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 How do you chose the best move?A friend on mine wrote this article for our team, Chess. He has approved my posting it for this Club. I have found it helpful and more, I find myself using several of his suggestions when I'm faced with trying to make the best of bad options. I am interested in hearing what other club members find helpful in choosing the best move. jc ----------- "First, how to sac my queen, then rook, then bishop, then knight, then pawns: (Mikhail Tal) Or How to choose your next move" by poltroon A journalist once asked Jose Raul Capablanca how many moves he thought in advance. ‘One,’ the then reigning world champion replied. Capablanca wasn’t renowned for his modesty and probably answered the question truthfully; however, his ‘one’ opened a myriad of positions that only he, and perhaps a select few, could envisage. The title quote from Tal shows that he probably started with a single move and then saw the rest in his mind’s eye, as Capablanca would have done. For we mere chess mortals the thought process of finding a move usually goes like this: ‘I move here, they take, I take; chances are castles, and…uhmm…maybe I should castle too before I move my knight.’ We are not Tal, nor Capablanca, nor Fischer, nor Karpov—we’re just trying not to blow the game and maybe win it! Winning is hard; even Emmanuel Lasker knew that: ‘The hardest game to win is a won game.’ The problem every chess player faces is finding the next move, perhaps not necessarily the best move but a good move, or at least one that won’t kiss all the previous effort goodbye. One of the best pieces of advice on the subject comes from C.J.S. Purdy, the first Correspondence Chess World Champion, ‘If you can’t think of anything look for your worst place piece then improve its position.’ There is no need for either reams of analyses or agonising over variations—just have a look to see if there’s a piece that could be doing a little more for the cause. Once a move is found it’s best not to immediately play it—Emmanuel Lasker, again, ‘When you see a good move, wait, don’t play it, you might find a better one.’ Too often a game is ruined because of rushing. It’s far better to win a game with one minute remaining on the clock than losing it with an hour to spare. But how does one find the good move and then, possibly, the better one? Some people may prefer starting with Tal’s quote and go from there while others might decide to be a little more circumspect. For those who prefer a modicum of caution I offer the following advice: Every move is a weakening move; find the weakness in your opponent’s position and try to exploit it. To do this; however, you mustn’t return the favour by giving them something to aim at, and it is here that some preliminary, methodical thinking needs to take place. What follows is a basic system to reduce the errors that would have you banging your head against a wall. 1. Reconnaissance Look over the whole board, not just the area you’re interested in. Make evaluations: Q-side: hostile rook has moved from a1- b1, centre OK, possible fork on K-side, for example. Remember that after each move the board has changed! What was possible may no longer be but what wasn’t could be. A look over the board may open new possibilities or force a re-assessment of plan. 2. What are the threats? Take note of the plural. As you’re planning multiple ways for your opponent’s demise so are they for yours. When you find threats are there ways of ignoring them by playing an attacking move? Chess involves a lot of tactics and a strategic plan can fall apart due to a tactical stroke. 3. How has the move changed the position? If you can eliminate a tactical strike/combination then consideration of the overall situation should be taken into account—has the move created any weaknesses that can be exploited. If the answer is yes then a plan must be either formulated or revised to take this into account. One move can altar the board to such an extent that the use by date of your plan has passed and it’s time to get a new one. 4. Material This is broken down into two areas: pieces and pawns; furthermore, it is a mistake to assume that material equality means positional equality. A piece is only as good as it’s mobility. With your Rook boxed in by its compatriots, unable to assist in attacking the enemy monarch, you’re playing a piece down—until it is freed. Without files and ranks a Rook can’t do much but a Bishop can be a wizard on the open diagonals. When assessing material it is important to recognise that certain pieces operate more effectively under certain circumstances; therefore, this gives them a plus or a minus depending on the position. A Bishop can be cloistered whereas a Knight can be frisky in a closed game, for example. It is this subjectivity, and the ability to bring about favourable operating circumstances, when sacrificing of the exchange comes into its own. ‘Pawns are the soul of chess,’ said Andre Philidor and even if the merit of this quote is debatable the value of pawns are not. Books have been written on pawns and pawn structure and the role they play from the opening to the ending. When evaluating the relative merit of pawns—take note of the word ‘relative’—it is important to be able to recognise whether the pawns are strong or weak; backward, doubled; what squares they control or don’t, whether they can be blockaded, whether they’re in a chain, or are they either isolated or in islands; are they needed to attack or to defend? There will be subjectivity in the assessment relative to the position. 5. The King’s position A poorly defended king is asking for sacrifices be made to crack open the bastions. An overly defended king might be able to be smothered. In both of these cases it’s not a question of material but the ability to checkmate with the forces remaining. The other thing to look for is the position of the pawns in front of the king. Have they been moved? If they have there is a weakness. Can this be exploited? 6. Weaknesses and strengths Make a list of the weaknesses and strengths of both sides: weak pawns, mobility and scope of the pieces; where the majority of pawns are, cramped or exposed king, weak and strong squares—a weak square is one that can’t be defended by a pawn—what piece is controlling which squares, a lead in development, loss of tempo and so on. It was Steinitz who proposed the idea that to win at chess one must accumulate advantages, however slight, for many small advantages combine to a big one—and the player with the advantage must attack before the advantage dissipates. 7. Development Count the number of moves required to complete development—having your minor pieces out, king out of the way; possibly the Queen out. 8. Is there a combination? Don’t become a slave to some deep plan that will bring eventual victory. Keep your eye open for either any tactical shot or combination that presents itself. Remember that with each move the board has changed, there are new strengths and weaknesses; so where something wasn’t possible a move or two ago might be now. Emmanuel Lasker wrote that in the chess-master, ‘…combination play is completed by position play.’ (Lasker’s Chess Manual, 1932, page 109). Firstly look for the combination: if there isn’t one make the alteration in the plan. This may seem like a lot to do; however, in correspondence/internet chess where you can have days to consider a move it is a good system to put into practice, in at least one game. If you’ve played with reasonably fast time limits try playing one game against someone who would like a longer time limit so you can try out the system. If all of this is too much to remember: look for your worst placed piece and try to improve it. For a more detailed explanation of the above system: ‘C.J.S. Purdy His Life, His Games, His Writings’ by J. Hammond and R. Jamieson, Belmont Printing, Melbourne 1982, pages 53-72. |
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soldner 07-Jan-09, 17:19 |
How do you choose the best move? I also read in Chess Life about another way to evaluate the position using the acronym IMPLODE. Very similar to the other post. I - who's got initiative M - material count and King safety P - pawn structure L - lines and squares - who has them O - Officers (Bishops and Knights placement) De - development. This should get an understanding of whose ahead in the position. Then look for all my pieces to see what's being attacked. Then look to see if I can use a tactic against him somewhere. If nothing strikes out, then lok at advancing a pawn. Knowing an opening allows me at least 4 -5 moves before I need to analyze, and most of the time it is something I've seen, thought I've seen or I got it in a notebook somewhere. I've started using analyze db to check next moves. Hope this helps! Steve |
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How do you choose the best move? Nice acronym. Excellent advice! I have a couple of questions; 1) "P - pawn structure": I know when I run up against a strong pawn structure because I'm blocked and can't get to where I want without losing material or tempi. But if someone asked me about how to go about setting up and evaluating pawn structure, I wouldn't be able answer. What are your thoughts on how to set up pawn structure and evaluate pawn structure? 2) "lines and squares - who has them": Lines of attack, I sort of get that. But I keep hearing about squares that one needs to control. Which are the "better squares?" Any help, direction on the issue will be appreciated. Three suggestions that I make to choose the best move are 1) use the analyze board! This will add up to 100 points QUICKLY on the performance of players not using it. And the fact of the matter is that your opponent uses it. Why handicap yourself by not getting a visual on prospective moves? 2) 100, 80, 60 games are just TOO MUCH to give adequate thought to. My comfort zone is 25 games, total on all the sites I play on. I don't stay with 25 games, but when my performance suffers, that's the first area I look at. I'm sure there are some folks who will say anything over 12 or so is too much. But I'm in for the fun and i get bored with less than 25-27 games. 3) The note program is great. It is only seen by you and presents the full record of what you've written. With numerous games and time frames that can expand into days, it should be difficult for anyone other than Morphy to keep track of game plans and tactics. |
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soldner 13-Jan-09, 06:10 |
How do you choose the best move? 1. Pawn structure can be =, +, or -. I think it depends on the phase of the game and somewhat your style. For me, pawn islands and hanging pawns are a (-). Passed pawns are a (+). Unsupported pawn breaks are (-). Locking pawn structures are a (=). Since I play only a couple of openings, any pawn structures that aren't part of the 'book' are (-). 2. Just now learning about transport squares. These are squares that you can use to move your pieces from one side to the other during the middle game. If these are blocked or under attack, then your playing field is cut off and his attack is stronger. For the Colle and the Stonewall, e4 is a key square to keep Black out of it. I'm not a good enough player to give better examples; however a common one is the g2 or g7 square when you finachetto your King and for that matter the f3/h3 or f6/g6. |
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iaoutfls 16-Jan-09, 17:11 |
How do you choose the best move? |
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Thank you, all... Thanks again for sharing all your thoughts & talents, Cyn |
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antagonistknight 27-Jan-09, 17:33 |
hbird1830 |
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Thank you for your input... |
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doji 29-Jan-09, 02:28 |
Interesting! And there is something more, other things than squares, pieces, pawn structures.... If I make a move, it sometimes just doesn't FEEL right, without being able to tell why. If so, I search for another. What I want to say is: theory is a beautiful thing, it can help you a hell of a lot, but don't underestimate the feeling you can have, even if there is no explanation. Winning or losing a game is sometimes also a matter of how one looks at his opponent: is he impressed by something? (rating, winning streak, nickname, ...). If U don't believe you can't beat him or her, there is a fair chance you won't. I read somewhere: the worst opponent is yourself! So true, I think. All these matters can influence your choice of finding the best move, that is what I believe. Jo |
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antagonistknight 29-Jan-09, 06:52 |
Middle and End Game For example as White I use the Bird, a typical move order is 1. f4 d5 2Nf3 g6 3. e3 Bg7 4. Be2 Nf6 5. 0-0 0-0 6. d3 c5. From there my general plan (in no particular order) is to push my f-Pawn to open up Black's position, get my Knight to g5 with the second Knight possibly on g3, trade off Black's Knight on f6 (usually I end up trading the Rook on f1), have the Queen on h4 and move in for the Checkmate. The thing is that my opponent will try to prevent this from happening while attempting to achieve his own goals, so I will have to tweak my plan as my opponent moves. I am sure some of the higher ranked players can give you a general idea of what a decent plan is with whatever opening you use would be. If you post what opening you like to use, I can give it a shot as well, but I am not that well versed in openings other than the Bird and Dutch(Bird with reversed colors). |
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Middle and End Game On the other hand, Bobby Fischer believed opening theory did take the fun out of the game. jc |
