training is way underrated.

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Originally posted by greenpawn34
I hate it when people talk about a game in great detail but never give it.
A diagram is worth a thousand words.

Please post the game.

The more of these tests you try and instructive games you play over
the more ideas you get and suddenly you are using them in your own games.

Here is one of the test positions from Bates Motel.

The last two ...[text shortened]... Rf8 would be mate[/hidden]

Solution:
[hidden]1.Bc4+ Qxc4 2.Qe8+ Nxe8 3.Rf8 Mate[/hidden]
[/b]
Don't give it away with clues.

You make it trivial.๐Ÿ˜ณ

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I didn't look at the clue or the solution.

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Here's the position as promised. This is from memory so this may not be exactly correct, but the major players are in the correct places.



Black to move.

1.............Qxg5
2.Qxg5 Nf3+
3. Kg2 Nxg5

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Originally posted by Eladar
Here's the position as promised. This is from memory so this may not be exactly correct, but the major players are in the correct places.

[fen]r1b2r1k/ppp2p1p/3p1qp1/4p1N1/3nP3/3PQ1PB/PPP2P1P/R4RK1 w - - 0 1[/fen]

Black to move.

1.............Qxg5
2.Qxg5 Nf3+
3. Kg2 Nxg5
Much better Eldar and a nice alert tactic.



But let us wring it dry, let's squeeze what we can from this position,

In this position why is the square e6 so important?

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Originally posted by diskamyl
I would recommend you to leave ct art and other tactics books (or software) alone, just type www.chesstempo.com, use the "standard" training and you won't have to remember games of morphy anymore ๐Ÿ™‚

and remember, tactics is all about analyzing positions in the language of variations, not describing them.

and make sure you have a GUI and a good engine ...[text shortened]... ulations (with sidelines and all). I think that part of tactical training is way underrated.
".... and you won't have to remember games of morphy anymore."

This of course is joke, but I'll have little nibble.

How do you expect the lads to get into a position to play their
tactcis and combinations if they don't study the preeceding play.

What is it you want us to do?

Go to one website to study openings.
Go to another website to learn how to play a middle-game.
Go to a different website to swot up on our endings.
Go to yet another bloody website to learn tactics.

Why? When you can get it all from one well annotated game.
(Morphy games included). ๐Ÿ˜‰

PS: What is a GUI?