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S - Squares/Space. This gets back to Pawn Structure, but shifts the focus a bit, and is more complex in some sense. Oversimplified, extra space offers that side more maneuver room for pieces. However, hedgehog defenses prove that sometimes the pie... | Read More
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De - Development. At bare minimum, a three part question. The first, and simplest, is who has more pieces developed. The second asks whether the pieces are developed harmoniously, i.e., they support a plan of action. The third asks whether one si... | Read More
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O - Officers; the minor pieces. Who has the better Bishops and Knights. This is frequently tied directly to Pawn Structure and who has better access to Lines (Bishops) and key Squares (Knights).
A simple system for evaluating each element of KIM... | Read More
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L - Lines; files for the Rooks and diagonals for the Bishops, both for the Queen; sometimes it's a rank for the major pieces (Hogs rooting on the 7th comes to mind)
A simple system for evaluating each element of KIMPLODES
This week, the L-factor... | Read More
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Pawn Structure - for starters, see Pawn Power in Chess by Hans Kmoch
Pawn structure is all about alignment, or the lack thereof of each side's pawns and how the opposing pawns interact with each other. Accompanying that basic concept are hol... | Read More
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M - Material; ah, this is easy. Am I ahead or behind in material? The harder question is whether it matters, because sometimes even a Queen doesn't mean anything (simplest example: smothered mate)
M-factor -+...but nobody cares, as the K-fa... | Read More
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I - Initiative; one of those "mysterious" concepts, but usually you recognize it when you see it.
A simple system for evaluating each element of KIMPLODES
KIMPLODES offers a structured way to think about your game.
Basically, I look at each el... | Read More
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K - King safety; always a good place to start--he who is mated last, wins first. Huh? Oh, okay, that makes sense...beat the other guy to the punch and bloody up his King, IF it can be done. Otherwise, find something else to do! There are ways to w... | Read More
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Variations on an article by Dana Mackenzie (May 2008, CL&R), who was building on precepts espoused by IM Jeremy Silman. Why repeat their efforts? I hope it's not repetition, but offers some additional insights. For starters, I shuffled Dana's... | Read More
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I do solemnly swear that I won't be too wordy in this blog.
The premise from Part I was that (in many cases) the most dangerous moves are the one or two moves the players make after leaving the opening. Here's your chance to solve some puzzles an... | Read More