Chess.com for Tigers: 6. The most simple online trick that will make you more successful at once

Updated: Nov 28, 2021, 4:37 PM | 10

Technical tricks, or, following the original notion, chess Tiger’s tricks, as I understand it, are ways to make best use of all options, but without playing dirty.

Yet to do so, a Tiger of course first has to know his options. And there are some technical features here – within, or in addition to the instruments I have already talked about – which you may not know yet, as also myself, I did not know about these things when I started to write my blog (a while ago).

Before I come to such a specific - and indeed, actually very simple - trick, I just want to amend something, in addition to my previous blog post, regarding Vote Chess games: Meanwhile, chess.com has also added a manual analysis function in Vote Chess. You can access it also with the reading glass, and it also offers annotations, comments and so on. Creating (and editing) alternatives is slightly different than in the manual analysis of Daily games, your continuation (even the main line) look like an alternative line, as it is just displayed in brackets. But the great benefit is you can use the PGN of that (the technical description of the game with all moves and the manual analysis) to create a diagram immediately. (I may explain how to create diagrams later on, but there are explanations on that in many clubs, mainly those who offer Vote Chess.)

But now to the simple trick a Tiger should absolutely know, because it may be very useful.

This trick addresses a problem chess players have in each and every move: How to detect threats, how to find auspicious lines, or in short: How to avoid overlooking something? Well, there a lot of recommendations, like “double check”, or as my dear friend Derek would say, “sit on your hands before you make your move” (literally – and that really helps …).

But a Tiger would like not just to double check from his own position, but also check the situation from his opponent’s perspective. Because with his opponent’s eyes, he may see something that seems to be hidden, or could at least be easily overlooked.

Thus, a Tiger may like to circle his opponent, before he attacks. But we have a much easier way to do that: We can flip the board.

The tool to do that is (in the browser version) typically hidden (one reason why you may not have seen it yet). But you can make it visible by hovering with the cursor over the cogwheel in the right upper corner of your board. Once you click on the symbol with to reversed rectangular arrows, you will suddenly see the board from your opponent’s side. (To go back, just click there again.)

Doing so will suddenly offer you new perspectives, literally, and may allow you to notice a threat (for whoever) you may not have seen before. From my experience, this can be mainly important for long diagonals, and pieces placed on the back ranks, but of course also for any other situation. I admit I do not do this every move. But in complicated positions, there is a real benefit, and it helped me to avoid blunders or find a winning move not just once. And while this would at least be a bit strange in OTB (and your opponent might even protest if you do that regularly), it is completely fine in online chess of course.

Nevertheless, I would recommend doing that only in the manual analysis mode (you have it there as well), and not on the moving level, and particularly not move in the reversed mode, in order to avoid possible confusions. Just flip back, and only then (if you feel sure about it) make your move.

(EDITED) Yet this is not the only trick which is very easy to use, and which may be overlooked by many members quite for a while - like myself.

I will write more about such tricks in the following blogposts.