How to realize material advantage?
How many games have you lost while having a material advantage? One, two, ten or maybe a hundred? I must admit that in my case I have already stopped counting, but thanks to this I learned some very cool techniques that you will be able to use in your games!
The realization of material advantage is one of the most important elements in chess. In order to successfully gain rating or win tournaments, it is essential to convert winning positions. It's hard to count how many games in the history of chess have been "let go" due to the lack of a specifically adopted strategy when realizing this type of advantage. Fortunately, in this article I come to the rescue and show you the two best methods of winning a game when we have a queen, rook, knight or simply a pawn more.
When do we have a material advantage?
At the very beginning we must answer the question, what is material advantage? Well, it is nothing more than having more pieces or pawns than your opponent. Nothing simpler than that!
How do I know if I have a material advantage?
Checking whether we have a material advantage is very simple! Just count the pieces and pawns on the chessboard, compare the summed value with the material situation at the opponent's and it's all done. If our value is higher - we have a material advantage.
As a rule, each piece has assigned base value, but it all depends very much on the situation on the chessboard, so as you learn more and more about the secrets of chess you will find that the "value" of the pieces can change 😉.
Below, as a reminder - the basic value of each piece:
 Queen |
9 points |
 Rook |
5 points |
 Bishop |
3 points |
 Knight |
3 points |
 Pawn |
1 point |
Why did I not include the king? Well, because of the fact that the king does not have an assigned value!
Sometimes we are faced with a quite unusual situation, i.e. we have material equality but have more pieces. At such moments it is accepted that when both sides have similar development and coordination and the pawn structure is similar, the side with more pieces has a better chance of launching a successful attack. Look at the positon below:
What are the benefits of material advantage?
The benefits are indeed many, but among the most important we can highlight:
- Having more strength in attack and defense, which makes it easier for us to put pressure on the opponent,
- Any simplification or approaching the endgame in most cases is very good for us,
- The opponent is under tremendous psychological and positional pressure in the game. He has to create the counterplay all the time, otherwise Our advantage will be decisive.
The most common mistakes when realizing material advantage!
Many players with a material advantage in their games make some very basic mistakes. Among the biggest of these we can include overconfidence! There is a reason why someone said:
"The greater the advantage, the greater the attention!"
Players tend to relax when they see that their situation on the chessboard is favorable, making the chances of them overlooking the opponent's idea significantly. They begin to play as if the opponent is unable to create his own threats. I must admit that I myself have fallen victim to this behavior, as you can see in the example below:
What lessons can we learn from these two games? First of all, never assume that your opponent has already surrendered and will not create any threats!
The Best 2 strategies for realizing material advantage
Having discussed the previous elements, we can finally move on to the long-awaited strategies. There are two main methods:
- Transition to attack
Sometimes there is a situation in which we have a piece advantage that we have gained by means of an attack, a combination or a great strategic play. As a rule, the best strategy we can adopt then is to go for the attack.
This strategy is, on the one hand, very simple and on the other hand, insanely effective. Simply put, when we have a piece advantage, we can focus on attacking one point on the board, thus forcing the opponent to retreat to the defense. However, just going on the defensive won't do him any good, due to the greater strength of the attack!
- Exchange pieces, but avoid exchanging pawns
The second and very effective method of realizing material advantage is to reduce the opponent's counterplay possibilities by exchanging pieces and avoiding pawn exchanges. This will help us to play according to our plan without worrying about the king or other key points in the position. This is why exchanging pieces is so important.
By using this method:
- We deprive the opponent from the options to create real pressure on the chessboard,
- We are inevitably approaching the ending, which, for the most part
will simply be won for us, - We facilitate the process of attacking the opponent using his weaknesses.
In addition, let's remember to keep the pawns on the chessboard. Without any pawns, the piece advantage is meaningless, because we are not able to mate with only one minor piece. Therefore, you should think very carefully, before making any pawn exchange in the position.
BONUS
Never underestimate your opponent's resources 
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