Chess.com for Tigers: 3. Check the territory before you follow the traces

Updated: Apr 29, 2021, 8:01 AM | 1

In my previous posting, I did not intend to develop a full-scale guideline for openings. I alleged that everybody here knows the basics – or would like to find some general guidelines elsewhere (particularly in literature). So I only wanted to dwell on the specific possibilities and choices offered by the chess.com explorer.

However, I was reminded that one should not forget the more general approach.

So @Brian-E recommended to look at the position for a while first without opening the explorer on the screen, particularly if this is an opening with which you are not very familiar, and to try to identify your own candidate moves. “Only then go to the Opening Explorer and compare your candidates with the information there. You will be forming plans for the middlegame and you will be more ready for the situation which Ammerbucher describes when you are suddenly out of the book.”

Even though I would fully agree with this in general, I would like to make one reservation: This surely is right if you have enough time to do so. Alas, particularly if you have many games running, if you just want to make a move bevor leaving the house, or your break is over, you would be glad if you could save time. And in such a case, I think you would do no wrong just to jump to the explorer at once and check the positions there. However even if you do so, I would recommend really to play it, to go deeper into the lines, and really to take into consideration not only the chances and popularity of the moves, indicated by the explorer, but also how you like it. If you do so, if you really try to take your personal preferences into account as well, I guess the damage done by the fact that you look at the explorer at once would not be too big. (But one might have different opinions on that.) Yet of course, the deeper you are in the opening, the smaller the number of archived games and offered positions is, the more you should think in advance which moves might be attractive – or at least think about alternative moves after having opened the explorer.

I must admit that particularly if I feel not familiar with an opening, I do not want to lose too much time by finding reasonable moves, but prefer to have an offer of reasonable moves first, and then chose the best (for me). Maybe a certain, higher rated or popular line would lead to a certain exchange of pieces, maybe you would give up a bishop for a knight, but you'd prefer to keep your pair of bishops – then chose another line. If after an auspicious move a queen exchange would follow soon, yet you don't want to accept that so early - then chose another line. Or a high rated line would stop you from castling, but you usually feel insecure with an uncastled king – then chose another line.

And my (personal) experience even is, the more familiar I feel with an opening (i.e. the more often I have played it with the help of the explorer), the less I use that crutch at once, but really chose a preferred move first, and only then check its ratings. And even if those are not the best, I still might stick to it, because I feel at home in the positions that follow.

I guess a tiger would not decide in general which to check first, the territory or the traces. He would chose the approach which is best in the specific situation. And that’s what I would recommend you, too. Do what is best in your situation, on the board and off the board. (And if you feel in a hurry, and you still have time for your move, stop and postpone it. You can always do the move later, if there still is time – but you can never take back a bad move.)

Another caveat came from @MGleason: “Sometimes a particular move might be popular and score well for one side, and then somebody figures out how to refute it. As a result, master-level players will stop playing it. In that case, the database will mostly show older games from before it was refuted and still scored well - but if you play it, you'll be in trouble against anyone who's learned the refutation. This is quite unlikely in positions played thousands of times, but in positions less thoroughly explored, it might be worth checking more recent games to see if they still score well.”

I would fully agree. You can find such (more) recent games just by clicking on the number that indicates the number of games where this position can be found. Thus, you open a list, with the most recent games just on top. Check them, how they scored – maybe really the alluringly small number of results in favor of your opponent just happens to be of the most recent games, so the line that seemed to be so attractive has recently been refuted. Also, if you have time, check these games, particularly if maybe there are just a few of them left. Look at them entirely. You will get ideas how the game will proceed, and you will see if you might like such a possible development, apart from the very next moves, or not.

Also, if you have come to a point where there are only a few possibilities left, go back some moves and check even the alternatives that have not been played by you and your opponent. Maybe you will get an idea (or find something you already have thought about). Check these lines, too. There might be a possibility to transpose, or you could be able to implement one of these ideas into your current position.

Following the traces gives you security. But if you just follow the traces, without checking the territory, either before or after you have looked at the traces, you might walk into a trap right away.

Good luck!