Originally posted by ResigningSoon
I don't think there's anything subtle about piling up on the h-file. And I understand closed positions give me more time to maneuver, but my opponent isn't a sitting duck. If he had had a chance to do some sort of Rc7, Bc8 fiddling about he would have the chances on the king-side. As it was I just hit his weaknesses on the queen-side until I won a p ...[text shortened]... like the discussion. I'll try to post another middle game soon, if no one else does.
The features I liked about your position -- that was my point.
I expanded in terms of how I play chess, I am Not telling you how to play chess.
We all have our own styles and personal expectations. And in spite of what GMs like Alfonso Romero write, one strategy is not necessarily better than another. Kibbutzers often think they can play a winning position better, forgetting who it was who achieved the winning position in the first place!
The way I got better at chess was like this:
in over the board play, when my opponent would despair at his position -- if it was not totally lost -- ( wish we could do this here! ) I would offer to switch sides -- and then would win with his pieces and his position against the one I had had.
After all, who knows your positional weaknesses better than you do? And it is a given that any position is in flux, constantly changing. You are not married to the position. Dynamic play trumps static structure. Because you can only coast one way: downhill.
Victory in the middlegame I find is Not about being better at tactical chess -- it's being more strategically efficient. Usually one cannot play a tactical move to make up for the absence of a strategic plan.
Efficient chess to me is keeping only those of my pieces that 1) attack, 2) support an attack, or 3) defend against a genuine threat. My style is to exchange or sac what I cannot deploy effectively.
Again this is my style, am not suggesting it would work for anybody else. But it struck me how perfect your position after d5 was for putting this approach into play.
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