Navigate Through Unknown Chess Opening!
Hello, this is H1. We’re going to be running it back with another episode talking about chess knowledge, chess wisdom, and chess understanding.
Have you ever lost your parents at a grocery store before? Most people like myself have and my parents told me the exact instructions to do if this ever happens. But that doesn’t mean that you’re not anxious and scared.
I walked up to the front of the store and found the supervisor. Then, the supervisor calls your parent on the intercom. Of course, I’m in trouble for walking away from my parents, but at least I’m back home safe. It’s the same thing with chess. You’re going to face people who will challenge you with a not-as-popular opening.
Even though the majority of opening gambits aren’t sound, people still play them for the unknown effect. Banking on the opponent not knowing how to navigate the situation. In this article, I’m going to give you tips on how to navigate through unknown openings.
First, you must always follow opening principles. This is not the time to do something brand new. Usually, if you know the opening, you’re familiar with the type of moves that you have to make. But if you do not know what’s going on at all, it’s not a good idea to delay developing your pieces and getting your king safe.
The quicker you get your king to safety, the higher the probability for the position to work itself out. The more pieces you develop, the higher the chance of surviving the opening alive. There are chess players whose whole game is built on the opponent making a mistake, and they would rather sacrifice material to make you nervous. I call these CRASH OUTS!
The computer or engine can be completely against them, but if they psychologically have a hold on you, then they already won. Rushing pieces to active squares will always be the safe plan but, if an opportunity presents itself, calculate thoroughly.
Secondly, do not place your pieces on squares, where your opponent can get an initiative. If you have to respond to every single move of your opponent, then you’re in trouble. This is why we coaches tell beginners not to develop their Queens too early. Just because the queen is the most powerful piece, it doesn’t mean it can’t be vulnerable.
Third, learning pawn structures will help you with a plan. The game of chess only has 16 pawns on it. In most chess games, you see the same pawn structure. So if your opponent plays something weird and it’s hard to think of what to do next, the pawns will never lie to you. I’ll talk more about pawn structures in future articles.
You can visually see the future with this advice. This may sound unbelievable at first but, the pawns are troopers who want you to win.
Bonus tip, ask a lot of questions, especially in a longer chess game. If you’re not asking questions and answering them, then you’re not thinking in chess. Remember, this is a thinking game and should be treated as such.
If you want more information on ways to navigate through unknown openings, let me know in the comments down below.
Keep on fighting till the end, staying focused on chess in real life, too, peace
For more information on my chess content, you can follow the links below.
www.youtube.com/@ChessKnowledgewithH1
https://open.spotify.com/show/6AefOx7Atzw3bgyfHG2bjR?si=6cca1bf3ba35459c
