Originally posted by Orange Peel What are some of the common things that make your opponents peices/game weak?
It's not worth listing them all as I can just as easily tell you to go read a book. There are many good ones, and twice as many threads in this forum mentioning them.
Originally posted by thesonofsaul It's not worth listing them all as I can just as easily tell you to go read a book. There are many good ones, and twice as many threads in this forum mentioning them.
Well, everybody has there own person weaknesses that they will attack. Some do not know of weaknesses, and it's important in a developing game. I was interested in what the general consensus was within the chess forum here. What changes are made based on rating. It is important to know. Vital, no?
Every thread in the chess forums is related in some way to another.
What makes an opponents pieces/game weak?
Well, to begin with your ability to recognize and use the weaknesses in the position. Now generally speaking there are a few ways to measure an advantage based on the position:
1) Having the initiative (this loosely defined term generally corresponds to the ability to make threats and influence the (short-term) flow of the game).
2) Having superior coordination of the pieces - are your opponents pieces supporting each other, or is each of them performing an individual task? Can you disrupt their cordination? Oftentimes superior coordination and active play will compensate (at least for some time) a material disadvantage.
3) Pawn structure. Now this becomes rather important in the endgame but even in the middlegame one can take advantage of attacking an isolated pawne, etc.
4) The lack of clear plan. If you have a clear plan of improving your position and the opponent cannot prevent its execution, and lacks an alternative plan for getting counterplay (e.g if you attack kingside, he should struggle to attack queenside provided he cannot hope to deflect that atack) you have a technically won game.
5) Control of important strategical squares on the board. Pretty self-explanatory.
6) Material advantage - a big NOT ALWAYS. But generally speaking if you have an advantage in material, and the opponent cannot compensate it via 1), 2), or 5) you can easily win - just follow Capablanca's advice try to exchange all the pieces of equal value and simplify. 95% of the time this is the key to success, the other 5%, well, you'll learn to recognize them sooner or later.
7) A better tactical feel: Say you can calculate variations long 5 moves, and your opponent has a depth of 3. It is clear who'll have an edge. Tactics is a weapon that is flashy and must be used with caution - if it is not found on strategical advantage or a blunder on the opponents part it is usually unwise to get engaged in such trickery.
Originally posted by Orange Peel What are some of the common things that make your opponents peices/game weak?
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_strategy_and_tactics When your opponent allows a weakness, a tactical manoeuvre can gain some material.
Originally posted by Wikipedia Chess Article Weaknesses include: pinned pieces, overloaded pieces, weaknesses around the opponent's king, weak squares, unprotected pieces, weak color complexes, pieces not able to come back to defend the king, etc. The "weaknesses" can then be exploited with a chess combination that is often built out of a number of tactical "methods". Such weaknesses are often created in the opponent's position in the first place by threats, provocative moves, and generally strong "positional play", etc.
The latter quote is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess
Weaknesses.
12 Nov '06 00:28
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