Mark Lowery - Tactics vs. Positional Play - The Illusionary Battle.pdf
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Mark Lowery's Exciting World of Chess
http://chess.markalowery.net/
Advanced Lessons
* * * * * * * * * *
Tactics vs. Positional Play? The Illusionary Battle
Part 1 - Introduction
by Mark Lowery
Some may question why this lesson is put into Advanced Lessons. I have chosen to place this in
Advanced Lessons instead of Beginner Lessons because it is a step up in working on improving
chess playing skills, from the rules and basics principles into higher level/advanced concepts.
In particular, the lesson includes both beginner and advanced level examples, so I felt it best to
place it in Advanced Lessons.
Aren’t both these essentially the same thing, just stated differently?
Tactics and positional play –
while often taught and
viewed as separate and distinct learning
aspects of the game of chess
–are interrelated.
In order for a player
to develop a solid
framework for his or her game plan, the player must understand the interrelations in
order to develop successful combinations to accomplish goals
.
The
tie that binds together all aspects of chess playing is strategy
-
the implementation
of the game plan.
Each cornerstone and building block of the plan’s framework “must be
coordinated through “combination”, or else somewhere along the way the game plan will falter
on the shoals of reality that it was in the end analysis a teetering “house of cards”. Another way
to view this is how I saw it stated on a website promoting the purchase of an e-book on strategy:
"Strategy is the most fundamental part of chess. Strategy means systematic action based on a
correct understanding of the game, implementing a plan aimed at weakening and – in the end –
destroying the opponent’s position. Tactics are single moves within the framework of a
strategic plan." The last part, as you will see in this lesson, is too narrow in my view because to
me "tactics" is broader than just single moves, and both tactics and positional play is
interrelated.
If a player’s tactical arsenal is limited and/or his or her ability to play combinations is weak,
then it is critical for the player’s development and improvement for him or her to come to an
understanding of the “Why” question…“Why should he or she do this or that?” Or, perhaps
more appropriately and importantly framed especially for beginners: “Why should he or she
NOT do this or that?”
In order to do accomplish this task for learning and improvement, the player must have a solid
understanding of the basics and the interrelationships between tactics and positional play. For
example, “Play with your pieces!” is a widely dispensed piece of advice in the chess world, but
it is only a “rule of thumb”…that is, a general principle.
There are many positions where pawn advances or captures, for tactical or positional reasons or
both, become central keys to a winning strategy. Therefore a player has to know how, where,
when, and why to place the pieces and pawns to get the maximum benefit from them. This
dictates both dedicated studying and playing (experience) must be employed by a player to
improve.
Mark Weeks in his article about “Positional play” on About.com opens the article by stating:
“When there are no tactics, positional play is the main factor.
What do you do when there are no tactics to consider? You try to strengthen your own position
and weaken your opponent's position. To do that, you need to know the elements that distinguish
a strong position from a weak one.”
To me, viewing the game of chess within this construct has significant inherent limitations.
First, it pits tactics against positional play, which as many chess players have found out results
in frustration and more losses than wins.
Second, it suggests that tactics and positional play cannot coexist - which quite simply is not
true. His construct states that if you are seeking to play tactical moves - and these are available
- then play them.
However, in playing chess it is vitally important to keep in mind to try to
“strengthen your
own position and weaken your opponent's position.”
The essence of searching
opportunities to apply tactics is precisely to reach that goal, whether a player is at the moment
playing tactically or not.
Yet, even this is too simplistic a statement because it ignores the reality that a player should
sometimes “sit on the position” or “weaken the position” for strategic purposes…most often
seen in endgames when applying the tactical move of sacrifice. When employing any tactical
move, the player is always “taking the risk” of “betting” that it will be successful. Hopefully,
the player has assessed the value of the tactical move correctly and followed it up correctly -
applied the correct move order and calculation. If not, then usually a player will find himself or
herself worse off, or more devastating with a sudden lost game.
Without a definition for each of these aspects, then any attempt to answer the questions would
be fruitless. The following are the definitions I suggest for this lesson, and around which this
lesson is based.
Tactics
:
These are
the moves and pawn advances on the board that a player
utilizes to effectuate
his or her goals
, both offensively and defensively. This is the
“what is available” category
.
What specific moves and pawn advances, or short combinations thereof, in the player’s
“weapons” arsenal may be employed at any particular point in the game.
In this category we may place tactics such as (but not limited to) en passant, sacrifices, pins,
skewers, battering rams, entombment, fork and fork checks, X-ray attack, discovered attack or
discovered check, pawn storm, minority attack, suffocation, luring, diversion, distraction,
Bishop Pair, and Doubling Rooks.
Positional play
:
This is the
“structure
” category. It involves
thinking about both the offensive and the
defensive structures for each player
…that is to say, the immediate positioning of pieces and
pawns at any given point, what can be forced from the current position or what positions are
able to be created through use of available tactical moves, and what might open up inadvertently
through mistakes and blunders by the player or the opponent or both.
In this category we may place positional principles and their subsidiary principles, such as (but
not limited to) control the center, pawn structure, castling, mobility, centralization, space, place
Rooks behind (passed) pawns, Rooks controlling open files, Rook gaining control of the
seventh rank, a Knight on the rim is dim, posting a piece to an outpost, and doubling or tripling
pawns.
Strategy
:
This is the
“how to do it” category
. It is concerned with
how the player executes moves by
pieces and pawn advances
...that is to say, primarily
the concept of move order &
calculation
. Another way to view it is “what works, what does not work, when, and why
”.
How
does the player accomplish successfully what the player intends to do? How do does one play
the endgame and checkmate, or alternative reach a draw or stalemate? How does one go about
successfully counterattacking or engaging in counterplay? May one or more of the player’s
“tactical weapons”, not being presently available, be opened up by employing what is currently
available for tactical moves or pawn advances? Or, alternatively, may the player utilize
positional play to open a tactical move or pawn advance up for use on the board?
Think about this though: Do not tactical moves also have necessary positional components to
them as part of strategy? Let’s examine some examples.
Entombment
: In order to do this tactic, one must create a position (or the opponent must
create the position) that allows entrapping a piece or a pawn, thereby removing it as a fighting
unit whether temporarily or permanently. At the same time, the entombment itself creates
positional imbalance on the board while restricting the opponent’s ability to attack and/or
defend against an attack or additional tactical maneuvering by the player.
Pinning, skewering, forks and fork checks, X-ray attack, and doubling or tripling pawns
in a file
: Each involve creating (or having the opponent create) a position on the board in which
the tactical move may be employed and used for strategy purposes. Additionally, each are a
specific distinct type of positioning of pieces and/or pawns in and of themselves.
Sacrifice
: In order to be successful, there must be a definite attainable purpose behind the
sacrifice. That purpose is some type of “compensation” for the loss of the fighting unit, and
this is most often a weakening of the opponent’s position. The example which should most
readily come to mind is a Bishop sacrifice against a castled King at h7 or f7 against a Black
King castled to the Kingside, or at f2 or h2 against a White King castled to the Kingside.
pawn storm
: As a tactical maneuver, rushing pawns in forward advance has two main purposes:
1. To breakthrough the opponent’s defensive structure, especially for opening the opposing
King up to attack or flushing him from the safety of a castled position. This purpose is
specifically aligned with the traditional concept of positional play strategic consideration.
2. To push one or more pawns toward pawn promotion. The purpose of this tactical
maneuvering usually is premised on one of the following two strategic purposes: (1) gain a
piece through pawn promotion, most often a Queen through Queening; or (2) creating tempo
and/or positional imbalance by forcing the player either to divert pieces or to bring the King out
from a castled position (luring) in order to defend against the pawn storm and push toward pawn
promotion.
Important to note is that
“compensation” falls into strategy
. Why? Because “compensation”
always either is an immediate weakening of the opponent’s position directly on the board (e.g.,
breaking the center control, pawn storm, breakthrough), or, it has an indirect effect for
positional play by allowing the player to “gain the tempo” for example, allows employing
tactics for specifics goals, or results in the gaining of material advantage that while not
necessarily has an immediate direct effect on positional play, it allows the player to later force
positional imbalances on the chessboard.
In the ensuing parts of this lesson, the focus will center upon particular concepts and the
interrelationships between tactics and positional play as part of strategic planning and
implementing a game plan.
Mark Lowery's Exciting World of Chess
http://chess.markalowery.net/
Advanced Lessons
* * * * * * * * * *
Tactics vs. Positional Play? The Illusionary Battle Part 2A
Control of the Center (Section 1 of 3)
by Mark Lowery
Adapted and developed in part based on Mark Week’s article, “Positional play” on About.com.
Control the center of the board
Captain Recon covered basic aspects of controlling the center in his lesson on the subject in the
General Lessons. The lesson greatly expands on the subject.
Engrave three different portions of the chessboard into your mind for use in playing chess.
The true center (2x2 square): squares d4, e4, d5, and e5;
The extended center (4x4 square): encompassing c3, c6, f3, and f6; and
The expanded center (sixteen file squares): the central files d (from d1 to d8) and e (from
e1 to e8).
The use of words “center” and “central” should impress upon a player the importance of the these
areas…power! Except when engaging in flanking attacks and play on the wings, the pieces move
through the “
Central Hub
” of the board - these three areas.
Let’s look four board diagrams depicting this Central Hub concept.
True Center
Expanded Center
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