
Know the Situation
Hey Impressive Chessers!
Most of us get into chess because we see all of these brilliant sacrificial games from Tal, Morphy, Kasparov, or my personal favorite: Nezhmetdinov. Maybe later we might appreciate the subtlety of a Capablanca, Petrosian, or Karpov game, but that’s not usually what draws us into the game—at least at first.
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The Cautionary Story of "Dave"
In 2020, I really started teaching more and more adult improvers. Before the “chess boom,” I had been teaching a few adults, but my main focus was on after-school chess programs for children in Southern California. Then, suddenly, a wave of adults picked up the game, many of them complete beginners eager to replicate the dazzling attacks they had seen in famous games.
I still remember one student in particular—we’ll call him “Dave.” As I went through Dave’s recent chess.com games, a pattern emerged: he consistently gained winning material advantages, only to squander them later. At the end of our lesson, I pointed it out:
"You did a great job remembering the opening trap that I showed you and that got you a free bishop! But later, instead of securing the win, you got too focused on taking more material, and the advantage slipped away. Once you’re up two or more points of material, I recommend playing ‘safe chess’—simplify when you can and transition to a winning endgame.”
I’ll never forget Dave’s response:
"To be honest, Craig, that sounds really boring. I got into chess for mating attacks and awesome sacrifices."
I tried to explain:
- Before gaining a large material advantage, any style of play is possible.
- As his rating improved, stronger opponents wouldn’t just hand him free material—he would need tactics and sacrifices to create those advantages.
- Many famous attacking games actually end in seemingly boring endgames.
- Winning more often and improving is a lot more fun than the occasional swashbuckling victory.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have the Anticipation is greater than Non-Stop Action theory yet:
but you can find more about my Anticipation > Non-Stop Action theory by clicking --> here
But Dave wasn’t convinced. This was almost 5 years ago, so now, I imagine that he’s either given up chess or is still toiling away in the 600-800 rating range, searching for that elusive queen sacrifice.
"Dave's" Game
I don’t bring up Dave’s story to make fun of him, but to illustrate an important lesson: in order to play good chess, you need to know the situation. There are times for brilliant sacrifices, and there are times to methodically convert a winning position. Part of what makes sacrifices so beautiful is their rarity—if you always sacrifice your queen, it’s not a masterpiece, it’s just reckless play.
Now, let’s put this principle into action with some puzzles that highlight the importance of knowing when to attack and when to consolidate!
Some might say this was a boring conclusion to a game (*cough* Dave *cough*) but do yourself a favor and check out the middlegame before this endgame.
Puzzle #2: Improve on Dave's Play
Puzzle #3: Should Black Resign?
Puzzle #4: How Can White Prove Black's g5 to be a Blunder?
...But, let's add Bishops to the board and see if it changes the situation:

Conclusion
One of the hardest things to learn in chess is that taking a pawn can be a great idea, when you are equal in material and that pawn may be the difference between a win and a draw or even a loss! But taking that same pawn, when you are already in the lead can get you in hot water fast! Same thing with an unclear sacrifice, if you are in a tough position, it's a great idea to try to complicate the game. If you are already ahead by 2+ points, it's probably not worth going down an unclear sacrifice path anymore. I hope this makes sense and it doesn't lessen your enthusiasm for the game of chess. Remember that Anticipation > Non-stop action and if you can you will surely...
Stay impressive!
NM Craig C.
linktr.ee/ChessToImpress